Today we had left open intentionally so that the folks new to Paris could repeat things or do things on their own or do nothing if they wanted.

And without any planning really, we mostly just stuck to the neighborhood we were staying in: Bastille. We spent so much of the week with a planned agenda, we hadn’t spent any time seeing what was in our own backyard so to speak.

I was the last one up at about 8am which is super unusual for me. Ash hadn’t taken Zeus out yet so he did that and Sherry and I got breakfast ready – scrambled eggs, bread, cheese.

Sherry had to get something printed so we found a place to get that done close by then came back to the apartment.

By that time it was raining pretty hard and we just sat around and visited until we went out for lunch around 1pm.

Le Chat Bosso was just like 3-4 blocks down our street but it was still raining so we took the metro one stop to avoid it as much as we could.

Jon had eaten here last week and said they had the best French onion soup he has had since he’s been here. We both order it any time we see it on a menu so I was happy to try it.

And yes, I agree with Jon’s assessment – the French onion soup was terrific.

Duck confit for my main. Most everyone else had salads of some kind so I didn’t take photos there. This may have been better than the one I had the other night. Also something I will get when it’s available. This is the first place we have come across where it was on their regular menu. It’s takes a long time to make when done correctly so it’s often just a special.

At the top of this photo is a pear tart with caramel which Mark and Sherry had for dessert. I had a “floating island” – big gobs of soft meringue drizzled with caramel swimming in a vanilla custard. It was so unique, simple and tasty it may end up my favorite dessert of the trip.

After lunch, Ash, Sherry and I spent the afternoon walking and shopping in the Bastille and then over into the Marais.

By that time the weather had turned gorgeous but it didn’t last; we made our way home about 5:30 as it started to rain.

This bakery has been in operation since 1761 – the oldest one in Paris.

We came across this cute square on our way to the subway which we had never come across before.

It was raining a lot when we got back. I will give a personal update here which I haven’t touched on but our close friends know: Ash and I will get home on Saturday, close on a new home on Monday, and move later that week. Most of our stuff is packed and in storage so that our current house will show better while it’s on the market.

All that to say: my raincoat is in storage and I didn’t feel like trying to dig it out when I was packing since I didn’t remember what box it is in. I have a weather proof jacket on this trip but it doesn’t have a hood. And it’s too windy to effectively use the umbrellas we brought.

But Sherry had a poncho in her raincoat she had been carrying around since some trip to New Orleans.

The restaurant was JJ Beaumarchais. Ash and I were here in May of 2022 and loved it. It’s a place where there’s no menu – they ask you about things you don’t want and modify as needed. But otherwise you get what they’re serving.

The first course was scallop based. Note: the person describing each dish had a thick French accent so although they were technically speaking English I couldn’t understand much of it. So the photos will have to do for now. And our stamp that we thought everything was incredible. We all enjoyed this meal a lot.

Clams and butternut squash.

Beef and ravioli.

Chocolate gelato with pear sorbet.

It was a fantastic way to end a fabulous trip. We had a great time together tonight and the whole week. Everyone talked about how well everyone got along and what a great time they had.

Tomorrow we will leave around 11am for the airport so probably won’t do much in the morning. Jon is going home to Puerto Vallarta, but the rest of us are spending Friday night in Philadelphia. We will have an evening there so I will close out the blog after that.