our last day in paris...

... consisted of drizzly rain which led to a spontaneous decision to go shopping! We discovered very close to our hotel was a circular shaped very fancy mall with beautiful stores selling household items, clothing, a restaurant and an entire floor dedicated to a gourmet grocery store. We found beautiful clothes made from cotton and linen, unique shoes, scarves. We ate olives, bread, quinoa with chicken, fresh strawberries and a chocolate baguette for lunch. When we left the mall hours later, the sun was shining so we decided to venture out and walk to the Seine. Later that night we returned to the same small bistro we had been to the night before for dinner and got the same waiter. La Merlot. The night before he was rather serious. But on our last day he smiled while he teased me about photographing our food, and I knew we were friends, and it made me love Paris even more.

Paris is such a beautiful city. It's hard to put into words how much fun we had.

Meanwhile we were hearing a little bit from the kids that they were all doing well. Annabel was in Nepal with a tour group. They were staying in a monastery and literally living off the land. She was loving it. And Shawn was in camp, having a blast and making friends. Sky was back home working on her photography and living with an old childhood friend.

All was well.  

paris~musee marmatton monet

The next day in Paris we walked part way in the rain to Musee Marmottan, clutching our umbrellas. When my pants and shoes began to get wet I insisted we grab a cab, and Gary agreed.  We entered the museum quickly due to having purchased our tickets ahead of time. We spent several hours there, mostly viewing some original paintings of Monet, which we were not allowed to photograph. After our time in the museum we enjoyed a meal at a local cafe. Later I had a massage at our hotel, while Gary enjoyed the sauna. Despite the language barrier I had a great experience with a sweet young French masseuse, in a quiet dimly lit room, her blonde hair swept up in a tidy bun, her smile was warm.

Paris has an undeniable spirit, and that day we felt it. Paris is a city for artists, created by artists. In fact it seems that Paris itself breathes artists into life as if to proclaim, "Beauty is important!"

That day in Paris was a stunning array of art -- a dance of pastel colors and light -- tapestries of all the paintings we saw, the stained glass windows, the light blue walls of the hotel, stamped in gold images of Asia, the delicate marble sculptures, and even the colors of the sorbet.

paris ~ musee d' orsay

Gary and I went to Europe this summer, sans kids. It was so much fun and very relaxing.

Our first stop was Paris. Paris is a city of magic and creativity. I find the people there friendly, sophisticated, and classy. On our first full day we walked to the Musee d' Orsay in the light rain. We spent the entire day there looking at all of our favorite art. We ate at the museum cafe. The food we ordered was presented to us as works of art. I took tons of photos. We returned to the hotel fully filled with inspiration.