Today was the last full day of the trip. We got a slow start, discovered our brasserie for breakfast was not open on Sunday, and ate at a cute boulangerie instead. Then we headed to Musee D'Orsay, which I had not yet seen on previous visits.
There was a line when we got there around 10 am, but it was only about 30 minutes and soon we were inside. Musee D'Orsay is in an old train station and it is a gorgeous building. Even without the amazing collection of art, it would be worth seeing. But the art is well worth a visit - many Van Goghs, Manets and Monets that are recognizable to even a casual student of art. And one Matisse, which made me super happy. :-)
After the museum we headed to a market in the Marais. The Metro there was a little tricky and I got us of course a little, but eventually we found it and it was very cute. We perused the stalls of fresh produce, meats, and cheeses - we each bought a cheese - and I managed to not buy more wine. Barely. We looked at the restaurant that had been recommended to us but weren't hungry enough for the full brunch on offer.
Instead, we decided to get a crepe at the bread stand and it was a hilarious 20 minutes waiting in line and watching the guy make crepes. Each crepe was a piece of art for him - sprinkling on greens, slicing cheese onto it, laying ham artfully. He cut himself and simply stuck a paper towel under his rubber glove on to the cut. As he finished one crepe, he murmured "yum yum yum." Unable to resist the ham, he popped a piece in to his mouth as he made another crepe. He looked sad when we only wanted Nutella crepes, and took a drink from his glass of red wine. Too hilarious! The crepes were absolutely delicious.
We then headed to a brasserie to have food (and wine) now that we'd had dessert. I got onion soup, which was okay, and Charlotte got snails. I was fascinated to see there is special equipment for eating snails!
Afterwards we decided to wander. Although I'd been told shops would be open in the area, there weren't many open stores. Finally we came upon a purse outlet and - voila! - our shopping dry spell ended - we each walked out with a new purse.
At this point it was time for Charlotte to wrap up her weekend. We headed to the hotel for a beer and her packing, then she was off home.
On my own again, I wandered the Latin Quarter for a while, taking in the sights. After I got tired of walking I hopped on the Metro and headed to Ile St Louis, which I had never been to before. I wandered there a bit and checked out the restaurants, finally settling on a little place that had cassoulet on offer - that sounded like a great meal to end my trip on.And it was delicious, full of beans and all kinds of good meats.
The calories from the cassoulet and wine convinced me to walk across the river and around the neighborhood for a bit before hopping on the RER back to the hotel. So now it's my turn to wrap up the trip, eating my cheese for dessert (damn it is GOOD, I had to make myself stop... although I have to finish it before I get on the plane...) and packing. I'm hoping to get up early for a last little walk before heading to the airport tomorrow.
There was a line when we got there around 10 am, but it was only about 30 minutes and soon we were inside. Musee D'Orsay is in an old train station and it is a gorgeous building. Even without the amazing collection of art, it would be worth seeing. But the art is well worth a visit - many Van Goghs, Manets and Monets that are recognizable to even a casual student of art. And one Matisse, which made me super happy. :-)
After the museum we headed to a market in the Marais. The Metro there was a little tricky and I got us of course a little, but eventually we found it and it was very cute. We perused the stalls of fresh produce, meats, and cheeses - we each bought a cheese - and I managed to not buy more wine. Barely. We looked at the restaurant that had been recommended to us but weren't hungry enough for the full brunch on offer.
Instead, we decided to get a crepe at the bread stand and it was a hilarious 20 minutes waiting in line and watching the guy make crepes. Each crepe was a piece of art for him - sprinkling on greens, slicing cheese onto it, laying ham artfully. He cut himself and simply stuck a paper towel under his rubber glove on to the cut. As he finished one crepe, he murmured "yum yum yum." Unable to resist the ham, he popped a piece in to his mouth as he made another crepe. He looked sad when we only wanted Nutella crepes, and took a drink from his glass of red wine. Too hilarious! The crepes were absolutely delicious.
We then headed to a brasserie to have food (and wine) now that we'd had dessert. I got onion soup, which was okay, and Charlotte got snails. I was fascinated to see there is special equipment for eating snails!
Afterwards we decided to wander. Although I'd been told shops would be open in the area, there weren't many open stores. Finally we came upon a purse outlet and - voila! - our shopping dry spell ended - we each walked out with a new purse.
At this point it was time for Charlotte to wrap up her weekend. We headed to the hotel for a beer and her packing, then she was off home.
On my own again, I wandered the Latin Quarter for a while, taking in the sights. After I got tired of walking I hopped on the Metro and headed to Ile St Louis, which I had never been to before. I wandered there a bit and checked out the restaurants, finally settling on a little place that had cassoulet on offer - that sounded like a great meal to end my trip on.And it was delicious, full of beans and all kinds of good meats.
The calories from the cassoulet and wine convinced me to walk across the river and around the neighborhood for a bit before hopping on the RER back to the hotel. So now it's my turn to wrap up the trip, eating my cheese for dessert (damn it is GOOD, I had to make myself stop... although I have to finish it before I get on the plane...) and packing. I'm hoping to get up early for a last little walk before heading to the airport tomorrow.
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