Some of my favorites from the camera roll <3

As I thought about how to tell you some more about our time in Paris, I debated going through the itinerary of our second day and opted to NOT try and do that. It’s exhausting for both of us.

Instead I went through the photos and tagged some of my favorites to share and will add some narrative as we go. Above was my morning coffee at that breakfast offered by our hotel. The food was amazing – fresh croissants, pain au chocolat, cheeses, meats, eggs and the best yogurt I have ever eaten in my life. Everything was amazing with two exceptions…

First of all, apparently bacon preparation across the board in France involves either boiling or steaming or something that does not produce the nice crispy effect that I love so much. And secondly, sadly, the coffee. I tried it all. Long cafe which is supposed to be an Americano. Cafe creme. Cafe au lait. It all tasted like instant coffee. I am sorry France, but tis true.

This was our view from our breakfast table. The garden at the hotel was so sweet and we took some time later in the day to sit and read in the little sanctuary it provided. For me, this was an important part of our travel to France. Yes, I wanted to see as many of the famous sites as we could manage within reason, but mostly I just wanted to absorb the atmosphere and really feel like we had been a part of a different culture.

This attitude, thankfully, was shared by my better half and our only full day in the city was spent just being us. We wandered about with some places in mind that we could walk to without further exhausting our jet lagged bodies.

As I mentioned yesterday, quite a few of the big sites were within reasonable walking distance. We explored the area across the Seine from our 7th arrondissement in the morning. We were slightly disappointed that the Grand Palais was blocked off completely as workers disassembled from the Olympic and Paralympics and yet we weren’t.

History in this area spans so many centuries. To see modern history imposed on an area that has been part of the Roman Empire and was ruled by various monarchs, dynasties, witnessed a revolution and succession of leaders following that was incredibly moving. The layers are so deep and then to think of their recent hosting of these famous games and athletes was really a treat and worth the inconvenience. When I imagined Snoop Dog standing in the same spot where the World’s Fair was held in 1900, the Nazi’s occupied during WW 2 and so many historic events have happened, it was surreal.

We enjoyed strolling around the construction and along the Seine to visit the Tuileries gardens, as I mentioned in an earlier post. This was a charming sight for me:

It was fun to watch families and couples in the park and along the streets just having an ordinary day.

We got a kick out of watching school children making their way home along the busy sidewalks with backpacks. It was like one of our grandchildren just walking down the sidewalk ahead of us all alone. Here I was worried about pickpockets and this is their neighborhood.

Puts it in perspective. We passed the school below many times as we would weave our paths around to various sites. After school pick up looked pretty much like it does everywhere as parents gathered outside with strollers and shopping bags.

One of my top pick items was to walk down the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe.

This was accomplished and we had fun walking along the shops and restaurants.

Proof established. We were there…and yes, we looked like tourists but it’s okay.

I was surprised to discover the actual shopping was more like Michigan Avenue. For some reason I had envisioned quaint little shops, but that is more the fare of the many narrow side streets. There was a huge Nike store, a Louis Vitton store that literally looks like a suitcase or one of their expensive bags and of course; Dior.

I will take a moment here to comment on another delight of just absorbing being in Paris. The fashion, unlike the coffee, DID NOT disappoint. I could have sat for hours just taking notes. Ladies, the French women have not abandoned scarves and jackets and it was so charming. I told Russ I will be embracing these once again this fall. There is just a simple, casual chic that was fun to study as we would people watch.

For men, I told Russ he should start wearing scarves and draping a sweater over his shoulders with the sleeves hanging down. We had a laugh thinking how that would translate here, but my goodness – it looks great in Paris. Rest assured, he will not be following suit with trying to bring French fashion here. That will fall mainly on me – Ha!

Back to the travel log…we did make it to the Arc de Triomphe as you can see.

This little macaron necklace was a gift from Caroline. Not sure the French would think it was tres chic….but I loved wearing it for her to see in photos!

On our way back from all of this, we passed the American Cathedral. It was open and we stepped in and were encouraged to go inside by the hostess in the lobby.

It was so beautiful, as you can see. What you cannot hear is the organist was rehearsing. We sat in one of the pews and just enjoyed the most lovely concert. They had hymnals and the Book of Common Prayer – in English of course. After a long day of walking and taking in all of Paris, it was truly a holy moment to reconnect and to experience rest for our souls.

Everything is just enhanced with beauty and charm as you walk along the streets. There is extra care taken toward an artistic bent it seemed. I will close with an example that was one of our landmark corners for finding our way to and from the hotel.

This array of flowers over the entrance was common as we walked. Often when you entered a patisserie, the ceiling was bedecked with floral arrangements. Chairs, tables, napkins – the most common and ordinary things just have a special tweak in this city.

I don’t know if we will ever go back and it’s okay. Paris was everything I hoped it would be and I am so very thankful to have been able to visit it with my best friend for life. I think this is one of my favorite photos as it sums up our time of just appreciating where we were and that we were seeing it together <3