Mona Lisa

Day 4. Our last full day together. We were awake and out the door by 0800 just as the days before. We were seeing many more people out on the streets than we had in previous days and realized, oh ya, It's a Monday morning. Paris has to go to work. For our entire walk we were amazed by the amount of commuters on bicycles. They far out numbered the cars and it was like nothing I had ever seen. 

It was almost a 4km walk to Le Louvre and we snuck up on it from behind.

 Before we even set eyes on the infamous triangle entrance, we were standing in a massive courtyard. It was beautiful, each wing with an arched entrance and stone carvings framing every window. Our tickets were for 0900.

 We arrived to a monster line up which was shockingly for people with tickets. The line moved quickly into the triangle entrance and after the usual checks, we grabbed a museum map and made our way to the stairs. We did what probably everyone does on arrival and made a beeline to see Mona Lisa. The museum as a whole was not busy and that made me very happy. But still there were enough people to have a numpty or two to ruin a perfectly great photo opportunity. The Mona Lisa is encased in glass and dwarfed by the massive blue wall that it is mounted on. A queue leads to the painting to fairly provide each person a moment for a centered photo, a selfie or time to gaze upon that well known subtle grin. 

We had our moment. The exhibit had multiple security guards and its own gift shop. We continued to enjoy the Italian paintings mostly of religious figures or bloodshed. Until we were ravaged with hungry. Surprisingly the café was affordable and the patio outside overlooked the museum entrance. We had the usual fare, coffee and a croissant well I just had coffee...a big one. There we sat, surrounded by statues and pigeons on a cool sunny morning.

We mustered up the strength to continue to explore the many remaining exhibitions. My favourite was the Roman statues and not just because they are mostly naked men.

 Let's face it, never has there been a Roman statue with much to "offer" however despite not having eyes, many are quite expressive. We also saw the Greeks and the tapestries and Napoleon's wife's diamonds. It is truly stunning. Another favourite of mine are the ceilings and it amazed how many people didn't know to look up. 

Definitely worth the visit.

After about 3 to 4 hours of the Museum we hit the streets and found, of course, a patio for lunch. Riley had steak and I had an interesting but delicious salad. Honestly it's been tough for me to eat in Paris. I was 'glutened' on our first day and despite all the research on gluten free options I did prior to my arrival, I have struggled to find safe food. For the rest of you, Paris it is a culinary delight and a foodies dream. But here in Paris, the words 'gluten free' appear to offend the Restauraunt Owners. 

We grabbed our stored luggage and took a taxi to our new neighbourhood. The new hotel is fancy schmancy and a nice treat for our last night. The hand soap and body lotion here is scented with fig and fennel and bergamot and it is delightful. I smell French hahaha.

Riley's legs are pooched. She 

Has sore knees and feet. She opted to relax in our new room while I explored the new area. I walked up a steep cobblestone lane and then about 500 steps to see the Sacre de Coeur. 

A Cathedral perched high above the city. One of only 5 churches in the world that has never closed its doors. The views from the arches at the entrance were spectacular.

 I even went to the crypts below. I was alone and it was dark and all around me was the faint, haunting sound of chanting monks. It was surreal. 

There were images of Jesus crucified illuminated in the darkness and the walk through had messages in French, telling stories likely of Christ and his followers. I couldn't read any of it but when I reached the end an English voice was whispering for me to follow. 

I'm not going to lie, it was strangely calming and also kind of creepy.

I walked through the cobblestone streets surrounding the Cathedral, spotting first the Irish pub..

Not sure why but Irish Pubs jump out at me no matter what country I am in. If you can see past the tourist shops and tourists you would see another little courtyard. Old trees created a canopy as did the many umbrellas protecting the many patio tables and chairs. The canopy came in handy as the rain began to fall. 

It was then that I noticed the majority of people sitting in this courtyard were painters and artists. And with the rain they scurried to collect their collections causing some mild frenzy among them. I did see many artists under umbrellas carry on sketching their subjects in the rain.

 I tried to capture the moment but I too was getting soaked. It was a moment I will remember. I located the 5 billion stairs to take me down to the street my hotel was on and quickly but carefully conquered them all. I had been exploring for about an hour while the princess rested in her Palace... that was the deal and I'm a woman of my word.

I was happily welcomed with sleepy eyes and I decided that I too need a rest. A short power nap was all I would get as I was woken by the crunch of a teenager and a bag of crispers.

It was well past dinner time and I some how convinced Miss Sore Foot to go for a little walk up a little hill. I probably left out the part of the 5 billion stars hahaha.

We stopped first at an Italian place, a patio on a street corner with a red canopy and twinkling lights. I asked the Owner if they offered anything gluten free. The owners are almost always standing in the entrance luring in their next customers. Right off the hop, he frowned and sternly said Non! In his stuffy French accent. Riley and I smirked a little because he seemed so shocked that I would even say the G word. I asked,  "don't you have maybe a steak and a salad?" He said again "Non!" Then he went on in a huff saying it was an "Italian Restaurant!!" So I laughed and said, "Oui, je comprende ( I understand) but don't Italians eat steak or salad???"

I think Riley laughed out loud impressed by my gumption. We crossed the street to an even prettier FRENCH patio, with candlelight and a sidewalk table for two. We order wine and a Malibu/Mango cocktail and giggled away while discreetly flipping off the crusty old Italian. It was very satisfying.

Riley ordered a ham and cheese melt and I ordered a Chefs Salad after thoroughly explaining that I was Celiac and must eat "sans gluten".

They brought out our food and mine had two gourmet cheese blocks decorating my salad, but sitting on top of two pieces of.... CRUSTY BREAD. I was mortified that I had to return it. It was karma I think for flipping off the Italian hahaha. They were also quite embarrassed at the ooops and brought me a different salad. A Parisienne. It should have been my first pick in all honesty. We closed the fabulous night with our second crême brulée of the day and wobbled home to bed. Exhausted again but tonight I sleep like Royalty in my phouffy French, fancy schmancy, fig and fennel scented bed.

Bon nuit xx

Sent from my Galaxy

Liberté

Day 3. We started out early today. I had pre-purchased tickets for the Catacombs of Paris at 0945. This was strangely one of the things I most wanted to see here in Paris. It was a 50 minute walk but we left enough time to stop for coffee and to take a million pictures.

 The air was cool and damp near the river and paris was asleep. Everybody else was sleeping in after a Saturday night in the city. We walked past Notre Dame which can not be seen sadly as it was covered in scaffolding and being repaired after the fire 3 years ago.

We found a bakery for coffee to go and a chocolate croissant for Riley. I had already eaten a banana from a local fruit stand (without any issues haha). We hustled into the Latin quarter and made it there just in time.

It was a very busy intersection with a somewhat obscure entrance. We went through the normal checks; ticket, Covid vaccine certificate and security. We entered the building and immediately started down a never-ending spiral staircase.

 So far down we were actually feeling dizzy from the constant spiral. 

We walked, in total, almost a kilometer before we reached the bones. The tunnels were just wide enough to closely walk side by side and the ceilings low enough that I actually felt tall (haha I'm only 5'3). The gravel floors smelled of fresh, damp earth. The ceiling and the floors were wet and the temperature was quite cool.

We reached the tunnels with carefully stacked femurs and skulls and respectfully walked silently to the end. It was mostly interesting, obviously quite morbid and I wasn't sure exactly how I felt about it when we left. A strange experience on a Sunday morning.

We left to have yet another coffee and walked onward only to stumble across the Jardins of Luxembourg.

 It was an enormous Palace surrounded in bright summer flowers and a large pond where locals were relaxing and sailing their toy boats. 

It was a beautiful place to rest but stormy skies were closing in so we kept heading in the direction of home. Leaving the park put us at a very busy intersection again. In Paris, most major intersections have multiple street corners with several streets extending out from a roundabout, like a star. The amount of bicycles on the streets and vespas and motorized scooters is unreal! All roads have in addition a 2-direction bike lanes and they dominate the roadways. The pedestrian lights are very small, hard to see and most pedestrians cross when they want to anyway. I certainly would never drive in Paris...not by choice anyway.

Riley and I waited to cross and beside us was an elderly lady, grey haired, hunched to one side, using a cane and straining to see ahead of her. The light turned green and we walked but she stayed behind, squinting, hesitating and yet it appeared she wanted to cross. I kept looking back at her worried because the lights change so quickly and she did not look very fast. Riley looked back and said, "I'm going to help her" and turned back. I stood in the road preventing cars from driving and looked back to watch my daughter bring this frail woman across the road. She clutched Riley's arm and they walked slowly together while the chaos of the city surrounded them. I don't think I have ever been more proud of her.

The old woman spoke both French and English and asked Riley what language she spoke. She then told Riley that she was kind and sweet and expressed her gratitude. We all walked away from that moment with warm hearts and big smiles. 

We soon after reached the Pantheon. Riley's little feet were aching and we were definitely hungry but it was must see.

 After standing in awe of the grandeur and magnificence of the Pantheon for a short while we found ourselves wandering the pedestrian only cobblestone streets in the Latin Quarter. There were many restaurants and shops and it was very quaint with a Bohemian vibe. I loved it. We stopped and had crepes.

 Riley's was a sweet one with Nutella and mine was a savoury Galette (like a crepe but made with Buckwheat flour and naturally gluten free) and it was stuffed with egg and gruyere cheese, ham and sautéed mushrooms. It was so incredibly delicious.. probably my favourite so far. I also had a coffee and was brought a box of sugar (which by the way, the brand name here is... Daddy hahaha)

We eventually made it back to our hotel for a short afternoon rest but it was too early to call it a day. So instead we headed in a new direction and found ourselves at yet another patio having wine and people watching.

We saw a little bit of everything. Men in skirts, loads of braless women, the homeless, the beggars, lots of attractive people and everybody has their own style here. The French love their freedom and it shows in their attitude and their style. I have great respect and admiration. Might go braless tomorrow hahaha.

We walked far to try a gluten free restaurant but when we were about to order the waiter said, ya sorry, that's a mistake. So we left and found a patio near our hotel and ended up with Chicken and Mashed Potates. It was very good. Riley looked beautiful in her new Parisienne dress and we had a lovely date. 

We shared plenty of giggles before heading in for the night. Exhausted.

Bon nuit x