Au Revoir Paris, you will be missed...

Random adorable streets -- each one better than the last -- on yesterday's stroll through Paris.
I recently fell in love with the French word flaneur -- which means one who strolls contentedly, heading nowhere in particular.
Hey, that's just the word to describe me this past month.
Chilling at a cafe yesterday, (Philip reading. Me people watching).
Opposites attract.
Spotted this woman and I loved her laid back effortless look.
This cool dude chilling.
Behind us is Cafe Philippe. :)
Came across a open air food market -- very common here. Yum.

An adorable notebook in Paris Office Depot. Omg -- even office supplies are cool here.
And then dinner at Santa Carne, another great Argentinian restaurant! To celebrate our 7 year anniversary, if you can believe it. A delicious dinner to end a perfect Parisian vacation.
I had this grilled salmon, and the sauces to dip in were amazing.
Philip had the steak. He said even better than Unico's, which means it's now the best steak he's ever had.
And this Argentinian wine -- which funny enough seemed super strong and dare we say even too bold, now that we've been only drinking French wine for an entire month. It's crazy how perspective can shift.
And now, us saying goodbye for now to our very favorite city in the world. Very sad to leave, Paris, but we promise -- A bientot.

Wine & Cheese Tasting in Paris...etc

Philip in the morning, looking at some books in a random alleyway on the way to our wine tasting -- He found the Alchemist, by Paulo Coehlo in French. :)

What a way to start the day...I wine and cheese tasting at O' Chateau. Very fun...we've always wanted to do that, and we learned a lot.
A random store front of a bookshop on the Isle of St. Louis that I love. :)
We also tried a ton of different house made sausages, and were saying that our friend Arda would have loved to be there to help us with that!
Favorite cheese ever -- Camembert, a creamy, buttery smooth, oak-y, rich cow cheese, from the north part of France. We learned that in France cheese production is regulated by region, as is all French wine -- so you can count on consistency if you find a type you like. Pretty cool!

Shot of the Arc D'Triomphe, while sightseeing the other day.
The usual suspects. :)

Drinking a coffee by the window, as I write this on a sunny 80 degree day here. We saw Mary and Ann off at Gare du Nord today, after one whirlwind week of sightseeing every nook and cranny of Paris. It was awesome, but flew by.
We had a beautiful and unforgettable week with them, with a perfect send off dinner last night--actually the best dinner of our stay yet-- in a restaurant right beyond our doorstep called Vertigo.
It's modern french food - we started with some sort of fromage frit appetizer (fried delicious cheese) with a balsalmic vinagrette sauce. My entre, a chicken dish was outrageously good and cooked to perfection, served in a spinach and gorgonzola sauce. Philip had the veal steak served with potatoes au gratin (which have been excellent at every restaurant in Paris so far). For dessert we shared some poached pear with the best chocolate ice cream and fresh whipped cream ever. (We were all tried very hard to make short work for the dishwashers, so there was nothing left on a single plate.)

Speaking of sightseeing, Saturday we hopped on the train by the Eiffel Tower,
and went to the Palais du Versailles - my fave sightseeing place so far. I thought I knew what to expect but nothing could have prepared me for the grandeur, opulence and magnitude of this palace.
It just stretches on and on, and I think most impressive are the expansive gardens.
We even we for a canoe ride on the lake in the gardens like they used to do in the olden days. It was fun, and afterward we all laid in the sun and fell asleep for a few minutes. Guess all the sightseeing left us all a bit exhausted.
A stretch of birches by the lake.

One of the many official gathering rooms.
The Hall of Mirrors.
With Louis XIV, attempting his pose. :)

Designer Stock Sales & Le Baratin

Amazing luck bargain shopping yesterday! Came upon a Chloe stock sale by accident -- how often does that happen?? Bought a gorgeous pair of nude scalloped leather peep toe heels marked down 60% -- Yay! Then we made our way to Et Vous - the French chain comparable to hybrid of Club Monaco meets a higher end Zara... there I got a perfect pair of black suede booties with ankle straps a la Isabel Marant. Then we explored Maje, a boutique chain with incredibly well executed fashion forward wares for the right price. Didn't get anything there yet, but have my eye on it. :) Needless to say it was a great day.

For dinner we ate at Le Baratin, that Fodor's describes as one of the most fashionably out-of-the-way bistros. Out of the way is right -- straight up a vertical hill or three. Regretted previously describing Paris as extremely walkable and flat while climbing up those 20th arrondissment cobblestone streets in the aforementioned black suede booties. :)

It was worth it though, for the wine (Morgon 2007) and presentation alone. :)
A bientot! x

Touristes en Paris

Yesterday, walked from the 11th arrondissment to Montmarte...a very long walk, but a gorgeous day.

Just random lovely window boxes on our walk.
yum, I was getting pretty hungry...passing by a pattisserie...

Sacre Couer and the final stretch of steps to reach it. (Paris is quite flat and it's been easy so far to walk the whole city, but WOW this place is an exception to that fact).
Our lunch once we reached the top, Montmarte. I meant to take a pic before we devoured it, but totally forgot. Moules frites and goat cheese salads with pecans... a work of perfection.an artist in the square at Montmarte. A historic neighborhood where the likes of Picasso, Renoir, Juan Gris, and tons of others lived in this very studio "Le Bateau Lavoir" which still houses artists today.

me trying out at the moulin rouge...LOL.
Dinner at Chez Omar, an Algerian restaurant. Philip's delicious filet de beouf, covered with pepper gravy. His fave meal thus far.

The Artist's Way...

Some of you may already know of or have already read this book,
"The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron.
I have actually been told about it for years -- from friends, teachers, etc. Everyone saying how much I'd love it. So while creating a Paris reading list, I finally put it on there.
Before I was through the intro I realized you were all right.
"In a sense, as we are creative beings, our lives become our work of art."
Very Cool. I totally get why you people recommended this book -- Thank you.
I suppose it's perfect reading in Paris, considering this is in my opinion THE creative epicenter. I love all Parisian creations -- their style, the mood of the city, the confidence, the apparent ease of things...not to mention the architecture, the gardens, the little charming street bistros and cafes -- it all feels right.

Me at the Jardin du Luxemborg yesterday - so incredible. I have never seen a park like this one. It's huge and immaculately manicured. It almost felt like it wasn't real. And it was filled with people on this very sunny 75 degree Sunday afternoon.
Then we passed by Notre Dame on our way home. So incredible to see in person what I read about in Art History. The detail in the gothic style was astonishing.
Philip reading our Fodor's travel book by the canal today. Another gorgeous sunny September day here.
Me by the canal today, just before I fell in. (just kidding :).
A bientot!