We arrive in Paris on a partly-cloudy spring day and find that our hotel room has a small balcony with rooftop views of the city. We're in France for two and a half weeks, most of it based in an apartment in Montpellier, a few km from the Mediterranean between Marseille and Spain, with side rips to Bordeaux, Marseille, and Carcassonne. But, we fly into and first stop briefly in Paris.
View from our balcony
We head our for a walk through the city, stopping at Galleries Lafayette on Boulevard Haussmann to see what's new and find the vibrant Spring colors, delighting us all as we emerge from the days of Covid-19.
Spring fashion
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is lined with banners in the colors of the French flag
Avenue des Champs-Élysées
In the Jardin des Tuileries, the grand park between Place de la Concorde at one end of the
Champs-Élysées and extending to the Louvre, people are out and about enjoying the day, sailing small boats in the pond, studying, talking, and just relaxing.
Jardin des Tuileries
Back at our hotel, we have a bottle of wine on our balcony, ready for an aperitif before our walk to dinner at our favorite duck restaurant in Paris: Il etait une Oie dans le Sud Ouest, about 45 minutes away.
Aperitif
On the way to dinner, we first walk down Rue St. Honeré and pass behind the Élysée Palace, the residence of the French President.Élysée Palace
We've been to
Il etait une Oie dans le Sud Ouest almost every trip to Paris the last few years and it has never failed to delight us. This time, we share a starter of foie gras torchon, followed by duck breast with duck-fat roasted potatoes and duck salad three ways (crispy confit, smoked duck, sliced duck breast).
Foie gras torchon
Duck breast, duck salad
And, for desert, profiterole with strawberries!
Desert
When we return to our room, we still have a little wine left and a great nighttime view from our balcony.
The day winds down
What a great reentry to France and to Paris!
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