Last day in Paris...

Today was our last full day in Paris...and it's also 1 month before our 2 year anniversary. Chad won't be home for our anniversary.  So we decided to celebrate it in Paris instead with a lovely dinner at Pasco, which was just down the street from our hotel.  The food was yummy and the service was surprisingly friendly. Check out this goodness!

We then walked over to the Eiffel Tower to check out the night festivities.  The grounds are, of course, packed with people who are picnicking with cheese, sandwiches and wine.  It's really quite a gorgeous site, especially the Eiffel with its golden glow.

At night, Every hour on the hour the Eiffel twinkles for 5 min, which is even more lovely! (I'll have to try and upload the video when I get home.)

Today, Chad & I toured the Saint Germain & Marais neighborhoods.  We started out with breakfast at Cafe Saint Placide - croissants, bread & jam, and espresso! Yum! Then we strolled the Saint Germain streets and hit up some stores...H&M, Zara, etc.  Saint Germain is known for its shopping (more reasonable than Chamos d'Elysees) and for Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens). Here's some pics of the gardens...

The large palace located in the gardens now houses the French Senate.

It's so gorgeous...and relaxing. Everyone just comes to sit or have lunch and just chill.  

After the gardens, we hopped on the Metro and headed over to Marais. We strolled the streets using a self-guided tour recommended on the Trip Advisor app. We came across this little store, which is supposed to be geared toward American comfort food. I couldn't resist a pic, especially since Turkey Day is just around the corner.

This building is now known as Hotel Sully and houses the Offices of the National Monuments, but it used to be a private mansion. Can you imagine living here?!?!  There are several of these in the Marais neighborhood. The interior isn't open to the public, but the courtyard & gardens are. The locals bring their lunch here and sit & eat - more relaxation. These Parisians really know how to relieve stress...or at least prevent it.

We stopped for what was probably our last wine & cheese plate in Paris. So sad...but it sure was yummy! Then we strolled over to the Ile Saint-Louis, one of the two natural islands in the Seine. It's situated just behind Ile de la Cite, which is the island where Notre Dame sits. There are many shops, cafés & glaciers on Ile Saint-Louis, but there is one shop that is a bit more famous than the others...Berthillon! Luxury ice creams & sorbets - delish!

The rest of the afternoon consisted of more strolling and strolling and strolling.  It's amazing how much walking we've done over the last week! I now understand why you don't see too many overweight French people! Lol! We're back relaxing in the hotel now before we head out again this evening.