WELCOME TO MY TRAVEL BLOG

I have always enjoyed traveling, even if it meant sleeping in a tent when I was younger. I prefer hotels and cruise cabins now, but the motivation is the same...an adventure waiting to happen. Sometimes you will find me traveling with my husband and/or family. Sometimes I will travel alone, and sometimes I will travel with friends. I hope you find it entertaining to keep up to date with me as I explore the world around me. Warning...I like to take pictures of food so don't read if you're hungry. More adventures await...see ya soon...Amy.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Paris: Our Last Full Day

This morning, our last full day, we woke up to clouds and drizzle, but thankfully that didn't last all day. We slept a little later today and ate breakfast again here at the hotel. We took the Metro to the Louvre but it wasn't on our lists of "must sees" to go inside.

The Palais Royal Metro entrance...aka Kiosk of the Night Walkers





Gypsies hawking their wares











We did do a little shopping at the "mall" underneath the Louvre which kept us out of the rain for awhile.

We left the Louvre and took the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe.






We were able to walk from the Champs-Elysees underneath the road and come up under the Arc de Triomphe.









It is a memorial to those who fought in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I is also memorialized there.




Maddie took the opportunity to have me take her picture in the middle of traffic! I'm pretty sure we won't be doing that again. It scared me half to death!



We walked down the Champs-Elysees a short distance and we stopped at the Nespresso store for me to grab some capsules as they are less expensive here.  We then went back to the hotel to drop off our purchases and have some lunch.

we have throughly enjoyed the random pop up entertainment in the metro stations
We ate at the Bar du Marche which is close to the hotel on Rue de Buci.





It was a good lunch, but the waves of cigarette smoke drifting in the door were almost overpowering. In the old days, sitting outside a cafe and watching the world go by was a typical Parisian/touristy thing to do. Today, it's the smoking section and if you are unlucky enough to be located by a window or the door inside, you become an extended part of the smoking section which is not pleasant at all! After lunch we boarded the Metro again to go out to a part of the city that I have never been to and probably will never go again.... Belleville. We had decided to go to the Parc de Belleville which rivals Montmartre for the highest point of the city.
















I knew there was an overlook there that was supposed to be really pretty. Here is where things got a little squirrely. My friend, Sara Beth, talks about her "city radar" and mine was certainly up and attentive on this little jaunt. I was very uncomfortable with the number of young men just standing and congregating and looking our way. I'm sure it was just out of curiosity but the fact that we couldn't understand the language made me very wary. We were never approached so maybe there was no reason to feel uneasy, but we decided not to tarry at the beautiful vantage point and to hurry ourselves back down to the metro station.





Maddie likes graffiti art and I had read of a street in Bellville that is covered in it. We found the street, Rue Denoyez, and it was indeed covered with graffiti along the entire length of the street.








It was awesome! We spent a lot of time wandering up and down the street because every time we stopped we saw something new!




















We arrived back at our hotel in time to rest a little before dinner. Dinner was at Au 35, a tiny little restaurant just steps away from our hotel on Rue Jacob. We went there at the recommendation of our hotel and our meal was yummy.








Maddie tried Salmon for the first time and said it was good! Our waiter was especially nice and funny. He seemed to delight in helping us and loved it that I knew that circuma was tumeric so he could tell another couple that spoke English. Our waiter didn't know the translation for the word! We laughed because we had a secret. That couple should have had the menu translate book that I was referencing to find out those hard food words! An early dinner meant plenty of time to pack our suitcases for tomorrow. We will receive a taxi at 12:30 at the hotel so there is still plenty of time to wander the neighborhoods before we go. This has been a wonderful trip and one that I hope that Maddie will remember for a very long time because I certainly will.