Paris Glitters
 

This the first time writing on this forum, but I read it almost daily.
So thank you to all of you that contribute. I have learned so much not to mention being on many fabulous journeys with you via your trip reports.
As we are reminded during the Christmas season it is good to give….
So now, in the spirit of giving back, I am officially signed on to Fodor’s and writing my trip report of my nearly 3 weeks in Paris last December.

Here goes….

I was hesitant to go in December as it is cold (I’m a bit of a cold wussy) and it gets dark early so I thought for some crazy reason that would limit my time enjoying Paris.

I was wrong on both thoughts. As long as you dress for it, the cold is no problem and dark just meant the lights were on which made Paris sparkle.

If anyone has any hesitation like I did- my advice is GO!

It was fantastic-Paris was all aglow. A very nostalgic feel of Christmas for me. I grew up in southern California and Paris in December reminded me of Hollywood and downtown LA in the 60s before the commercialism of malls and all the wake up at the crack of dawn non-stop sales promotions.

My travel companion was my sister (technically SIL, but we dropped the SIL long time ago). We have traveled together many times, taking our first trip together when we were 18 yrs old, some 37 years ago. We are simpatico in our travel ways. This was our 4th trip to Paris for each of us.

Upon arrival at CDG we decided to take the RER into Paris as we both were traveling light with one carryon bag and a tote. It was our first time to take the RER and it was super easy. When we emerged from the underground to a bright sunny brisk Paris the first thing we saw was the gold statues of Pont Alexander shining brightly against a blue sky.
WOW, what a beautiful welcome back to the city that has captured my heart.

We easily strolled with our luggage to our apt in the 7th on Rue St Dominique. We have never stayed in the 7th and absolutely loved it. The Eiffel Tower shown bright at the end of our street welcoming us home each night and with Christmas lights and decorations strung across our street it made for a very festive atmosphere for us two very blessed sisters to be in Paris in December.
It was nice being so close to rue Cler to get food and bring back to the apt. Down stairs from the apt we had our choice of 2 patisseries for our morning and sometimes evening delicious treats.

It was dark (and cold) in the mornings so we usually did not venture out until 10 or so after we had relaxing mornings of tea and pain chocolat and most mornings a nice breakfast or brunch to start the day.
There was a bus stop across the street from the apt and the metro stop La Tour Maubourg around the corner. We usually left the area by either bus or metro but found ourselves walking home most nights, across place Concord enjoying the Paris festive night all the way home.
Every day we started out with a plan, a grand agenda, most days we did at least one thing on that agenda and then let the day and evening unfold as Paris presented itself to us it all her splendor.

Well, except the first couple days, it was difficult finding that splendor.

After settling into the apt, we left with our shopping bags to rue Cler and the grocery store ½ block away from the apt. Back to the apt for a quick lunch, a bit warmer clothes and off to explore…

We find ourselves on Champs Elysees. It is buzzing with energy. The lights are spherical hoops of blue-kinda space age. It is overwhelming - a sea of humanity- probably not the best choice for our first outing- I blame it on jet leg-flying for 2 nights will mess with your thinking. First stop on agenda is the bathroom and macarons at Ladurees. As we approach we see a long, long line to get into the shop and a guard at the restaurant's entrance. We don’t like standing in long lines even if it is for those macarons, so ok, time to use my half French, half English and ask the guard about the restaurant -he understands me-miracle-and then rattles back in fluent French of course, and said - it is closed among other things I did not quite catch. So no macaroons, no bathroom. No matter, we are in PARIS, we can't be disappointed or grumpy.
Back in the flow of Champs Elysees we get pushed toward the Tuileries and the Christmas market. First impression of the Christmas market was it is like our local county fair. There are so many people it is hard to see the booths but what we do see is mostly food booths and everything from Christmas ornaments to Russian stackable dolls, mixed in with jewelry and the latest fantastic thing one might think they need.
But no matter, it is not the local county fair, we are in PARIS.

After a little while we head across the bridge back to our more peaceful neighborhood where a nightcap and a cozy bed await us.

Looking forward to your next instalment.
I too love Paris. We were there in September for another dose.

I feel Paris envy coming on! Keep it up!

I won't get to return until late January, when the magic of the holiday season is long gone, save for perhaps ice skating at Hotel de Ville. Please continue...

Waiting for more...we had the best time in Paris a few years ago, in December. For me, i isn't the jet lag....I just don't care for the Champs Elysee and I do hate the Jetsonian blue light Christmas displays. But, we did have the most delicious potato dish at the Christmas market there last November....so good!

Your apartment is certainly in a great location, especially for dining at any of the Constant restaurants.

Can't wait to hear more.

Ummm. Just what I need on a gloomy morning - a Paris trip report. Thanks so much and let us hear more.

DH and I absolutely love Paris in December. The chilled air, the welcoming and warmth of the cafes, Paris decked out in her Christmas finery, and the lack of tourists. Just love it

Paris at Christmas time sounds so inviting---of course, Paris at any time sounds inviting, but Christmas time would be so different from our usual Sept. trip.

The lights, the sparkling gifts, the tempting food.
MORE PLEASE!!

There was a big fire at Ladurée last year, and they have not yet finished rebuilding the restaurant.

Looking forward to the rest of your report, sounds like you had a great time.

i'm here too - and welcome to fodors, FF.

TPAYT- am working on a late Sept Paris trip. Maybe our paths will cross, unless 2013 is the year you go in December!

Thank you for all your comments. I am in a different time zone then most so a nice thing to wake up to.

The adventure continues...

Woke up feeling good, and with the question-does the thought of a dream live bigger in the mind then in reality? Paris is loud, Paris is busy, Paris is a big city…where is the Paris of my mind? Today we are in search of that Paris and what we find is a kind soul…our Sri Lankan angel and the answer to our question.

After a relaxing morning we take the metro to our favorite puce Marché (flea market)- Vanves. In the jet lag not quite with it yet mode we forget the wise travelers creed…be aware of your surroundings. We get off the metro at the right stop but forget to pay attention to what exit we take. So we walk in what we think is the right direction but find no market. After asking 4 different people and being sent in the direction that seems not quite familiar but could be right, we end up at the Marche de Poisson. This is where we meet our Sir Lankan angel. After she heard the fish monger telling us the wrong way she took the time to listen to where we wanted to go. Of course it was very helpful that she spoke perfect English, and French and I am sure Sri Lankan-which amazes me-I want to be that person that can speak multiple languages fluently or even enough to be understood. She is at the market picking up fish for the dinner she is preparing for her niece coming from Switzerland to visit, but she has time and she offers to take us to the Puce Vanves. Just two bus rides away. WHAT? Two buses? How did we get so far off track? After she sees our expressions of amazement and concern about the two buses, she said “don’t worry, we will hop on the metro, that’s only a couple stops, no transfers” So off we go, dang she walks fast. She tells us she has lived in Paris for 14 years and works in the perfume dept of the Monoprix. She takes us all the way to the Puces Vanves and tells us to look her up next time we are in Paris and we can stay with her.

We arrive at the market just as the vendors were packing up. My sister finds a plaque that holds a little basin for holy water. It has a lily flower and stars on it. Later on we will learn the significance of this. I found nothing except the experience and feel really good about that.

Back to the apt to refresh and have lunch. But first we stop at the patisserie and pick up Baba aux Rhum and a baguette to make sandwiches using our leftover chicken and cheese from rue Cler. We also pick up some butter. The Baba aux Rhum is just okay-but you never know so we feel we can’t pass up the chance and have to try ALL the temptations out. The butter is fantastic.

We love our daily and sometimes twice a day stopping at the local patisserie,which is beautiful-the décor is dark hardwood with an old style cash register. The chance to feel like you live in the neighborhood - where after a few times they start to greet you like you do belong- for us is what makes staying in an apt over a hotel a great experience.

Today is Sunday, so it is off to the Marais as this is one of the few areas in Paris that will have shops open. The Marais is hopping. Lots of people. Lots of shops. Clothes and boots seem to draw our attention. We stop at Amorino for a gelato and just stroll the streets doing what we are so good at-“Leche Vitrine”-licking windows and our gelato-enjoying ourselves immensely.

We get a falafel at L’As, the famous tourist spot which is really darn good for how cheap it is.

We decide to take the bus home, not really sure where it will drop us off. It takes 3 tries for the bus driver to understand Rue St Dominique-reminds me of the quote from Mark Twain..."In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language”. I understand it’s all me but I keep trying and the bus driver finally seems to understand me and said “oui oui”…and then drops us off at the end of the line in front of a bright, shinning ,sparkling Eiffel Tower. Ahhhhhhhh Paris.

In reflecting on the day, yes the reality is as good, if not better, then the dream.

Enjoying your report. Definitely try Café Constant while you are there. No reservations necessary, just get there right at noon for lunch.

Thank you so much I enjoyed your report. Going there on the 22 to 27 December. So excited.

FF: loving this report. Keep it up please. Can you tell us what apartment you rented? Many thanks.

FF, I just wanted to let you know that you have another fan in the audience. Your enjoyment comes through in your writing. :)

Once again, thank you for your comments. It is really nice to share my trip with people who get the love of travel and Paris in particular. Makes me realize I should have signed on sooner to comment on the reports that some of you wrote that I have enjoyed.

Denise we did not make it to Café Constant even though it was on the list thanks to your trip reports.
We passed it many times but the timing was never right.
We tried one night to eat at Reeds once again based on your report, but it was full.
I am going back to Paris in July and they are both still on the list.

On the apt… it was an excellent location, very quiet, a little shabby on the furnishings but they were comfortable and the price was right. Good size for 2, but a tight fit for 4. This was my second time renting from Vacation in Paris. My experience with them has been really good. They are based in NJ and they send you the keys to the apt prior to you leaving for your trip which is nice as you can check in as soon as you arrive.

www.vacationinparis.com/apts/id_08.htm

We woke up very late so started the day with a nice brunch in the apt of cheese and mushroom omelets with that delicious butter and a fresh baguette, decided to add mimosas because, hmmm well, we are in Paris and that seemed a good enough reason.

First stop of the day was the Palais Royal. This is one of my favorite places in Paris. It is a very peaceful garden surrounded by beautiful buildings-one which was home to the French writer Colette in her later years. I read somewhere that she had lived in as many as 15 houses, all relatively humble houses but with beautiful gardens. When she was questioned why did she move so much she responded that if she could have a home on the Palais Royal she would never leave. The story goes that a fan read that, gave her his home and she never left.
I don’t know if that story is true but I like to think it is.
There is something about the gardens with the row of manicured lime trees that really appeals to me. If someone gave me a home, I would not leave either.
While in the summer you will see people sunning and reading in the chairs it was pretty deserted at this time of the year, but the trees and the beauty are still there.

We stroll around the perimeter of the gardens and check out the high end shops with fantastic window displays. The Serge Luten window was very whimsical. Two tall skinny hotel bell men dressed in bright red, one on either side of a tube of bright red lipstick. The window was outlined in very bright purple. That was the whole window display-and it worked.

Serge Luten is a French photographer, filmmaker turned perfume and beauty products designer and for those that can afford he puts out a limited Christmas perfume with a beautiful bottle. All you need to do is stand at the very intimidating darkened glass doors and they will open for you to enter…oh and whip out your credit card….maybe next time.

We next head to the Galerie Vivenne and Galerie Colbert. I read about these shopping passages in Fodor’s Degas trip report. I will not go into detail here as I believe you can still access his reports and he did an excellent job of describing all the passages in Paris. If you have not read his reports or visited the passages do yourself a favor and add to your list.

It is now about time for one of our favorite French rituals, Le gouter.-the break around 4:30 in the afternoon for something sweet.
We head over to Angelinas on Rue de Rivoli. On a previous trip we stayed across the Seine from Angelinas and spent a lot of time here. So this feels like a homecoming to us. We order the chocolat chaud and to be different a vanilla éclair. The chocolat is so thick and rich you really need to take your time and savor it-which is good for us because we need a rest.

Feeling good after that stop we continue down Rue de Rivoli and go to WH Smith bookstore and spend some time just browsing at all the great books.
Next we stop in at the Lalique store and look at all the beautiful things. I love the “face” jewelry. We learn that Renee Lalique's fiancé was the model for the “face”. I found the most perfect silver bracelet for me; it was beautiful and fit me perfectly-except it was 420 Euro, so no, it will not be gracing my wrist. Once again….maybe next time.

We then continued to Place Vendome. It was beautiful. All decked out in white light displays of graphic trees. We did not go around the square as it was getting cold so after we marveled at the lights we turned to head home.

Walking back up rue Castiglione we passed the Westin Hotel. I said quietly…let’s go in…so we looked at each other and we did.

Very good spontaneous move on our part. They had a winter wonderland in their inner courtyard. A sweet lonely mademoiselle invited us to sit at the café table and have some complimentary vin chaud and Christmas cookies. We stayed a while enjoying the setting and our good fortune to stumble on this beautiful, relaxing serendipitous moment that we had all to ourselves.

With an inner glow from the vin chaud we head home crossing Place de la Concorde which, with the ferris wheel, Christmas lights, Eiffel Tower and cars going around felt like we were in a light spectacular!

We are feeling pretty blessed right about now.

And tired.

Count me among those enjoying your account. Thanks for writing!

Lovely. Thank you, FF.

Your apartment looks just right.

What a terrific report. Brings back memories of my trip to Paris last year in early December. Looking forward to reading more! :-)

FF - i don't think that i would ever have thought about going to Paris at Christmas and staying in an apartment were it not for Fodors.

now after your TR, FF, I can't wait. I've even bookmarked your apartment as we've never stayed in the 7th, and i like to move round a bit to try out different areas.

looking forward to tomorrow.

I dont have time to continue with the story right now as it took me so long to try and figure out how to load my pictures.
Here's the link, I tried to put them in the order to go along with the story...hope it http://www.flickr.com/photos/2819947...32275954583/ks
btw, that is me standing by the trees I love in the Palais Royal garden.

nice pics, FF!

Up early this morning at 3am and takes til 4am before I realize my sister is awake too. After visiting for a few hours we fall back asleep. We live in different states so part of the enjoyment of this trip is just to spend time together.

The first time I was in Paris was with my two brothers and we did not do all this leche vitrine and practicing of le gouter and in general being a flaneur (one who strolls, following their footsteps where they may lead you). On that trip, in between reservations at fabulous restaurants, we did historical and cultural sightseeing-which for a first trip to Paris is probably the way it should be.

But this trip is just my sister and I and this is how it is unfolding and it suits us (we do manage to get in a few museums and cultural events later in the trip).

When we start the day for the second time, after petit dejeuner in the apt, we head via metro to Place de la Madeline and continue our leche vitrine (window licking).

The day is chilly but by the time we do ½ of Place de la Madeline we are no longer feeling the cold.
First stop is Laduree’s for some macarons-no long line this time. I think at this point I must mention Laudree a little more. For me it is just the most cheerful display of macarons and pastries. Their color choices and their displays in general just make me smile. I’m sure most of you are familiar with this shop, but I somehow missed it the first time in Paris-probably because I was with my brothers –see above agenda! When I found it on my second trip and thought why did I not know about this shop I had to do a little research. Here are the highlights of what I found:

The Ladurée story
It all began in 1862, when Louis Ernest Ladurée, created a bakery at 16 rue Royale in Paris.
The same year, the construction of the Garnier Opera began, making the area surrounding Place Madeleine into one of the most prestigious in Paris with its shops of French luxury goods.
Ten years later Laduree made the transformation from bakery to a pastry shop.
The decoration of the pastry shop was by Jules Cheret, a famous turn-of-the-century painter and poster artist. M Cheret sought inspiration from the painting techniques used for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the Garnier Opera.
The results were spectacular rooms with depth and relief to the ceilings ornamented with cherubic children.
The beginning of this century found Paris wrapped up in a frenzy of distraction and going out in public. Parisians flocked to the Universal Exposition. Women were also changing. They wanted to make new acquaintances. Literary salons and literature circles were outmoded.
Ernest Ladurée’s wife, Jeanne Souchard, daughter of a well-known hotelier in Rouen, France had the idea of mixing styles: the Parisian café and pastry shop which gave birth to one of the first tea salons in Paris. The “salon de thé” had a definite advantage over the cafés: they permitted ladies to gather in freedom. Jeanne Souchard succeeded in combining the turn-of-the-century trend to modernism with knowledge of the merits of a craft transmitted by her family.



And some 150 years later we too believe in this freedom to gather at Laduree; freedom to consume as many macaroons as we desire.
As an extension of this freedom and desire we decide to discover who has the best macarons in Paris. This of course means lots of sampling, which means we must walk a lot to counterbalance the sampling.

We start walking down Rue Saint Honore with the Hermes windows as our destination. I usually love their windows but not this time. The have a gold theme-all very opulent and over the top. We head inside the store because Hermes is like a current day Musee des Arts Decoratifs. We wander around the store looking at all the pretty things. Their stemware was exquisite. Yes, I believe if I had money to burn I would have to have a scarf or two and a set of that stemware-But I don’t… maybe next life time.

Back on the street we finish the other side of Place de la Madeline. We come to a courtyard of shops decorated with white and silver trees made from branches and twigs with little white sparkly lights. Even in the day it was stunning.

“The true traveler is he who goes on foot, and even then, he sits down a lot of the time.”-Colette

One of our tricks that keeps us going and in good spirits is we never hesitate to find a place to sit-a café, a church, a bench-It really is a perfect way to refresh and soak in the ambiance of Paris.

We are now ready to sit, so being near Madeleine Church, that’s where we head. We go in and-

OMG-

There was a women’s choir practicing.

The sound was soul stirring.

We sit and just let the sound wash over us-quite a nice unexpected experience.

I had not been in this church before. There are some beautiful reliefs and statues. Also a collection of the sacred heart. In the Marais we saw some metal, Mexican style Day of the Dead sacred hearts and I think I will go back and pick one up to remind me of this experience.

Thourghly rested we head to Fauchons, that beautiful gourmet food and candy store that has pretty pretty pink and black packaging. We do not buy anything but it is a treat just to look.

Another one of our tricks to keep us out on the street for many hours is to know where all the good toilettes are.

Fauchons has a good one on the second floor in case you’re wondering.

Somewhere on Place de la Madeline there is an art nouveau bathroom but I have yet to find it, so if anyone knows where it is please tell.

We continue up rue Saint Honore and have lunch at a nice boulangerie-215-located at 215 Saint Honore. I had a tasty chicken salad on a skinny baguette, with a lemon tarte and water for 9.50 euro.

Ready to go again we hit a few more stores on rue Saint Honore. We stop in the ultra cool Colette, which is full of hip people and hip things, and maybe a little too hip for me.

Next is Fragonard where I buy a pillow cover that is done in the style of the vintage map tablecloths of the 1950s. It has the landmarks of Paris embroidered on it. It’s a perfect souvenir and compliments one I got at the Fragonard shop in the south of France. Also it is easy to pack, as it is just the cover not the pillow.

One of the things I have learned on this forum is the smartness of traveling light. Once you learn this you will be really happy when traveling. All it takes is realizing that you can wear the same thing multiple times because no one cares what you wear. Just be presentable, comfortable, and it helps to love what you wear so that you won’t get sick of it. In the past I have brought a fold up bag in my luggage but I did not do that this trip so anything I do buy has to be small and fit in my carry-on luggage-like the pillow cover or…I’m thinking jewelry is small and could fit too.

On this trip since I was staying in Paris for 19 days I wanted to focus on the experience of being in Paris and even though it may seem like all we are doing is shopping, for us it is not really shopping as much as it is just looking at all the beautiful things-
- the eye candy, the sights that make Paris, Paris.
Whether it be a window display, the architecture, or the lights- it’s all visible by just walking and looking.

Right about now it is once again time for Le gouter so we end up at the Starbucks near the Louvre
-sometimes the familiar is just easy.
So with a tall-non-fat-white-chocolate mocha-no whip I finish my lemon tart from lunch and get my second wind.

We cross Rue de Rivoli to the bookstore of the Musee des Arts Decoratifs. This is a really great book/gift store. It has a lot of beautiful books on design. One of my favorite things, among many favorite things, is the bookstores in Paris, and this is one of the best.

When finished browsing the books we decide to go down to the Carousel Shops at the Louvre-we have never done this before as it looked like a mall when we peeked down there before-but it is cold and right here so we take the escalator down.

They have some nice Christmas decorations hanging from the ceiling.

There are the familiar chain stores here like L’Occitane and Fossil, nothing too exciting, but then it is here, in an English scarf and assessory store that we find the magic hat.

Thank you for the history of Laduree. Really interesting . I am loving your report and so agree with Colette about a true traveler.
Also please post any info about location of good toilletes you may have discovered. Good to have when spending the day just walking about the city

"Le gouter.-the break around 4:30 in the afternoon for something sweet."

Great report. You can never have too much Paris!

It so happens that at 4:30 p.m., we usually drink wine while in Paris, so I guess our group would call that "Le gout."

((H))

Oh you've left us hanging, can't wait to hear about the magic hat!

"Goutons voir si le vin est bon"

More please, FabFrance!

Love the report...I love Place de la Madeleine. Have to go to Maille for mustard every trip!

Wonderful report -- thanks for sharing

Very enjoyable report. Thank you.

I'm so enjoying your report. We're heading to Paris for four months starting at the beginning of February and it's exactly this type of leisurely browsing I'm looking forward to. Thanks so much for posting.

<i>One of the things I have learned on this forum is the smartness of traveling light. Once you learn this you will be really happy when traveling. All it takes is realizing that you can wear the same thing multiple times because no one cares what you wear. Just be presentable, comfortable, and it helps to love what you wear so that you won’t get sick of it. </i>

If anything deserves to be quoted in a Fodor's guide book, or written in fire at the top of every Forum page, that does!

Your reflections of Paris are absolutely wonderful!

Wow, thanks everyone for reading and commenting –I feel welcomed into the club.

Maitaitom- ha-ha-we save that for a little later, the aperitif hour, but usually it was Pastis to warm us, it did the trick especially when we forgot to add the water.
I have been following your most recent trip to Dordogne. My first trip to France started there. I love that area. I haven’t made it back yet, but your report and St Cirq’s many entertaining reports keeps reminding me of what a great area that is.

St Cirq your report was one of the first I read on this board and I quickly became addicted. So glad it looks like you will be keeping your home and I look forward to more of your stories.

denisea-love Maille mustard too, but this trip I did not bring any home-what was I thinking?

To continue…
Today the sun is shining bright and after breakfast in the apt we head to the street market that is held on Wednesdays on President Wilson Ave. It is in the 16th arrondissement just a quick stroll over the Seine from our apt.
The market being on the center divider at times feels a little claustrophobic, but the food is so beautiful we get over that.

When buying some fruit we have a conversation with an elegantly dressed woman~wonder what her story is. I imagine her living in one of the magnificent apts in this posh arrondissement.

When standing in line getting our yummy banana & chocolate crepe we talk to a girl from the Philippines who has been staying with a friend for 6 weeks and was not sure exactly how much longer she would be staying in Paris, while her friend is at work her job is to go to the market.

A very nice market, with nice food, and very friendly people. We will be back next Wednesday.

We fill our bag with cheeses, vegetables, roasted chicken, baguette and some fruit ,head back across the Seine to the 7th and take a side tour to 29 Ave Rapp.

Wow, what a spectacular work of art-an art nouveau building that was designed at the turn of the century ( 1901) by French architect Jules Lavirotte.
How fabulous would it be to live here?
At the very top is an outdoor garden that looks too fabulous for words, and if I lived here I think I would be fabulous too.
Ok, got a little carried away, but I really love this building...and a girl can dream can't she.

We walk a little further and around the corner to Square Rapp.
The buildings are not as fabulous as 29 Ave Rapp but we still manage to spend ½ hr here looking at all the detail. On the back wall is an immense scroll grid that appears 3 dimensional.

Ave Rapp is near the Champ de Mars. Across from 29 Ave Rapp there is a great little neighborhood wine bar, Le Sancerre; local crowd with friendly servers. I have been here a few times on different trips but have never eaten here, only drank the wine so can’t vouch for the food.

We finally leave Ave Rapp and stop by the corner pharmacy to buy Voltaren gel-it is my lucky day, the pharmacist actually understands what I am asking for. I was clued in about this cream on this forum. It’s an anti-inflammatory crème and quite effective on your aches.

Back in the apt we have a fantastic lunch of all our market food.

After a rest we take the bus to the Bon Marche to see what their Christmas decorations look like.

Understated glamour would be my description.

The streets surrounding Bon Marche have lights and stars strung across them. I love this-turns the night into a festive atmosphere.

We then head up rue du Dragon and stop a nice card shop- Edition Cartes D’Art at # 9. Next is Lilli’s, where they sell brownies, which seems to be the latest fad in Paris. I get a citron loaf and a chocolat chaud.

We sit on a bench at Pont des Arts enjoying our goodies, watching the river and Paris before us.

I've added new photos
http://www.flickr.com//photos/28199474@N04/show/

lovely photos, FF.

Love your photos-thanks for sharing

Wonderful shots!