Day 2 continued........
I forgot to mention that while we walked in the Bastille area, we came upon the largest market in Paris....on Sunday. A huge farm market with every kind of food one could imagine and of course it was very crowded. Of course I got lots of pictures of the colorful fruit and veggies and meats.
Now to Day 3.
It was really a true walking day yesterday. We started by walking to the tourist office to pick up our museum passes which gets us in the museums at a discount and without any ques. Of course it was quite out of the way for us in the northside of the city.
Then we all wanted to ride the Paris' version the ferris wheel which had always been down by the Louvre. So off we went downtown to the Lourve and of course when we arrived the wheel was no where in sight. We were told that it was taken away for the winter. But the Louvre was absolutely gorgeous. The sun shown on the pyramid and surroundings and the area was very crowded with tourists. As we had only a 2 day pass and once started it had to be used, we decided to take some pictures and wait until another day to do all the museums at once. So we were off to the Latin Quarter which is on the left bank. Oh, at the Lourve we got our first view of the grand lady....the Eifel Tower. No matter how many times one sees it, seeing it live is such a thrill. Even though we were still quite a ways away from it.
The Latin Quarter is really 2 separate areas. This is an area where all the big time high end shops are located and window shopping is a thrill, but also once off the main streets, there are gorgeous narrow streets and walkways with quaint shops and cafes all around. Here we stopped for lunch at a true French restaurant. Of course it was packed with workers and busy and loud. Their menu was varied and the choices were again quite French-like. No burgers here. I had the traditional jambon and fromage bagette and one friend had a beef baguette. While our other friend and Diana had gorgeous huge salads. And for dessert, again wonderful French desserts.
More walking along these wonderful quaint streets and window shopping stopping at the most unique stores to browse and even buy a couple of things. Finally working our way back to the Notre Dame and back home to rest and have some cheese and wine. After a couple hours of rest we were off again for dinner nearby (could not walk much after this day). WE chose a place called "Spice" which was absolutely wonderful. I could not pass up some escargot which was done in a great garlic sauce and D and I had a very unique curry ravioli. The unique side is that each ravioli was no more than a centimeter in size....really cool. Back home just in time to see the horrible news about DC Navy Yard and the good news about the Italian cruise ship. Bed felt really good this time. Funny though on the way home on our street which is a very narrow one lane street there was a huge party on one building with lots of people and music....really quite cool. We wished we were invited!!!
Some insight on Paris.
It is an absolutely gorgeous city. Very very clean with no high rise buildings. Seems there are apartments in every building and each one are the same size and very similar architecture. There are large streets and some that a car cannot fit in. The "rent a bike" system is really popular here and there are these stands and bikes everywhere. Similarly, there were very few people with their own bikes. The rent bikes are uniquely designed and stand out easily. Also, there are many 3 wheeled motor bikes here. Motor bikes that have 2 wheels in the front for a more stable ride. And also a large number of motor bikes with roofs....yes, a roll bar style that went over the top of the rider. Good for rain and safety.
Speaking of rain, there was a lot off and on all day but not enough to drive us inside. It would rain for 5 minutes and then sun, then rain then sun....very strange but not bad with our umbrellas. Also, Paris is an umbrella city.....That is simply all you see, no ponchos or coats...everyone just pops the umbrella and are all pros at walking the sidwalks with them.
Well, better go now....we off mainly to shop and see more of the city.
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