I Love Paris in the Springtime (and the Summer, Fall and Winter, too)

Let's go to Paris, with one of my favorite literary friends, Babar 

Right now my plans to visit Paris are only in my dreams, but I'm dreaming of Paris. I've got no date in mind -- next fall, next spring or maybe the following fall or maybe some time after that -- but it's the  trip of my dreams and I don't want to put it off into never. 

Usually when I do a post I use my own photographs, but my last trip to Paris was before the cellphone camera and there are very few pictures for all the  times I've been to Paris. So I'm calling on one of my favorite literary friends, Babar, who is very familiar with Paris. Babar has put together a guide to his favorite spots, and they're also among my top spots, too. 

We'll begin our visit by stopping by the Louvre Museum, which may be the top tourist spot in Paris. We'll look out for the Mona Lisa, pay our respects to Venus de Milo and stop by one of my favorites, Veronese's The Wedding Feast at Cana. I'd love to spend my entire trip to Paris at the Louvre and with so much to see, I think it's possible. But let's move on to the other top spot, The Eiffel Tower.

And there it is. the Eiffel Tower! We're taking Babar's good advice and walking as much as we can. In my dream trip to Paris the weather is sunny every day and it only rains at night. This is the exact opposite of a two week trip I made to Paris in 1981 and it rained at least twelve out of fourteen days. I still loved Paris in the rain, but I love it so much more in the sunshine.  

 

After all of our sightseeing and walking means it's time to participate in one of the great joys of Paris, a visit to a cafe. Cafe de Flore and Deux Magots are in one of my favorite neighborhoods, Saint Germain de Pres. They're well known and well located, but there are many (many!) cafes that may not be as famous, but still have delicious food and are great places for people watching. 

We've had a wonderful day (or two) so far in Paris and just as Babar suggests we'll spend the next morning lazing on the banks of the Seine. Maybe we'll have a croissant and a coffee as we watch the river go by and dream of our next days in Paris. 

I've got many more places to visit in Paris -- Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle and its over 1100 stained glass windows, the Ile St. Louis and the best ice cream in Paris at Berthillon, the Impressionist paintings at the Musee d'Orsay and trips to the Palace of Versailles and Monet's house and gardens at Giverny -- and I haven't done any research about new places to see. I think there's a lot more to see and do than the week or ten days that I've had in mind for my dream trip. I may just have to take Babar's advice and dream about living in Paris.  

Now that I've shared my dream trip, what's your dream trip? Is it a return to somewhere you love or a trip to somewhere new you've been dreaming about for a long, long time?  

While I'm dreaming of Paris, I'm going to be enjoying New York in June. I'm looking forward to a friend' s visit later in the month, a concert next week and simply enjoying warm and sunny weather. I may not get to the cafes in Paris, but I look forward to enjoying iced coffee outdoors in my own neighborhood, with no planes or passport needed. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and have a great June.