It's Tuesday evening, and I have two days to write about. Was way too exhausted last night.

Yesterday was all about shopping. Finally. You know how much I loved that! We went to La Marche des Puces (aka the Paris Flea Market). Apparently the web site saying they opened at 8:30 is outdated, because on Monday it is widely know to all (but us) that they don't open until at least 10. We got there by about 9 and everything was locked tight. So, we were forced to do what anyone else would have done. Went to a cafe, of course! I wasn't really hungry, but there was a basket of fresh croissants on the bar. Since I only have a few more days to eat bread,  I quickly ordered one. When I asked the bartender for some butter she said "Madam, there's lots of butter IN the croissant." I said "Oui, I know, but I want more." She just shook her head and brought the butter.

The stalls finally started opening at about 10, so we shopped for a couple of hours through stalls selling everything from vintage clothes and purses to beads and buttons to furniture and paintings and all sorts of glorious junk. I could've easily spent two weeks there. Total heaven. I thought the prices were even worse than 3 years ago, although someone later told me the prices had dropped quite a bit since the dollar was so bad (apparently Americans are the primary consumer of items from the flea market). We drooled over some cool paintings but the vendor was not willing to bargain. However, I did hit pay dirt at a vintage jewelry store. This lovely British woman had a darling store with vintage jewelry and after trying on everything in the place, I finally settled on a cool pair of carved coral earrings. She told us a story of a time when she and her sister came to the US, bought an old taxi in Seattle and drove all over the US (8000 miles!) until it died. How fun does that sound? She said it never dawned on them that driving through the desert without so much as water or a phone in the summer wasn't the smartest thing to do.

Before leaving, we decided to have lunch. Mostly because we had to pee. Let me explain something about the flea market. This is not a nice part of town, so I had very low expectations for the food choices. But we were desperate for a toilette so we stopped at an Asian place and hoped for the best. After ordering the plat du jour from someone who spoke neither English or French, we got these things that looked like egg rolls and were spicy chicken wraps called nems. OMG, so good. Then I got this huge plate of lemon chicken and Cantonese rice. It was outstanding. So much so that I ate long past the point of being hungry. I just couldn't leave any. And, the toilettes were spotless. :) What was annoying though, were the guys at the next table. They were talking about us, assuming we knew no French. First they said that since we were blonde that we must have been English. Then they were apparently admiring our cleavage (there wasn't much of it to see, but since French women don't show any, apparently any was quite enjoyable). Glad we made their day. :)

After lunch, went our separate ways. AnneMarie went to the Basilique St. Denis to see where all of the kings and queens are buried. Marie Antionette is buried there, as well as kings dating back to 500AD. They are holding a place for Charles V (who succeeded Napoleon) but he died in exile so can't be buried there until he is out of exile. Since he's been dead for over 100 years, not sure how that will ever happen.

I went to Sacre Ceour, or I should say I tried to go. When I got there, there were at least 10 tours with at least 100 people per tour in each. I just didn't have the energy to fight the crowd. So, I just rose around on the Montmartobus up and down these absolutely vertical and very narrow streets in Montmarte. These bus drivers must have nerves of steel. So, once I tired of that, I did what any self-respecting woman in Paris would do. I went shopping, of course!

Took the bus to the Louvre area, which is my hood from my first trip, so I could shop on the Rue St. Honore. Bought some chocolates and macaroons at my favorite chocolate shop, then went in this cute store that had really fun jewelry in the windows. The most charming man from Amsterdam owns it, and I sat and talked to him for well over an hour. He was saying how much he loves Arizona and we talked about real estate in Paris (no price reductions here). He was so incredibly nice that I gave him my contact info and told him to call me if he ever comes to AZ again. Oh, and I also bought two rings. :)

I must tell you about dinner. On the way, we walked through the Four Seasons George V, which is (IMO) the most beautiful hotel in Paris. The flower arrangements are stunning - these large glass cylinders with bunches of flowers tired together and leaning out the top, their stems barely in the water. As a matter of fact, the flowers are so gorgeous that the florist now has his own show on TLC (he's an American living in Paris).

Ok, so getting back to dinner. We went to the Fontaine de Mars, which is over near the Eiffel area. We sat outside so we could see the actual fountain it is named after. Really charming little square. We started with their appetizer of the day, which was a crab and avocado mixture on crostinis. I can't even describe how good it was. Just melted in your mouth. Then I had a filet with bernaise sauce and pommes frites. AMC had their flank steak with roasted potatoes. This was accompanied by a couple glasses of nice beaujolais (which went nicely with my pain pill BTW - my feet didn't hurt at all!) and a chocolate mousse for desert. It was our best meal so far, without a doubt.

Very full but happy. Great way to end the day!