Heading To Paris

Although our original plans were to spend another night in Brittany we cut our last destination short by one day to meet up with our friends, Steve and Laurie Fuller, in Paris. They were just starting their trip and had a free day before the start of their organized tours. Fortuitous timing.

We don't see them very often so in addition to sharing a Parisian experience with them it is always nice to catch up, wherever we are. Steve and I have been friends since 1954 (65 years ago) and lived around the block from each other. We attended the same elementary, Junior high school, High school, and college together. We have maintained our friendship over the years by attending each other's special occasions. They live only about ten minutes from Deena's house on Long Island so getting together is even easier. 

We left our last destination in darkness anticipating a 4 hour drive to the Paris airport. 

Sunrise was astounding.

After stopping at the Paris airport hotel to drop off our baggage we headed to the rental car drop off location. 

The Peugeot Rifter served us well. More than enough room for all our stuff, comfortable, drove well, but just a bit big for the narrow French roads.  

We caught a train from the airport to Gare de Nord station in Paris where our first Starbucks awaited us upon exiting. Too late in the day for caffeine so we just walked on by.  

After settling into our hotel room we needed some exercise so a walk through the streets of Paris was in order. Although some modern monstrosities have crept in here and there the older buildings are the most appealing.

Printemps - an iconic department store and Paris landmark since 1865. 

We walked by but did not go in, although we have visited on a prior trip to Paris. 

The area surrounding our hotel is named after the famous opera house featured in the musical about the Phantom. 

The exterior is impressive but the interior more so. One of the foremost attractions is the domed ceiling painted by Marc Chagall. We have the lithograph which depicts scenes from famous operas. 

Now under renovation, this was the first stop on our dessert challenge on a previous trip. We set out to forego dinner and attempt to have a dessert in ten different restaurants. One rule was you had to finish the entire serving. After the third stop we gave up worrying we would die of "sugar" overload. 

Dinner at a classic French restaurant. A relative newcomer opening in 1854. 

A toast to an evening out in Paris. 

We omitted the food photos but the Fullers had escargot and we had traditional French onion soup. 

Lovely meal.