Wednesday, May 18, 2011

GOOD BYE PARIS!

Wednesday May 18th
So today was our last day in Paris and we decided to spend it relaxing. We slept late, ate our breakfast and sadly packed up all our belongings.  We cleaned the apartment, got everything ready to go and then headed out for the last time into Paris.
We decided to visit three of our favorite places today – the gardens at the Rodin museum, Luxemburg gardens and the patisserie in the left bank that sells the delicious macaroon cookies that I blogged about on April 6th and which we have been back to MANY times since.
We started at the Rodin gardens. We love these gardens because they are quiet and peaceful and full of amazing sculpture and stunning roses.  The garden is one of the best deals in town as well, only 1 euro for adults and free for kids.  We can easily walk there from our apartment as it is just over a mile away, and the walk is through a charming neighborhood near Les Invalides. The back section of the sculpture garden farthest from the house/museum is open for picnicking and there are lounge chairs and even a sandbox for small children.  Many Parisians who work/live nearby buy annual passes to the gardens ad come for their lunchtime.  We settled into lounge chairs in the beautiful surroundings and read/relazed for an hour or so.
We then set out for Luxembourg gardens. Again we walked as it is only a mile from the Rodin museum. We stopped along the way at a Monop’store which is a small version of the large Monoprix store in our neighborhood where we do our grocery shopping.  Monoprix is like a small version of Target, and Monop’ is  like a large version of Wawa.  We picked up some wonderful fresh cherries and some cheese and crackers for our picnic at Luxembourg gardens.  At the gardens we found comfy chairs on the elevated region near the main house and fountain. It was a beautiful ay today, about 75 and sunny, perfect for a picnic lunch in a Paris park.
After lunch we relaxed, read and enjoyed the action around us.  It was Wednesday, which is always a half day for schools, so the park was full of people.  The fountain was on and lots of kids were sailing wooden boats across it.  A jazz ensemble played in the pavilion behind us, and for some inexplicable reason, a pair walked around on giant stilts – a man in a white suit and a lady with a pinafore and bloomers.  He was taller than she was, and while she stood at least 9 feet tall, he was closer to 11 feet!  Kids were following them and he was encouraging them to frolic around them. Paris you never know what to expect.  We passed the afternoon in this way, relaxing and enjoying life.
As the afternoon came to a close, we walked down to the patisserie and bought three macaroons each, lemon, raspberry and apricot, plus a giant meringue for Katie, and one each for Luzie and Vrenni, our young German friends.  We walked through the left bank eating our macaroons, finishing as always with the best one – apricot.
We came home and met with our landlords, Nathalie, her husband and her daughter Margot.   We checked out OK and will leave the key in the morning.
We will enjoy the rest of our time here in Europe, although it will not be as peaceful or relaxing as our time here in Paris. We will be with our friends the Schmids in Mannheim Germnay tomorrow until Tuesday morning.  Katie is going to German school one day with Luzie and we hope to go swimming with them, and do a little touring in Heidelburg.  We may to have a lot of opportunity to blog, but will do what we can.
GOOD BYE PARIS!

4 comments:

  1. I am so happy for both of you. What an amazing opportunity!

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  2. Hi Amy:

    I work with Paul and think it's awesome that you and Katie are getting the opportunity to see Paris. It's something that both of you will never forget. Now if we can only get Paul to join you more!

    Enoy!

    Ann Macchia

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  3. When I was assigned to Support Activity Darmstadt, Mom and I rented an apartment in Alsbach on the Alt Berg Strasse between Darmstadt and Heidelberg. You were born shortly after Mom returned to Charleton Heights and I went to Vietnam.

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