July 4th round-up for Miss Betty

Oh no – the last full day in Paris for our little band of tourists.

Our breakfast room

Organizer, J. (no not me for a change!) had arranged for a half-day English-speaking private tour guide who picked us up promptly at 9 a.m.  Starting to have to set the alarms.

Amir was our fountain of wisdom and source of entertainment for three and a half wonderful hours. I can highly recommend hiring a private guide as one can see what one has missed, or spend more time on what one personally wants to see! As we were a fairly homogenous group – all interested in the same things, we really benefited from the special treatment.  Montmartre and seeing where both Victor Hugo had lived as well as the famous Moulin Rouge, never mind the oldest true cabaret in Paris and the last vineyard as well, on top of Picasso’s work atelier then Sacré Coeur were highlights.

Moulin Rouge

Where Van Gogh lived with his brother in Montmartre

One of two remaining "moulins" where there was dancing: Utrillo, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso and others met here

Picasso's atelier

Sacré Coeur

A wonderful mime

The flying buttresses of Notre Dame

The explanations about the “Pont Neuf” (new bridge – the first built in stone as opposed to wood, which rotted and had to be replaced often), the narrow streets in another neighborhood; the Latin quarter (thus named as the Romans had come through in the first century BC); the Opera house – at the end of the street leading in between the Louvre and the Opera house where the Emporer had his own private entrance, simply too many things to take in, but we did try.  J had again organized lunch: at Monsieur Bleu we all had the Asparagus Linguine, which was delicious in itself. We had intended on not having any dessert thinking that nothing could beat Angelina’s: we were wrong as the following photos bear witness.

Before

Millefeuille

Upside down lemon tart

Salty caramel ice cream

Cheesecake

The aftermath

The afternoon passed in a swirl as we dashed back to Galeries Lafayette for another suitcase (I won’t tell who, but there were too many souvenirs to pack and not enough spare room); returned for a rest then packing. Had intended just grabbing a couple of salads in the tea room across the street, but, due to the Soccer match in between France and Germany, it shut early. J and I debated getting yogurts next door in the mini-market, but finally opted to go back to where we had had dinner the first night to avoid the hassle - remember those desserts? And we had thought them exceptional - guess it is a good thing that we didn't have more time or we might even have discovered others (better I am sure not after Angelina's and Monsieur Bleu)

As the Eiffel tower lit that evening, all were trying to get to sleep for an early morning departure: Miss Betty’s Paris adventure had come to an end… for this time at least.

She is now cruising and having a well-earned respite from the rush of seeing it all.

The Eiffel Tower as seen from our hotel's entry