Once off the train, we rented bikes at the cafe by the train station and were off on yet another adventure! We followed a bike path through the countryside, passing quaint little houses, cows, and TONS of honeysuckle. We even saw the Seine, though not in Paris. It is much prettier outside of the city!
Once at Monet's house, we had some ice cream and then visited the house and gardens. I forgot how pretty his house is, with all the brightly colored rooms.
My favorite was his huge bright yellow kitchen. We wandered through his flower garden to go to see the water lilies. The water lilies hadn't bloomed yet, but almost every other flower on the property had! I'm surprised JP made it, with his allergies and all, but he was a trooper. I can understand why Monet spent so much time painting his garden, it is absolutely incredible.
After Monet's house, we went to the Museum of Impressionism to see some of Monet's paintings. The Museum of American Art doesn't seem to be open anymore, so we couldn't see the huge water lily paintings that Monet left to his son. We hopped back on our bikes and made our way back to Vernon, where we discovered that we had missed the train by about 10 minutes. Thankfully, it was beautiful outside, so we had a drink on the patio of the café by the train station while we waited. Once back in Paris, we went to Chez Omar for Moroccan food. The couscous was so good, and they serve dessert on HUGE trays where you get to help yourself and pay per piece. Amazing!!! After dinner, we met up with Lily at Footsie, then headed to Harry's Bar for fries. It was great to introduce JP to some of my friends!
Wednesday, we slept in, then went to Cinéaqua, the Aquarium by Trocadéro. Cinéaqua is both an aquarium and a movie museum! We saw sharks and sea anemones and clown fish, and then watched part of Petit Nicholas.
However, it was so beautiful outside that we couldn't waste it! After the aquarium, we bought the biggest cotton candy (barbe à papa!) that I've ever seen, and walked around Trocadéro. We watched the roller bladers and bikers and soaked up the sun!
After, we walked over to the Champs Elysées, looking for some things for JP to bring home. We didn't find much, but we did discover that you have to ask the doorman if you want to go into Cartier, and if you don't look like you can afford it, they will ignore you the whole time you're in the store! We got out of there pretty quickly, but not before ogling at the incredible watches!
For dinner, we went to Ozu, which is the Japanese restaurant at Cinéaqua. One wall of the restaurant is the aquarium's shark tank! The food was fantastic, and you don't feel so badly about eating sushi when there are sharks swimming around next to you! After dinner, we headed toward the Eiffel Tower. We managed to be on the bridge between Trocadéro and the Eiffel Tower just as the lights started to flash! It was absolutely gorgeous! We took a few pictures, then went back to Trocadéro to take in the view.
Thursday began with a trip to Vaucresson, the town where JP lived with his family when he was little. We found his favorite bakery and these adorable pastries that are decorated with fondant to look like little pigs! We found his old house, then hopped back on the train to visit his school. Unfortunately, Île de France was on Spring Break as well, so the school was closed, but it was so cool to see the place he called home!
Back in Paris, we had lunch, then went to Galleries Lafayette. Again, no purchases, but so many pretty things to look at! We went to Rue Saint Anne to get ramen for dinner, then met Erwan and Geraldine for drinks/dancing at the Murano Hotel. Chef William's smoked foie gras changed my life before, and it changed JP's that night!!!
For the final leg of our Paris adventures, see my entry about Friday-Sunday!
Gros Bisous,
Jaimie
