I’d read about a light show happening that evening at Notre Dame, so we wandered that way and found ourselves a little perch on a stretch of bridge to take in the action. This old Dame really rolled out the welcome wagon for us!
We strolled back toward the Marais once the church went dark, stopping to gaze upon the glittery Seine…
and then grabbed a gelato and wandered a bit more, warding off our jet lag with that irresistible Paris buzz.
It felt so, so, so good to be back.
We were up at a respectably early hour on Thursday, ready to tick off the sights on our clipboard of fun. The city was beckoning!
First, though, coffee and croissants.
We hopped on the Metro and headed toward Rue Monge, stopping briefly at a beautifully well-curated kids store for gifts for the littles.
We grabbed a couple of sandwiches and tarts from a sidewalk vendor and trekked toward Jardin du Luxembourg.
We walked by Eglise Saint-Etienne-du-Mont on the way and popped in. On a whim. PARIS. So much magic around every corner.
We eventually landed at Luxembourg, staked our claim at a couple of green chairs, and settled in to watch the kids with their sailboats while we happily carbo-loaded.
Fall seemed to be breathing one of its last, glorious gasps while we were there.
We wanted to catch the afternoon tour at the top of the Pantheon, so we walked back that way after lunch, again doing a quick church loop on our way. Saint-Sulpice was such a dark and lovely contrast to Saint-Etienne-du-Mont.
And then, the Pantheon. I had been inside this place several times but had never made my way to the top – bring on the stairs!
The first upstairs vantage point overlooked the patterned floor below…
And then we climbed some more, finally arriving at the outdoor balcony. Hello, Eiffel!
I love Paris from up high – the city’s rooftops are just so distinctly…Parisian.
We made our descent and then did another quick-and-lovely driveby, this time at the Bibliotheque Sainte-Genevieve across the street. Can you imagine doing your homework in here?
By this point we’d logged six or seven miles on our Nikes. I needed a cold beer.
And an espresso.
Once we’d recharged, we walked toward the Seine, stopping at Shakespeare and Co., the flower market, and Pont Notre Dame along the way.
We kicked back at the apartment for awhile before dinner, munching on the perfect little honey-laced birds’ nests we’d picked up at Maison Aleph. When La Verne asked the man at the counter what the nests were made of, he replied in all seriousness, “the hair of angels”. I don’t doubt it.
We weren’t able to snag a table at the little cafe we’d been eyeing for dinner, so instead we settled on the best fallafel ever from L’As du Fallafel. I ate a lot of these sandwiches during my year in Paris. They are just as good as I remember them.
We ate at the plaza at Hotel de Ville, harissa running down our fingers, and then wiped our hands and walked west to the Louvre. I know I use the word “magic” a lot in these Paris posts, but I mean…TA-DAAAA!
Lav and I both ranked this evening as one of the biggest highlights of our trip. We were two of only a handful of people in the courtyard that night – the quiet air and the glowing moon and the brilliant lights were all so…enchanting (thanks, thesaurus!).
We closed out our eleven-mile walking tour with a drink at a neighborhood bar, leaning into that very happy, very tired feeling that comes with a day of sightseeing and a glass of Cotes du Rhone. Bonne nuit, mes amis.
