DH and I took a few days in Paris last week and I thought some of you might enjoy a few photos. Let me state at the outset that I LOVE PARIS. It is a wonderful city with so much beauty all around that I could spend a lot longer than I have ever been able to spend there. We had to leave the house at 5am on Monday morning to catch the early flight (I arrived back from my retreat with the quilters at 5pm the evening before) and we arrived so early that our room was not ready yet. So we left the bags at our hotel and headed out into the street to get a cup of coffee and soak up the atmosphere. 
Don't know why they always put a swizzle stick in a glass of Perrier, probably for the aesthetic effect as it is Paris. This little Café was at the back of the Musee d'Orsey and just a short hop from our hotel. After our refreshment we walked to the river and were struck by a new trend of locking padlocks to the bridges. Couples write their names on them, lock them and throw the keys into the river. This bridge was glittering in the morning sunlight. (It was so lovely to see clear blue skies for three days in a row!) 
This bridge at the back of Notre Dame was laden down with padlocks. This would never happen in Ireland - the corporation would be out with the wire cutters to remove them. This is one of the reasons I love Paris. 
That's DH watching the boats. Our main mode of transport was the Batobus. They have a hop on, hop off service and you can get a ticket for 3 days which is what we did. So you can get off at Notre Dame, Saint Germain Des Pres in the Latin Quarter, The Louvre, Champs d'Elysee, Eifel Tower etc., just wonderful. And every stop has something beautiful to look at while you stroll around soaking up the atomsphere. We walked to the Tuillieries Gardens (we had a mind to go the the Orangerie where the Monet waterlillies paintings are but the queues were too long so we decided to give it a miss until next time as we had been before anyway) and after a little sun bathing we decided to have our lunch there. The heat was becoming intense so we walked back to our hotel and checked in and rested for a bit. The bedroom wardrobe had an interesting detail carved across the top. 
Sherry if you are stuck for a quilting motif....LOL.  Then out again for the evening. We walked up to St. Sulphice and back towards our hotel and eventually found a little restaurant where we had 'Soupe a l'oinion' and a delicious herby omelette. A carafe of red wine to wash it down and we were very happy and relaxed. On the Tuesday after a very leisurely breakfast at the hotel we wandered around again. We had planned to go to the Musee d'Orsey but when we saw the queue we gave up. Here are some of the things we saw as we wandered the city. 
You have to admire a city that has the most beautiful entrances and exits to the Metro: 
Here's another quilting design for you Sherry  : 
And if you must have a grill over your windows how about this one: 
This church is called St. Etienne du Mont and it is the most beautiful little church you will ever see. It is just behind the Pantheon and it containes the shrine of St. Genevieve and the tombs of Pascal and Racine. 
We ate in the evening sitting outside looking up to the Pantheon - another lovely meal with a carafe of bordeaux - Heaven! Day three we thought we might walk to the Rodin museum and see if the queue wasn't too long. But it was so we again decided to leave it until another time. But I did take a quick snap through a window: 
Hopefully next time the queue won't be as long. We meandered through the narrow streets back towards the Musee d'Orsey and on the way passed a shop with three little sewing machines in the window: 
The heat ws becoming very intense by the afternoon so we decided to brave the queue for the Musee d'Orsey. Some were seeking shade wherever they could: 
The clock in the museum - goes back to it's days as a train station - what a beauty! 
And a view of the Louvre from the roof: 
I can't show any photos from inside the museum as they don't allow photography. I was particularly interested in seeing the Impressionists. Just fantastic. This is how relaxed and happy we look after three days without teenage demands and life's daily grind. And we arrived home tired but happy. 
Hope you enjoyed a taste of Paris. Rita. | 
