Jardin du Luxembourg

We stopped at Pierre Hermé this afternoon for our favorite macarons (every bit as good as we remembered) and enjoyed them while walking through the Jardin du Luxembourg.

We're back!

Just about three years after we left Paris to return home to Chicago, we are back to France for a month-long visit.  I thought I would briefly resume sharing what we are up to in this space as it feels like our "grande aventure" has resumed.

This evening we took a pre-dinner walk along the Seine to help fight off jet lag before heading to our apartment for a dinner of fresh baguette, cheese and fruit from some of our favorite shops.

Skål från Stockholm!

We're in Sweden right now, visiting with J's family.  Today is a milestone birthday for J's dad and we are so happy to be able to spend it with him in such a beautiful city.

Along the quais

The Seine River runs right through the center of Paris, and long stretches of it are lined with pedestrian walkways.  During the day those walkways are much less congested than the sidewalks at street level, except for the occasional group of people queuing for a tour boat.  At night when the weather is nice, the banks are full of picnickers.

The city has recently renovated stretches of both river banks, adding cafés, picnic tables, floating gardens, and even a skateboard ramp.  My favorite path is along the left bank and runs from the Jardin des Plantes toward the center of the city.  It is our preferred spot for picnics, and we've spent many evenings taking that path to Île Saint-Louis for some Berthillon ice cream.

At the beach

Though we have a "beach" and hot weather in Paris right now, we were excited to return to Barcelona last weekend.  Fresh seafood, chilled glasses of white wine, afternoon swims in the Mediterranean and evening walks along the water's edge made for a perfect summer trip.