Paris Girl's Weekend, Part 2

Whew, we had a great time in Paris, but we're glad to be back home in London now. We wore ourselves out. Mostly we're tired from all the walking, but all that eye candy that is everything Paris just wears a girl out! Saturday and Sunday included going to Pierre Herme for sweet treats, checking out some modern art at the Pompidou, sitting in cafes, sipping wine, walking up St. Germain, all around the nooks and crannys of the 5th arrondissement, walking through the Marais, all along the Seine, walking around Ile Saint-Louis (the little island between the right and left banks of Paris), admiring Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe. Like I said, whew! We need a vacation from our vacation, but we don't have time for that. We're back on the London sightseeing trail until Saturday, when Caroline flies home. Go check out her blog to see pictures of Pairs from her perspective (some of our pictures are pretty much the same!).

Outside the Pompidou, Scandinavian design exhibit, and the view outside the Pompidou, with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Wine and cafe umbrellas. 

Great pastry shop, Stohrer.

Luxembourg Palace (forgot to mention we went to Luxembourg Gardens too).

The stairway in our apartment building. 

Cute heart-shaped sugar cubes in our apartment. 

Ile Saint-Louis walk.

Notre Dame. 

Louvre and Eiffel Tower view. 

Arc de Triomphe. 

Cafe break. 

I'll always have an Eiffel Tower view beside my bed. Goodbye, Paris! Hope to see you again sooner than later. 

I used my iPhone for all of these pictures, with the camerabag app. Same with my previous post. Love camerabag!

Paris Girl's Weekend

This weekend I'm in Paris with Caroline for her birthday! Paris was her city pick for a weekend getaway while she's in London, so here we are!  Yesterday we went to Rose Bakery (a place she's been wanting to visit since she got their cookbook). It was delicious! I had a leek and mushroom tart with a few salads (pictured below).

Then we strolled around the Marias, an area of charming narrow streets, great shops, and cafes. We worked up an appetite so we stopped for a sweet treat at a cafe along the Place des Vosges. I had a tarte tatin with creme fraiche and a coffee. (Marias walk pictures below.)

Later, for dinner, we went to Le Fumior. They have a library room in the back, which was perfect for Caroline because she's getting her master's in library science. The room was so cozy and dinner was great! More from Paris coming soon.

We'll Always Have Paris

We're back home in London now but had a great, long weekend trip in Paris. Since we've been a few times before, and had already done a lot of the touristy things, we mostly strolled around the city and peeked into shops and took many breaks for tasty treats. Here are a few more pictures from our Paris weekend. We still don't have internet access at our place, so like our trip I've had to keep this post short but sweet. Hopefully I'll be back to writing longer posts later this week.

Greetings From Paris!

Yesterday we had our first day out in Paris. We walked and walked until we got rained and hailed on and raced home. The day started great, then a quick storm, then the sun and blue sky again. It was a beautiful day. We walked all along the Champs Elysees, went to the Arc de Triomphe, and walked along the Seine. After our morning out, we came back to the hotel for a bit so Lois could take a nap, but then we went back out later and watched the sunset over the Eiffel Tower. A great start to a Paris weekend. Here are a few pictures from our day.

Doors of Paris

Paris has no shortage of eye candy. Everywhere you turn, there's something aesthetically pleasing. It's one of the few places I've been that exceeded my expectations. Not every place is for everyone. Paris just happens to be a place for me. It just speaks to me and reminds me of so many things I like. Like the door pull above--the door is chippy and old, with patina. It looks warm and worn, just how I like so many things. To me it's almost as if Paris is a caricature of itself--everything is accentuated and exaggerated. Everywhere I went, I thought, "oh that's so French!" From the guy on the train playing the accordion, to the cute carousels playing French music, to the lines of people at pastry shops getting their daily croissant or baguette, to the romantic (and attractive) French couples gazing into each other's eyes, to the very smartly dressed older ladies with their shopping bags, to the chippy and worn art and architecture everywhere--all of these things make Paris what it is. The doors in Paris are just one of the many beautiful things that stand out. Most of the architecture is a stone gray color, so the doors really pop against the buildings. Here are just a few of the beautiful doors I noticed on our block and on a few surrounding streets. There were so many beautiful doors!













"L"--that would be my door.