Hôpital Fernand Widal

We started the day with another wonderful breakfast prepared by our hosts. The feature pastry was a clafoutis, a rich cherry cake.

When we booked our travels to Paris, it was a bit of an afterthought. We realized that the proximity by fast train from Amsterdam made an easy trip. We also knew that it would be impossible to select too many attractions in such a large city with so much to do.

Our learning in two months on the road is that some of the most priceless adventures have been to just wander and explore. This was one of those days as we had the opportunity to meet the mother and her husband of one of our good friends back home, Judith and her husband Chris and our friend Khoa later in the day.

Judith proposed that we meet in Place du Trocadero, a plaza and gardens with spectacular views of the Eiffel Tower. After a warm greeting, we enjoyed our walk near the tower and the adjacent greenspace. Judith told us about the different neighborhoods that we were ealking through. We had a leisurely lunch at a classic French restaurant, and we enjoyed our conversation. After our farewells, we returned to the flat, and I took a very long nap. I had been up late after Moulin Rouge realizing that too much Coke Zero at dinner meant Sleep Zero due to excess caffeine consumption.

Our friend, Khoa, who we've known for about ten years offered to meet us for drinks and dinner. It was fun to visit with him to catch up as we last hosted him in our home in 2018.

The restaurant was also a traditional French Restaurant, and I enjoyed the lamb. While Jim C enjoyed the baked Camenbert cheese with fries. As we were leaving the restaurant, we met Khoa's partner and exchanged greetings.

We decided to skip the metro and make the two-mile walk home on a beautiful Parisian night. The temperature was perfect, and we enjoyed the walk. It looks like Paris is going to heat up to about 38°C this weekend, and I'm glad to miss it as I really don't like the heat.

When we returned to the flat, our hosts Stephan and Stéphane were still awake. We had a great conversation about politics in our respective countries, while sampling their offerings of home-made apertífs.

I think some of the best parts of our trip have been sharing times with the new people we've met as well as enjoying adventures with friends and family.

We will have a bit more time in Paris tomorrow before we return to Amsterdam. It's been a wonderful visit. Ciao!Läs mer