Our Final Days in Paris

For our final week in Paris, we decided to revisit some of our favorite places.

On Saturday, Will got to spend hours at his favorite museum - Les Invalides.  This made his 10th time there for the year.  Jeff and I took turns with him, as he is an all or nothing kid!  He was most excited because there were new tanks outside the museum.  

One of our greatest blessings of this year abroad is that love of history that Will has developed.  He has an encyclopedic mind for anything related to World War I and World War II.  He not only patiently takes in all he can at history museums but in his spare time reads books and watches videos to learn even more.  We are so proud of him.

Visit #10!

Taking it all in.

A map of the landing on the Normandy beaches.

Meanwhile, Edy spent Saturday doing three of her favorite things in Paris.  She hung out with the American Church in Paris Youth Group, which had a good-bye picnic for her and her friend Lily.  I wan't invited so I can only include the photos from Instagram.  She then went to her last art class.  She finished the evening babysitting the girls she has watched all year long.

We are so proud of Edy for all three of these things because they represent a part of her that has really grown this year - her independence.  In addition to moving around Paris on her own, she has really established herself with different groups of people separate from her family.  She has also shined when it has come to taking on these new responsibilities.  We are proud of this new strength she has developed.  

Here is the only photo I have of the picnic.

Olivia, Edy, and Harper

On Sunday, we celebrated a belated Father's Day by letting Jeff plan the day.  (He does this every year.)  We began by going one last time to his favorite place of all in Paris - Saint Chapelle.  We then took the RER A out of Paris to the town of Saint-Germain-en-Laye for lunch, before returning to the outskirts of Paris to visit Suresnes American Cemetery, which is the only American cemetery to have fallen soldiers from both World Wars.  While Jeff and Edy went off to explore, Will and I headed back to the apartment to begin the laborious process of sorting and packing his many Legos.

Will, Jeff, and Edy outside Saint Chapelle.

Suresnes American Cemetery

"Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God."

These are the 24 unknown soldiers who died in World War II.

Sorting and packing Legos.

On Monday, Jeff and I each got out to run, while the kids enjoyed a lazy morning at home.  I then got busy with packing and last minute purchases.  Jeff and I had decided to bite the bullet and mail four large boxes back to Minnesota to make traveling through the airports easier.  After I managed to get the boxes out of our apartment and up the street to the post office, I was turned away and told that I couldn't mail boxes to the U.S.  The postal worker had no idea why but it just wasn't allowed.  So Jeff and moved on to Plan B and bought two additional suitcases.  Luckily, Delta will let us take 8 bags on for free.  

On Monday afternoon, Jeff and I took advantage of the kids museum fatigue and went to the Musee d'Homme on our own.  We then grabbed one last drink at our favorite cafe in our neighborhood.  

This is one of my favorite views on my run.

All boxed up and ready to go!

The only photo I took from the Musee d'Homme.

Our view from Auteuil Brasserie.

On Tuesday, we visited the Musee d'Orsay to see some of our favorite Impressionist painters.  What was so great about this visit, compared to when we went in August, was that we knew so much more about the painters AND we had been to many of the places they painted.  We also finally got to see the Gustav Caillebotte painting we recreated in March.  The last time we were at the Musee d'Orsay it was on load to another museum.  We followed up the museum visit with a trip up Montparnasse Tower.  The running joke among people in Paris is that the best view of Paris is from Montparnasse Tower because then you can't see Montparnasse Tower.  Like with all the museums, we had the entire place to ourselves.

We love seeing the clocks of the old Musee d'Orsay train station. 

Les Cypres a Cagnes by Henri-Edmond Cross (1908)

Femme faisant du crochet - by Lucie Cousturier (1908)

Les Chateau des Papes by Paul Signac (1900)
We visited this last week in Aux-en-Provence.

Le Bassin aux anupheas, harmonie verte by Claude Monet (1899)
We went to Giverny to see Monet's gardens on one of our first trips. 

Cathedrales de Rouen by Claude Monet (1892-1893)
We saw this cathedral last fall.

Londres, le Parlement. Trouve de soleil dans le brouillard by Claude Monet (1904)
We got to tour Parliament in London, last December.  

Les Villas a Bordighera by Claude Monet (1884). 

Les raboteurs de parquet by Gustav Caillebotte (1875)
This was the painting we recreated as a family in March.  

La Gare Saint-Lazare by Claude Monet (1877)
One of Will's favorite train stations in Paris.

La Maison du pendu, Auvers-sur-Oise by Paul Cezanne (1873)
We hiked to Auvers-sur-Oise back in May.

Bal du moulin de la Galette by Pierre Auguste Renoir (1876)
One of my favorites.  

Will and Edy looking out at Paris.

Jeff

A model of Opera Garnier.

Restaurant de la Machine a Bougival by Maurice de Vlaminck (1905)

La Femme a l'ombrelle by Aristide Maillol (1895)

I just love how they used the space of this old train station to display art.

Montparnasse Tower!

Views from the top of Montparnasse Tower.

We then had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in the 6th arrondissement - Relain Odeon.  We walked through one last park (Square des arenas de Lutece), that had a stage that reminded us of many of the ruins we saw last week.  We headed off for one final visited to Galleries Lafayette, where we enjoyed one more roof-top view.  The kids then headed off to ride the trains while Jeff and I bought two new suitcases picked up comforters from the dry cleaners.  We were able to get a ton more packed so that we could enjoy the next fews days.  There was only one person in our family not quite packed.  I'll see if you can tell who it is from the picture below.  

Lunch at Relain Odeon.

View atop Galleries Lafayette looking out over Opera Garnier.

Loaded down with clean comforters.

Loaded down with two new suitcases.

Mostly packed.

This person still has a ways to go.

On Wednesday, we visited the modern art museum, Centre Pompidou.  We had not visited this modern museum since August as well.  After the museum we grabbed lunch in Les Marais before separating to do some shopping (Edy and Jeff) and some wall climbing (Will and Betsy).  The kids then headed off to a park with one final playdate with their friends Kai and Alex, while Jeff and I did more packing.  

Riding Metro Line 9 with my boy!

According to Will, the transportation system of Paris has the best logo in the world.

Centre Pompidou

Les Quais de la Tamise by Andre Derain (1906-1907)

Doesn't it look like they are wearing masks?  

Explosion lyrique n8 by Alberto Magnelli (1918)

La Tour Eiffel by Robert Delaunay (1924)

The Frame by Frida Kahlo (1938)

Les Maries de la tour Eiffel by Marc Chagall (1938-1939)

PR 1, Portrait-relief d'Arman by Yves Klein (1962)

SE71, L'Arbre, grande éponge bleue, by Yves Klein (1962)

Tutto by Alighiero e Boetti (1987)

Thicket by Maya Dunietz (2016)

This life-size art installation is made up of iPod headphones.  

Lunch with this handsome guy.  The kids were also present.

Walking along the Seine with Will.

Trying out the exercise equipment. 

Second to last Amorino!

I love this boy!

After three days of being dragged around by their parents, the kids asked if they could plan our last full-day in Paris.  So on Thursday morning, we followed their lead.  Luckily they wanted to sleep in so Jeff and got to go off on our final runs in Paris.  We came back, packed some more and then headed off to lunch.

The kids wanted to take Jeff to the most Parisian place of all for lunch - their favorite sushi restaurant - Matsuri.  The kids love that the food comes around on a conveyor belt.  I love that you can stack the plates up as you go to calculate your cost of the meal.  Jeff, who is not a sushi lover, loved all the non-sushi items they had to offer.

Walking out our front door only a few more times!

Matsuri for lunch

We then headed to the American Library in Paris one last time to drop off our final books.  It was hard to say goodbye, to a place that has sustained all of our unique reading habits this year.  We have yet to each crack into the books we bought just for the plane ride.  We then visited our lock on the lock bridge one last time.  We debated whether we should take it with us or leave it.  We decided to leave it so that Paris would always have a part of us.

We said good-bye American Library in Paris.

We said good-bye to our lock on the lock bridge. 

From there, we each headed to get our favorite treats for one last time.  I got a chocolate bread from Aux Merveilleux de Fred, while the others grabbed one last Amorino.  I was also able to talk Edy into one last macaroon from Laudree.  We then took the metro to Jardin du Luxembourg.

Chocolate bread from Aux Merveilleux de Fred

Amorino

Macaroons from Laudree

Last time riding the Metro 10.

Hopefully not the last time of this - sibling love.

Summer flowers at Jardin de Luxembourg.

And then because we have spent so much time together, we all went off on our own for a few hours.  Jeff went to the Petit Palais.  I walked through a new park and visited some shops.  Meanwhile, the kids rode the final portion of the Metro trains that they needed to ride in order to be able to say that they have ridden every single Metro line in its entirety in the Il-de-France.  They were pretty proud.  

Congratulations Edy and Will!

The highlighted all the lines they have ridden.

We all came back together to Facetime one last time with our beloved friends and landlords – Yann, Hortance, Elle, and Paul.  This was the first time I cried, for I am eternally grateful for their friendship and the home away from home that they gave us for this amazing year.  After we dried our tears, we ate all the remaining food in our kitchen before heading to the Eiffel Tower, for our 9:30 p.m. reservation to go up it one last time. 

The Eiffel Tower opened up this week.  People are allowed to climb up the 670 steps to the second level.  No one is allowed up to the top at this point.  It was so magical, especially with the sun setting over the city.  We then climbed back down, walked across the bridge, up to Trocadero for one last crepe, while we watched the 11:00 p.m. light show.  

This photo was taken at 9:00 p.m. at night.  So light out!

Getting ready to go up.

No lines!

Looking out towards our apartment.

Looking out at the Champs de Mars, Ecole Militare, and Montparnasse Tower.

Family photo!

Looking out towards Trocadero.

Back at Trocadero for a crepe and the light show.

On the way home, we found the perfect job for Will - working behind the scenes for the Paris Metro!

It is always good luck to get the yellow step at our Metro station.  

Our our last night, they got the yellow step on both escalators. 

We all fell into bed at midnight, feeling fully satiated.  We left nothing undone! 

We talked quite a bit about what we wanted our last morning to look like.  We decided to do what we did the first day we were all together in Paris, July 8, 2019.  It is also the same thing we have also done with every single guest that has come to visit us this year.  We headed out of our apartment, walked through our neighborhood, across the Isle de Cygnets, and up to the best view of the Eiffel Tower.  We shared lots of memories and lots of hugs.

One final look from our bed, out our window. 

Happy 20th Anniversary of When We Got Engaged!

Isle de Cygnets 

The three of us were in a photo at the exact spot on the very first day. 

Looks like a scooter graveyard.

Staging a photo shoot with Edy's stuffed animal.

Thanks for all the memories!

We took our last Metro ride home before stopping by our neighborhood boulangerie for one last treat.  We then headed back home to await our taxi.  Even with a van, we were packed in.

One final metro ride on line 9.   

Our stop - Michal Ange - Auteuil

Will dropped this note off to the nice lady he came to know at the boulangerie.

All the luggage!

Feeling all the feelings.

Our final hours in Paris, at the Charles de Guale airport were not some of our favorite.  But then Jeff reminded me, it was quite fitting.  There was a lot of bureaucratic tape to get in  the country and there was a ton to go out.  Mostly it had to do with Delta’s partnership with Air France. We didn’t get all the free bags we were promised, since it wasn’t Delta, so we left a ton of Euros on the counter just to guarantee it all got home.  Add to that there wasn’t a single credit card machine that worked and we were glad that it wasn’t crowded and that we got there 2.5 hours in advance.  

After all of our bags were out of sight, the rest of it was smooth sailing.  The airport did a great job of enforcing social distancing.  They also had associates taking your temperature before you could board.  They also staggered our boarding.  There were many empty seats and rows all around us.  In fact, we all got to spread out and enjoy a ton of space.  Jeff and I only saw the kids look up from the movie screen when food was offered.  I think it was what we all needed.

We landed at JFK and gave the kids one last surprise.  We booked a night at an old airport terminal that has been converted into a hotel.  Even with it being 1:00 a.m. to our bodies, we couldn’t help but take in a few of the amenities.  And for our first dinner back in the United States?  Three of us had New York style hotdogs.  (Jeff had a salad.)  We were all in bed by 8:00 p.m. and asleep shortly afterwards.  Jeff and I didn't sleep much with the 6 hour time change.  This made getting up at 4:00 a.m. pretty easy.  

Taking the tram to our hotel.

The TWA hotel used to be an old airport terminal.

They kept almost everything original inside.

I love the martini glasses and crystal ice container in the room.

Infinity pool on the roof with a view of the tarmac.

Will and Edy loved watching the planes take off.

The lounge.

They even had on display old TWA uniforms.

The Parisian Cafe?  

Seeing if they know how to use these ancient phones.

The "snack bar" area.

Will riding in style.

Edy driving Will in style.

We took an Uber from JFK to LaGuardia to fly back to Minnesota.  (JFK didn't offer a single nonstop flight to MN.)  Our Uber driver was amazing!  Luckily he had a Escalade so we were able to get all of our luggage in.  Then we met the nicest ticketing agent who let us check all of our bags for free even though they were over weight - the heaviest being 72 pounds.  We definitely like Delta better than Air France.  Security was smooth sailing and we made it to the gate an hour and a half early.  The only bummer was there was no Starbucks.  I had given it up while in Paris and I was excited to finally have one.  

Watching our luggage get loaded on the airplane.   

Our final moments with just the four of us!

Minnesota where the entire Bash family, will escort us back home to Northfield.  Luckily they are bringing two cars for all of our luggage.  We were greeted with welcome home banners, driveway art, and a pantry and refrigerator stocked with food.  We felt pretty grateful. 

The cousins are reunited!

Welcome home!

I have dreamed of sitting on our patio with my sister and her family for many weeks.

A little late, but our front porch photo.

While today is my last blog giving you a day-by-day account of what we have done in Paris, it will not be my final entry.  We plan to do a few more.  Each of us will come up with a list of 10 of our favorite memories and I hope to share some final thoughts once we have been home for a few weeks.  

Thank you for following along on this journey.  We have not been alone, as hundreds of you have read and commented throughout the year.  All of this has inspired us to keep going when times were tough, and provided us with wonderful reminders of the home we missed.  We are grateful for your support. 

Love,
Betsy