Day 6: Museums of Paris!

Bonsoir! Another day has come and gone - this vacation is going by much too fast!

I was pretty tired out from the Normandy tour so I slept in this morning and then headed out for another run along the Seine. I was feeling pretty tired but the fresh air from my run rejuvenated me! I got ready for the day and headed out to tour some museums.

My first stop was l'Orangerie. This museum is known for the beautiful displays of Monet's Water Lilies. They are beautifully displayed in a circular room.




The museum also had works of other impressionist artists, such as Cezanne, Renoir, and Matisse. I love the artwork of the impressionists - definitely my favorite type of art!

I walked back through the Tuileries towards the my next stop, the Louvre. I just love the huge parks, like the Tuileries.



As you can see, they have chairs around the pond. In the summer, children float little boats on these ponds. So cool.

Next I headed into the Louvre. Holy cannasta, it is massive. Truth be told, I only tackled one wing and one floor of the museum. It's just too overwhelmingly massive for me. I am glad that I went, though. I saw the wing of Italian artwork, including the famous Mona Lisa.

At this point, I started to get museum ADD, so I headed out and walked along the Seine towards the Latin quarter. I was craving a gallette, so I headed toward the St. Michel area to find a creperie. I really need to figure out how to make these gallettes when I get home. They are SO good. This time I had one with ham, cheese, and onions, topped with an egg and a little salad.



Yum. It tasted even better than it looks. I might need to have one more gallette before I go home... I think it might be my favorite thing to eat in Paris!!

After my late lunch, I was hoping to check out the Conciergerie, which is where prisoners were held during the Revolution - including Marie Antoinette. Unfortunately, it is closed this week. :( Bummer.

So I walked home along Rue de Rivoli and stopped at Hotel de Ville. Hotel de Ville is so beautiful! I love the carousel on the corner!


You can go ice skating in front of the Hotel de Ville right now. I opted not to, but seeing the skaters definitely makes me think of the Barrister as we went skating together in December.



I am thinking it may be a good idea to avoid this corner for the rest of my trip (I've walked by it multiple times now and run by it in the mornings) - it conjures up memories that I really don't want to think about right now...

I cleared my mind with a little window shopping in the beautiful BHV.


I came very close to purchasing some outerwear but then I remembered that I already own, um, 12+ jackets, possibly more... So I really do not need another. Amber is probably laughing as she reads this because she heard all about my outerwear obsession on our marathon road trip. I am drawn to outerwear like a moth to a flame...

After that, I stopped in at multiple Tabacs and got REALLY good at asking (in French) if they had stamps for post cards. Dear God, it is hard to find postage card stamps! I stopped at 5 different Tabacs. No luck. Finally I stumbled upon a post office and was able to purchase some! Success!

I celebrated the fact that I won't have to ask about postage stamps anymore by having a couple of glasses of wine in two different cafes and read for a bit before heading back to my apartment.

Je suis fatigué. And I am craving french fries so I might go to the cafe on the corner and have some for dinner. I swear they taste better over here - especially when dipped in mustard. Oh and the mustard tastes better over here, too!!

Tomorrow I will head to Versailles. I only have 2 days left in Paris! I honestly could spend a month in this city. Or maybe a lifetime? Ok, kidding... I can't afford to live here - and I am sure it wouldn't be as lovely if I was working each day... And I'd miss my family/friends. But seriously, this city rocks.

Evening of Day 4

Greetings! I just got back from my tour of the Landing Beaches of Normandy. It's going to take me awhile to sift through all the photos so I'll be back tomorrow with a post about that. I am definitely very, very glad I did the tour. After seeing movies like Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, it was surreal and humbling to see the beaches in person...

When I last left off, I was getting ready for the ballet! I wanted to have dinner in my apartment before the show so decided to buy one of the rotisserie chickens I've been drooling over all week at the local butcher shop.


I bought a small chicken and resisted the urge to buy some of the potatoes since I still have the fingerling potatoes I bought at the market on Sunday...

I shredded the chicken, cut up some greens that I had bought on Sunday and topped it with avocado and tomato, and a vinagrette that I mixed up with dijon mustard, balsamic and red wine vinegar. Yum! I don't have the French knack for presentation, but here's a picture of my delicious and healthy salad!



While it is fun to eat out, I am really enjoying eating meals in my apartment. I usually eat about one meal out a day. It's a great way to save money and I do not feel like I am depriving myself since the meals I am fixing have been delicious!

After dinner, I got dressed and headed out for the ballet (terrible self-photo, ignore the running clothes on the floor!)!



I got to the Opera area a little early so I could enjoy a glass of wine before the ballet. The Opera house is so so so gorgeous. As usual, my pictures do not do it justice. I am really terrible at night photos & photos of the interiors of dark places. I have an old point & shoot camera and I never have been able to figure out the night settings! These shots give you an idea of what the place is like, though.





The ballet was beautiful. It was danced to Vivaldi's 4 Seasons, which is one of my favorite pieces. This is my first ballet since seeing the Nutcracker in college - I really, really enjoyed it and was impressed by the dancing and the music. I would definitely love to go to another ballet back in Minneapolis.

All in all, it was a wonderful night.

And I am off to bed! I had planned on going to Versailles tomorrow but I am going to wait and go on Friday as I need a slower paced day tomorrow. I bought a Paris Museum Pass so tomorrow I plan on leisurely popping in and out of some museums. A couple of you commented and convinced me to give the Louvre a try, so I will probably head there tomorrow night after dinner. It's open late on Thursdays so I figure if I go in the evening, the crowds should have thinned out by then.

Good night, everyone!

Home Away from Home & Afternoon of Day 2

First off, a couple of you have asked to see pictures of where I am staying this week, so here goes! First, here is a view of the street, looking towards my apartment. It's a really charming neighborhood! I love all the little balconies!


This is the kitchen - such an efficient use of space! It includes a fridge, microwave, dish washer, and combination washing machine/dryer. Impressive, huh? The kitchen is well-stocked with pots/pans, dishes, and silverware. They also provide salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, and balsamic vinegar!


This is the living room area.


The bed is behind the shelves.

And this is where I write my blog posts from! The name of the apartment is "the butterfly" which explains the framed butterflies on the wall by the computer!



Now, onto my afternoon in the Marais. The apartment had a book with various walks around Paris so I decided to do one of the Marais walks this afternoon. I knew a little bit about the area before my walk since I had done a guided walking tour of the area last time I was in Paris. That walking tour is what prompted me to rent an apartment in this area. The Marais known as the Jewish quarter of Paris. It's such a charming area with narrow streets, lined with boulangeries and Patisseries.

As I learned on that walking tour, it is also where many of the mistresses of the royalty lived. Marriages during that time were mostly for political reasons so it was common for the royalty to have a mistress or two. So there are many, many grand residences in this area, known as hotel particulars, with impressive courtyards/gardens. Like this one.



Not too bad, huh? There are private residences now. I wonder how much one would cost!!

Place des Vosges is also found in the Marais. This is one of my favorite squares in Paris. It was built in the early 1600's as a country retreat for Henry IV and his courtiers. Victor Hugo also lived here.



You can tour his apartment for free, so I took a spin through. He had a lovely view of Place des Vosges!



After taking a spin through Victor Hugo's pad, I continued onto rue des Rosiers.

This is the main street of the Jewish quarter. It's lined with kosher restaurants and lots of falafel shops. L'as du Fallafel is one of the most popular - there were probably about 40 people waiting in line! I had one on my last trip and they are definitely worth the wait in line (and it's only 5 euro, which isn't bad for a meal).

Towards the end of my walk, I ended up outside of this mansion.


Apparently it was built for Princess de Soubise, one of Louis XIV's mistresses... Quite the friends with benefits arrangement... The King built it for her but then he eventually ditched her because, according to the guidebook, she 'lost a tooth'. Hmm, odd explanation... Regardless, she benefited quite nicely from that relationship...

After that walk, I refueled with some coffee, rested my feet for a bit, and then headed to mass at the Notre Dame. I walked along the Seine - which is incredibly picturesque!


The Notre Dame is about a 15 minute walk from my apartment.



Mass was really neat. No, I did not understand any of the sermon (obviously, I speak very, very, very limited French), but one nice thing about being Catholic is that the mass is the same no matter where you are. So while I didn't understand the words, I was able to follow along and speak the parts of the mass in English. Plus, they had the mass reading in English in the bulletin. Notre Dame Cathedral is so stunning - I knew my pictures of the interior wouldn't do it justice so I didn't even try. You just have to see it for yourself!

After mass, I walked back down rue de Rivoli and looked for a place to have dinner. A friend had told me I had to try Pot au Feu , so I walked along until I saw a menu that had it.

The Pot au Feu was good - it's beef with root vegetables (the beef is at the bottom of the dish), so sort of like a fancier pot roast?

The bone in it brought back memories of my bone marrow experience, though! Eeks! So I did not eat that part of the dish.

Funny story of the post... When I sat down, the waiter asked if I wanted an apertif. I only caught the word 'house' in his next sentence (I understand very little French), so I assumed he was asking if I wanted a house wine, so I said yes and that I'd like red.... Um, this is what he brought...



Yes kids, that's a glow stick in that drink. Interesting choice for a drink stirrer, huh? Again it was another exercise in flexibility. While it wasn't what I was expecting, it was good - it was sort of a cross between a mojito and sangria...

That was actually my first alcoholic beverage in France. I feel like it's a sin to not have wine with every meal but truth be told, my stomach has not been feeling so hot on this trip, so wine has not been appealing.

Lesson learned, next time, point to a red wine on the menu.

There you have it - another wordy post! I saw so much today - and all on foot! I love how there is so much to see/do within walking distance of my apartment. My feet are tired so tomorrow will be a quieter day for me. I'll start with a run along the Seine and then we'll see where the day takes me!

Au revoir for now!

Morning of Day 2: Bastille Food Market

Good afternoon, everyone! I have had another full, fabulous day and the day is not over yet. In an effort to avoid a ridiculously long post, I will break today up into 2 parts!

This morning I headed over to the Bastille food market. I had read about this ahead of time on the tripadvisor.com forum - it was recommended by many as their favorite market in Paris. It definitely lived up to its reputation.

This market is maybe 1/2 a mile from my apartment, so it was very easy to get to. As you approach the Bastille area, this large statue greets you.



It was errected in 1833 as a memorial to those killed in the street battles during the July Revolution of 1830. The tour guide touched on this revolution yesterday, but I can't remember what they were revolting against. The French sure like to revolt - the tour guide said it is obviously still a part of their culture. I say obviously because there were riots last summer or fall when the government changed the retirement age by a year or something like that!

I'm starting to get a little wordy so I will let the pictures do the talking!

I was most impressed/intrigued by all the seafood you could buy at the market! It reminded me of the market in Seattle!







They had quite a few take-away options that were pretty inexpensive in my opinion. I ended up buying some paella and a sausage + fingerling potatoes. I had some of the paella for lunch - I maybe ate 1/2 of it and was full, so it was quite a generous portion for only 5.50 Euro. So for 10 Euro, I got 2 generous take-away portions that will make great lunches this week!




Of course, there was cheese!


I purchased a nice chamembert. I think it was maybe 2 Euro for a pretty generous portion. I had forgotten how cheap cheese and wine are in Paris! I brought some GF crackers with me so will enjoy the cheese this week as a snack.

To accompany the cheese and crackers, I also bought some olives. I had the hardest time choosing which ones to buy, though! I ended up going with some mixed olives.


Of course, there was also fresh produce...



And fresh flowers...



And fresh bread.



Oh my. Being gluten free, I nearly shed a tear when I walked by the bread stands. The baguettes were less than a Euro! What a steal!

Here is what I ended up toting away. Luckily I had planned ahead and brought a reusable Lunds shopping bags!

I always get a little flustered when paying for things as I am always nervous that I won't understand the numbers they are saying... So I didn't really pay attention to how much everything cost in total as I was focused on finding the right coins to give them! But I am going to guesstimate that all of this cost about 20-25 Euro? Not bad for 2 take away items, 3 oranges, 3 avocados, a hunk of chamembert, mixed olives, hummus, and 2 bags of mixed greens!

When I set out, I thought I'd buy a roasted chicken but they were more expensive than the roasted chickens that the local butcher shop sells so I will get one there later this week.

Here's the fun story of the day: Before hitting the market, I stopped by a local cafe for a cafe creme. When I tried to pay, the guy (who was quite handsome) put his hand on his heart, pushed my money back towards me, and said, 'non'. A free coffee! Score Lisa. Frenchman can be so charming. ;) I left him a little tip to thank him for his generosity. When I left he said, "Thanks, darling." Be still my heart.

Why can't American men be charming like this?

Well, this was still a long post- and that was just my morning. I'll be back later with pictures from my walk around the Marais this afternoon.

Time to go put up my feet for awhile before I head to mass at Notre Dame!