Good evening....It's 8:45pm, Tuesday, May 24th.
To continue yesterday's adventures.....After our inspiring visit to Sainte Chapelle, we went back again to Ile St. Louis in search of one of France's greatest products.....ice cream!! Now, this isn't just any old ice cream (sorbet, too), but it is Berthillon (BEAR-tee-yohn) ice cream. Hands down, this is the world's most amazing ice cream...period. With two scoops of sorbet...one strawberry, one raspberry...I broke my 16 month sugar fast and again found Nirvana! It is literally impossible to describe the taste of this stuff...you just have to try it. And to do that, you have to come to France, as it is not available anywhere else. We enjoyed this treat at a charming cafe near the river. There was a nice breeze and we just sat and soaked it all in.
On the way back to the apartment, we stopped at the little grocery store and bought some snacks for dinner and totally collapsed once inside our digs. A comment was made about how the jet lag didn't seem to be affecting us......wrong!!! I didn't open my eyes till 11:30 this morning! Oops!
After coming out of our respective comas, we managed to ready ourselves and got out the door about 1pm. Our first destination was Montmartre, a gorgeous neighborhood filled with art and artists. It's a hilly place and we climbed up and up to Sacre Coeur, a stunning basilica overlooking the entire southern part of the city. The weather was clear, giving us a fabulous view. We toured the church, then decided to walk around the side streets where we found a delightful park. Paris has at least a zillion small parks scattered around the city and they offer a slice of tranquility in the midst of big city hustle bustle. We sat for quite a while on a bench in the shade and watched people come and go.
After our rest in the park it was back on the Metro to the Eiffel Tower. The area surrounding this most famous of landmarks is mostly park land, with big trees, ponds and, once again, lots of folks just enjoying the greenery and the outdoors. Our plan was to go to the top of the tower, but the wait to buy the tickets was 3 hours and that wasn't going to fly, so we came home, had a small meal in and now are going to settle in for the night. Tomorrow is a big adventure to Brittany and Mont St. Michel....and we have to be at the train station at 6:30am!! Ugh......getting up at zero-dark-thirty isn't my cup of tea, but necessary to get to where we're going!! It will be an interesting first for me.....taking the high-speed train! I'll fill you in tomorow....
Take care, everyone.....
JP
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