I was under the weather this morning and decided to sleep in, while the others headed to see Napoleon at Les Invalides. We agreed to meet after noon at Sacre Coeur.
From Sacre Coeur, we decided to walk to and try for lunch at Buvette.
Today was supposed to be a double museum day, with Musée Picasso in the morning and Musée d'Orsay in the afternoon. We were all tired and decided to blow off our 10am Picasso tickets especially since I had received an alert saying that the government employee strike might impact whether or not the museum would open today. So we just relaxed until noon when we headed off for lunch at Alain Ducasse's fabulous Champeaux bistro in the Westfield Forum des Halles in the 2nd.
Today we're off to visit Versaiiles. Our guide and driver picked us up at our apartment at 8:30am. Not much traffic this morning and we were in Versailles a little after 9am. We booked this tour with myprivateparis.com and were fortunate to have Flora as our guide. Flora was absolutely wonderful... indeed one of the best guides we've had anywhere in years.
Christmas Day in Paris
After a late night at the Crazy Horse, followed by wine and Netflix back at the apartment, we all slept in until late morning. With Mrs. SFO777 deciding to take the day off from sightseeing, the three of us headed out for lunch... or so we thought. Christmas Day means a lot of restaurants are closed. Buvette serves my favorites croques and they were on our list for lunch this week. A recorded message on their phone line claimed "we are open on holidays". So, we UBER'd through empty streets over to the 9th....
While three of us slept in, I went a few doors down the street from something for breakfast.
And then out for the day. As corny as it can be, the best way to get an overview of any city is usually the Hop On Hop Off bus. Since this was the kids' first visit to Paris, we decided on The Big Bus HOHO which started just two blocks from our apartment. It was chilly but sunny as we headed for the upper level.
After this morning, the forecast looked good and indeed weather the enitre week was about as good as you can expect for late December.
Despite the Metro strike and it being a Monday morning, the drive from the airport to our apartment was less than an hour.
When we're in Paris, we always start thinking about getting an apartment. Since we can live pretty much anywhere, and now that we are renters in So Cal, why not Paris? So we're off today to explore the 7th and then back into the 8th.
Today is Mrs. SFO777's day as we're doing a combination Anniversary/Birthday shopping day. And we have a car and driver today to make it easy. Our wonderful driver Clément picked us up at 11am, and we're off into heavy Fashion Week traffic.
OK, this is going to be a long day. Not a good night's sleep as we set our alarm for 2:45am to watch the debate. Then back to bed at 5am only to get up at 8am to get ready for our wine tour day. Meanwhile, our neighbor is oblivious to his imminent shower.
By the time we'd had breakfast, showered and dressed, it was afternoon noon, of 1AM Pacific Time. OK, even flying First Class, the first days in Europe are tough for those coming off of a 9 hour time difference. We missed the morning Hop On Hop Off buses, so we decided to explore some of the city on foot.
For my birthday dinner, I picked to go to one of my favorite Mexican restaurants.
Oui, Mexican in Paris. Anahuacalli in the 5th has the best and strongest margaritas I've ever tasted.
And their Chili Rellenos are amazing and legendary.
Uber got us there just after 8PM. Yep, just like always.
After we settled in, we headed back over to Boul. St-Germain and then to rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré to satisfy Mrs. SFO777's apparently insatiable appetite for exploring high end stores.
On our way to Paul Bocuse, along the banks of the Saone River.
And then exploring Lyon Centre.
New Years Eve was getaway day and a 5 hours drive to Lyon. Great driving conditions and exorbitent tolls kept the A8 and A7 clear of most traffic today. We decided to make an impromptu stop for lunch in Aix en Provence.
