Day 16 - Our last full day in Paris ) We began our morning with an scrumptious chocolate croissants, fresh orange juice and expressos from a bakery that when you passed by the smell of hot buttered baked goods would irresistibly call to you like a Sirens sweet song. You know youve enjoyed a great French croissant when you leave the shop with a crumb covered shirt! Then on to Noter Dame, where our tour guide lead us around the exterior and to the starting point of the Roman road. We entered into the churchs shadowy interior, which only highlighted the magnificence of the glorious stained glass. After exploring for a while, it was up to Victor Hugos storied bell towers. 422 very narrow spiral ascending to the top. And the very second we walked out onto the roof... CLANG! The noon bells begin to peel! Its ringing was deafeningly loud but oh so exhilarating. The largest bell in the tower weighs in at a massive 6 tons. Sharing this moment with my daughter and several face to face encounters with the famous gargoyles along with the spectacular views made the climb so worth the dizzying effort. After leaving Noter Dame, we ventured just down the street to the kings private church, Saint-Chapelle. Which had more than 1100 glorious stained glass scenes illustrating Bible stories. It was the most fabulous display of stained glass Id ever seen. Panel after rapturous panel soared heavenward. It truly was awe inspiring. We lunched at a quaint cafe in the old part of the city, where we had a hardy meal of beef and potatoes in a rich wine sauce. A couple of musicians strolled up and began playing right next to our table. The woman played a stand up bass and sang. While her boyfriend accompanied her on his guitar. Her voice was so classically Parisian. Smooth and wonderfully deep emoting the powerful romance only found in Paris. I LOVE live music. In the afternoon we went to the Musee dOrsay, which houses the worlds largest collection of impressionist paintings. The Monet’s and the pieces by Vincent Van Gogh where my favorites. So many great masterpieces and never enough time to relish and absorb them all. I could have spent days in this grand museum. But we had to leave to get ready for our sunset cruse on the River Seine. What a spatular evening to end our last full day in the city of lights. The boat leisurely ambled away from the Eiffel Tower with the sunset surrendering over the city. Seeing Paris by boat is an absolute must when visiting. I was astounded by the throngs of people enjoying the river. kissing couples and wine drinking joyous friends simply taking in the end of the day together. The spirit of which fully on display by groups of dozens of couples freely dancing together by the waters edge. Rich revelry indeed. Our cruse ended right back at the foot of the Eiffel Tower at 3 minutes to 10:00. Just in time to catch the tower sparkle to life on the water. It is a truly unforgettable memory. Off the boat, we walked down to the grassy mall just beyond the tower where I read three of my poems out loud in the glow of Eiffels grand tower of light. Fulfilling my dream. Taking one last stroll under her grand arches, I stopped and richly drank in this sweetest of lifes moments. I vigorously and fully hugged my dear daughter. I told her I loved her to no end. I told her to always dream. And when you do, dream really big dreams. Because I know for a fact... they come true if youll just truly believe. What a beauitful memorable day… lived to the fullest! I want to thank all of you who came along and liked and commentedon our journey on FaceBook. I enjoyed your comments very much. I want to thank Patricia Verrusio McBride and her great husband Chuck for all their insights on where to go and what to see in Italy and Paris. Your experienced advise was priceless. I made some new friends (Theresa Elking and Laura Henson Inzer) and rekindled some old ones (Donna Moore). We met so many interesting beautiful genuine loving people from around the word. It made our trip rich indeed. It made me realize that our world is such a grand and small place. Over the coming days I’ll post about our fabulous food experiences, then some of the art, and flowers, maybe a few churches and palaces. So stay tuned. Av revior
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 01:29:06 +0000
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