Most mornings we don’t get going until about 10am. And that’s ok here because nobody else is up either. Today, we got up early to visit Notre Dame.
We walk by Notre Dame everyday. Sometimes a few times a day and it is always vibrant, full of people - even at midnight. We wanted to go in but didn’t want to wait with the masses. Thus, the early morning visit. It was a beautiful way to start the day. Notre Dame is immaculate all on its own. Add a picture perfect morning and very few people, you get the most amazingly serene experience imaginable. It was like we were in a different world. A calm, peaceful, tranquil world. A world we really enjoyed; so we slowly took in every single stained glass second.
Soon, the tourists started to flood in, loud talking and cameras flashing – which was our sign to head back to our apartment….and take a nap. After all, we had a couple of hours until Berthillon opened.
Berthillon is considered the best ice cream in Paris and bonus, it’s on Ile Saint Louis, three blocks away from our apartment. Between their limited hours and our long days, we hadn’t been to Berthillon yet! And this was our last day. So, we were determined not to miss it, therefore sharing ice creams for breakfast. It was the best breakfast we had in Paris. And the best ice cream ever. I really didn’t believe the hype that it would be that much better – it so was. We were so sad we hadn’t made a breakfast run every morning!
Satisfied, but still hungry for food food, we went to Colette. Not necessarily a restaurant but a strange cross between an upscale Urban Outfitters and Ikea. Ikea only because you can shop and eat there. The restaurant at Colette was a “water bar” which Kevin was excited about, reminiscing about his days at Glacia Nova. Nope, there was no Sly Water or Serac on the menu!
Our afternoon took us to Versailles. We had both been to Versailles our last trip to Paris (13 years ago) but we never really explored the gardens. I remember being really dis-interested in the gardens then. Mostly because we were on a tour and we had just gone through the entire palace and more walking was not appealing. But now, having our own out of control yard, we have an entirely different and new appreciation. The Gardens of Versailles are beautiful, incredibly maintained and insanely huge. We walked through the tall hedges, admiring all the hard work that must have been put into the unending flower beds. And discussed how we might be able to turn our little crop circle into an outdoor ballroom, like Louis XIV. Like the other parks we visited, the gardens were packed. Full of people picnicking, biking, canoeing and enjoying the sunshine. We shared another ice creams and soaked in as much sun and people watching as we could.
On our walk home, we walked by Shakespeare and Company, which moved in 1951 to its new location, but is still run in the same manner, allowing young writers to live and work in the shop. We recognized it from Midnight in Paris.
And then we made our love and marriage officially official. We locked up our love on the Pont de l’Archeveche and threw away the keys into the Seine, ensuring everlasting love. Had we known all it took was $3 euro, we may have skipped the wedding! It’s a silly custom – but we love silly customs.
It’s our last night in Paris so everything we did was with the utmost intention. Dinner at Les Philosophes, a bustling cafe we’d been eyeing all week. And then we shared another Berthillion and watched the sunset from the river bank right in front of our apartment.
This is why we picked Paris.
