Paris - Trois

Bonjour, Paris! Some bakeries in Paris open as early as 6am, which is very helpful for us who love an early morning walk. La Maison d'Isabelle was one of those. We bought two croissants. I had thought of getting something else. Every pastry looked very nice, but I decided to try their famous croissant after all. According to the sign of the bakery, their croissant and won the first prize as the best croissant not only in Paris but also in the Île-de-France region in 2018. Actually at that time their Tarte aux Pommes also won the first prize and Eclairs au chocolat did the second prize. I hope I have a chance to come back there and try those sometime in the future.

J picked up cappuccino at a cafe next door and led me to a lovely park near by. We had a lovely breakfast on the bench there. Some birds were waitings for crumbles falling from our precious croissants.

The park, Square René Viviani itself was pretty and also provided a great view of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. It looked that the restoration works of the massive 13th century Gothic church were still undergoing.

We strolled along with the Seine River for a while and crossed a bridge to peek the other side of Paris.

I have seen those giant teddy bears here and there in Paris. Later I read some articles about them. Apparently a book shop owner in Paris has been lending out oversized stuffed bears since October 2018 to keep people there feeling plush during the difficult pandemic times. I believe the bears are playing their roll very well!

Musée du Louvre!

Pyramide du Louvre! 

We had about 30 minutes until our meeting to J's relatives. We wanted to step into the museum and just say hello to the Mona Lisa. However, online pre-booking was required to enter. It would be another reason we should come back Paris. Anyway we enjoyed walking through Jardin des Tuileries, the 17th century formal garden behind the Louvre. 

At that time a marathon event was going on around the area. We managed to find a way to cross a bridge back to Latin Quarter without bumping into runners. We had a nice view of Musée d'Orsay over Seine on our way.

We met J's relatives at Musée de Cluny. The museum, known as National Museum of the Middle Ages presented various medieval art. The 15th-century series of tapestries called The Lady and the Unicorn was the highlight of the museum's over 1,500 masterpiece collections. The building of the museum had a perfect position to narrate the medieval heritage. The current building was integrated with a modern and innovative distinctive town house called the hôtel des abbés de Cluny that was built in the 15th century at the site, which had been built on the site of the ancient Roman thermal bathes.

After we all had a lunch together, we had a free time until dinner. We walked more and checked another chocolate shop out. Named best chocolatier of France in 2000 at only 32 years old, Patrick Roger has been one of the most famous chocolatiers in Paris. I haven't visited a modern and chic chocolate shop like his shop. It was rather a jewelry shop. Well, the chocolate there was presented like gems. J kindly bought a large box for me!

Our last dinner with J's relatives was at Le Bistrot d'Henri, a family-run, small Parisian bistro that serves traditional and family style French cuisine. We had a wonderful time with them over delightful dishes.

Next morning it was time to go back home but we couldn't leave Paris without another croissant. J found a bakery called LibertéLiberté near Gare de l'Est and we walked there. We arrived at the bakery about 10 minutes early before it opened. We just waited in front of the shop, dreaming of a freshly baked croissant getting ready to meet me!

Again I had thought of getting something else but again I got a croissant. It was worth waiting. We also bought a dark chocolate babka and a round hearty bread to take with us home. Later I checked the website of Liberté. They had five shops in Paris and two in Japan (Tokyo and Kyoto)! I am curious how the menu of their Japan shops looks like.

Our first Paris was amusing. It was a short stay and we just started discovering some charm of the city. I hope this trip was just an introduction and we will see more someday!