Paris--Day 5

Wednesday was our last day (sniff!). We began with breakfast at Cafe Paris (same spot as our first day). We then headed over to Notre Dame to meet up with our bike tour.

Admiring the artwork on the building across the street at breakfast.

We had a fun morning doing the Bike About Paris Tour. We saw lots of great sites, learned some new info, and enjoyed the beautiful weather. 

Part of the thousand year wall--the former legit border of Paris!

Place de Vosges

The Bastille

The most expensive restaurant in Paris, and the place the movie Ratatouille was based on. 6 month waiting list to eat there, at about 1200 euros a plate!

Notre Dame

See the Eiffel Tower in the background?

After our tour we walked to the Jewish quarter for lunch at a spot recommended by our bike tour guide--Miznon. This was an AMAZING spot of Israeli-French fusion cooking. Vegetables in the window, busy busy busy, long line. I had a falafel burger and it was to die for.

Matt filling up at a water fountain.

We slowly strolled back to the hotel so Matt could hit the conference one more time, and we stopped at Berthillon on Ile Saint Louis so I could sample the famous ice cream. It was good, but Flapdoodles is better!

Had to stop at the chocolate shop again--loaded up a box to take to Pop Pop!

While Matt was at the conference, I did my final shopping (Longchamp and Petit Bateau on this day), then decided to take the time to stop for one more glass of rose on a cafe to people watch. Generous pour at this place!

And then....I couldn't resist grabbing this giant raspberry macaron to snack on before dinner. It was soooo good!

I admired this flower shop that was directly across from our hotel every time I stepped out onto the street.

We took a cab to make closing time at a store Matt wanted to go to, then slowly walked back to St Germain toward dinner. I spotted this open back window to some restaurant kitchen full of whisks. Love.

Bustling nightlife of St Germain. Crazy how busy the street was just a block away from our hotel, but our room was completely, blissfully silent!

Couldn't resist another tasting dinner--this one at KGB (short for kitchen galerie bistro). 10 courses. So different, yet no less wonderful than the one we enjoyed at Boutary the night before.

After dinner. With my love in the City of Love.

We pondered grabbing a cab over to the Eiffel Tower to see the lights, but it was late, we still had to pack, and we had to be up at 5 to get to the airport and catch our flight, so we did the responsible thing and just went back to the hotel. Sigh, next time.

We made it through security and customs without issue Thursday morning, and had time for breakfast and shopping. Shopping in the Paris airport is pretty sweet. It was apparently international selfie day, so I had to pose by the selfie spot in the terminal.

After another easy flight, we landed in MSP around noon, grabbed coffee, and headed to pick up the girls. They had a wonderful, special week with Grandma and Pop Pop and we are so grateful for the opportunity to enjoy a trip of this magnitude without worry for our kids. We made a quick stop at Trader Joe's on the way home and enjoyed a French picnic in the living room with some charcuterie (which I have been making almost daily since our return) and our little furry French friends who made it back in our suitcases 

We both woke super early the next day--3:07 a.m. to be exact. Thank you, jet lag. I looked out our front door around sunrise and was gifted this view. It is always so wonderful to travel and experience new places, but truly, there is no place like home.