Day 8 - Au Revoir Paris!

Day 8 - Au Revoir Paris

Ahhhhh...Paris...our time together was far too short, sadly.  Enough to get a taste of the city, and just enough to leave me wanting a taste more.  It's what always happens....just as we figure out the city, we have to leave but that was the whole point of this tour was to get a taste of each place.

Today was another action packed day, but we were out on our own which was great.  We love the combo of organized excursions and stuff on our own, so the perfect balance.  The first thing we did today was to head out to St Chapelle...Hubs and I are getting used to how to get around on the Metro, so we've been bombing around the past few days.  When we got there, there was a bit of a lineup but it moved fairly quickly.  When you first enter St Chapelle, there is the Lower Sanctuary which is already beautiful but when you to to top level with all the stained glass...well it took my breath away.  All the panes tell the story of the Old Testament and where are hundreds of metres of glass.  People sat and "read" the glass as each panel told a separate story and there was a guide that people were using that gave you an idea of what it was trying to get at.  Truly beautiful.

After we left St Chapelle, we took a quick look through the Latin Quarter which was OK, and reminded of Women's Street in Hong Kong.  Lots of food places and knickknacks, we went through quickly and grabbed lunch at a little place that looked interesting.  I've been wanting to try beef tartare and try it I did...finely ground raw beef with raw egg, capers and other mystery ingredients, it was served with perfectly cooked fries and a salad.  It was kind of funny because when I first ordered, the waitress said to me in broken English "you know it's not cooked?!" And I said yep...all good with it.  Hubs had fish which was pretty good but of course couldn't hold a candle to last night.  So how was the tartare?  Pretty good, kind of pickly tasting but I couldn't finish it as it was a big serving.  Hubs hesitantly tried it but he thought it was tasty.

After lunch, we went to the Museum d'orsay....what a place.  While the Louvre was incredible for all the masterpieces and the sheer size, it was a zoo with throngs of bodies everywhere.  D'orsay was much more civilized and afterwards I didn't feel like I'd been through the ringer.  We especially enjoyed the Impesssionists...I've never been a fan of "real" paintings so loved seeing the differing styles of such artists as Cezanne, Sisley, Renoir, Van Gugh and Monet, our personal favourite.  Incredible.

We headed home to freshen up and then headed to our last venue, the Marmottan Monet Museum.  Far outside of the downtown Paris zone, it was set in a much quieter area of Paris and was by far my favourite.  Dedicated mostly to Monet, it was quiet and I was able to take the time to sit in front of his work and just appreciate his work.    What a difference from the Louvre!

Hungry after a full day of art, we came back to our hotel from the metro and came across a charcuterie store and a bakery.  We needed cash so we did that first and then sadly by the time we got back, the charcuterie store was closed.  SOB.  We ran back to the bakery and ordered some baguettes, a pain du chocolat, a salad and some quiche and headed back to our room for a picnic.  We had some wine and cheese we bought the night before so broke that out and munched away happily in our room.

Tomorrow...early morning train to Nice.  Trip is about halfway done!