Last Tango in Paris

Au Revoir Paris!

For our last day in Paris we were going to walk around Norte Dame and then catch a plane from Paris to Florence to continue our vacation in Italy,

Rue Cler was a great place to stay in Paris, it put you right in the heart of the market area and not to far from the many tourist things like the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, etc.  One of the enjoyable parts of the day was starting the day by walking out our hotel right onto Rue Cler and seeing the shop owners getting ready for the day.

 

The Grand Dame, Norte Dame!

It can be argued that Norte Dame is the Grand Dame of Paris.  The cathedral spires and dome stand proudly among the Paris skyline and it sits regally on it's island waiting for the thongs of tourists to make the pilgrimage to see it.  Since we were flying out that afternoon, we did not plan on touring the inside and spent our time walking the outside of it and being amazed at the architecture wonders that make up Norte Dame.  Until you see it up close and personal the grand scale and detailed stone work is hard to imagine.

Duane knows we are close.....

Got to admit, this is one of my favorite sculptured columns outside the main entrance.  It is funny to see cartoon like characters amidst all the other more religious and serious looking carvings.

                                             

Of course we have to have the picture of a picture somewhere during our vacation.

      

As if the architecture was not beautiful enough, the grounds around the cathedral has amazing rose and other flower type gardens.

By  now we are wrapping up our visit to Notre Dame, but others were still waiting to start theirs.  This line was actually wrapped around the building and almost 180 degrees from the very front of the line.  I was curious as to when these poor people would actually make it to the front and be able to venture inside.  They were way more patient then we were willing to be!

The French Military helped to make sure everyone kept order while touring Notre Dame.  We were not sure if they were there every day or if they happened to be there that day as there was a protest that went through the walkway.  The protest was being held to push for more pay for healthcare workers.  Have to say that is normally not something we see in the States.

Bon Appetit'!

After working up a hunger by walking around Notre Dame we made our way back to our hotel to get our luggage and grab some lunch before making our way to the airport to catch our flight to Florence,  Luckily for us there were several great places to eat near our hotel.  For lunch today we tried a little place we had walked by a few times called La Billebaude.  

French food always comes with the best sauces!

Dessert is hard to pass up when in Paris!  Especially when it is chocolate, caramel, or for Tari cheese!

Buona Sera Italy!

We landed in Florence and was met by our trusty driver Monika and her new travel van.  Monika was going to drive us from Florence's airport to Greve.  Of course along the way we had to stop and take in the view of Tuscany and sample some wine.

Yay!  Glass of wine in hand and the rolling country side behind us, we are officially in Tuscany!

Monika stopped at this location because she said it gave the best views of sunsets in Tuscany.  Since she knew the owners, we were able to explore their land, try some wine and enjoy a quiet Tuscan sunset.

As the day comes to an end, we head to Greve to get ready for the next adventure in our trip.

Go to 5/29/15