City of Lights

Despite generally lousy weather, we had a great weekend in Paris. (The forecast for Saturday was sun and a high of around 50 degrees with a 0% chance of rain, so naturally by noon it was cold and pouring rain. But a bad day in Paris is better than a good day in most other cities, so we weren't complaining.) We spent lots of time eating, drinking coffee, wandering the Left Bank, eating, shopping, drinking coffee, and eating. We're not big art afficionados by any means, but we nevertheless tried to catch the Turner-Whistler-Monet exhibition at the Grand Palais. It was a mob scene and since we didn't have reservations and didn't feel like waiting in the cold rain to fight the crowds, we went to the much quieter Musée Marmottan instead. More than anything, though, we just wandered semi-aimlessly around the city. Not a bad way to spend a weekend, all things considered. Here is Gretchen (and her new haircut) enjoying a café creme at a patisserie near our hotel in St-Germain-des-Prés: