Paris

This is our final destination before travelling back to Canada. It is hard to believe that "My French Adventures" are coming to an end, at least for now. Although I will miss this beautiful country, especially the wonderful people I have met, I have to admit I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and reconnecting with friends and family.

Paris is a vibrant and magical city filled with so many things to see and do. This time we are staying in a boutique hotel in one of the suburbs south of the heart of the main attractions, but there is still plenty of action in the streets. We have been fortunate enough to visit Paris a couple of times before so we decided to take in some of the places we have not yet seen. Luxembourg Gardens was first on our list. The gardens boast 25 hectares of green, statues, large basins of water, flowers and orchards of apple and pear trees.

At the north end of the gardens, there is the Luxembourg Palace which is the seat of the French Senate. 

Once again, I was struck by the number of people who come to sit and just be. Chairs were set up around the water features and the garden beds so that people can take advantage of the peace and tranquility. It was a lovely spot to spend a few hours walking along the paths admiring the flowers and the trees. We even took time to sit and people watch for awhile. 

From the gardens, we headed towards the Le Marais district. En route we passed by some of the major sites like the river Seine and several of the bridges...

Notre Dame.....

The Hotel de Ville...

 and the Tour St-Jacques.

After lunch, we made our way to the Centre Pompidou Beaubourg which houses the Museum of Modern Art. It took us several hours to to take in the multiple galleries.

From the top of the building, there were some amazing views of the Eiffel Tower...

.... and Montmartre with the Sacré Cœur.

In the Centre itself, there was an interesting photography exhibit by Henri Cartier-Bresson as well as a display of modern art. 

Although I like contemporary art, particularly naïve art, I must admit that some of the modern pieces left me cold. I much preferred the art in the Musée D'Orsay or the Musée du Louvre which we had visited on previous trips. 

By this time, it was Happy Hour so we found a lovely spot off the beaten path to enjoy a cold beverage. On the way back to our hotel, we passed by the Louvre.

Keith had read about a restaurant with rave reviews from the New York Times that was just around the corner from our hotel. Reservations were highly recommended, but we thought we would just walk over and see what are chances were. Lucky us! Even though the place was small and packed, they were able to find one spare table for two. Dinner was superb and included a glass of champagne to celebrate my birthday.

On our last day, we noodled around the neighbourhood, did a little shopping including the purchase of a smart scarf for Keith (all the men here wear scarves) and packed up seven months worth of clothes, books, wine and assorted items. Tomorrow we leave early in the morning. Au revoir Paris! Au revoir France! Merci pour une bonne aventure!