america is my country and paris is my hometown

i have had two wonderful days in paris

i stayed three nights, each one with a different friend

first in malakoff with an american couple who have lived here for 25 years, she teaches english and he's an engineer. they raised their kids in paris and now have dual citizenship. i definitely consider them to be an inspiration.

my first full day in paris: breakfast in malakoff, dropped my stuff off at my home for the next night, and then off around town! walked nearly the whole blvd st germain, classy classy place that blvd. had lunch at a little brasserie, ordered my favorite salad (chevre) but it wasn't nearly as good as the ones i had down south. 

weird bike event, nearly a thousand bikers went by, taking up the whole street.

everyone was dressed up! berets, baguettes, dresses, suspenders...no clue what it was for but fun to see!

then continued walking (think i walked for over an hour)

made it to les invalides, surprisingly gorgeous!

then musée rodin

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musée_Rodin)

sculptures, gardens, roses, and i met an old couple from new york city on a garden bench and chatted with them awhile about paris, nyc, art

then canal st martin!

cute little canal on the right bank kinda north of the bastille

everyone was lounging outside since it was like 16 degrees (celcius)

cute bridges across the canal with quite the view - it was killing me that i have no camera!

walk along the seine...the crowds were overwhelming though so soon left that for odéon area. succumbed to starbucks and read for awhile

montparnasse area

luxembourg gardens for near-sunset!

anthony's at la place

nice dinner in and a little how i met your mother before bed

arrived at carly's this morning around 9:30 to drop off my stuff

we shopped a bit near l'opéra

then walked all the way to le marais neighborhood for a delicious falafel lunch!

ate outside in a little garden of the national library

we then split and i made my way to jardin des tulieries, walked around a bit

musée de l'orangerie! 

museum of monet, paul guillaume, rousseau, modigliani, laurencin, matisse, picasso, derain, utrillo & soutine

now my favorite musuem in paris...all of the paintings were impressive, lots of information, and a beautiful space. 

walked to the seine and took a seat on the side of the river in the sun to read & soak in the beauty for awhile

back to l'opéra and then carly's!

now resting a bit before we all go out for my last (tear) dinner in france/europe. 

à plus tard!

bises