Ma Mere en Paris

Two things have have been happening this past week.  1)  the date Oct 5 has been stuck in my head, like something is supposed to happen that I forgot about  2)  I have (again) the strong itch to go to France.

It is not random that these things are happening together because it has been exactly 1 year since I went to Paris with my mother in celebration of a big birthday, and there was a lot of planning with a date of Oct 5 in mind (and I can go about 1 year before I feel the need for another fix of French)

Here she is at the top of les Galleries LaFayette, tres chic, non?:

It was a splendid trip, and I don't think I can recall it all with a quick bloggie in the morning, but here is some random things from our trip.  We stayed at a lovely little hotel near l'Acr de Triomphe, here I am on the first day at said monument with the map:

We did hit up just about everything one needs to see... le louvre (i can't find our mona lisa pic, but here is my favorite piece of art in Paris, which is on the climb up to see her):

This next picture has special meaning to my mother, who grew up with maybe not so many things.  This was THE puzzle.  The one that she and her sister put together one thousand times.  And here she is, in front of the real thing.  We took this picture for her sister! (Barb, next time come with us!)

Le Pompadou (you know, that funky museum in Paris with all the colorful tubing on the outside, and all the funky art on the inside), is always one of my favorite stops.  We had a very fun time listening to our headphone tour and having some good laughs.  Including the "meat dress".  You might think lady gaga is an original and came up with that on her own but it is a TOTAL knockoff.  The original is old, and in a museum in Paris.

I don't know where this is, but it's a nice picture, no?  you can feel the armies approaching... oh Paris, what a place.

 So many other things, here are a few:

• strolling Les Champs Elysees
• Kir Royale, which Donna decidedly liked
• Notre Dame
• The steep climb to le Sacre Couer (my favorite cathedral in Paris)
• Le Bon Marche (although I think this is where my mother lost a chunk of her toe in an escalator)

Donna, what am I forgetting?