My faithful chauffeur taking me to the airport. ❤️❤️Grateful for his support of my adventure!

Managed to get everything packed in under 12 kg (including personal item). Limit is 10 kg so I am hoping for a lenient desk agent.

My room at Residence Henri IV in the Latin Quarter

Yeah! I have a little balcony. 🤗🤗🤗

Small but serviceable elevator

First of many selfies. At Notre Dame.

Notre Dame

Snack before dinner

Treated myself to a little bouquet of flowers.

Les Pipos pate.

Les Pipos boeuf fondant avec pommes

At Notre Dame

Made a stop at the Vivienne Galerie which is one of the very old coveted passageways with shops and restaurants (second arrondissement). Unfortunately they were restoring it so it wasn’t as charming as it could have been. Even so the mosaic floor was beautiful and loved seeing yet another bookstore.

I was early for my ticket at the Atelier des Lumieres Van Gogh exhibit so I made a 10 minute walking detour to Père Lachaise cemetary (20th arrondissement). \240Immense cemetery of over 110 acres and containing over a million dead people. I didn’t have the energy to go searching for graves of any famous people, but just rested on a bench.

The Van Gogh exhibit was breathtaking. A huge warehouse-like building with \240Van Hogh’s paintings projected on the walls and floors to immerse you in his world. The art was dynamic and dazzling. It was accompanied by an eclectic soundtrack with classical, jazz and rock sounds that reverberated inside me. \240I seriously got chills and was enthralled.

Part 2 of Day 2:

Loved my return visit to the Musée D’Orsay and am now fascinated with Van Gogh. Learned that it is not as much fun to go by yourself. Not being able to share my thoughts and feelings felt a bit stifling.

Love the sculptures too!

Found a new (to me) Impressionist that I enjoy.

Went back to see this Van Gogh twice. ❤️❤️

Stumbled upon (through Yelp) a super fun place for dinner, Le Porte Pot. .Sat at the bar and had salad with Camembert and pork and bread, along with a yummy Bordeaux.

The bar area.

And there was music! I think everyone in the restaurant knew someone in the band. Not the best singing - but it was very festive and mostly in English.

While it was a fun evening I enjoyed everything, there was really something lacking being able to share the experiences with someone I love (yep, that’s you John Hanley!).

Today was culture day and first stop was the Cluny Museuem where I enjoyed the medieval art and tapestries. The amazing preservation of these immense tapestries is astounding. I also was inteigued by the symbolism of the 6 tapestries each representing one of the senses - the debate is what sense does the 6th tapestry represent. I think it shows that love utilizes all of our senses.

Next stop was Notre Dame. I feel like this is the heart of Paris. It might have something to do with it being very close to the initial founding and center of the city. It is also just as iconic to me as tne Eiffel Tower. So imposingly beautiful.

However I was not a fan of the prayer alcoves that you were requested \240to pay 5 or 10 Euros to go into to light thick candles to pray. 10 Euros got you a larger candle that would burn longer, which I guess equates with higher likelihood of answered prayer. There were of course regular alcoves along the church that you could just slip a coin into a slot and light a votive candle. Might not have as good of a chance to see results from that .... The God I believe in doesn’t reward prayers that way.

Next was Deportation Martyrs Mémorial. It was a moving tribute to the over 700,000 French people that were deported from France to the Nazi death camps during the occupation in World War 2. It was brief and gave a high level over view. It was great to see a bunch of high schoolers there on a field trip.

Saint Chapelle is a chapel made almost entirely of stained glass.. As I sat and rested my feet and looked around, \240I could see different panels illuminated by the sun. At each time of day the sun decides which story it is going to tell with its light.

On to the Metro like a hamster in one of those tunnels.... down stairs, across. Down more stairs, over. Follow the number of your line until you eventually get on the train. Zoom under ground \240and when you reach your destination, you rise and enter a new world with no sense of where you actually are. I love the feeling when you come out of the Metro for the first time and a whole new scenario unfolds in front of you. Today it was the amazing L’Eglise de la Madeline.

I had a lovely lunch at a cafe facing the church and realized by the clientele and the people watching that I was now in the high brow district of the 8th arrondisement. After lunch I headed to my destination - Le Village Royal, or the umbrella street. It was charming and silly and overcome with people taking photos.

I got distracted by the idea that I am in Paris and I should find some cute item of apparel to bring home. So I went back to the overwhelming department store Galeries Lafayette. Why? First, plus size clothing starts at size 10 here (😡😱) so my choices are limited and I thought I would have better luck. Nope. Just got overwhelmed with the crowds and didn’t find anything I would even want to buy. Second, I got caught up in what I thought should happen or what I wanted to happen and let it distract me from what was really best. Wasted 2 hours, but learned from it.

After resting the tired feet and dozing off I walked back up to Rue Mouffetard for dinner. While it wasn’t the best meal, the environment was full of energy, lively and boisterous full of tourists and locals (LOTS of students hanging out drinking and talking and flirting with each other). It was a warm night and I sat outside without my coat (right by the entrance again - I guess that is where they put solo diners). And I even got up the guts to strike up a conversation with the couple who sat next to me. They were from Austria but were speaking English so I saw an opportunity. My starvation for conversation finally pulled me out of my introverted, self-conscious comfort zone and we had a nice chat.

After about 2.5 hours we arrived at the first castle in Amboise, which is where Leonardo da Vinci is buried. It used to be an immense castle but at some point it became too costly and they destroyed about 80% of it.

Black parts are existing castle and red areas what was destroyed.

I was in the “pink” sub group of English speakers. It was nice we broke into smaller groups and the guide was very knowledgeable and interesting.

Where DaVinci is buried. Learned a bunch of other French history. Main dude at this castle was Francis I.

People back in the day were really short, so this bed is oddly small.

Bridge was destroyed in WW2 in preparation for D-Day and rebuilt in a different place.

We had lunch as part of the package tour and I got to know some of my fellow tour mates. I really enjoyed conversing in English and met really interesting people. Even sat near two women from San Jose! Enjoyed the conversation and wine, food was so-so. Goose liver pate and cassoulet.

After a short bus ride we arrived at Chateau Chenenceau, the chateau of 6 women. There were 6 pivotal women that either built or saved the castle throughout its history. Catherine di Medici is the one who invented the concept of a hallway when designing the layout (random trivia fact). The other really interesting fact is that during WW2, the River Cler, which the castle spans, was the dividing line between the occupied and free zone. So part of the castle was free and some under German control. The woman who was in charge of the castle then was part of the Resistance and smuggled Jews into the free zone. Loved feeding my fascination with WW2 history.

Entrance to chateau.

Spanning across the River Cler. The first “floor” is the kitchen area and the second the main hall and the third the bedro

One of the only original doors on a chateau.

This is the hall that spans the river. They used to play tennis here.

There are beautiful fresh flowers throughout the chateau that are refreshed weekly. The flowers u see this sign are always the colors of the French flag.

The kitchen area was decorated as it may have been in Medieval times - although much romanticized! It was very clean and I doubt they had fresh plants and flowers everywhere.

The oven.

Bread maker.

The butcherie.

First stop was the Place des Vosges, a charming park surrounded by even more charming buildings. There were children playing futbol, an older man doing tai chi, personal training sessions kicking and squatting and jumping, art students sketching, walking tour groups, and families out walking.

Chai latte and morning pastry to start the day and wait til shops opened.

Charming shops.

Purchased a classic pair of ballet flats here that I will need to wear for 20 years to justify the price. The sales clerk walked me out of the store and gallantly handed me my bag at the door and wished me au revoir. Very classy.

The name of the street is Rue des Francs Boergeois. I felt very bougey today so I found the name quite comcical.

I met this pleadant homeless man and his two VERY friendly chiens , Louie and Mama. i gave them a bit to help - and enjoyed meeting them even though he spoke no English.

This area is known to be LGBTQ friendly and some crosswalks show that.

Enjoyed a relaxing lunch of bread, cheese and Sancerre wine at a cafe at bustling crossroads n the middle of the Marais.

Stopped at the famous Berthillon ice cream place on the way back to the hotel. I guess I am just not an ice cream conosseiur, but I wasn’t that impressed. I did like the gentleman that got his ice cream and read his book standing up by the bridge.

Afternoon relaxing at the hotel .... because you just can’t drink wine all the time.

Macaron taste contest between Pierre Hermé and Laduree. Despite the fact that the 7 macarons from Pierre Hermé cost as much as most of my dinners have here, I prefer Laduree!

Part 2 of my day was a late afternoon visit to Sacre Coeur Basilica in Montmartre.

I am a bit glowing after walking up and and up to get from the Metro to the church.

Beautiful view of all of Paris. I am amazed at the immense size of this city.

I found this statue particularly ominous.

They were having Sunday evening mass while I was there.

The guys selling Heineken from their 20 packs cracked me up. All of them only sold Heineken.. It was definitely a party on the steps of the basilica!

I sat on the steps and enjoyed the view (without a Heineken despite repeated offers). I have found that I need to consciously make myself stop and absorb my surroundings otherwise I tend to just check it off as complete \240and move on to the next thing. On this trip I have found this to be my tendency even more as there is no one to talk to or share the experience with. I want to value being still and present and thoughtful, so I intentionally sat on the steps of the Sacre Coeur for awhile and just soaked it all in - until the lady next to me lit up a cigarette. My cue to move on!

On my way to see the iconic Eiffel Tower I planned to make a quick stop to pick up some Longchamp bags to bring home for a friend since they are such a good deal here (and great travel bags by the way). As I was hoping to avoid the chaos of Galeries Lafayette, I navigated on the Metro to the Champs Elysees. After asking a security guard if the Longchamp store was open after the riots of 2 weeks previous, I walked up the boulevard a bit only to discover it was still under repair and closed. Definitely saw the evidence of the weekly protests in shattered windows and other stores boarded up. However Iwas surprised to see Five Guys is branching out internationally.

Longchamp store boarded up.

I guess American burgers are chic.

Not to be deterred I looked up the nearest Longchamp store and headed down to the Metro and through the hamster maze again. \240Guess where the Metro dropped me out? Galeries Lafayette. 🤣🤣. I accepted the inevitable and dove \240into the fray to purchase the bags.

Another Metro ride and walk to see the Eiffel Tower. I had been up inside on my previous trip so I did not desire wait in line to go up again. For some reason most of the lawn area at Champs du Mars (park area in front of the Tower) was fenced off so there was only one side that was open for lounging and picnicking. It was a beautiful day so people were spread out on the grass and benched enjoying the warmth of the sun and view of the Tower. After my shopping detour, it was late in the day, I was hungry and thirsty and my feet were exhausted. I sat down at the first outdoor cafe I found and ordered champagne and French fries. I got a bit of sticker shock when I received the bill as the champagne was $20 euros and they added at 15% tip, which is unusual in France. Tired feet can lead to bad decisions .... but it was lovely champagne and I had a nice rest.

After resting back at the hotel, I had a bit of a goose chase to find a dinner place. Walk along the Seine to first choice only to be told they would not have any outdoor tables ALL night (not really sure that was accurate and think I was being discriminated against as a solo traveler or American or just one that didn’t make a reservation). Walk another 20 minutes to second choice and review the menu to find nothing appetizing (frogs legs, more beef). My error for not reviewing the menu prior to walking there. Walk back towards hotel and think I’ll grab a sandwich at a boluangerie. Nope .... all closed. Ended up at a cafe on the busy street around the corner from my hotel and had wonderful chicken and potatoes with a pleasant waiter. Nice end to a hectic day.

Next morning I said au revoir to Paris and embarked on the long journey home. A bientot!

My hotel Residence Henri IV.

Hotel is in the back right corner of photo.