Paris Part Deux

Lucky me! At the end of March I was able to swing a second trip to Paris in six months. My mom was vacationing in Paris for a week with my Aunt Judy and then separately, my friend Sarah was coming to Paris for a vacation. Tobi generously agreed to work from home so I could take the TGV to Paris for three nights.

I arrived in Paris on Friday afternoon and took a taxi to the apartment in the Latin Quarter, where my mom was staying. I’d briefly walked through the Latin Quarter on my trip in September, when I did my self-guided Hemingway tour. Coincidently, the apartment my mom was renting was directly across the street from Hemingway’s first apartment.

On Friday evening, my mother and aunt and I went to the Palace Garnier to see a ballet performance. The Garnier is the old opera house in Paris. It was beautiful on the inside, with gilt and marble everywhere. There was even a hall fashioned after the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.

Marc Chagall painted the ceiling in 1964.

His dreamlike painting depicts scenes from operas by 14 composers.

Versailles was the destination on Saturday. We took a train from the city out to the historic chateau. It is amazingly beautiful with gorgeous gardens and ballrooms and courtyards. But one can understand why the opulence did not sit well with the revolutionaries.

On Sunday morning, I left the boisterous Latin Quarter for the more sedate St. Germaine area to meet my friend Sarah. Sarah and her husband were celebrating their ten year wedding anniversary with a trip to Paris, and Sarah was lovely enough to come one day earlier than her husband so we could hang out together for a day. She was also a jet-setting rock star, as she got off the plane from St. Louis at 9:30 in the morning and didn’t take a nap the entire day!

After we got settled in her rented apartment in the cutest neighbhorhood, we set out for lunch at an outdoor cafe. After lunch we decided to walk down to the Musee d’Orsay to view the impressionists. I haven’t been to many museums in Paris, but I highly recommend the Orsay. The museum itself is gorgeous, housed in a train station built in 1898. The museum is not overly huge and can be done easily in an afternoon. The Renoir, Degas, Cezanne, and Monet paintings were exquisite to see up close. I would also recommend the audio tour, as I think you get so much more out of a museum with the additional information.

Sarah and I enjoying the scenery (and ice cream) of the Ile St. Louis

From the Orsay, we walked back up to the Ile St. Louis and stood in line for the famous Berthillon ice cream. If you go to Paris in the summer, it’s a must (and yes, it was only March, but we were blessed with exceptionally warm weather). The best flavor is the salted buttered caramel, in my opinion. We walked around the island with our ice cream, crossed over to the Ile de la Cite to view Notre Dame, and eventually made our way back to Sarah’s apartment. We had a lovely dinner at a little brasserie by her place and after a Nutella crepe for dessert, Sarah finally crashed!

On Monday morning Sarah’s husband arrived, but he decided a nap was his best bet, so Sarah and I walked through the Tuileries to the Musee d’Orangerie, a museum that houses some of Monet’s larger water lily paintings. Another beautiful museum that was actually quite small. I actually prefer the smaller museums – they don’t seem too daunting. Monet’s water lilly paintings take your breath away when you see them. Architecture buffs would love the rooms built specifically to showcase his larger works.

After a quick lunch with Sarah and her husband, I was off to the train station to head back to Zurich. I am blessed to live so close to a place my friends all want to visit. If you’re ever heading to Paris, let me know! Perhaps I could meet you there. ;)

Cheers!

Tiffany

Next up: England