Woke up to le tonnerre (thunder) in Paris. The storm lasted most of the morning, with some of the blackest skies I’ve ever seen—quite literally as dark as night (which ain’t saying all that much, since it’s been staying light until well after 10 p.m.
We hid down in the hotel’s breakfast room for a while, as it was raining too hard to even think about going outside. That experience validated our decision to eat elsewhere up until now, as the selection was unimpressive and the coffee, from a machine, really made me miss the wonderful cafes au lait I’ve had in Paris.
While we wait for the remnants of the storm to pass through, it seems like a good time to summarize our activities of the past couple days.
At Place des Vosges in the Marais neighborhood.
Friday night, after returning from Versailles, we strolled around the Marais neighborhood, which was buzzing with activity on a nice June evening. We ate a late meal at the Grizzli Cafe on our way back to the hotel, where we quickly passed out after a long afternoon and evening of walking.
On Saturday morning, we hiked down to Rue Mouffetard to check out the market scene. Then we hiked all the way back to the Seine, double-time, to meet Mike’s parents at Sennelier, an art store where Cezanne and Picasso bought their supplies. After Roz and Mike treated Maureen to an early birthday shopping spree, we took the Metro to lunch at the Guy Martin Italia restaurant in the 6th arrondissement. Finally, we trucked back up to the 1st arrondissement to check out Monet’s water lillies (inspiration for Maureen and her new art supplies?) at L’Orangerie. We haven’t had time to post our photos yet, but you can check out Roz’s here.
View from the top of the dome at Sacre Coeur.
My finger is actually sore from taking so many photos, so look for a more detailed write-up with pictures coming soon. But now, as the sun is finally breaking through the clouds, we’ve got more sightseeing to do—this is our last day in Paris. Au revoir!