A Comedy of Errors That Ends Well in Paris
Bonjour,
Our final day with family was the best, weather-wise. Mid to high 70’s with enough clouds to keep it from getting hot. The day got progressively nicer and of course, the light lingers until after 10pm which I love!
Off to a very late start, we tried to ride the train to the Luxembourg Gardens only to discover that that particular stop was closed for repairs so we exited at St. Michele at the beautiful fountain. (A tip for Paris visitors riding the train: if your stop is not lit up on the board, the train will not stop there.)
We walked up the hill to the top of Boulevard St. Michele and had a quick bite of lunch at the restaurant of the teddy bears, Le Choupinet. Great food, excellent service.
After entering the gardens, we were sad to see that the beautiful Medici fountain is under a cleaning process. We really couldn’t get near it, but we did sneak over the barrier to get our favorite guest photo among the sculptured ivy and to capture the beauty of the fountain after cleaning. It has always been a greenish black and now is pristine white! It’s such an idyllic spot for picnics and taking a rest break.
Carson found the sail boats and had a fun time for 30 minutes of “sailing” while the others walked through the gardens.
Maybe it was just me but the flowers didn’t seem quite as vibrant as usual, possibly another side effect of the pandemic.
Emily wanted to go to another Brandy Melville location different from the previous shopping excursion. It was quite a ways away and very complicated to get to as far as the route was concerned. Bernie had mapped out what he thought was the best approach with the fewest changes on Le Métro, but the gals insisted they had a more efficient route using Google. It turned into quite an extraordinary adventure underground but we finally found it. The lesson: perhaps it’s best to trust the Parisian for directions!
To Emily’s credit, she had less than 30 minutes to shop as we had a 4pm time at the Eiffel Tower. She managed to grab ten cute items in record time.
Already under time stress, we had planned to use the Bir Hakim subway station at Passy only to find that it is also closed and under renovation! So we walked all the way across the river through messy construction. Our feet were screaming under protest by this time.
We made the Eiffel Tower appointment on time and had a marvelous visit at the tower which, you guessed it, is also under renovation. It’s being painted for the 2024 Olympics. Here’s some very interesting data about the history of painting it and the paint colors and other specs. The tower when finished this time will be a ”yellow brown.”All signage is in French and English. 
Natalie, Bernie and Emily went all the way to the top of the tower. Carson was a little queezy about that so he and I stayed on the second floor. I finally lured him to the edge where he could really see, and we had a great time trying to find all the sights we had seen during the week. Here’s a good look from both floors.
All in all, it ended up being our best day. but Bernie and I were pretty much wiped out. We estimated close to 20,000 steps. The gals wanted to do a dance video on Le Champ Mars. We waited that out on a park bench…ha! It was very cute, but alas can’t be posted successfully.
We dragged ourselves back to rue St. Paul and ate a few leftovers from various restaurants through the week.
We said good-bye to Natalie, Emily and Carson around 10:30 this morning and wished them a good journey home. I’ve had the joy of having three of my four grandchildren here in Paris with us. Sweet James is only 7. We can hope! 
For us, we will cherish some rest! Though today is the Tour de France entry into Paris and of course, we will be there around 4pm on Les Champs Elysées.
I’m planning to take a few days off from the blog to catch up on laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, and rest!
Happy Sunday,
L & B
July 18, 2021 @ 11:52 am
What a fun and exhilarating day for all of you! It’s been a fun week to follow. Great pictures from all of you. By all means take a break! I look forward to new adventures once you and Bernie refuel.
July 18, 2021 @ 1:01 pm
These days of yours have been a delight to experience vicariously!
July 18, 2021 @ 1:26 pm
Tell Natalie that she get’s prettier by the visit — therefore she needs to return as often as possible. We noticed her matching necklace and glasses. It’d be great to see Carson show his little brother the ropes on the subway and pass along best techniques with the sailboats. Tell Emily that a very young and radically hot dude noticed one thing throughout — she knows how to sit like a lady – cool.
July 18, 2021 @ 1:55 pm
Looks like it was a fabulous trip for them. After all, they had the best guides possible! Rest up, my friend!
July 18, 2021 @ 2:14 pm
The photos throughout the week have been magnificent and a fun way to follow the adventures. Many thanks to you both for the wonderful experience and outstanding hospitality extended to Emily.
July 18, 2021 @ 4:57 pm
Thanks so much, Karen, for your kind words. So glad you were along for the week.
July 18, 2021 @ 2:56 pm
Thanks very much Linda. Look for these every day.
Watchimg the Tour head to Paris.
Thad
July 18, 2021 @ 3:39 pm
You both warrant a well deserved REST! I can’t imagine your doing any more to make this a memorable trip for Natalie, Emily, and Carson. 20,000 steps- WOW! My tops up here have been two days of 12,000. Enjoy your break. Will look forward to hearing from you again.
July 18, 2021 @ 6:56 pm
Two questions, what happened to the Trocadero pool? Did they drain it for some event? And what is that structure at the end of the Champ de Mars? It must be new? What a busy day you had! I imagine you will sleep well tonight and rest up tomorrow, even with laundry to do! Thank you for sharing your family’s visit with us!
Peggy
July 18, 2021 @ 7:05 pm
The fountains at the Trocadero I presume are still there but were covered with a make shift basketball court for some big tournament. The École Militaire is under some renovation as is everything in Paris, it seems…for the ‘24 Olympics.
July 19, 2021 @ 2:06 am
I’ve enjoyed catching up on your fine adventures. I’m so glad you’re back and enjoying it so much. Rest and then pick up where you left up.
Things are about the same here.
July 21, 2021 @ 12:15 pm
Did you look for the statues in Luxembourg Gardens like we did?
July 21, 2021 @ 3:36 pm
No, we didn’t do that because we needed your book!!!