Mike Jutan's World: Iceland/France/Italy Day 8: Walking Paris

May 6, 2011
France Day 8: Walking Paris

What a huge day we had planned ahead of us! We got up early, excited to be in Paris and ready to try everything. We took advantage of the excellent Rue Mouffetard market that was literally at our front doorstep, and picked up some Croissants. At the Fromagerie across the road, we got some goat brie and emmentaler, and got some bread and rhubarb jam. What a glorious combination!

After getting some food in us, we took off quite early and hiked through St. Germain du Pres. We walked by one street corner and Mom was pretty sure the hotel on the corner was her and Dad's honeymoon hotel from 40 years ago!!! Amazing!!!!!!!!! We continued on to Musee D'Orsay. I was really excited to see it because I had missed it on my last trip to Paris. It was amazing, and the architecture inside was very interesting too - I loved the "beautification" of the metal framework to try to hide the metal structure. We went on a guided tour which was really fantastic. The tour guide was hilarious and had a funny accent and mannerisms. She was very knowledgeable and pointed out the trends in art from the early to the later paintings at the D'Orsay. The tour was awesome and it really gave me a good feel for the different art movements and the differences between them. The art itself was amazing, with some real classics like Renoir's Dance at Le moulin de la Galette and Van Gogh's self-portrait. What an awesome place to visit.

Based on a recommendation from a friend at work, we then headed to Dalloyau, a pastry shop. The iPhone was super helpful and I managed to figure out how to get GPS to work even though I didn't have data or WiFi signal. Awesome! So we found out that there was another Dalloyau location on our way and we tried it out. Everyone thought they didn't like French Macarons but we tried them there and they were so insanely good!!!

We had bought a double ticket to Musee D'Orsay and Musee Rodin, so we then headed to Musee Rodin to chill in the gardens there for a bit. It was nice to chill out a bit as we'd already been standing and walking for several hours and it was quite warm outside. After a little break there and taking lots of good photos, we headed off across the Seine and past Invalides and Petit Palais. There was a funny Police bus parked near the Champs-Élysées, I think because there was a marathon there or something.

The walking continued!! We headed to the Place de la Concorde, checked out the Obelisk and went to the Maiie mustard "boutique"! It was just as awesome as I remembered it, and they had even more flavours than last time I went. I bought some presents for people at home. We then went by Fauchon, the store that my German friends liked last time I was in Paris, but the staff was reaaaally into themselves and the eclairs were like 8 Euros :) So we peaced-outta there pretty quick!

Now would have been a good time to Metro back to the apartment but we were so crazy and wanted to get a nice view of Paris as the sun was going down so we kept walking. We took a little break in the Jardin de Tuilleries, and walked along the Seine back to Ile St. Louis with the intention of getting some Berthillion ice cream. We got it and it is SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Epic. The Passion Fruit flavour is so intense and tart and sooooo good. Amorino was great but I still think Berthillion is the winner of best gelato in Europe :)

And... more walking!! We were close now back to the apartment in the Latin Quarter. We got back to the apartment for dinner and went to bed early after a long, long, long day of exploring.

While walking through St. Germain du Pres, Mom recognized this hotel and figured it was quite likely the same place that she and my Dad stayed in 40 years ago on their honeymoon!!