Ah, Paris in Springtime! Take 1

 Hi Everyone - 

We had a fabulous trip to France...well, the traveling part itself was rough, but actually being there was amazing. Glenn did such a great job planning this trip. I kept a diary of sorts while we were away so I wouldn't have to write everything when I got back (and try to remember what happened when.) I decided I would break this into 4 posts to match each location we stayed in - Paris 1, Avignon, Cannes, and Paris 2. 

So, let's get to it! 

Friday, June 2/Saturday June 3rd

Flew from Tampa to JFK, which was a dump and a nightmare. No signage to get to our terminal. Turned out we had to take a shuttle bus to get there, and then go back through security again! (Murder) Even worse, they said they did not have TSA pre-check at that terminal, so we had to wait in a big line like a bunch of animals. Fortunately, they did let us keep on our shoes.

We boarded the flight to Paris around 8:45, and then literally sat on the tarmac for THREE HOURS before we could take off (my worst nightmare).  Finally got in the air around midnight, and I think I may have slept from 2am – 5 am. We landed obviously very late and had arranged for a car to pick us up, so we had to coordinate with the car company to have them come back and get us later. We had a very nice driver, Richard, who came and found us when we were hopelessly lost in the airport, and drove us to our hotel, Le Pradey.  

This hotel is in an excellent location, near the Louvre and the Jardin des Tuileries, which is lovely and full of fountains and flowers and monuments. Our hotel room is very tiny but has three sets of French doors/windows that open and let in a nice breeze. The weather is sunny and beautiful.

Our view of the flower shop across the street from our window...

I took a nap at the hotel after we arrived, and then on the advice of the concierge, we went to a cute little café around the corner for dinner, Café Carousel, which bordered the Jardin des Tuileries. Dinner was delicious, and I had the best glass of Rose ever.

Glenn says the French Onion soup in Paris is amazing.

Here's us at the Jardin des Tuileries...

The Louvre is across the park behind Glenn.

Sunday, June 4

Slept in and then took a long walk down to the Seine, and towards the Champs Elysse. Here are some sights along the way... 

After walking for about an hour, we stopped at a little bistro for brunch/lunch called The Grande Palaise, which is also the name of our hotel room. The food was delicious. 

Anyway, we finally got onto the Champs Elysee, which they close to traffic so people can walk in the street. It is where all the ritzy shops are: Armani, Hermes, Louis Vitton, Loboutin, Gucci, etc.

 At the end of the street is the Arc de Triumph which is gigantic. 

On the way back, we stopped in the Tuileries park again, where there is an Egyptian obelisk and a plaque that marks the spot where King Louis the XVI and Marie Antoniette were executed. Fun!

We also went to Laduree, which is a shop known for having the best macarons in Paris (macrarons are naturally gluten free). We bought a dozen for like $50 which is insane, but they were amazing.

Later, we went to the base of the Eiffel Tower to take a river cruise on the Seine, which was very nice and relaxing. We had intended to go after dark, but the sun doesn’t set now until like 9:45 and the boats stop going out around 7 so, ah well. It was neat seeing how many people congregated around the banks of the Seine, just to sit out in the sun. Lovely.

This is the D'Orsay Museum from the water. 

For dinner, we went to a restaurant nearby called Tasca, and it is a dedicated gluten free restaurant. It was like a dream come true for me. I had gorgonzola gnocci which was like the best mac and cheese I’ve ever had, and Glenn and I split a molten chocolate lava cake for dessert. AMAZING! Even nicer, we sat next to two sisters from Canada, probably in their 20s, who we talked to throughout the meal. The girls were going to ride their bikes in the French Alps and were super nice and friendly. We felt like we had made friends in the short time we were together.

Monday, June 5th

Today had a rough start. I awoke (Glenn was already up) to the fire alarm going off in the hotel, something that has never happened to me, but happens to Glenn so frequently that I am beginning to wonder if he is an arsonist. So I threw a sweatshirt on over my PJs and put on shoes and we ran out to the street. Apparently, someone’s steamer set off the alarm. Then, our intent was to go to breakfast at a place called NOGLU, which is a gluten free bakery. We got hopelessly lost, despite our use of Google maps, and ended up walking around in circles for like an hour and a half in the heat until we found the place. (Delicious chocolate croissants, but, not sure it was worth the pain.)

Then we headed to the Luxenbourg Gardens, which were gorgeous.

Tonight, we took another Uber (the Ubers here are great) to Montemartre for dinner and then to Sacre Coeur. Sacre Coeur had an amazing view of all of Paris, and a cute little village surrounding it with narrow cobblestone streets. We went into the church and I took a picture before I learned we were not allowed to (so this is contraband). 

Locks of love

After walking around a while we took another Uber back to the hotel. Did I mention that the sun doesn’t set here until around 9:45? Crazy. Also, I am now attempting to speak French pretty much everywhere…Glenn is not. 😊 

Finally, here are some other pics that Glenn took during his morning walks before I got up. 

OK. That's it for now. Stay tuned for our next post: Avignon.