Paris - Day 9

08-31: Today after some housekeeping at the apartment, we took our last stroll to Rue Cler we decided to have the hamburger at Roussillon. The one I had the other day was so good, we were not disappointed. Rue Cler is pretty quiet on Sunday and Monday but we still enjoyed it. We had a brief rain shower while eating lunch then we walked down to the famous historic candy and chocolate shop, Å la Mére de Famille, located at 35 rue Cler. Founded originally in 1761, it is known as the oldest sweet shop in Paris, bringing its traditional old-time charm and classic packaging to the Rue Cler neighborhood. It is a lovely shop! From there we walked, as planned, back to Café du Marche for dessert. We shared a Crème Brûlée and enjoyed a glass of Prosecco as a special treat on our last full day in Paris.

All of that was delightful but the reality of packing up and heading out tomorrow morning looms in our future! We played a few games of cards, packed, took a 30-minute nap, ate our leftovers for dinner and called it a night. 

Paris - Day 8

08-30: Today it was relaxing and working on photos for me. This evening is our Seine River Dinner Cruise. It was interesting that my FB post brought up the same exact cruise on the same exact day 4 years ago with June! Stuart planned to walk over to Rue Cler to get a gift for our hosts in Mombrier but he never got to it. We are looking forward to the month there. We will relax, visit wineries, put some plans in place for our Grand South America cruise, and I will hope to catch up on the album for this trip. We went to the dinner cruise early to see the Eiffel Tower area and walk around a little bit. We were shocked when we discovered it's all walled In now you have to go through security to even walk around or beneath it. Where there used to be grass, picnickers, and even lovers sharing a kiss it's now blacktop! It was sad for us to see. I guess they have to do that in our day of bomb threats, etc. It was so disappointing to see, some of the charm is certainly gone. I'm glad I saw it when it was grassy underneath and felt so much more welcoming and approachable. The dinner cruise was nice, but not like I remember it. Regardless, we enjoyed the food and sites. On the way back we already decided we wanted to take a pedicab back if possible. As we disembarked, we were quickly approached by all sorts of taxis and pedicab drivers. When it came to the pedicab the man offered a ride to “anywhere” for €5. We wondered why it was so cheap but said where we wanted to go and we would pay €10. He agreed and then we are in the pedicab starting and he says his supervisor needed to follow him. Another red flag, but we are already moving toward home. When we arrived, which was a 5-minute ride, the supervisor pulled up right beside him. It almost blocked my way off the vehicle but I did push my way through. Stuart said “go” and I headed to the door. They then told him they only take cards, and he had to hand over a card. NO. Stuart told them we agreed on €10 and here it is. He put down the €10 and walked away. We avoided that scam BUT we should have been wise enough not to consider such a cheap ride! Anyway, another lessoned learned. Both in London and here in Paris we have not seen pickpockets operating and we have felt safe at all times. Of course, we are not out on the streets late at night and extra watchful in more touristy areas.

I read later that in Paris pedicabs are regulated but that said, many also operate independently. I guess if you want to be certain of your ride you should contact a regulated company and set up a pick up place and time.

Paris - Day 7

08-29: Today we had the pleasure of meeting Don and Lisa for lunch at Café du Marche, located on Rue Cler. Their hotel is just steps from Rue Cler. We have a 10-minute walk, so not too bad! We had a lovely lunch. They fly home tomorrow after being in France for 2 weeks. From lunch we headed to some appointments we made yesterday. I got my nails done and Stuart had a Thai massage. We were going to walk back to Rue Cler to get our Mombrier friends some candy from a shop we saw, but we were tired and headed back to the apartment. We might do that tomorrow or Monday, if the store is open. We played cards, did laundry, and had our quiche for dinner.

Paris - Day 6

08-28: It is raining this morning, not as hard as it did last night waiting for the cabaret to open. We had tickets for two museums today; we only made it to one. I blame it on too much rich food and wine! Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed the L’Orangerie Museum. The ground floor is dedicated to Monet’s Water Lily collection. These are the huge painting he did while in Giverny. These are always enjoyable to see and experience. Downstairs they have a collection of Master Painters: Works by prominent artists including Paul Cézanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, and André Derain. We were undecided about what to do so we went for our usual choice of Rue Cler. When we arrived in our Uber, it still wasn’t raining so we had a nice walk around the area. We stopped at Maison Julien to get a couple quiche for tomorrow. We love this bustling street in the 7th arrondissement. It was and still is one of the best foodie streets in Paris. Celebrated cook and author Julia Child was a regular! She would come here to pick up her ingredients – and flirt with her favorite butcher. “Every woman must kiss her butcher,” she quipped. Of course, much has changed since Julia’s post-war Paris, but rue Cler has maintained its gourmet credentials. It is highlighted in Rick Steves books, which is when we heard about it back in 2009. We walked on and decided to stop for a beverage at Le Roussillon restaurant. It claims to be a stone’s throw away from the Eiffel Tower. I have never seen anyone throw a stone that far. But it is close by, just a 15-minute walk. The food smelled so good we got hungry and ended up eating an early dinner there. It was delicious! Stuart had the French Onion Soup and I had the Cheese Burger. France is one of the few places you can get a medium-rare burger! Another lovely day in Paris! Eiffel Tower view from L’Orangerie Museum.