Paris, Paris, Paris! - Part Two

Saturday morning we woke up, determined this time to make it to the tour we had missed the day before. By the way, these are AWESOME. The company is called Sandeman's New Europe and they offer free tours in over ten countries and then more specialized tours for a fee (for example, there was one for Montmartre that we didn't get to, but I'll probably try and do it next time I'm in Paris). They also do Pub Crawls so that youth get a chance to go out in a new city despite not knowing where the 'good' places are. If I see these anywhere, I will definitely take the chance to take them.

The tour took up a good portion of our day, herding us all over Paris. While all the tour guides seem to have incredible and hilarious personalities, I think ours may have been one of the most funny. He kept us laughing and entertained the entire time... while giving us a slew of historical and useful facts!

One of my favorite things we saw on the tour was this octagonal pool-pond-thing. It contains a work of contemporary art by Kader Attia consisting of a number of cymbals. The idea is that raindrops will pound onto the cymbals, creating music across the pond, but there was a moment of discovery as people realized you could throw stones from all around the pond to create the same, interactive effect. Unfortunately, when we were there, no one was really stone-throwing except us (and we missed most of the time), but I've heard the pond is often surrounded by stone-throwers, creating a cacophony of percussion - the viewer as part of the performance, the sound as part of the art.

After the tour, we decided we needed some hot chocolate and cheese to boost our spirits. With cafes everywhere, it was sort of a quest to find one that wasn't too expensive. Luckily, we managed, and we enjoyed emmental, camembert, and a blue cheese (of which I've forgotten its name) spread over delicious French baguettes. Rachael and I also shared a tiny box of expensive chocolates from La Maison du Chocolat and it was heavenly.

Energized from our midday snack, it was time for shopping. French lingerie for the girls (just to say we have some!) and a smart new coat for Alfie. I also found an interesting and very pretty overnight bag while Rachael bought some gorgeous heels (in fact, I'm totally jealous, because she can now say, "Do you like these? I bought them in Paris!").

Then we ate again. I know, I know, but we actually shopped for hours, so we were hungry and exhausted and had our stomachs set on fondue. Three cheese fondue with mushrooms and goat cheese fondue, actually, in a little restaurant by San Michel. The restaurant had a beautiful atmosphere, low lit and red, and we sipped sangria as we devoured dinner. It was the perfect cap to our evening. In fact, we thought we were going to go out clubbing, but in the end, we were so blitzed from walking the entire day, we thought it best just to go back to the hostel and relish what we had done.

The next day was incredibly subdued - our Eurostar left in the afternoon, so we took the morning to sleep in, buy more French bread and French cheese, and just eat crepes in a cafe until it was time to go.

I'm so glad I gave Paris a second chance.