Streets of Paris

After we left Notre Dame Cathedral, we crossed back over to the Right Bank via Pont Saint Michel to the sounds of quintessential French accordion music. There are accordion players all over the city, including on the Metro, and I think it's rather nice!

We were heading in the direction of the Marais district when I spotted a chocolate shop Maison Georges Larnicol, also known as chocolate heaven, and we had to stop by to sample some of their goodies. In addition to their regular yummies...

They were all ready for Valentine's Day as well!

 

Despite being distracted by coffee caramels, we finally reached the Place de Vosges, which is in the heart of the Marais district and is also the former residence of Victor Hugo! His mansion is now a museum, and we took a quick gander within. There are also a ton of art galleries within the plaza and a hidden garden belonging to the Hotel Sully. 

We were pretty tired after all this wandering about so we took a quick nap at the hotel before heading back out to visit the Place de Concorde, Champ Elysees and Arc de Triomphe. Night had fallen by then, and Paris truly became the city of lights. Did you know that the Place de Concorde was the site of the guillotine that took the heads of Madame du Barry, Marie Antoinette and Robespierre? Not to sound grisly or anything, but it's surreal that I was actually standing in a place of such historical significance. 

 

The walk up Champ Elysees started out nice enough. It was just the two of us for a while, but we soon came across the requisite crowds and shops the closer we got to the Arc de Triomphe. Apparently, it's also where the local mallrat types hang out, and there were lots of young kids chatting each other up. The peaceful walk turned into dodging crowds, and I think we were both glad to leave the area.

I wanted to continue the walk from Arc de Triomphe to the Trocadero to view the Eiffel Tower up close, but I think J was pretty exhausted from all the walking. He totted up the miles and it came out to an astounding 20 miles or so - what a trooper! I saw the Eiffel Tower from afar, and it was enough for me to not want to walk my husband to death to see it.