Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Get ready for a lot of photos. We’re winding up our time in Paris and I want to share the last couple of days we spent there. I also want to note that everyone we met and chatted with, whether someone on the street or a waiter or anyone, was simply lovely. We had no problems. I truly believe you receive what you send out. And we were friendly, always trying to speak a little French, and very aware that we were visiting that person’s home city. We were on their turf. We were also open and grateful. And that’s what we got in return. I couldn’t have been more delighted with everyone we met.

On the night of our anniversary, we tried to get over to the Seine and catch a evening boat tour, but we were too late, so we bought a ticket for the Saturday night and were content to walk along the Seine. How could we not be?

Everywhere you look, there are friends, couples and families sitting along the edge of the Seine. It’s a gathering place. It is loved.

The next morning, we grabbed the Metro to take the ride north to the March aux Puces (the flea market) that is at Clingnacourt/Ouen.  It is much, much bigger than I had imagined. It took us a while to find the Antique/Vintage section of the flea market, but we finally got there. Much of it is permanent, housed in several buildings. The first sections we visited were quite high end, full of gorgeous, but expensive, items. Though I appreciated all of it, it’s not my thing, so I kept searching for some building that would house sellers that were selling ‘smalls.’ I finally found it here.

A veritable labyrinth of shops – I never fully explored every corner – and it was fascinating. There was so much I wanted to buy but I was aware that I had to carry it home, so I went for smalls – egg cups, pitchers, the match striker. But I still regret leaving a few items behind.

Had to include this more than life-sized Big Boy.

A bit higher-end here, but this is the section where we found our vintage lithograph, which is even now winging its way to us.

After the Flea Market – and let’s face it, I could have spent ALL day there – we finally made our way to the Jardins de Luxembourg. They’re very near where we were staying but somehow we never got there until Saturday.

I fell in love. It was a very warm day for October and there were people everywhere; children playing, families and friends picnicking, old and young strolling down the wide paths, people reading books and newspapers. It’s huge and it has everything – playgrounds, a palace, gardens, fountains, statues, tennis courts.

If I lived in Paris, I would be there every day. There are chairs and benches everywhere.

We sat and watched a game called Pétanque.

It fascinated us – reminded me a bit of bocce ball, but it’s different. Eventually, we figured out the rules and then, later that night, did a bit more research via google. It’s peaceful, convivial and non-violent. What more could you ask for?

The actual model for the Statue of Liberty, sculpted by Bartholdi.

That night, we went for that cruise on the Seine. If you go to Paris, you must do this. There are several companies that offer cruises. Ours started on the Ile de là Cité. This was the view as we waited for the boat:

And these are some views from the cruise:

Completely and utterly romantic and magical.

On our last day, we wanted to take it easy as we had a travel day coming up. So we went back to our now beloved Jardins de Luxembourg to see the famous marionette show that has been in existence in a little theater there since the 1930s. Now run by the son of the founder, the puppets are handmade on site and, let me tell you, it is enchanting. I think of all those movies where I’ve seen Punch and Judy shows in a Paris park (including Charade.) We learned about it in our initial research for our trip and were determined to go.

We found the theater and were the first in line. And the only adults unaccompanied by children, I might add.

Guignol is the character who shows up and foils the bad guys – with humor.

Of course, I had to buy my own Guignol.

Mine is a hand puppet, not a marionette.

The theater. I didn’t take any shots of the performance as the audience is asked not to and really, shouldn’t we all just be enjoying the show? We loved it. We laughed out loud. A very witty and funny script that entertains both children and adults. But the best part was watching the children react to the show, shouting out answers to Guignol’s questions, cheering, laughing. It made my heart full.

Afterward, we strolled over to a little shop that sold vegan hot dogs, called Hot Vog, then took our lunch back to the park and watch Pétanque for about an hour.

By the way, Don bought these for me in Montmartre for our anniversary:

A vintage box from the 20s made of papier maché, called a boîte à secrets – a box in which to put secrets – and this pair of earrings:

They match my birthstone ring that he gave me for my birthday last year.

The next day, we left on the Eurostar for London.

Did I ever show you this?

Our charming hotel was the old-fashioned kind – you had a key to your door and when you left the building, you dropped the key at the desk. When you returned, the key was given to you by whomever was working at the front desk. I was completely charmed.

More tomorrow.

Almost forgot! Yay, Red Sox!!! We watched the whole game. Bravo!

Happy Monday.

Sorry for the break yesterday. There were some things going on with the blog that were questionable and I was unsure whether or not I had been hacked. The jury is still out on that, but the problem has been taken care of. So I had one of those “tech horror” days that end up being draining.

Today, I head into the city to work on Anastasia (I will be heading in for a few more visits in the coming week) but Don and I are still waking up at 5 am every morning, so I figured I’d get a post up for you.

More Paris. And I still have enough for one more Paris post before I take you to London.

The morning of our anniversary found us in the charming breakfast room of our hotel and Nora took our picture.

The Don persuaded a guy who worked for the hotel across the street to take our picture from the window of our room. I love this one.

We headed up to Montmartre for the day. I can’t get enough of these Paris Metro signs in their Art Nouveau glory.

See? Another 21.

Montmartre was once very rural and windmills were part of the agricultural life there. It’s very hilly with a bohemian past that is still in evidence. It’s absolutely charming.

The gargoyles represent comedy and tragedy.

Loved this sculpture emerging from a wall. The figure reminded me of Salvador Dali.

Can I live here?

We visited the Musée de Montmartre, which is a former complex of buildings where artists lived and worked, including my favorite, Renoir.

He painted this while living there.

We learned a lot about the history of Montmartre and had a bite to eat in this charming courtyard.

We headed up the hill to Sacre Coeur which sits high above Paris.

It was more crowded than usual because there was some sort of food festival going on. And it was hot – Paris was unseasonably warm that week. I’m not complaining – it was wonderful.

Paris from Sacre Coeur.

And then we headed back down. Montmartre is truly magical and there is much to explore beyond what we saw that day. I can’t wait to go back.

Near Sacre Coeur. One of several carousels we saw while in Paris.

One more Paris post to share with you tomorrow. Looking back at these photos makes me happy. I yearn to go back there. Paris has captured my heart.

Happy Sunday.