Day 5: Paris

We'll begin this post by saying Happy Father's Day to our amazing Dad's! We're sorry to miss spending this special day with you guys but hope you know how much we love and adore you!

After our amazing bike tour around Paris that had us arriving back to the hotel at 1 and put us in bed around 2, we, of course, slept late once again! We didn't have many things left on our list that we just HAD to do, so we were excited about the leisurely day ahead...especially since it was our last day in beautiful Paris.

We began the day with a delicious brunch at Les Deux Magots, which is a famous cafe where Hemingway, Picasso, Sartre and the likes used to frequent and get their creative juices flowing. The restaurant started in 1914 and has remained a popular Parisan hang-out since. Ham and cheese omelets satisfied our breakfast needs, but we weren't too full to enjoy their famous hot chocolate, served in a porcelain jug. It was truly the best hot chocolate we have ever tasted! A definite must-have for everyone! It was so rich and delicious that we were not even able to drink it all...which is rare for the chocolate lover that I am! We both agreed that we had had another wonderful Parisan experience over our leisurely breakfast at Les Deux Magots!

Following brunch, we boarded the metro. Next stop... Sacre Coure, which translates to Sacred Heart. This was a lovely basilica on the top of a hill overlooking the north of Paris. We were reminded of how just days earlier we were looking miles away to this very hill from the top of the Eiffel Tower. After climbing numerous steps (no Funicular for us young-uns) we entered into the sanctuary where we took a seat and enjoyed the peaceful silence and beautiful dome above us.

Walking down from the basilica was much easier, and we continued our stroll through Montmartre, where the Moulin Rouge awaited us. This area was definitely a little risque, with numerous sketchy, scandalous shops and theaters lining the streets. We snapped a quick picture in front of the Moulin Rouge and took a seat to ponder how we should spend our last afternoon in Paris.

We agreed that there was 1 thing that we HAD to do before we left Paris, which was to revisit the Berthillon ice-cream stand from the previous night, which we decided to do after dinner. Because we had yet to visit the Luxembourg Gardens, which were right near our hotel, we both agreed that reading in the gardens sounded extremely appealing! We were so glad that we didn't overlook this area. It's beautiful grounds and many areas for different activities, including sports, music, and gross displays of public affection made it a perfect place for people of all ages to visit. We pulled up a chair, got out our books, and waited for the Chopin piano concert to begin. Unfortunately, the cold weather and high winds didn't keep us there long (or at least long enough for the concert to begin), and we decided to search for a cheap dinner on our way to get ice-cream.

All of the pizza stands that I had seen all over Paris every day for the last 3 days seemed to have been hiding from us, so we settled on a huge hot dog with a toasted baguette bun and melted cheese and a diet Coke. We feasted on the bridge overlooking the Seine and agreed that, once again, it just didn't get any better than that...until we got our ice-cream that is! We played it safe with the same 2 scoops of dark chocolate ice-cream from the night before, only because we voted it the best chocolate ice-cream we had ever tasted! This time, we found a bench alongside the river, and indulged in our last Parisan treat. C'est Tres Bon!

What a wonderful experience we had in Paris and a GREAT way to begin our honeymoon!

-Laura

Our best experiences in Paris:

1.) Top of the Eiffel Tower

2.) Bike Tour of Paris (which included seeing the Eiffel Tower at night all lit up while cruising the river!)

3.) Crepes at St. Germaine

4.) Hot chocolate at Les Deux Magots

5.) Being with each other in the most romantic city in the world!