Ciao!

...from Milan and a two hour layover with free wifi and cheap cappuccinos!

We did just what we wanted to yesterday and the weather was better than we expected, so in all, a perfect last day in Paris. The whole luggage storage thing was a little frustrating but we eventually figured out how to get change (you can tell Sara is an engineer: the storage lockers are 9.50€ and they require exact change. in coins. the most common coin around is the 2€...so she can't understand why  it's not an even 10€.)

We took the metro from Gare de Lyon back to the 1ère and enjoyed a short walk in the sunshine to L'Orangerie. No line on a Sunday morning! The waterlilies were as spectacular as I remembered. The permanent collection is good too (it's mostly from the modern Classicism and Impressionism collection of Paul Guillaume  - right up my alley!)  The temporary collection was drawings selected from the Musée d'Orsay's collection around a theme "Archives of the Dream". I think it lost something in the translation.

But the sun was shining again and we started our walk..First the Tuilleries.

...then to the 3ème and the delightful Place Igor Stravinsky. 

We stopped for a coffee and a glass of wine at this cool place called Happy Families. It's a new concept that caters to families with small children..There's a café and a hairdresser and a nursery. The menu and the decor (and the prices) were all family-friendly...wonder if we'll see something like this in the States? 

And we kept walking...next to Places des Vosges. I'd loved this park when I came with Katie. Sara was only "whelmed" by it (that's her response for being neither under or over-whelmed)...I think she enjoyed  Le Marais more. It's got a kind of SoHo vibe that we hadn't seen before in Paris. Very fun on a Sunday.

Just past the Bastille we (finally) arrived at Chez Paul, another Yelp recommendation (this time I searched for Sunday French in the area around the Gare de Lyon) that lived up to 4+ stars. We settled in with two carafes of wine (Rosé for Sara and Cotes du Rhone rouge for me) and a huge menu...handwritten in French.  We ended up with escargots and French onion soup to start; Sara had the fish special and I had the vegetable plate (which included a roasted endive that was amazing!) We were too full for dessert (??!!?!! I know, right, and our last meal in Paris!) but enjoyed espressos.

Then we finished the walk back at Gare de Lyon. and whoa - it was crazy busy on this Sunday evening. I've never seen so many people and so many trains...

The train was uneventful and I even managed a few hours of sleep (unfortunately the guy in e bed above Sara snored loudly and all she managed was "resting her eyes"). No matter...we are in Italy now and the coffee is good and cheap!