The last day

We spent the last day of our trip walking all over Paris, from Le Louvre to Ile St Louis, to La Bastille ... all under a bright, cloudless blue sky, the same that greeted us 14 days ago.

click to enlarge

Our final meal was with the family at Mama Shelter. Located away from the common area, near the Pere Lachaise Cemetery, the Philippe Stark designed restaurant was a fun and funky place for our more than four hour long final 'au revoir' with the family...

The good news is that we're going back in June!!

A cheese shop on Ile St Louis, Paris!! (click to enlarge / double click to taste)

jetlagged in Paris

We landed in Paris with quite an amazing surprise -- not a cloud in the sky and weather that allowed us to comfortably be in T-shirts for most of the day. WOW.
First stop, lunch at a typical Parisian cafe where we sat outside on the terrace. After a quick bite in the sun, we decided to play 'tourists' and go wait 45 minutes in line to make it to the top of the Eiffel Tower. With this type of weather, clear sky with an endless horizon, it was well worth every minute of the wait. The view was breathtaking and, if it hadn't been for our lack of sleep, we probably would have stayed up there for hours.

"The Eiffel Tower" - click to enlarge

Next up, we headed back to our hotel in St Germain, Hotel St Paul (near le marrais), to get ready for our first French dinner which was at Paris' oldest restaurant, Le Procope (est. 1686). The meal was fantastic - especially our dessert, Grand Marnier flambeed crepes! (weight gain: +5lbs)

Our second day ended up being even more beautiful than the first. After a night of much needed sleep, we were fresh and ready to go explore the depths beneath Paris: The Catacombs. (At the end of the 18th century, it was decided that the bones of the inhabitants of all the cemeteries in Paris were to be exhumed and redeposited into the underground quarries below the city streets, due to the fear of rampant infections and disease...very creepy and fascinating!) So we headed out of our hotel, walked through the Luxembourg Gardens (!!), and hopped onto the metro for a short ride south-west. After descending 170 steps below the street and navigating our way through a veritable labyrinth of cramped and dark corridors....we saw dead people: millions of them! (more info here)

"The Paris Catacombes" - click to enlarge

The site of all these bones got us a bit hungry, so we decided to head towards the Latin Quarter for a nice lunch outside in the sun. With wine, of course!
The afternoon ended with a 'must do' visit of Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle. The latter proved to be mind blowingly beautiful as the clear skies allowed for the sun to directly illuminate through the 1100+ stained glass panes, which recount the Bible's version of the history of humanity.

"Sainte Chappelle"- click to enlarge

Tomorrow, we make our way up to Normandy. (projected weight gain: +10lbs)