OK, Paris. Give Us Your Best Shot!

So, Paris, you've given us fabulous food, near-perfect weather, beautiful architecture, and more photo opps than we could have hoped for. What else can you give us on our last day to make us fall in love with you?

And Paris delivered. She gave us another sunny blue-sky day and started us off with perfect croissants. Then she streamed that sunshine through the windows of Saint Chapelle, gave us a small private parade, and later forced Greg to eat his final and best caramel eclair. What a perfect way to end our stay here.

I visited Saint Chapelle many years ago, and I remember being awed by the windows along with everyone else who enters the chapel. But it was fun to see Greg's face as he saw them for the first time. We spent over an hour there taking pictures and just sitting on the edges of the room looking up. They are incredible. Greg took some really interesting photos, but here are just a few that I pulled out (unedited).

Advice for future visitors of Saint Chapelle: The doors open at 9:30 AM. We arrived at 9:15, and there were already 30 or so people in line, but it moves pretty quickly once the doors open. The first line is just to go through security, and then you will walk to the area where you buy your ticket. When you enter the building, go immediately upstairs. The downstairs is nice, but if you have arrived early to avoid the crowds, start with the second level.

We did some rambling around Notre Dame and the islands before heading across one of the bridges.

I know these locks are very controversial now, and we never would put one up and add to the problem. But they actually are kind of cool to look at.

And this was when we heard horses clomping down the street, and we looked up to see a small parade - just for us (and a few others).

And a street artist who had drawn a picture - just for us.

After lunch and Greg's final eclair, we walked through the Tuileries Garden which was full of people enjoying the sunshine and the scenery. (And what were all of them doing there on a Monday at 2:00? Don't they have to be at work?)

The Musee L'Orangerie was on my list of places to visit because during my last trip it was under renovation. Greg reluctantly came with me, and I'm glad we went even if we didn't spend much time there. It was hard to go into a museum when there were park benches right outside that begged you to sit down and relax. We've spent a lot of time on our feet, so we enjoyed ourselves for a while looking out over the Place de la Concorde.

I had read about an area in the 10th Arrondissement that has a nice canal area with some cafes and restaurants so we headed there next. There's a nice path along the canal, and lots of people were outside enjoying themselves. We just sat and people watched for a while and then headed home.

Our last dinner - last Paris dinner and last vacation dinner - was at Le Villerat just north of our apartment a few blocks. It's another small, out-of-the-way kind of place that you only hear about online or through friends. I chose it because it was close to our apartment, I could book it online through The Fork, and it had excellent reviews. It was probably our most expensive meal in Paris, and while it was very good, it couldn't compare to the first two. But we enjoyed ourselves and spent the meal reliving other meals during the past month.

An amuse bouche of mushroom soup:

Followed by white asparagus soup. It was interesting how they served it to us with the asparagus and small croutons in a bowl and then poured the hot soup on top of it.

Then Greg had a huge veal chop, and I what they called a "piece" of veal but I would call it a filet of veal. Mine also came with a creamed cauliflower that was wonderful but looks like a big yucky glob in this picture.

We skipped dessert and walked home in the rain. Total bill was about 127E and included a bottle of wine. A very nice final dinner, and I'm sure we'll be in bed before 10.  We have a long day tomorrow.

So Au Revoir, Paris. You did your job and you did it well. We love you.