Checking off the to-do list

Today I tried to knock some things off the Paris to-do list, since we only have 4 weekends left before we fly back to the US. Luckily it was an absolutely gorgeous Saturday with blue skies and warm enough where I could go around outside without my coat for the first time in since October!

First thing was to stop by 27 Rue Fleurus which is where Gertrude Stein lived back in the day. Then I was going to check out the but the line was ridiculously long. Luckily even though the last day was supposed to be today (maybe why the line was so long, when Kara went she didn't have one at all) it got extended until March 29th.

So I walked along the Marais through the gay district on Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie. Then I stopped by St Paul's church which was really impressive inside, before finally making my way to Thanksgiving, which is Paris's most well known American expat grocery store. Sure Poptarts are $9 a box, but it's Poptarts in Paris! And real tortillas! And root beer! I picked up the aforementioned root beer and some Reeses Pieces before heading back out.

For late lunch I continued the American vibe and ate at Breakfast in America where I had my first breakfast taco in over 5 months. Considering they're somewhat of a staple in my meals in the US, I was really really happy to discover someone actually made them in Paris. It was pretty tasty, and I had a fun conversation with a visiting American who was in town scouting out for a movie, so that was fun.

Next on the to-do list was to check out the Palais Royal and the inner courtyard which is kind of a secret park. Even though I'd been around the area a decent number of times, I'd never actually ventured into the courtyard area. And trees were blooming! Spring is coming! And we're leaving :( I was kind of sad this was my first (and quite possibly my only) time there, and while most of the trees were still quite bare, I can imagine how beautiful it must look in the summer.

After that, I went searching for the church my parents said was right next to the Louvre. And after some scouting around, I finally found Saint-Germain of Auxerrois Church.

Mass was going on at the time so I didn't get to explore it much, but it's just one of those things that still amazes me about Europe, where such a beautiful church gets completely overshadowed by everything else, even though it would be a top visited site were it located in the US. 

Since I was near by, I also finally visited the tip of Île de la Cité past Pont Neuf ("New Bridge") which is neat because back when Pont Neuf was created in 1607, it was at the very edge of the island. And over the last few hundred years, it's built up quite a bit past that. Being a beautiful Saturday afternoon, it was quite crowded with people hanging out along the river, and was really quite neat. 

Then it was a jump on the metro to get to the final destination of the day, Passage Jouffroy and Passage Verdeau which are covered storefronts through old time passageways. Not the top of the "must do" list of Paris, but pretty neat places none the less. 

All in all a quite productive day! The original plan was to go to Normandy and Mont Saint Michel this weekend but Kara was sick so had to come up with a new plan. Only 3 more weekends left!