the whole shebang

we did so much in paris in a short time
that a lot of it runs together
in my memory
 add to that
 iphoto
 where i store my pictures
 seems to have mixed order
 i am not sure why
 photos
i took of the eiffel tower
 all on one evening
 are separated/in between
 by photos
 i took earlier that day
 i know i wasnt  really paying attention
 to where i was all the time
 i knew
 where i was
 but
 not the name of the area
 i counted on my photos to remind me
 of course
 i didnt always take photos of the street signs or metro stops
 nevertheless
 i am going to try and share what we did
 in my own vague way
 and
 remind you
 again
 to pop over to genie's blog (click here)
where
she not only tells you what you're looking at
 she gives you background and how to get there!  

okay

after we landed
 cabbed it to the apartment
 literally
dropped our luggage
 and
 headed out
here's what we saw
in no particular order







i think
 after that
we met up with peter
 and
went to a chic shop/restaurant called
 merci



 then it started to rain
 and
 all i wanted to do was go home
 i was overtired
 having had maybe 2 hours of sleep on the plane
 so while mary and genie went to the market
 i had a bit of a melt down
 i am sure they were thinking
 what have we gotten ourselves into with this chick

i did get it together
 and
 after i slept
 i was practically fun to be with


sunday
 we met friends
eyad and steve t


at
notre dame



looked around the bird and flower market



 then headed to brunch
 after that we made our way to
 montparnesse



 wandered an outdoor art exhibit/sale
 meandered into the
cemetery



 checked out the area


stopped for a bathroom break
 and
had a pick me up at an outdoor cafe


 after getting a second wind
 we headed to the
Parc des Buttes Chaumont



when it began to rain
 we hotfooted it to


Rosa Bonheur
a bar in the park
where we waited it out
before heading out to find somewhere open for dinner



 all
we and the rest of paris
could find open
were
 japanese restaurants

 i thought it would be easier to order there
 but what a dimbulb i am
trust me
if you cant order food off a french menu
 at a french restaurant or cafe
 you surely cant do it at a sushi restaurant
 in paris
 i will tell you this
we did not go hungry it 

monday was a holiday
 and
 extremely rainy
 we met steve t
at gare l'est the train station



where we caught the train to
provin



that evening
 we three had separate plans for dinner
i met steve t and we went to dinner with another former blogger
 rob and his partner gav



 who popped over from london
 - seriously -
 to see me!
  we ate at a fabulous restaurant
 on the edge of the marais
near
 place des vosges
called
le bonne soeur 



tuesday
 was mary's birthday
 we met the
 wonderful
 peter
who took us on a tour of the 16th

 he guided us around some amazing places



lunch was had before we headed home to refresh
before meeting
 steve t at
le royal monceau raffles hotel's le bar long


 followed
by a trip
 to the top
 of
 the
  arc de triomphe



rain held off

we all got some wonderful views/photos of paris





 dinner was at a thai restaurant
back in le marais
 an area
j'adore
 it was once the jewish quarter
now
 its winding streets are filled with shops restaurants and bars
in the evenings its also filled with adorable gay couples

wednesday
i was on my own
 both mary and genie had plans
 so i wandered the marais again
 crisscrossing the bridges over the seine
to the ile st louis

 at an appointed hour
we met in the
place des vosges
park


 had a latte at a little cafe


before heading off again to wander streets in search of photos ops
 here's where i get fuzzy as to where we were

i do know that
thursday


mary and i did a little shopping at bon marche
followed
 by a farewell dinner at
restaurant vivienne
 just across from our apartment

if you're still with me
you deserve these
as a reward




the seine



 the eiffel tower



louvre reflecting pool




all the rest
of my many paris photos
will be over at
through my eyes