I like Paris in the Sunshine!

November 29, 2006

It’s hard to believe that today was my last full day in Paris. On one hand, it feels like I’ve been traveling and living out of a suitcase forever. On the other hand, it feels like Karen and I saw George Michael yesterday and that was our first day in Paris over 7 weeks ago!

Today was a perfect day. I woke up this morning to find clear, sunny skies, which was quite a surprise considering the forecast was for rain all day. It was quite cold outside and I was glad I picked up a pair of gloves at the airport yesterday.

I got up pretty early and headed into the city, as Versailles is about 30 minutes away by train. It’s about a 15 minute walk to the train station. It was brisk and cold, but I had my umbrella just in case the weather turned. I really had no agenda for the day, which was great. I just planned to wander, go where I felt and see what my day turned out like.

I decided to get off at the Metro stop right outside the Louvre and just walked and walked and walked. I stopped in stores when they struck my fancy and make right and left turns when it felt right.

I ended up at Galeries Lafayette, which is Paris’s equivalent to Harrod’s. The store is beautiful with a huge stained glass dome in the middle. The windows outside are all decorated for Christmas and there are tons of people just staring at these windows. I spent quite a bit of time here gathering up a few more Christmas gifts, as well as some things for myself, of course!

I then went down to Avenue Montagne, which is where the triple crown of Paris fashion lives – Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Dior. I, of course, wandered through all of them, breathing in the new cruise collection items, chatting to the staff I met before and saying so long, but never, ever goodbye!

By that time it was already 6PM, much to my surprise. So, I popped over to a café, sat down and had a great supper. I ordered a glass of champagne, of course, and stared out at Paris’s triple crown. It was a perfect way to end a great day.

Before heading back to the hotel, I stopped by Laduree, a very fancy pastry shop and picked up something that I’m going to enjoy with a cup of tea once I finish packing and gathering up all of my receipts to get stamped so I can get the tax back…my only source of income when I return to LA!

This will be the last entry in my European travel blog, unless something completely bizarre happens during my travels tomorrow. This trip has been an amazing adventure for both Karen and I. We have seen so much, experienced things we will never forget, and laughed and cried along the way. This 7 week adventure was the exact thing I needed and all of you, my friends, were so right when you said, “you’ll see, this is exactly what you need.” And now, 7 weeks later, I’m very ready to come home. I’ve missed you all and can’t wait to catch up…although I promise no 3,000 picture slide shows!