Time is Almost Up

A couple days coming to you at once. Thursday took us to Temple Square park in the morning followed by a quaint lunch of fondue in a little place on the Seine with a nice view of Notre Dame. Pierce was actually awake for this lunch and was thrilled to tell anyone and everyone who would listen in the restaurant "Notre Dame!!!". He loves pointing out the monuments. He has also taken to repeating all the metro stops, which is hilarious to hear. Following lunch Mitch and I took advantage of Pierce's naptime to go to the Musee D'Orsay. I always love this museum as much for its collection as the building itself. Since I've been reading the book, Luncheon of the Boating Party, I was particularly interested in a couple of the paintings mentioned in the book. The clocks of course are spectacular and are Mitch's favorite part of the museum. More park time following the museum at the Tullieres Gardens. A quick metro ride home from there found us getting ready for date night.

We opted for a very local dinner (restaurant is across the street) and it was fabulous. Cafe Baci (36 Rue de Turenne) is modern french/italian. The atmosphere is taken from a page of Metropolitan Home and Wallpaper combined. Very chic, yet comfortable and definitely romantic. Crowd was hip without being tragically so. Service was very good and food was some of the best we've had here. Mitch had veal liver while I had a tuna steak, both very flavorful and artfully presented without being complicated. A relaxing, delicious dinner was followed by a short walk to a bar on the Place des Vosges that features live music on Thursdays. Two guys with guitars, not too bad and a nice way to end the evening. It was such a pleasure to have a great sitter while we were here.

This morning's light flooded our apartment and we were up for a park visit. Back to the Luxembourg Gardens this time. The sun and those 35 hour work weeks over here made it seem like a holiday today, the streets and shops were packed. A fun filled morning and park bench lunch for Pierce and we were off to our our usual 'adult' lunch. We stumbled across a beautiful place called Bouillon Racine a brasserie which takes you back in time to early 1900s Paris, with a stunning mosiac floor and beautiful surroundings. Food was very good, Mitch had the Plat du Jour, which was a wonderful grilled Calamari in a red pepper sauce, I took the lentil soup and a salad. A long, but nice walk back to us back to our apartment bring us to now, Mitch is reading Pierce to sleep and our own bedtime won't be far behind. An exhilarating, yet exhausting couple of days. We'll spend our final weekend in Paris in a low key manner just enjoying the neighborhood.