Paris, 10 December 2025

Our last day in Paris, sigh. A quiet morning, we started to put together our suitcases and packing gifts for the return trip tomorrow morning.

We took the 21 bus to the Tuileries and walked through the Marche de Noel again, this time getting a large raclette sandwich that we split, with some fries (why are the fries so good in France?). We got some macarons to bring home, and enjoyed the holiday spirit there. Since the weather was nice (in the 50s) we ate in the garden, and some inquisitive little birds came right up to us looking for food. I gave one bird a tiny french fry and from then on he thought he owned the bench. As we finished, some other birds approached, we put a few crumbs on the bench which he gobbled up, and when the other birds approached for theirs, he fought them off quite vociferously. We walked further in the gardens until the Place de la Concorde.

We decided to go to the Musée de l'Orangerie where Monet's huge water lilies paintings are, we had not been there since our 1997 trip with Barney’s parents. Unfortunately we had not gotten tickets ahead of time so we had about a half hour wait to get in, but it was worth it. Seeing these magnificent paintings again with no time constraint was wonderful. While most people walked by or took videos of the paintings, we sat and contemplated them, enjoying the subtle variations of the colors and brushstrokes. These painting are truly a national treasure, and nothing can replace seeing them in person. What a treat this was.

We then took the metro to another St. James store in the Marais to look for the sweater I was interested in. While I decided I did not want one after all, we did find the other one Madeleine wanted and got that for her for Christmas. It was nice walking through the narrow old streets of the Marais again, and as we strolled along, seeing many folks coming home from work, we got a few more chocolates at a small store, and we headed south to the Ile St Louis for old times’ sake. Walking along the north side of Notre Dame still mostly covered with scaffolding brought back more memories of that 1997 trip, including when Mary walked into an almost invisible glass door separating two souvenir shops, falling down and getting a black eye (luckily she was not hurt more badly). 

We decided to stop for an aperitif at the little restaurant we had gone to several times during that 1997 trip, which was just as charming as we remembered it. We walked up the main street, the rue de Ile St Louis, and found the building that we were staying in in 1997. We bought some pastries for breakfast at the little boulangerie across the street, where Madeleine went during that trip on our last day to buy a pain au chocolate all by herself, age 7! What a wonderful memory. 

It was time to head back and go to our last dinner, with Alexandra Choquet. We hurried to catch the 21 bus back to Catherine’s and who was on the bus but Martine, Catherine’s friend at whose place we have stayed a few times, and Isabel Catherine’s sister! We had a nice but brief chat, what a lucky coincidence. Back to Catherine’s to change and then a quick 15 minute hike to a restaurant called Le Verbelon to see Alexandra and her son Louis. It was great to see her again too, after five years, and Louis is now about to graduate from college with a degree in architecture. This was a very authentic bistro on rue Tolbiac, with only a chalkboard menu in French. We split a butternut squash tart to start, then Barney and I had a delicious hare stew with mashed parsnips, and split a profiterole. It was nice to catch up with Alexandra, she continues to enjoy her medical work at the senior home. Her older son Antoine is in marketing in Brussels, and the youngest, Benoit is training to become an actor. We had a fun time talking about travel and future plans. Again, another wonderful friend we made who had given us a look at another way of life. 

Walking back to the apartment we realized what a busy and socially fulfilling trip this has been. We packed our suitcases, realizing we had an amazing number of gifts and books etc. to take home, but luckily we had underpacked so we had plenty of space. After a final long chat with Catherine, during which she called to order am 8:00am taxi for us, we headed to bed to get up early for our departure.