Month: January 2026

Today we headed over to Sainte Chapelle chapel to see its stain glass. Today was cloudy so we didn’t get the full effect.

A short walk away was Notre Dame Cathedral. We walked right in without any waiting. We didn’t even have a reservation.

Hard to believe that there was a major fire over 5 years ago. It looks great inside.

We then had a quick bite (quiche Lorraine) at a boulangerie to end the morning. Best, quick and inexpensive way to get something to eat in Paris is at the bakery.

We also saw some Camino shells as we were walking today. That was cool for us.

Took the metro in the afternoon to complete our touristy trifecta to see the Eiffel Tower.

Before dinner we stopped in at Sainte Sulpice church that began construction in 1650+. This was a very old looking church and was also in the DaVinci code movie. It was worth seeing.

We finished the evening at a forgettable restaurant near the Luxembourg Gardens. One more day in Paris to go.

Today we went over to the Louvre Museum. In the 13th century it was a small fortress and expanded to be a palace in the 1600s. In the late 1700s it became a museum.

The highlights at the Louvre are the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. Venus de Milo dates back to 120 BC and discovered on a Greek island in the 1820 and the artist is unknown.

We were there for 4 hours and finally became “museum weary”. Surprisingly, there is a limit to how many nude paintings and sculptures you can look at.

Afterwards., we headed to a streetside cafe to have some cafe au lait. It’s 45 degrees but people are still sitting outside which is cool.

I decided that I must eat “at least” one delicious desert each day while l’m here.

As the 40 year wedding anniversary Paris tour continued, we took a 30 minute walk along the left bank to le vent d’armour restaurant. We passed by Notre Dame cathedral on the way which is across the River Seine.

The restaurant only has 7 tables which made for a nice quiet evening. We were served by a very cordial owner.

At one point as we were looking at the desert menu, Beth said “if you’re in Paris you got to have Crepes Suzette”. The owner overheard her and couldn’t hold back his laugh.

Bonne souirée.

To celebrate our 40th anniversary, we are headed to Paris. We’ve never been there so it seemed like the perfect time to go. It won’t be warm in Paris but right now Massachusetts is frigid. Forty to fifty degrees will feel balmy.

Selling our house in Cranford NJ and moving to a new home in Framingham MA has been exhausting. We are looking forward to just taking it slow and enjoy what Paris has to offer.

I do love that emergency exit row.

After taking the metro from the airport we dropped off our luggage at our hotel and walked over to the Musee d’ Orsay. The top floor had many paintings by Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir and many more artists from the 1870s to the early 1900s.

Very tired at this point since neither of us slept well on the red eye flight from Boston. Getting much needed rest at Hotel du Danube in the St Germain district on the left bank of Paris.

Visiting Paris in January/February does have its advantages as we are not fighting the huge crowds and lines that they would have in the summer months

We decided late to go find an interesting French restaurant for dinner close to our hotel. We decided on Racines des Prés. I saw that they had counter seating where you could watch them cook. When we got there, they had a surprise menu where the chef determined what to give you. It was a great evening and a shout out to my brother in law Rob who taught me always to choose the counter….. that’s where you meet people.