A Day for Gazelles

Highlights: Des Invalides, Pantheon, Jardin Luxembourg

We both rose at 8:30 am. We were tired. We had our usual breakfast and had coffee near the Raspail market. Belinda's coffee was cold ; we didn't get the promised cookies or spoons, and the waitress ignored us. Not a good start to the day.

We took the metro to Les Invalides. We asked a lady at the information booth for instructions to the Pantheon (our next stop). We are stunned with her very helpful service (after our coffee experience). She printed off instructions.

Les Invalides is huge. We went first to the church to see Napolean's remains. Then we were hungry but Belinda refused to eat in their cafeteria, and thank goodness she did. We walked for several blocks trying to find a reasonably priced cafe. We ended up at a patisserie and had a meal of tuna and egg baguettes, cheesecake and water. Then we returned to Les Invalides and saw an amazing special exhibit of armour.

Then we caught a bus to the Pantheon. We stopped for coffee on Boulevard St. Germain and watched a market being taken down for the day. It was a hot, uphill walk to the Pantheon but at least it was open. We decided that it was a day for gazelles. We had been bouncing up the metro stairs, climbing the hill and now, inside the Pantheon, we decided to climb 206 stairs to the rooftop. What a view! We were proud of ourselves.

We enjoyed a glass of wine at Cafe Luxembourg and headed into the gardens. There were people everywhere but it was so peaceful. We found the miniature Statue of Liberty, the pond with boats for the children, palm trees and many alcoves with green lawn chairs and statues. We walked slowly home. We were very happy, warmed by the sun.

We rested and decided to go out for dinner. We walked in the direction of a restaurant that had been recommended to us but we couldn't find the street or the restaurant. We found an Italian restaurant La Girara on Rue Madame. It was tiny and a bit claustrophobic, but had very good food and was half the cost of Pizza Diva. We sat next to Marianne and Jan from California, both of whom were big shoppers. I had lasagna and Belinda had lemon veal. We were exhausted by the time we got home and were in bed by 10:00 pm.Read more