Back in time!

I know the few of you that still read this have completely given up any hope that I will actually ever stay up to date and just to mess with you further, we are going to go back a week – sorry! Just when you thought Berlin was going to happen, I am back to Paris! And in fairness to me, I was not in Berlin for any weekends in September as my move was a bit sudden. I ended back in Paris for two of them trying to sort out my move and giving up my apartment  - tear.

In going through my photos, I realized I had forgotten this excursion and one of my last meals before I moved. I thought they were worth posting because I never knew you could even do this in Paris! 

On possibly the hottest day of the year, we rented a boat on the Canal de l'Ourcq. I note the weather because while the majority of boats have a canopy, ours did not! 

You start at the Bassin de la Villette and then head out on your own after a few basic instructions – how to start stop, take the hydraulic bridge and to note the driver cannot drink – but no worries, you can switch drivers en route!

This is a shot of our main driver in action! (however I was the first one that had to actually turn the boat – it was a success!)

While you are not moving very fast, it is a fun excursion. We passed a number of places that I had never seen before including the water side of Parc de la Villette that has a sculpture garden and lots of green.

As we didn’t want to go past our two hour rental, we got back to the bridge a bit too early. In an effort to not melt in the heat, we kept turning in circles under a bridge to say in the shade. Of course the helpful Parisians sitting on the side of the quai thought we just didn’t know how to drive – we would have expected nothing different from them!

The bridge ready for our crossing 

One of the last lunches I had before I moved was near my office in the Bois de Boulogne. There are a couple of small lakes in the park and one of them has an island with a restaurant - Le Chalet des Iles.

There is a boat that takes you from the main land to the resto.

Arriving at the island

View from the boat

It really doesn't feel like you are in Paris once you are there!

Surprisingly, one of the weekends I went back in September was the first time I stepped foot into the Le Bon Marché. This is a very Parisian thing, depending on which side of the river you live on will influence which of the Grand Magasins you frequent, that is if you frequent them!

The store was all decked out so I took a few photos . . .

The reason why we were on the left bank was because I had a mission. I promised myself that if I could afford it, when I left Paris I would buy myself a certain type of shoes from a very specific store. Maybe it was the depression of leaving Paris or the excitement of being back but this happened:

I still do not regret this decision 😉