Our travelogue continues…
Day 3 began with breakfast at Cafe de Flore, a short walk from our hotel, where we sat outside and had the most expensive cafe creme, pain du chocolat, and croissants ever, but where we also felt very, very French. Cafe de Flore is famous for its long history, especially as it was the home away from home for Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre in the 1930-1940s. With such a famous cafe culture, you wouldn’t expect the food to be good, but breakfast was delicious, albeit not very nutritious (Bread and chocolate as sustenance first thing in the morning? Perhaps for the soul….)
Then, we headed for the oasis of Paris: the Rodin Museum.
This museum was probably our favorite spot in Paris. Housed in a mansion where Rodin once lived and worked, it has a beautiful garden filled with Rodin’s sculptures, including “The Thinker” above.
The weather was gorgeous, so we wandered about, exploring.
This picture of the walkway and trees is one of my favorite from our trip….it’s so romantic, isn’t it?
Speaking of romance…Rodin’s sculptures were stunning, and many were very sexy, too.
Ooo la la…..
Then, we said merci for the wonderful visit to Rodin and headed to Sainte Chapelle….
Built in the 1200s to house a relic of Christ’s Crown of Thorns, the chapel is the place
we had the longest wait in Paris: it took more than 30 minutes to get inside
(though I have heard it can sometimes take even longer).
The delay was largely caused by security checks,
a result of the recent safety concerns for much of Europe, no doubt.
The chapel is surrounded by these amazing stained glass windows,
each of which features different stories of the Bible.
Even the floor was impressive!
The husband, inside the chapel….
I loved these arches.
The facade outside had these beautiful decorative plates.
And, les gargouilles! This caused my most serious flashback to Madame Kayne’s french class in high school. Specifically, I recalled the time Brian Kaplan and I prepared a report on les gargouilles. I don’t recall how we did on the report, but if I remember it all these years later, it must have been bon!
Our next stop was one of my favorites: the awe-inspiring Notre Dame.
Gorgeous……
….Ah…..
Work on the cathedral began in 1163!
Every angle had something interesting to look at.
To balance out the rich history of Notre Dame, we headed over the Centre Pompidou,
Paris’ modern art museum.
The museum has a terrific view–that’s Sacre Coeur in the back–
and provided a terrific contrast to all of the older “must see” places in Paris. We really enjoyed it.
and provided a terrific contrast to all of the older “must see” places in Paris. We really enjoyed it.
We snapped pictures of some of the paintings that caught our eye.
We meandered a bit after Pompidou, and ended up a cafe, where we relaxed, and enjoyed the view.
These cafe moments were our favorites.
The best part, of course, was just being together.
Our walk continued down the Rue St. Honore, which is filled with very chic stores.
I convinced the husband to go into Hermes. We didn’t get anything, but I am hoping he’s keeping it in mind for Christmas. We ended at the Place de la Concorde.
I convinced the husband to go into Hermes. We didn’t get anything, but I am hoping he’s keeping it in mind for Christmas. We ended at the Place de la Concorde.
We returned to our hotel to refresh and regroup. And, for those of us who are addicted to our iPhones, we even checked e-mail, and thanks to Skype, called home (we love Skype!). We headed out to dinner at Les Editeurs, which was literally around the corner from our lovely hotel, and had a swanky and fun dinner. From the red leather booths to the delicious wine, dinner was a delight. Then, we met a friend of mine from college who recently moved to Paris for drinks at Mondrian.
But before we say au revior to this post, let’s enjoy the sunset over the Seine….
Just makes you feel better, doesn’t it?
Paris, Part 3, coming soon…..
