Paris - Day 7

Paris - Day 7 - Final Day In Paris

Betty had asked if we ordered tickets to the Louvre prior to arriving? We did get the Paris Museum Pass via the Internet a few months before the start of this trip which includes pretty much all museums including the Louvre.  We highly recommend the pass as it allows you to skip the very long lines.  It includes admission to just about every museum you can think of and has that added bonus of avoiding very long lines.   One could purchase the pass upon arrival to Paris, but we did so in advance so that we didn't have to spend time purchasing it in Paris.  You date and sign it the day you are ready to use it and it is good for a set number of day.  The one we purchased was good for four days from the time we first used it.  You can purchase passes for less or a greater number of days then this.

Last evening we dined at a restaurant called La Bauhinia.  Its menu features French and Southeastern Asian cuisine.  The menu included a three course menu of the day or Asian cuisine consisting of a starter, main course and dessert or a la carte.  We chose a la carte.  

We took some photos before dinner at an area nearby the restaurant and also outside at the beautiful gardens of the hotel.
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The dining venue is beautiful and the colors and design of its interior go very well with its menu and cuisine.  We both enjoyed three courses.  We began with a Caesar Salad.  Our main course was Sea Bass topped with Truffles. For our final course which was dessert, Keith had a cheese plate which could have fed two given the size of each wedge of cheese.  For those who like strong cheese this was a good choice.  Anne Marie had St. Honere Cake.  We have only had this cake previously when sailing with Crystal Cruises.  On the ship the cake portion is similar to a Napoleon.  The cake at the restaurant was mainly ice cream.  The cream puffs on top of the cake are similar to what we have had on the ship.  

We also enjoyed wine with the meal.  Everything was fabulous and our meal lasted over two hours.

A nighttime view of the Eiffel Tower shortly after arriving back to our room after dinner.

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We enjoyed another restful sleep.  The bed is terrific and maybe between that and a little wine it allows for a good sleep.  LOL.

Once again, we enjoyed breakfast in our room.  The restaurant where we ate serves breakfast.  However, we prefer just having a leisurely breakfast.  This time we had the breakfast inside rather then on the Terrace.

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The past few days the weather forecast has shown a high probability of rain so we took that into account when planning our schedule getting to the most important sites we wanted to see during this visit.  With a 60 to 70 percent chance of rain until Noon today we did a lot of walking but tried to stay within 30 minutes of the hotel.  

It was in the mid-50's (Fahrenheit) but very breezy so it felt chillier then that.  We wore rain jackets to be on the safe side.  It was too windy should we needed to use an umbrella.  The good news is that the breeze kept if from raining even though the forecast had a high chance of rain.

Our walk took us to many areas.  We walked along streets that took us to several residential areas and we also walked along the Seine but in a different direction then we have the past few days.  We walked over to the Palace de Challiot.  From the palace we had beautiful views of the Eiffel Tower and it even seemed like one of the status was holding it up.  We then walked over to the Arc de Triomphe.  We continued walking along various streets with lots of stores, cafes restaurants and then success.  We went into another pastry shop and voila we saw what we in the USA call a Napoleon.  In France they refer to is as Mille Feuilles.  It is a favorite of Anne Marie's.  We will do the test taste this evening. We walked it back over to the hotel and put them in the refrigerator.

Before leaving the hotel obtained a recommendation from the Concierge for a place for lunch.  We wanted something simple as we had a large meal for dinner last evening.  After walking for another hour we had lunch.  The restaurant is located on Kleber and its name is appropriately called Le Kleber.  We each enjoyed salads.  Keith's salad included smokes salmon, small shrimp, fresh pineapple and lots of lettuce.  Anne Marie had a Caesar Salad and in addition to lettuce it was very Italian as it include lightly breaded boneless chicken that was closer to parmigiana with stewed tomatoes.  Each salad was just perfect for us.

The good news is that at most we had about five minutes of a very light drizzle.  Although the weather forecast had a two hour window at around the time we arrived back to the hotel for very little chance of rain like forecasts back in our own country it was wrong.  Within fifteen minutes of our arrival back to the hotel it not only rained but it poured and it was extremely windy.  As they say, timing is everything and our timing was perfect.

We took advantage of the time to pack.

This is our last full day in the magical city of Paris. It has been a delight.  We will try to post tomorrow and if not then we will post after we arrive at home to share the remainder of today.

TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY........

From the time we were in elementary school we would sing the song I love Paris written by Cole Porter or we would recite the nursery rhyme London Bridge is Falling Down which has been around a very long time.  In time we would learn about history of these cities and their countries. We would learn the geo-politics as well as about its artists and musicians and its Kings and Queens.   What we didn't realize at the time is that we would get to visit places such as Paris, London and Rome where we could see the work of the artists, or hear the music, or walk the areas that we studied and experience this for ourselves seeing it through our very own eyes.  All of this is a reminder about how fortunate that we are to live at a time when travel is possible and that we have the ability to travel.  We are very humbled and thankful.

Anne Marie & Keith