To start the week and end my day by day posts from our trip,
I leave you with our last day in beautiful Paris.

Our final day in Paris is always a sad one for me and every time I’m in the city it gets harder and harder to leave!  But we made our final day in Paris a good one.

We started our day with something I’ve been wanting to do for a while.  Every trip in Paris, we always cross the Pont de l’Archeveche behind Notre dame to get our croissants from our favorite place on the Ile St. Louis and this bridge is one that has been taken over by locks.  There are many bridges in Paris that have done this, lovers lock a padlock to the bridge with their names on it and then throw the key into the Seine.  It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and so this trip, I brought a lock with me and our final morning we locked our love to the bridge and threw away the key into the river below.

 After that, we picked up croissants on the way to Nick’s family’s hotel.  It was another cold day in Paris, and actually we saw some snow flakes falling later in the day but it was clear in the morning and the sky began to open up as we walked over to the Louvre.

The Louvre for me is a place I really try to avoid after we went our first time in Paris and I’m sure someday I’ll get back there on a quiet day to enjoy it, but it’s so over crowded, people everywhere and loud that it makes it hard for me enjoy it.  But we wanted to make sure my in-laws saw at least the Mona Lisa and a bit of that wing, so we ventured to the museum in the morning.

After that we parted ways and Nick and I enjoyed a lovely last day in our favorite city.

We headed first for lunch at a little Spanish restaurant I had read about in the Bastille area.  It was a charming little place and totally off the beaten path.  We enjoyed Spanish Tortilla, Potatoes Bravas, Paprika Chicken and bread and delicious tomato relish all ordered in French from a chalkboard daily menu they bring to your table.  It was here, while we were eating this delicious lunch that we looked outside and it had started snowing.

After lunch we jumped back on the metro and made our way back to our area near Notre Dame.

We picked up a few souvenirs that we always do (we always get some Eiffel Tower keychains while in Paris) and I had really been wanting to try a place I had read about on another blog called Odette, which is basically a little shop with all different flavors of cream puffs.  I wasn’t totally sold and while I liked the chocolate ones, the other flavors weren’t my favorite.  But overall, it’s an adorable little shop and worth at least a visit.

We finished off the day with dinner with everyone to cap off our trip.  Afterwards, Nick and I said goodbye to Paris at one of our favorite brasseries, Le Petit Pont Cafe, across the street from Notre Dame, having a cafe au lait and crepes.  We watched the city light up as the evening fell and enjoyed our last moments in the City of Lights.

Paris was lovely as always this time around, and while bitterly cold, it always holds such a special part of my soul.  I feel totally in sync in Paris, a feeling that I find rarer and rarer as I see more of the world.

It’s a city that I will always hold dear and until my next trip, au revoir my dear Paris.

On another final note, I’ve updated my Paris travel guide here with a new hotel and restaurant recommendations and some new activities.