Bon Saint Valentin Mes Amis

Natural Beauty

Today, my aunt and I went to see a exposition on pearls. There we learned everything about pearls and saw many gorgeous pieces, including the one seen above made of pearls and diamonds. Of course, it is not as splendid in the photo as it was in person. Oh, how it sparkled!

Yum Again

Okay, yes, I went to Berthillon again. I took my great niece Lilas around Paris today and what teenager doesn't like ice cream?! This time I chose chocolate ice cream and pear sorbet and let me tell ya, YUM. It's my new favorite combo. And yes, my pants fit a bit more snug these days!

We walked all over Paris since it was another fantastic day, stopping for lunch in the Tuileries gardens to sit in the sun. We also went to Monmartre, which was on everybody's agenda as well because of the weather. There were way too many people there, but we walked around a bit, enjoyed the view, and came back down to the Seine for our well deserved ice cream snack.

Below, are photos of Sacre Coeur and Place des Vosges.

To think that yesterday I almost forgot to look at Notre Dame as I walked by it. Is that what it is like after you have lived here for years? Do you just walk by history? Do you just waltz on by ancient masterpieces? Imagine growing up here and Paris being all that you knew as a city?

The Sunny Side of the Seine

15 degrees Celsius, people!! Absolutely wonderful, wonderful day. I sat on the bridge between Ile St.Louis and Ile de la Cite and listened to the American blues band, while the sun warmed my back. And since I was so close to Berthillon ice cream, I just had to eat some: red currant and red peach. Yum (sorry Chris!!). Above, is a photo of Pont de la Tournelle with a statue of the patron saint of Paris, Ste Genevieve, who is said to have saved Paris from Attila the Hun with her prayers, in 451.

I then saw the movie "Juno" which is a very entertaining movie. Luckily, they show movies in the original version so I could see it in English. After the movie, I bought a Pariscope and walked down Boulevard St.Germain, since it was still such a lovely temperature. Upon my return to my neighborhood, I noticed a lovely crescent moon glowing all alone on a deep blue backdrop. I attempted to capture it without a tripod so it's a bit fuzzy, but it seems to work anyhow.

City of Light

Flâner à Paris

The mayor of Paris had bike stations installed all over Paris. At these stations, you can rent a bike and drop it off at any other station anywhere in Paris. I took one from in front of the apartment and rode down rue de la Convention, across the Pont Mirabeau (seen above...and you should all read Apollinaire's poem) to the 16th arrondissement.

As you can see, it was a gorgeous, crisp day today. In the 16th, I walked around looking for Hector Guimard architecture (art nouveau architect). The photos are in my photo album if you would like to see more than the one below. I walked all over the place and discovered new neighborhoods and lovely spots.

I got on the 72 bus which rides along the Seine and it was so beautiful today, with the clouds and blue skies. Pont des Arts was my exit and I walked onto the bridge and sat in the sun on a bench, admiring the beauty around me.

Obsession

Nutella is thy name!

I can't stop eating it. I crave it. Nutella is different here. The consistancy in the US is more like peanut butter and here it's runnier and tastes more nutty and chocolatey. Yum.

Rainy, dark, cold day today. Looking at this job search in a different way and am considering working in a tea shop. We shall see!