Paris Trip#2 - Day 5 - Last Day!!!

We got off to a decent start on Sunday morning, ate breakfast at the apartment and headed back to the exact same area we had been for dinner the night before to check out an outdoor art market that I had researched on the Internet. I was determined to invest a bit of money and bring home something to put on the wall as a souvenir of our Paris experience. I had seen some nice paintings of Paris landmarks outside of Musée D'Orsay on my last trip that were quite reasonably priced, but not only did I find the art very 'touristy', but the artist was a little too pushy for my taste. I had really wanted to buy one of the abstract African paintings we saw outside of Centre Pompidou, but Shawn didn't like any of them. I felt that we would be able to find something to both of our likings at this art market, within our budget, for sure. We had quite a walk by the time we reached it, and it was overcast & chilly that morning, so the walk was not all that enjoyable.

We saw many beautiful and interesting pieces, paintings, carvings, unique statues, etc. but the prices of everything were so high - much higher than we expected! It reminded me a lot of the Salon d'arts et métiers Montreal has right before the Christmas holidays at Centre Bonaventure - gorgeous stuff, but really unaffordable for us. Most of the artists were really friendly and so proud of their work. Our favourite by far was an older man who had absolutely stunning watercolors and oil paintings of outdoor scenery - his signature technique used in most of the nicest ones was reflections of the scenery in bodies of water - they looked almost like actual photographs they were so realistic! He showed us every single work he had for sale in his stack! I so wanted to bring home one of his paintings, even just a small watercolor, but Shawn pointed out that spending 60-80 EUR on a postcard sized painting that will barely show on the wall was not such a smart investment. I reluctantly had to agree. His larger paintings ran from 200 - 300 EUR and higher. Shawn is very 'go big or go home' and reminded me that our salaries cannot yet permit us to start collecting art as a hobby. I left there so disappointed, knowing we could not put up a painting we bought in Paris next to our 2 that we bargained for in Jamaica.


On our way out, at one of the last stalls, I was admiring some ceramics & the woman who was selling them, who was away from her stall talking to someone at another one, came rushing over, screaming about how I should watch my handbag or I could break something! I was of course being ultra careful, and my purse on my shoulder was more than clearing what was behind me. I didn't say a word, mumbled 'screw her' under my breath, and walked away, not wanting to waste another moment looking at her stuff. Shawn was apologetic and said something like 'pas de soucis' (no worries) with a smile, which I felt she didn't even deserve!!!

It was time to head back, eat lunch, pack up & leave so I could be at the airport for my 5-ish flight. I served up some of the previous night's wine to get rid of it, and it wasn't so bad paired with the Knorr packaged vegetable potage, roasted eggplant & pita we were having. I had packed much lighter this time for this shorter trip, so we had less trouble lugging my suitcase there. I was thrilled to climb those killer stairs in Shawn's apartment building for the last time!!

Upon checking in at the airport, a staff member advised me once I got to the front of the line that my flight was overbooked, and that they were offering $300 to passengers willing to stay an extra night to cover hotel accomodations and meals. Shawn's face lit up at the prospect of having me with him another night & staying in an aiport hotel for free! The possibility crossed my mind only a brief milisecond & I had to decline the offer right away, knowing I was expected back at work the next day! I knew my boss would absolutely FREAK if I called in & said I was only coming in Tuesday! The owner of the company I work for had already given me 3 paid days off as a favour, as this trip was his idea as he felt bad that I couldn't take more time off to stay longer the first trip, so I really didn't want to push my luck with them! Shawn joked & said we should take the $300 and spend it on electronics & just go back to the apartment to stay! I don't think it works that way!

Saying our goodbyes was easier this time, as I knew I'd have my hubby back home for good in 3 short weeks. I watched Mr. Bean's Vacation on the flight home, which had some really funny parts - like when he gets served a raw seafood platter in a restaurant (like we'd seen at Chez Clément)...the premise of the film is really quite silly, but it was a perfect in-flight movie that you don't have pay too much attention to, that keeps you entertained at a base level! We had left Shawn's car at his parent's place & gotten a lift from his Mom to the airport, so his Dad was meeting me at the airport that night to take me to my car. Customs & luggage took a really long time, but he had timed arriving well and had not waited too long for me - we were both relieved to see each other. I made a brief stop-in to see my Mother-in-law & then made the drive home. I was surprised I made it safely, as I was driving tired and in the dark - not something I want to do again anytime soon!

We unfortunately did not get to take any pictures during our short last day together, so pix in this post are some of our others from this trip.

Paris Trip#2 - Day 4 - Saturday - Sightseeing & Romance in Montmartre, Drinks after Dark in the Bastille

We got off to a later start than I had planned to on Saturday (surprise, surprise!) - I basically woke up a few times, each time looking over at Shawn who was still asleep, then drift off to sleep once again - I really hate sleeping on any vacation, but when the body needs sleep, my reasoning is to listen to it every so often! We hadn't really planned where we were going, but we knew we wanted to go to one of the Cathedrals, and Shawn suggested Sacré Coeur.

We headed out to the Montmartre, and I got really excited as we approached Sacré Coeur - you could see the huge building through the alleyways wherever you looked. We went through an area full of shops - mainly costume jewlery & loads of fabric stores with their wares out on display. On the corner was a huge thrift shop and tons of people were digging for clothes & shoes in huge square bins outside. It was a sunny, very warm day. After just climbing the stairs on the huge hill that the cathedral sits upon, I was hot in my all black attire and a little breathless.

We started out touring the church part of the cathedral downstairs. We saw many people praying and admired the beautiful stained glass and sprial staircases scattered everywhere. There were tons of places where you could pay to light a candle. We used our spare change to pay 5 EUR each to get into the upper part, and the climb to the top involves many, many stairs in a spiral formation, almost exactly like the stairs up to l'Arc de Triomphe. Thank goodness there were a few levels that you could stop at to admire the view from different vantage points. Shawn viewed these as great photo ops, I welcomed the time on level ground to catch my breath & rest a little! Some of the stairs took you right outside and the view of the city is spectacular! You can of course see the Tour Eiffel off in the distance.
Down below in the church courtyard, we even noticed a wedding going on. Shawn zoomed in & caught this shot of the bride greeting a guest.

On the way up, in some dark parts of the stairwells, I saw quite a few dead birds, which was really creepy. We took our time, in awe of the view and taking many pictures. It was much easier going down all of the stairs.

By the time we completed this strenous tour, I was starving, having only eaten breakfast when we got up, and it was now late afternoon. We had passed a cafe on the corner on the way to the cathedral and I had remembered seeing some tasty looking giant hotdogs in the window. Up close, they turned out to be not so appetizing. They were made from really big sausages, resembling a knockwurst, so I figured I could probably only eat a half of one. Shawn was not into the idea of splitting one with me, so I convinced him to try a crocque-monsieur, we each ordered our own & I think they were only about 4-5 EUR. By the time we made our way back to the hill & chose a spot to enjoy our lunch, I was near exhausted & famished, and the sandwiches weren't so hot anymore, but still thoroughly enjoyable. The outsides of the bread were covered in golden brown melted shredded cheeses and the inside was tasty lean ham. As we relaxed on the grass & digested, we noticed an eccentric looking lady leading a group of young kids in a dance routine - they were on a landing in front of us a few hundred feet away. She was wearing a lei of silk flowers around her neck & was singing "Brasil....la la la la la, lahhh!". We had noticed her when we arrived as well, but with a different bunch of older looking teens, doing the same routine. We had wondered what she was doing - the scene resembled a performance practice run when I had participated in the guest night shows at Club Med. The current group she had looked a lot less participative. After awhile, she was just hanging out with this group on the grass, and we spotted her many times speaking very loudly to them, as if making speeches, and gesturing in an animated fashion, hands or arms up to the sky, or blowing kisses to them. The kids looked unresponsive. At one point, one of the young girls was wearing the woman's lei. It seemed like such a bizarre scene to see this lady imposing herself on this group of young kids (they looked no older than 13, and all of them were smoking cigarettes & looked stoned), it looked like they were tolerating her but not annoyed at all. We figured she must do this all day long and just hang out here. When she bid them goodbye, she hugged them all amourously. It was too funny to watch.
We decided to head back home to get ready to go out for dinner. I cracked open one of the cheaper bottles of red wine I had bought earlier in the week to drink while we were getting ready, but after about 1/2 glass, we determined it would be much better with food. We arrived at La Coupole, which was only 2 doors down from metro Vavin. The first restaurant we saw was called Chez Clément, and we glanced inside and were intrigued by the nautical decor, the huge seafood platters we saw diners enjoying, and the menu displayed. We figured if we decided against La Coupole that we could come back here. So, we checked out the menu on the window next door & asked ourselves if we really wanted to pay that much for dinner (prices were higher than we expected!). We had planned to splurge that night as it was our 1st wedding anniversary dinner, but being the sensible couple that we are, decided to go back to Clément to enjoy a meal that was probably equally good at more reasonable prices.

We had to wait in line for a little while, but things moved fast as two parties ahead of us were impatient & gave up to go somewhere else. We got a quaint table for 2, and there was a couple next to us that appeared to be on their 1st date. What was funny was the girl was on her cell phone all night & when she wasn't, spent a lot of time talking about herself. The guy looked very unimpressed. We (well, I!) had so much trouble deciding what to order from the extensive amount of choices on the menu. We considered getting one of the raw seafood platters that came served on crushed ice, but then decided against it as we didn't feel like struggling with shelling langoustines, crab legs, etc. Shawn noticed there was a section on the menu where you could mix and match main dishes with entrees & desserts & do different combinations, all for under 20 EUR each. We both chose a plate that had your choice of 3 different meats - mine was duck (which turned out to be a lean, rare duck steak, which I'd never had before!), pork & chicken. Shawn's choice was similar but he replaced the duck with salmon. Both plates came with a generous portion of mashed potatoes - a staple side dish in Paris, versus the fries or baked potatoes Quebecors eat. Although we are not potato eaters, we made the exception here, as when made right, they are extremely creamy and smooth (no lumps!) and served with a delicious brown gravy. The waitresses' wine suggestion was a rosée, to match all of the variety of meats we were both having. We hesitated, as Shawn normally doesn't drink rosée, and we ended up being happy with our choice, it was delicious and crisp, kept chilled in an ice-bucket beside us. We leisurely enjoyed our meal and I went for my favourite French dessert, crème brûlée, & Shawn substituted his dessert with his fave (mi-cuit au chocolat, again!) for a little extra money.

It was of course quite late when we finished & we still had to go home & change to go out for our drink. We ended up heading out to the Bastille area at 1:30 AM! Only in Paris! We chose Bar Bat to go into, as it had a lounge-type atmosphere, with no cover charge.

I HAD to have mojito as everyone I know who's been to Paris raves about them here. All of the drinks on the menu were 8 EUR & up. Shawn chose a blonde beer on tap. We leisurely sipped our drinks & took a few photos, but after such a long day, I was getting sleepy. After about an hour, we headed back home - which was quite a long walk since we had taken the last metro into town! I was thankful to crawl under the covers that night (or morning!) and drift off to sleep.