Today was our last day in Paris. We have visited many great things over the last 7 days, so today we exchanged our site seeing shoes for our shopping shoes. The streets and stores were packed with holiday shoppers. It was fun to walk along the streets and feel the buzz of the holiday season. The window displays at the two major department stores Printemps and Galleries Lafayette were amazing. Thankfully we were able to do a little bit of damage on the old Visa. We had more success at the one off boutiques then we did at the major department stores.
Lunch during our shopping fest. Fin ordered his 6th steak & frites of the trip.
Happy owners of new coats.
For last night we decided to go on one of the river cruises that travels up the Seine. This particular one starts at Pont Neuf and goes up to the Eiffel Tower, then turns around and goes around Ile de la Cite before heading back to Pont Neuf. Tonight was by far the coldest night we have had on our trip, but for some reason the kids and I thought we could tough it out and sit on the open deck. We made it as far as the the turn around at the Eiffel Tower then sprinted downstairs to the warmth.
Pont Alexandre III and the Eiffel Tower.
One last stop at the bonbon vendor at Place des Abbesses (by our apartment).
At lunch I asked everyone for their top three memories of the trip.
Bronwyn
1. The trip up the Eiffel Tower.
2. The two museums, D'Orsay and Rodin.
3. All of the Buskers. There were several musicians on the trains, plus Bubble Man and Soccer juggling man.
Fintan
1. Steak & Frites - Especially Sunday nights at "Le Relais de Venise".
2. The walks down the Champs-Elysees.
3. All of the Buskers. There were several musicians on the trains, plus Bubble Man and Soccer juggling man.
Stacey
1. The Vivaldi and Bach performance at Sainte-Chapelle.
2. The view from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.
3. The Pantheon, in particular the pendulum.
Ian
1. The Vivaldi and Bach performance at Sainte-Chapelle.
2. The Gargoyles and view from the top of the towers at Notre-Dame.
3. The view from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.
The week is over and we are homeward bound tomorrow morning. When I look back at the week we had, it really was a wonderful time of year to come to Paris. We rarely waited in a line, the locals were super friendly and the holiday spirit was alive and well. When we booked the trip we expected that the weather would be iffy, but we were ok with that. It actually ended up being a lot colder here then we expected, but in some ways it made the trip better. Seeing those massive slow flakes coming down on Friday and how excited it made people on the streets was a pretty cool thing for all of us to witness.
This was the first time that we have opted for an apartment instead of staying at a hotel, and I actually really liked it. Having the apartment in the heart of Montmartre really gave us a sense of belonging and it was really easy to get into a daily routine (thus the daily trips to Coquelicot for our pastries and baguettes).
November in Paris? Absolutely.
