This post continues from the first overview of my big 30th birthday trip to Paris.
I know that I promised to reveal what Elizabeth and I did on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in this post, but I simply couldn’t finish. I’m usually a woman of my word and I feel bad, but I know that I rarely break my promises and truly try. I’m celebrating my birthday with nearly everyone I know and then the others have left voicemail, and I can hardly fit outings and return calls into my schedule! A jam-packed social calendar is a great problem to have! I think this series will run much longer than I anticipated. I want to share much more about almost every activity! Enjoy the following 30 photos and some trip description.
Monday, April 14, 2014 was our day to go shopping and lounge around in the gardens, but first, we started with coffee (sitting down inside a cafe near the city’s major department stores).
Next, we passed Printemps.
Then stopped at Galleries Lafayette for some shopping.
I purchased a matching bra and panty, my major purchase of the trip. I’m going to keep all the pretty details a mystery, but I’m not sure I could have selected a better set.
Merci beaucoup to
Jamie Cat Callan for planting the idea in my head.
The store is stunningly beautiful. Check out the dome and other architectural details…
First, we ascended to the top where there is a terrace with green “grass” and plastic furniture shaped like indoor sofas, loveseats and arm chairs. The view of the city is lovely. One can see the Eiffel Tower.
Elizabeth Enjoying the View
Another Selfie
We descended a level or so and couldn’t pass up yet another coffee and pastry breakfast in the cafeteria.
My Pain au Chocolat and Café
Elizabeth is hooked on pain aux raisins.
After shopping at Galleries Lafayette, we traveled to the outdoor market Les Puces de Saint-Ouen selling clothing, accessories and antiques. The antiques were very expensive, so we happened to leave empty-handed.
Coming back into the city center, we headed for the Luxembourg Gardens. We sat in the little pale green chairs to rest and look around at the beautiful scene surrounding us. Everything in this huge park was green and in bloom. We also stopped by a concession stand where we bought french fries to eat sitting on a park bench. I washed them down with a coke in an old-fashioned glass bottle.
Another Lion
We saw the Medici Fountain.
Detail
Then, we gathered items for a picnic dinner: a baguette, cherry tomatoes and proscuitto. We still had some red wine leftover from our picnic on Friday evening. We enjoyed a lovely picnic in the Tuileries.
We bought some souvenirs including a petit Eiffel Tower and an Eiffel Tower charm for my bracelet for me, a painting sold on the street and a necklace pendant for Liz, and gifts that afternoon and evening.
Come back next Friday for how we spent my actual birthday on Tuesday and the rest of the trip on Wednesday.
