Our Last Day in Paris

We spent part of our last day in Paris on the Champs Elysee.  It is probably one of the world's most famous avenues and happens to be the last leg of the Tour de France.  It also hosts a Starbucks, McDonald's and Disney Store.  I wondered if I was back in the U.S. for a second ... and then shrugged my shoulders and SPRINTED to the 'bucks for the largest iced coffee France has ever seen.    And it was DELICIOUS.

The Arc de Triomphe rests at one end.  Rest actually may not be the right word.  Twelve avenues enter into the traffic circle that surrounds the arc.  In a word?  Chaos.  There is a tunnel that goes underground so pedestrians can get to the Arc safely.  Somehow I don't know that was what Napoleon had in mind when he commissioned the piece in honor of his new bride ...

And where the Arc is beautiful, Mrs. Bob and I had one thing on our minds.  Laduree and their famous macaroons.

I had only known macaroons as coconut cookies prior to my trip to Paris.  However, in France, macaroons are light sandwich cookies sent directly from heaven.

They're top secret and I got tsk'd tsk'd at when I attempted to take a photo.  So I took cover in the Jardin du Luxembourg, looked over my shoulder to make sure there were no pastry police and started snapping away.

First of all ... please.  Look at the cute little box they come in.

When you open the box it's very easy to get tempted by a caramel macaroon before you remember you're supposed to be taking pictures for your bloggy friends.

Hello lovlies ...

 

I sat on a bench, happily munching away, smiling at a work truck that had a baguette on the dashboard, people stopping for picnics, school children in uniforms riding scooters and playing on the jungle gyms.  

Paris, you sure know how to live.

Later that evening I wrote in my journal.  Where everything had been incredible, the following were SSG highlights:

Evening boat rides.

Corner bakeries.

Calling out "bonjour!" as you enter stores.

Croissants.

St. Germain.

Macaroons.

The Eiffel Tower.

Cracking up and running across the Champs Elysee.

Sidewalk cafes.

Stylish men and women.

Museums.

Parks.

Wine.

Paris.

Next up?  PROVENCE.

Evening in Paris

"Sunny Saturday Morning" used to be my three favorite words in the English language, but I think they dropped to number 2 when I typed the title to this post.  "An Evening in Paris" now ranks at the top.

The Eiffel Tower at twilight?  Yes please.

I have very few warm and cozy memories from my childhood.  Our house was not one of support or nurturing.  Happiness and tranquility were elusive.  But they did pop up occasionally and it was incredibly welcomed.  For a few summers we had a tradition of meeting Gam (my maternal grandmother and favorite person ever) down at Wind 'n Sea beach in San Diego to have pizza and watch the sunset.  We'd spread out blankets, fill paper lunch bags with sand and candles and wait for the show.

The peace of watching a deep orange sun slip beneath the Pacific became something I'd look forward to.  I always marveled at how quickly it happened, how quiet it could make us and I took it as a sign that there was something much bigger out there than we could ever imagine.

I hadn't felt that familiar rush of wanting to see a sunset so badly until we were making our way up the two elevators that it takes to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

We made it.  And it was spectacular.  

Instead of orange, the sun was a fiery magenta.  The city of Paris was washed in a pale pink.  Wind through our hair and a 360 degree view of the city that had captured my heart after four short days, shook me.  I don't know that I have ever felt more at home, more in my own skin, more ME than I did at that moment.  I felt raw and exposed, like my heart was outside of my body and there was nothing I could do to hold it inside.

Lucky for me, I no longer needed to.

After we got our feet back on the ground, we walked down to the Seine for an hour long boat ride.

Oh readers, if only I had a better camera!  This experience was my all time favorite moment in Paris.  The gentle trudging of the open boat up the wide river, passing under the beautifully arched bridges with the monuments of Paris lit up on both sides of the Seine.  Edith Piaf sang on crackling speakers, hundreds of swing dancers danced in promenades on the side of the river.  And an Italian man was so moved, he proposed to his girlfriend on the spot.  We saw bands playing and people waving as we passed by them.  Were they waving hello?  Or perhaps goodbye.  

Goodbye life I once knew ... it will never be the same.

We rounded the Ile St. Louis and headed back toward the Eiffel Tower for chocolate crepes.  And as we walked to the Metro licking our fingers and laughing, the Eiffel Tower turned from the shade of blue it had been all night, to this ... 

White lights twinkled, just like those candles on the beach did for me long ago as if to remind me that yes indeed, there definitely is something bigger to this world.