The Eiffel Tower

Earlier this month I had the extreme pleasure of visiting my favorite city:  Paris! The trip also included a visit to Bruge, (no sign of Colin Farrell, darn!) and Brussels the home of some magnificent examples of Art Nouveau.

Paris is truly a movable feast!

On the agenda the first day was a bateaux mouches tour on the Seine! it was a new experience for me, with jet lag it was great to just sit en plein air  and see all the beautiful sights from the river and enjoy the view. Last time here, I rented an apartment which I did again only this time went big, I got a loft overlooking the Seine, and the Cathedral de Notre-Dame! What a view! It was worth all the pennies I saved. 🙂



One of my favorite things to do (no surprise) is to visit as many chocolatiers and patisseries as possible. Some of my favorites are; Angelina, Jean-Charles Rochoux (in the photo below), Pierre Herme, Laduree, Gerard Mulot, Pain des Idees and so many more too numerous to mention plus all the ones I just happen to walk by. So delectable!

Cathedral de Notre-Dame

Gail and Jean-Charles Rochoux



Walking the city is the highlight for me, you never know what is around the next corner, and getting lost or disoriented is part of the fun. When I’m open to wandering I usually come across some of the  places that I had mapped out in advance to visit, it is a great treat to find them serendipitously!

Farmer’s Market

Shopping of course is magic, so many wonderful things to see, total eye candy everywhere you look. Crazy as it sounds I bought an umbrella, or parapluie in French. There is a shop that has been around forever on Blvd Saint-Germaine that makes them by hand, they are exquisite. Unfortunately for my wallet they also make incredibly beautiful and well make gloves. eh bien!

Bruges

OK let’s talk about food, the Farmers Market on Sunday at Place de Bastille is not to be taken lightly. It was huge, and had everything from fruits and veggies to oysters, escargot, cheese, meats, flowers, nautical striped shirts, cheese knives, you name it! I got some hand made soaps for employee gifts, and tasted some pastries, while watching an acrobatic show performed with an accordion accompaniment. 



Victor Horta Museum, Brussels

On to Bruge! Wow it was like being in a storybook! the city was so clean and very Flemish and beautiful, canals, mussels, frites, and beer!
Brussels was a bit more cosmopolitan, people from everywhere. While in Brussels a marathon was taking place, so as I walked to see some of the sights on my list I encountered closed streets and then the mass of runners, quite spectacular!

Eiffel Tower at Night

I love Art Nouveau architecture, so it was a real treat for me to visit the Victor Horta Museum in Brussels. Photos were not allowed but imagine sinuous curves, stained glass, and artistry everywhere your eyes could see. I was in heaven! Just walking in certain neighborhoods, (I had them scoped out) there were such wonderful examples of the style. One of the most stunning happened to be Place de Ambroix! Perhaps some long lost ancestor, my fathers family was from southern Holland, not so far away.



The last night back in Paris on Rue de Cler, the hotel wasn’t much but the view, incroyable!