On our final day in Paris, we began with cappuccino and croissants at a café recommended by friends of Courtney. The place was warm and cozy and it was nice to hold our hot drinks and chat while the morning’s tiny bit of rain passed over. After breakfast we walked right around the corner to the Luxembourg Gardens, a beautiful park that backs up to the French Senate house, and happened upon the 160th anniversary art exhibit by Salon des Beaux Arts.
Luxenbourg Gardens
This is the second Statue of Liberty we saw on this trip.
It turns out, there are five small ones made from the original plaster model!
One of my favorite paintings from the Salon des Beaux Arts
We intended to have lunch back in Le Marais at another place recommended by Courtney’s friend, and the walk across the Seine brought us right to the front steps of Notre Dame, which is still under construction. We thought we were going to miss seeing her due to our full schedule, but it was a wonderful surprise!
Seine River
Notre Dame
We finally made it to the lunch spot we’d spent the past half hour walking to, only to find a line wrapped around the entire block for their falafel! Luckily we found another place close by to eat, and while the meal was good, the raspberry cheesecake we ended lunch with was even better. We then hopped on a subway to the Louvre, where we spent most of the afternoon and saw as much as we could of the famous paintings, sculptures, and former palace. We were there until close and security practically had to run us out! We found a macaron shop and got a few flavors to try, and shared them over a couple of lattes. Courtney took a moment to check our tickets for the evening, and we realized that the performance was going to be held in another building we thought we were going to miss!
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
Louvre
The Palais Garnier is a beautiful building, reminiscent of Versailles in its opulent main entrance, and while our seats were high up, they were perfect for seeing the full stage and the sound of the music was incredible. Cenerentola (a version of Cinderella) was my first Rossini opera, and I was thoroughly entertained! It was super funny and charming. After the final curtain call, we found a café across the street from the opera house and ended the night by splitting a bottle of Prosecco. 💕🥂
Palais Garnier