Saturday

Soooo technically I was supposed to be in Geneva, Switzerland but I got sick & there was a 60% chance of rain for the weekend & that was the last thing I needed! I was SO LUCKY & my ticket for Geneva got fully refunded, so now I can use that money in ITALY! :) Guy told me that this weekend was Les Journees du Patrimoine, which is apparently held all over Europe the weekend of September 18th & 19th. TONS of museums and buildings that are usually off limits to the public were open & free of charge! Not to shabby! I couldn't have asked for more perfect weather- it was about 68-70 & sunny with a cool breeze! Heaven! I got up & opted to just stroll through the streets since it was too pretty to be inside. I got off the #11 at Rambeteau right next to Centre Pompidou & saw all sorts of street acts & artists busy at work. All the cafe's were packed & everybody seemed so happy! There was a guy who had drawn this monter portrait out of sidewalk chalk & a magician pulling things out of his throat, which made me want to gag so I left! I stumbled upon a really cool vintage/thrift store called Rags & a new church I had never seen before! I wanted to get over to Hotel de Ville to see if it was open & (from what I saw) it wasn't, but there were people playing Polo on bikes & all sorts of biking activities for little kids. Remi had just mentioned Berthillon last week & since I was so close to I'le Saint Louis & that was one of the places I HAD to go before leaving, I thought "why not go now!" I walked along the Seine & passed 3-guys playing music in the middle of the street & a hugeeee bass player just singing like there was no tomorrow. Could this day be any more perfect? I saw a huggeeeee line wrapped around the corner & thought that all those people were insane for waiting in a line that long just to eat at a restaurant & then I realized that the line was for Berthillon...so I joined them! I got raspberry & coconut gelato/sorbet & YUMMMM! It's really fresh & you feel like you're eating a real raspberry & coconut! There were 2 guys singing "Dream a little dream" & "What a wonderful world" & I almost had to pinch myself to see if I was awake. The sun felt great, the music was wonderful & I was going to one of the most famous places in Paris. I feel so blessed :) Thennnnnn I saw an airplane fly by & I sorta got smacked back into reality...the reality being that this is my last weekend in Paris & in less than 2 weeks I will be back home. I'm trying to absorb all things Parisian before I head back across the little pond.

I passed by Pont Sully and crossed the bridge to the Arabe Monde because I saw people standing on a terrace & wanted to go up there! Since it was Les Journees du Patrimoine, it was open! The same architect who built Lancel's offices built this building & what's so cool is that each window has a shade in front of it that opens & closes like a camera! I felt like I was in the matrix when I walked in because everything was glass & super new-age. I got up to the 9th floor & there was a cute little pavillion set up where you could sit under umberellas on pool furniture...then there was the view. OMG! Its right along the Seine & up way high so you could see the top of all the apartments & buildings. There was a perfect view of Notre Dame & the Eiffel Tower! I felt like I was on top of the world! Definitely a view worth seeing! Just across the street is a parc called "Art et Scupltures en pleine air" and its right along the Seine with trees and flowers & abstract art, so I went and checked that out. The art was funky/weird, but the flowers were so pretty that they didnt even look real!!!

I was heading towards the metro when Grace called, so I met her on Rue de Rennes near Saint-Germain-des-Pres & we sat at a cafe for hours & just talked! We were looking at all the fashion passing by us, wondering why some adults ride Raze scooters here, how we would die if we tried riding a bike in the city and what it would be like growing up in Paris. The weather turned frigid and my teeth were legitimately chattering! Really? It's only September & it felt like December!!!! We said our goodbye's & headed home for the night.