Return to Paris

No surprise here I suppose, but we're going back to Paris this month. Since we cut our trip short this past spring we kept missing something and it was our planned visit to the City of Light. 

So we're returning for ten days. . . (the painting is Madame X by John Singer Sargent)

We fly out of Grand Rapids, connect in Detroit to Charles de Gaulle (CDG), a pair of flights we've made a couple of times already over the past year or so. 

Our apartment is in the 12 arrondissement, close to the promenade plantée, right across the street from the Aligre market, one of the city's largest food markets. A bit of a walk to public transport but Paris is designed for walking! 

As for our itinerary, we like to stay flexible. That said,  on the 25th we plan to  visit Val and her family and on the 30th we will meet up with Marie B. in Père-Lachaise followed by lunch nearby! 

We have timed tickets see the John Singer Sargent exhibition at the Orsay, and reservations to enjoy a wine and cheese tasting lunch at O Chateaux. 

We also hope to take a day trip to Reims to see the cathedral and sip some champagne.

We want to visit a couple of museums we've not experienced before: the Maritime Museum and the Museum of French Monuments, both located in the Palais Chaillot (tTrocadero). 

That will also give us an opportunity to pay our respects to Berthe Morisot and Edouard Manet, as well as Debussy and Faure all buried right across the street in Passy Cemetery.

We will  spend our last night at the airport just like we did this past spring; it makes for a relaxing return trip. Or at least as relaxed as one can be when  traveling for 11 or 12 hours most of which is spent wedged into a narrow armchair at 38,000 feet.

Oh, and we're looking forward to trying the new Metro ticketing system. . .  no more paper (actually cardboard) tickets!

But most of all. we just want to BE. . . in Paris!