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| Marche President Wilson |
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| Delicious coffee looking out the apartment window |
On March 18, we had breakfast at the apartment as usual - have I mentioned our Nespresso machine? We love it so much, and I loved to drink coffee looking out at the Paris street outside the living room window. We figured out how to make a full cup of coffee from one Nespresso pod - just keep pushing the button!
We FINALLY figured out how to use the Navigo cards in the wallet app. You have to select the car you want in the app, then double click the button on the side of the phone to secure it for tapping through the turnstile. You can then switch to the other card and do the same thing. We chose to load one ticket at a time on the cards, and then refill as needed. Once we figured this out, it made the whole process with the Metro so much easier! We finally felt like we could navigate the Metro without stressing about the turnstiles.
These cards also work with the bus system, but we didn’t use the buses in Paris. We either walked, used the metro, or took an Uber. When comparing the routes we wanted to take to get to our destinations/metro stops, buses tended to be as fast as walking due to traffic.
After breakfast we took the Metro just one stop to Marché Président Wilson, an outdoor market along Avenue du Président Wilson, from Trocadero onward, in the 16th arrondissement Passy neighborhood. It’s a fancy area, and the market is SO good. It’s been my favorite thing to do in Paris the last… four trips? It is the whole reason we like having a place with a kitchen! We have stayed in this area many of the times we’ve visited Paris, and always try to go to this market. It is held on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.
I had forgotten it was on Saturdays or maybe we would have gone on Saturday right after we got there. However, I didn’t have my act together yet on Saturday morning and we needed to get out to Versailles that day!
On Wednesday we had nothing pressing to do, so we took our time and enjoyed perusing the stalls.
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| THE Rotisserie Chicken with potatoes |
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| Turkish tea |
We only had one more full day, and already had plans for dinner both nights, so I skipped getting any of the fresh seafood, meat, poultry… there were tons of fresh produce, cheeses, spices and Moroccan / Turkish / Chinese food. But we DID get my FAVORITE: Poulet Roti with pomme de terre. Rotisserie chicken with fingerling potatoes that have been drenched with the chicken fat drippings while the bird was cooking. We also got a big tray of huge juicy strawberries, some baguette and choupettes, some cheese, cucumbers, and I got a tea towel for the kitchen with two cats on it, and another purple pashmina. We also sipped small cups of Turkish tea.
Going to the market was one of my favorite parts of the trip, yet again. It’s such a fun thing to do, and you get good food out of it too!
We walked through the neighborhood on our way to a special surprise treat for the kids: La Pasticherie, a shop specializing in pistachio treats.
Going to the market was one of my favorite parts of the trip, yet again. It’s such a fun thing to do, and you get good food out of it too!
We walked through the neighborhood on our way to a special surprise treat for the kids: La Pasticherie, a shop specializing in pistachio treats.
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| Walking along Avenue du President Wilson |
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| Pistachio fountain! |
We got a pistachio cappuccino with crushed pistachio on the rim, a pistachio cream donut, a pistachio creme-filled croissant, a pistachio croissant for Wilder, and a giant bar of Dubai chocolate for Felicity.
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| Dubai chocolate |
We sat in the sunshine at little tables and enjoyed our treats. Then we walked back to the apartment, enjoying the sights and sounds.
We had a feast for lunch with the chicken, potatoes, a green salad; and a tray of cheese, fruit and baguette. It was the best meal we had on the trip, and we had it in our apartment!
I had wanted to do a tour of Garnier Opera House, but the reservations were full the whole day. We could have gone and just waited in line, but I was feeling a little “crowd-ed out” after the last two very full days. Instead, kids watched a movie and Zach and I took a nap! We left early to go to dinner with our friends Stacy and Jason, and took an Uber to the Tuileries for the kids to play at the playground for about 40 minutes.
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| Playing in the playground in the Tuileries! |
The weather was beautiful and the kids had so much fun that they wanted to stay for longer. But we took the Metro to Stacy and Jason’s apartment.
Their home is so beautiful. We had not seen the two of them since they moved back to Paris in January 2021.
Their home is so beautiful. We had not seen the two of them since they moved back to Paris in January 2021.
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| Stacy and Jason's apartment |
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| Playing Jason's piano |
We went to dinner with them at a really neat-looking Indian restaurant. RATN is the name. The inside looked like a palace! Our food was good! Mine was chicken with pomegranate and cognac sauce. The kids devoured the naan bread and rice. Felicity shared my meal. We also enjoyed some champagne, and we had “blanc de noir” - I’ve never had that kind of champagne before but it was delicious!
After a dessert of something creamy with balls of dough, we went back to their apartment to visit some more. Stacy was our wedding photographer, and we became friends when she took photos on our honeymoon in Paris (Jason came too!) We have traveled a lot together—New Orleans, Annecy, Geneva, Venice. But we haven’t spent time with them in far too long, so it was good to catch up.
After a dessert of something creamy with balls of dough, we went back to their apartment to visit some more. Stacy was our wedding photographer, and we became friends when she took photos on our honeymoon in Paris (Jason came too!) We have traveled a lot together—New Orleans, Annecy, Geneva, Venice. But we haven’t spent time with them in far too long, so it was good to catch up.
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| With Stacy and Jason <3 |
We took an uber home, very late, but it was worth it! The next day was our last full day in Paris, and we went to Notre Dame and Montmartre.
Our first destination was Old Rome, about ten minutes away from our hotel. We had to capture ourselves in early-morning glory in front of the Forum. :-)
Unfortunately, the Forum was closed because people were excavating. While we were glad they were discovering new treasures, we were a little disappointed we couldn't go in. I was amused by the sign telling us to keep out. Really, isn't it funny?
It worked out for the best though, because we only had a little time to explore Roma that morning and I think we would have spent hours in the ruins.
Next stop was, in my mind, the Eiffel Tower of Rome. THE Colisseum. Of course, the magnificent building is in ruins, but it's still impressive. I had expected it to be smaller, like everyone said, but it was a substantial size. 
This is the Arch of Constantine. I don't have my guidebook right here to fill you in, but I am reminded of the Arc du Triomphe in Paris... What do you think?
This picture just boils me up when I look at it. :-) This man dressed like a Roman guard grabbed David and convinced him to take a photo with him, and then all of us with each of our cameras. This is the photo that came out of my camera. Oh, how fitting. After we took our photos, the guy and his sidekick told us it would be 5 euros... EACH. So enjoy this photo. It cost me almost $10.
We opted out of going inside the Colisseum because the line was wrapped around the building, even at that early hour, and it cost money... plus I was still annoyed about the tourist trapping photo guys. :-) Looking back, I kind of wish we did go inside because I've seen other people's photos and the inside is very cool. In any case, here is a view of the inside!
After our morning jaunt, we grabbed a cab back to the hotel, ate some breakfast, packed up our gear and took another taxi to the Vatican by about 11 am or so. (I told you we got up early!) We initially decided to wait in line with all our bags at St. Peter's Basilica to see the inside. We were worried we'd have to miss the Sistine Chapel because it was part of the Vatican Museum a mile away. HOWEVER... if any of you readers are thinking about visiting the Vatican... listen up. We were approached by a lady who informed us of an English-speaking tour starting almost immediately. We decided to join it, and I'm pretty sure it was the best investment of our entire trip. The tour was run by 
This round monument was given to a Pope. Popes always get gifts from people, but apparently they didn't have any room in the museum, so they stuck the artwork outside. It's supposed to represent the earth slowly breaking apart, and the two halves can rotate on those gears.
Our tour guide said this was an important sculpture... I wish I remembered more about it now, but it's crazy how intricately you can carve up marble hmm?
Here begins my obsession with ceilings in the vatican. I just love the relief carving and the immensity of it.
This is the ceiling from the Hall of Maps. On the walls are painted maps of all the known world at that time. The purpose of this room was to intimidate callers coming with their requests of the Pope. All kinds of pomp and circumstance surrounded this hallway, and the guards did their best to make the callers feel insignificant... all of the artwork on the ceiling is facing the opposite direction, so that visitors have to turn around--the direction the pope comes from--to see it, to show the Pope's importance. Sneaky sneaky! Our guide says the Vatican is not the only building to have this kind of construction. Remember the Hall of Mirrors in 
There were tapestries, sculptures and more painted ceilings, but I wasn't sure when the Sistine chapel was coming and i didn't want to have my camera confiscated, so I put it away and just enjoyed the tour. The Sistine chapel was stunning. My neck hurt just looking at it. I can't imagine how they painted it all! 
The ceilings were my favorite part of St. Peter's basilica. I'm not catholic, and I'm not familiar with the history behind each of the Popes or saints immortalized in marble, but it was still beautiful artwork.
