I had a quick getaway with my husband to Paris a week and a half ago. I knew it would be fabulous when we arrived to our room at the Ritz Paris, dropped our bags, refreshed ourselves after the flight, went downstairs to have lunch on the terrace of the Bar Vendome and supermodel Kate Moss came in and was seated next to us. She sat with her fiance to our right and to our left was a super svelte and fashionably dressed group of Chanel executives in town from London and abroad. The outdoor portion of Bar Vendome is quintessential Paris with statues, urns, water fountains and of course, topiaries -- and details abound, such as the double "R"s on the chairs:
After lunch we strolled (leisurely, of course, with no kids to worry about!) through the beautiful Jardin Des Tuileries and went to the Musee de l'Orangerie where we pensively pondered the beauty of Monet's "Water Lillies" in the room Monet himself designed to be a "decompression space" (how nice after a long flight). We continued through the halls viewing works by Cezanne, Renoir, Rousseau, Modigliani, Laurencin, Matisse, Picasso, Derain, Soutine and Utrillo. Ahhh Paris!
We visited the Champs Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe, went to the Eiffel Tower, stopped to rest our tired feet and sip capuccinos at the elegant Parc du Champ de Mars which leads to the equally exquisite Ecole Militaire:
We visited the Louvre, went to the Orsay, saw Notre Dame, walked extensively through the Pantheon where historical greats such as Victor Hugo, Madame Curie, Voltaire and Rousseau are buried in underground crypts. We checked out the Sorbonne, the beautiful bridges along the Seine and street after street of spectacular architecture. As we were convinced that we were burning many more calories than we normally do in the course of a day, we stopped every day at 3:00 p.m. for coffee and pastries (eclairs and ice cream or delightful pastel colored macaroons from the original Parisian patisserie, Laduree - we visited three of their locations, stay tuned for more on that).
Pin It
After lunch we strolled (leisurely, of course, with no kids to worry about!) through the beautiful Jardin Des Tuileries and went to the Musee de l'Orangerie where we pensively pondered the beauty of Monet's "Water Lillies" in the room Monet himself designed to be a "decompression space" (how nice after a long flight). We continued through the halls viewing works by Cezanne, Renoir, Rousseau, Modigliani, Laurencin, Matisse, Picasso, Derain, Soutine and Utrillo. Ahhh Paris!
I snapped this photo of the Goyard store on the Rue de Honoree - their travel luggage is just so French!
The Louvre is incredible and some of my favorite moments included seeing modern-day artists reproducing works by the old masters. It's inspiring and part of the whole experience.
Then there was Versailles! Unrivaled, spectacular, opulence! It was such a treat to see the famous tree boxes in the gardens of Versailles, after I blogged about them in March.
For lunches on this trip we dined at Cafe de Flore, Angelina at Versailles, Le Restaurant at the Musee d'Orsay, Cafe de la Paix and as mentioned above, Bar Vendome at the Ritz. (and many bakeries along the way!)
(Le Restaurant)
For dinners we enjoyed superb French cuisine at L'Espadon at the Ritz, Restaurant Le Meurice, Ledoyen (since 1792 - wow!) and L'Ambroisie. Each was spectacular and we met the chefs at L'Espadon and Le Meurice. Bon Appetit!
Stay tuned this week for a lot more on my trip and fabulous photos I took of Parisian windows and doors!
