It’s such a gorgeous day I am heading out in capris and sandals!
My first plan today is to get familiar with my local neighborhood.
The Jardin Saint Laurent was my short cut to the Gare de L’est.
The most wonderful little garden spot!
The Gare De L’est will get you almost anywhere. You can buy a little packet of tickets 10 for about 12$ and go almost anywhere by bus or metro. If you use your ticket within an hour you can even transfer buses. Most of the buses are lined up right out front and give you the discount view of Paris!
Thinking I will just be gone exploring for about 10 minutes including a trip to the FranPrix to get some staples for my room… 2 hours later I return completely in LOVE with Paris!
On my last stop back to my room I met the Flower Man!
Daffodils for 2 euros! So delightful!
I gave one to the front desk and one for my table!
Plus the most delicious lunch!
An apple, a giant salad topped with delicious tabouleh and a baguette!
After a refreshing meal I head out with my main goal!
To the Eiffel Tower for real today!
I have to admit I was quite glad I went back to my room. It had gotten quite cold and cloudy by mid afternoon and I was glad I put on warm clothes and grabbed a few scarves! How could I leave Montana without a headband and my warmest wool scarf? IDK!
Paris is all about the kids! There are fun things for them to do, parents walk everywhere with them. I really noticed a lot of parents in Paris (not tourist but locals) walking around with children in tow. Especially the dads!
Fun activities for tourists with kids though right on the plaza by the tower!
Then it was off to the Musee D’Orsay to see some Impressionists!!
The Tower at Night All lit up!
My bus stop!
Oh, yeah! I think I forgot to mention
Mistake #4
And it’s a big one. This is the first time I got on the bus in the wrong direction. So at 11pm I ended up on the far corner of the SW side of town, off the bus waiting in front of the hospital for 12 minutes. It was safe and all worked out ok and I got to see more of Paris as night, but I ended up not getting back to my hotel till around 11pm. A little late and tired and could have turned out differently… My main goal each day was to be in by 4:30 before dark. I think I only made it twice when I was just exhausted but most days, having that for a goal got me in the door just about at dusk. This worked for me as I am not a night person.
Dollars spent today
$20 on groceries at Fran Prix. I would probably spend that at home easy and the food was delicious plus should last me a few days. Had to get a few staples like milk and sugar for my coffee, a bottle of wine, some lentils, salad greens, fruit, etc. (I wish I would have bought a little salt and pepper because I didn’t ever buy any and it would have bene easy to bring along.) The thing it took me the longest to find was the milk. Little bottles because it is fresh were hidden by the OJ and they had way more yogurt then drinking milk even tho the bottles looked similar. $5 on flowers. $12 for bus tickets to last me all week. $12 entrance to Museum.
Jackie Marie Beyer 