« A Rainy Day in Monet's Garden | Main | There's No Place Like Home! »
May 2, 2015
The Left Bank
Today we took our second walking tour -- this time of the artists and writers of the Left Bank. The tour guide was originally from California and went to Paris with a software company and never left. He was quite knowledgeable and very enjoyable. We wandered through the streets, Le Jardin Luxenbourg in the middle of the area, and by the Senat and the mint. We saw where many of the artists lived, heard stories about Gertrude Stein and her siblings who were art collectors, saw where the popular drinking areas were and the original store for Shakespeare and Company which was evacuated quickly when the Nazi's got mad at the owner and were coming back to ruin her store. We heard story after story and the time flew by very quickly as we walked for the two hours.
Barb and I hopped the Metro back to our hotel, caught a second breath and headed for Rue Cler where we shopped for some souvenirs and sat and drank some coffee. Well, mine was a chocolate and coffee with a big cup of whipped cream. It was quite decadent. Then we meandered back to the hotel where I plan to print out our boarding passes for tomorrow. Tonight our group is going out to dinner.
We've had a great deal of time on our own. Although we have chosen to eat dinner several nights with others, we have had enough free time for the two of us to meander here and there. I finally feel like I have a sense of the place we are staying and the area around it. I have just a small sense of other places -- but that is what happens when you find yourself in another country. It just takes time to get oriented.
Tomorrow we head for home.
The French model for the Statue of Liberty in the park
A Few other Places on our Tour
Coffee in the Rue Cler area
Posted by Marilyn at May 2, 2015 7:51 AM