My last day in Paris was also my 29th birthday (and last day of my externship for pastry). So after finishing my final day of work at SugarPlum I met up with my dad and we did a last little walk through Paris, stopping at the original Berthillon for some more delicious ice cream. My dad got peach and apricot, I got blueberry and roasted pineapple with fresh basil. All were amazing. Then we stopped one last time by the bouquinistes for my dad to get a few old books he saw on Tuesday. The old man was very talkative and, after realizing that we liked old books, pulls out a 2nd edition Uncle Tom's Cabin, in French, from 1853. It's the first edition that is illustrated (the original first editions had no illustrations). He was selling it for a mere 700 Euros. On eBay they are listed in the $900 range. Crazy, but super cool to be able to see that, even if we had no intention of buying it.
After this we changed and headed out to attend a classical music concert in the Saint Chapelle. It was a gorgeous setting with music by Bach and Schubert, among others. After this we walked to the boat docks by the Musée d'Orsay and got on our dinner boat cruise. It was a delicious meal with tapas style apps and dessert and selection of chicken, fish or beef for the entrée. I picked beef, my dad got the fish. Everything was excellent and the boat went down past the Notre Dame, and all the way just past the Accor'Hotel Arena where we saw Santana before turning around to head back. Then we went the other direction from the Musée d'Orsay to see the smaller version of the Statue of Liberty (sorry that its dark, there was no lighting on the statue). We were also just in time to see the Eiffel Tower lights go off at 11pm as we went past it on our return to the docks. (See Facebook for my video of that.) It was a great final night to have in Paris.
Today we woke up super early to make it to the airport and catch our flight to Barcelona. No problems getting in, though sadly they didn't stamp my passport because we are already in the EU so it was a "domestic" flight. I was hoping for a Spain stamp. We made it to our hotel with no problems, checked out the view from the rooftop deck and then set out to find some lunch. We visited La Rambla which is a central tourist/pedestrian street that runs down toward the water. From there we went into the Mercat St Joseph- La Boqueria which is a huge market, open-air but with an elevated roof so it is protected from the elements. It was great. I felt like I was in an episode of the Amazing Race...they always seem to be looking for things in big markets like this. We managed to find a tapas place on the edges of the market for some delicious jamon iberico de bellota, croquettes de pollo and patatas bravas. So good!!!
We stopped back at the hotel to regroup then did a little walk past the Casa Batlló and Casa Milà, both Gaudi buildings, before heading over to the Sagrada Familia. So they are doing a LOT of renovation on it with huge cranes so it doesnt look that great from the outside. And apparently all the tix were sold out today, and until 1:15pm tomorrow. So that is when we will go inside. From there we took a taxi to the Teleférico which is a gondola that takes you across the harbor and part of the way up to Montjuic Castle. We hiked up the rest of the way and had beautiful views of the surrounding Mediterranean. We are back at the hotel now with plans to find a good tapas bar for dinner. Buenos Noches!
After this we changed and headed out to attend a classical music concert in the Saint Chapelle. It was a gorgeous setting with music by Bach and Schubert, among others. After this we walked to the boat docks by the Musée d'Orsay and got on our dinner boat cruise. It was a delicious meal with tapas style apps and dessert and selection of chicken, fish or beef for the entrée. I picked beef, my dad got the fish. Everything was excellent and the boat went down past the Notre Dame, and all the way just past the Accor'Hotel Arena where we saw Santana before turning around to head back. Then we went the other direction from the Musée d'Orsay to see the smaller version of the Statue of Liberty (sorry that its dark, there was no lighting on the statue). We were also just in time to see the Eiffel Tower lights go off at 11pm as we went past it on our return to the docks. (See Facebook for my video of that.) It was a great final night to have in Paris.
Today we woke up super early to make it to the airport and catch our flight to Barcelona. No problems getting in, though sadly they didn't stamp my passport because we are already in the EU so it was a "domestic" flight. I was hoping for a Spain stamp. We made it to our hotel with no problems, checked out the view from the rooftop deck and then set out to find some lunch. We visited La Rambla which is a central tourist/pedestrian street that runs down toward the water. From there we went into the Mercat St Joseph- La Boqueria which is a huge market, open-air but with an elevated roof so it is protected from the elements. It was great. I felt like I was in an episode of the Amazing Race...they always seem to be looking for things in big markets like this. We managed to find a tapas place on the edges of the market for some delicious jamon iberico de bellota, croquettes de pollo and patatas bravas. So good!!!
We stopped back at the hotel to regroup then did a little walk past the Casa Batlló and Casa Milà, both Gaudi buildings, before heading over to the Sagrada Familia. So they are doing a LOT of renovation on it with huge cranes so it doesnt look that great from the outside. And apparently all the tix were sold out today, and until 1:15pm tomorrow. So that is when we will go inside. From there we took a taxi to the Teleférico which is a gondola that takes you across the harbor and part of the way up to Montjuic Castle. We hiked up the rest of the way and had beautiful views of the surrounding Mediterranean. We are back at the hotel now with plans to find a good tapas bar for dinner. Buenos Noches!
I'm enjoying all your wonderful views and impressions. The food for your birthday looked fabulous, but so do all the sweets at the Boqueria Market! Looks like you're having fun discovering Barcelona!
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