Day 191: The Day We Did Paris Right

We decided to spend my last day doing very Parisian things. We got a bit of a late start but headed into Paris for the afternoon and evening.  We first made our way to Place Madeline for macarons at Laduree. I was told many times by many people that it was a must and that they were the best macarons in Paris. The line was surprisingly manageable since they have 2 gifts hops next to their tea room. The one connected to the tea room sells all sorts of tea sets and serving items. The other shop is a clean, efficient, macarons selling machine. Well, it’s not that efficient, but the line moves fast at least. I got a variety of 8 to try later. I was thinking of taking some home, with a nice box, but the reality set in that the expensive box is just one more unneeded thing. Without the box, the macarons won’t survive the journey. My apologies.

Sara had wanted to ride the “Velib” bikes at least once before she left. They are the city bikes and are free for 30 minutes and 1 euro an hour after that. There are stations all over Paris and they are really handy, but like all things French, a little intimidating. We braved the crazy streets and rode our “new” bikes down by the Seine to the Eiffel Tower. Sara’s bike somehow got a flat, so the trip was a little less enjoyable for her, but I had a great time. Wish I’d figured this out sooner.

We had a picnic under the Eiffel Tower of pasta salad, quiche, banana bread and a bit of wine. The sun came out and it turned into a great day. We sat there for a couple of hours, just enjoying the people watching, which there was plenty of, and fighting the birds that wouldn’t leave us alone. You can really tell its tourist season because everything is more crowded and it seems everywhere I go, I hear English all around me. We packed up our stuff and headed back to the bike stand to pick up 2 new bikes, preferably without flat tires, to ride to our next location.

We met Linn at Chatelet and walked to the Thistle for the Sunday night Pub Trivia. I’d love to tell you that we placed high again, but alas, you can’t win them all. The first 2 questions were NASA related however, and I believe I was the only one to name Columbia and Atlantis as the 1^st and last shuttles. At the same time, I blanked on a couple of ones I should have known. But we had a really good night and ended up beating the table of obnoxious Englishmen, so at least there’s that. We headed back to Saint Germain and I said my last goodbyes. I will be spending tomorrow packing and with the family, so this was my last day with the other au pairs. It was a really good day and the perfect way to say goodbye to the city.