PARIS - Exploring

Neither of us wanted to get out of bed this morning! How sad to be in Paris and hiding under the covers, dozing away the morning. This is our fourth week of traveling and burrowing in is so, so tempting. I remember that if I open my eyes and start taking in my surroundings I can better ease into wakefulness. CA goes out to get a Metro pass and I start the shower…

We head straight for St. Germain and expect to find a café for some café crème and either petit dejeuner or dejeuner. We take Concorde [it’s just two blocks further along the rue du Rivoli and a better connecting Metro station] to Sévre/Babylone and exit just in front of Bon Marche. Can’t resist wandering about, but aren’t tempted to buy. We cross the street to the wonderful food halls and have a visual feast. Since it is lunch time, many Parsiennes are purchasing foodstuffs and eating them in the “picnic” area. I still need coffee and don’t see it in evidence anywhere about, so we head outside and down the street and find a perfectly Paris café.

We have croquet madams—toasted slices of Polliane bread with jambon, melted Ementaler Swiss cheese, topped with an over-easy fried egg, and garnished with a bit of salad of bibb lettuce and tomatoes with a light vinaigrette. Yummy!

Just walking about St. Germain is soul-satisfying—so very Paris. We are about to head back to the hotel when we stumble into our favorite children’s clothing store—Du Pareil au Même. We find unique and pretty things for the new baby and for LG. We almost decide on things for KF, but our brains are boggled… JA may not get anything from DPAM because their sizing is just wrong for his age and the boy things are either way too large or just a bit too small. There are many DPAMs around Paris and we decide we will have to check out one or two more before our Christmas shopping is done.

Back in the lobby at the Renaissance, we spend a bit of time with the lovely British mother. This time she has both 15-month old Florence and 3-year old Isaac in-tow. We soon retire to our room to put our feet up before heading out again for dinner.

The plan is to visit the Christmas market at La Defense and eat some street food, but when we get there the market is closed. La Defense is still worth the trip as the lighted skyscrapers dazzle us, and the arch is breathtaking.

We take the Metro back to the Champs Elysée to find Pino Pizza, which is across from Relaise l’Entrecote. We share a pizza topped with ham, cheese, and a fried egg; and a rocket salad with Roquefort dressing, slivered Parmesan, and sun-dried tomatoes. Although it is a cold night, I can’t resist the Haagen Das store and indulge in a chocolate/hazelnut cone.

We opt for an early night--we have been on our feet and moving most of the day. We want to be out and about at breakfast time tomorrow. The weather promises to remain cold and overcast, but we will keep on the move and hardly notice.