APRIL IN PARIS

Arrived in Paris Tues evening around 5:00. Met Ladee and Phyllis and Chuck at Cafe Etienne Marcel for a few verres du vin. Brought my back pack to the apartment and then Phyllis, Chuck and I went to "TB's" (le tir-bouchon 22 rue Tiquetonne 75002 Paris) for dinner. Superb!!! Got back to the apartment around 10:30 and collapsed into bed. Wednesday was a leisurely day. Took the metro to the Arc de Triomphe and walked down the Champs-Elysees. We had a wonderful meal at Cafe George V. I had the Beef Bourguignon. After lunch we continued our walk. We parted ways near the Place de Concord. Ladee and Tina went to the Eiffle Tower and I went to the Opera. After the Opera I walked back to the apartment for an hour to recharge and then grabbed a cafe creme at Cafe Etienne Marcel and people watched and relaxed for an hour or so. After that I walked aroud Les Halles, did some grocery shopping and returned to the apartment. Wonderful day but I was tres fatigue. Unfortunately my camera battery was dead, dead,dead.. For pictures go to www.ladeetravels.blogspot.com section Paris Arc dr Triomphe, Champs-Elysees. If I get a chance I will go back to the opera and take more pictures.

Tues Versailles in Winter

Today was a very relaxing day. I slept in to almost 10:00. Had coffee and headed out to Versailles. Stopped by the boulangerie and picked up a chocolate croissant and caught the train to Versailles. We had a dusting of snow in Paris so we were expecting a little more when we got out of the city. We weren't disappointed. We walked around the gardens to take photos of them in winter and then headed back to Paris. We had an uneventful lunch at some Italian restaurant.

The street on the way to the Palace.

View from the front.

I don't look too cold do I?

Garden View

Another Garden View.


Dinner tonight was a bottle of wine, 4 different cheeses some oranges and an avacado.

Fun day!!!!!

Monday in Paris

First thing this morning was shopping for necessities. Coffee, paper towels, hand soap, creme fraiche and kleenex. I reached for my wallet and realized I didn't have it. Luckly I had some euros in my pocket. I got back to the apartment, made the coffee and then looked for my wallet. It was no where to be found. No wallet, no passport. I was all set to call the American Embassy when I thought about going downstairs to the cafe where we had dinner the night before. Thank God for the honest French. My wallet and passport were there. The few euros I had in the wallet were gone but all the American money I had was still there. We headed in the direction of the Louve and walked down rue Trivoli looking in all the souvenir shops.
We walked around neighborhoods where we hadn't been before. Stopped for lunch and hot chocolate at Angelina's on rue Trivoli. Bought gourmet chocolate at Pierre Hermes, walked by upscale shops on Place Vendome, Dior, Rolex etc. Nice afternoon with no rain.

Palace of Justice

Display on the Louvre

Part of the Enchanted Forest Display on

Place Vendome.

View of the Opera House from the middle of the street

Dodging cars in the process.

Christmas display in a mini mall

Ended the day with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants le tir-bouchon. Prix fix menu 30 euros plus wine. Got back to the apartment at 10:00. Very nice day.

Paris

Sunday morning we flew from Rome to Zurich on Swiss Air. had an layover of 1 hour and 10 minutes and took Swiss air again from Zurich to Paris arriving in Paris around 2:00. We had to check luggage. I was very impressed with Swiss Air. I had lots of leg room and their service was very good. By the time we claimed our luggage and found our train it was 4:00 when we got to the apartment. We settled in and decided to have dinner downstairs at Etienne Marcel cafe. I had a chicken club and Ladee had a hamburger. Both meals were good. We were tired and crashed early.

Day Seven: Last Day in Rome.

Today was a very relaxing and easy going day. We walked through the Piazzas and shopped for souvenirs. We were resting up for our Rome by the Glass tour from 6 to 9 tonight. We had lunch in a fabulous trattoria off the square from The Pantheon. We timed it just right because there soon was a line out the door waiting for a table. We were the only people speaking English. It was definitely a favorite luncheon place for the locals. Absolutely great food. Stopped in three different churches around the Pantheon and saw works by Michangelo and Carrivaggio.


The view down the street from our apartment balcony

The view up the street toward the Vatican which is just across the

bridge.

St Ignatius of Loyola Church

Another protest of some sort going on.

Sara eating gelato.

Got back to the apartment around 4:30, rested and prepared for our Rome by the glass tour. We met our guide at 6:00. We visited two wine Bars. One where we sampled two white wines and the second where we tasted two reds and a dessert wine. He was very knowledgeable about Italian wines and he also gave us quite the insight into Italian living. In both places the wines were paired with an assortment of meats and cheeses. Our guide was so full of information and talkative and we were all having such a good time the the tour ended at 9:47 instead of 9:00. Also there wasn't a drop of wine wasted in the 5 bottles we had. Lots of fun.

The car picked us up the next morning at 7:00 and took us to the airport. Kalen and Sara flew back to the states and Ladee and I went on to Paris. We had a glorious week in Rome and look forward to going back. Believe me, I threw my coins in the fountain!!!!

Day Six continued

Piazza Navona

Sara at the Pantheon

Kalen and I having coffee/expresso at Caffe Tazza D'Oro
.

Caffe Tazza D'Oro

Store where I bought my Cashmere Coat.

During our treks across Rome during the week I kept seeing these cashmere coats on sale for a decent price. I went on line to check prices in the US and was suprised to find these lower. Besides, I was monitoring the weather in France and just knew I was going to freeze to death in Paris with what I had with me. I bought a 3/4 length cashmere coat. It's nice looking and warm.

You can see it in the picture. After I bought the coat we continued on to the Trevi Fountain, got some gelato bought some souvenirs and started back to the apartment. It was a leisurely walk. We rested for awhile and then headed out for our last dinner in Rome. We ate at Ristorante Pizzeria 'da Francesco . Excellent last meal in the Eternal City.

Looking forward to our Rome by the Glass Tour tomorrow night.

Day Six Leisurely Day Walking around and Shopping

Friday was a day to relax and take it easy. We spent a leisure morning having expresso and Panettone. I have become quite the barristta when it comes to making expresso. We headed out around 11:30 and went to Mimi and Coco's for lunch.

I had spaghetti carbonara. Excellent!!!

Guess who?

Street shots of where we walked

Streets of Rome

Interesting building.

After lunch we continued our walk through the Piazza Navona on the way to the Pantheon.

Stopped in a little wine shop and had a liqueur tasting. After that we continued on to the Pantheon. By this time we were ready for some coffee.