J'adore Paris!

It's hard to believe that our 3-year international adventure has come to an end. But what better place to end it than in France? We left Shanghai and arrived in Paris, and for the first few days wandered around in a daze and wonderment at both the classic architecture and the proliferation of non-Asians.
We found a great apartment to rent in the heart of St. Germain for only $99/night. And mind you, that's 99 US Dollars, not that naughty Euro which keeps running away from our poor, weakened greenback. Vacationinparis.com is the website, in case you're interested. Just remember, to some extent you do get what you pay for. As you can see above, we didn't have much space (yes that is a bunk above Tiffany). But for our purposes, it was perfect, great location and cheap.
That way we saved more money for one of the true pleasures of Paris -- the food! The exquisite gelato held in Zach's loving hand was carefully crafted into a flower petal form by the scooping artisan. In Paris, if you have a chance to be artistic and beautiful, carpe diem! seize the day! On the flip side, the process of serving wasn't the most efficient and resulted in quite a line stringing out the door. But such is the pace of life in Paris, and it was a welcome change from the frenzy of Shanghai.
Tiffany reunited with her old love, the Nutella crepe. For her, to munch on a fresh, warm crepe while strolling the streets of Paris is a romance that will never fade.
Almost everything in Paris had a certain "Old World", magical feel. Up the street from us we found a band holding court and entertaining an appreciative crowd with a lively jig. Even more amazing was the designated dancer, a 70-ish year old lady (in the green on the left), who whirled and hopped to the music with an enthusiasm and energy of a girl, much to the delight of her audience.
We found her counterpart across town, a smooth-stepping, older gentleman, who swung his partner consistently with panache to the sweet sounds of a jazzy French band.
We found ourselves exclaiming "Ooh, this is sooo cute!" ad nauseum, but really, there were very many things in Paris that were sooo cute, like this window display of an umbrella store.
Here we passed the legendary Moulin Rouge, the famous dance theater and title of one of Zach's favorite musical movies (starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor).
Life imitates art? Tiffany stikes a pose next to a group of sculptures in the Rodin museum garden.
There was plenty of time to muse over our journeys in the classic company of Rodin's masterpiece, The Thinker.
We explored the church, La Madeleine, in awe of its imposing neoclassical architecture.
Paris is littered with parks and we enjoyed exploring them and walking the quiet, tree-lined paths.
A classic town square. The fountain is running, sidewalk cafes are filled with expresso sipping, chain-smoking Parisians, and park benches are filled with pedestrians munching on fresh baguettes. "Je ne sais quoi" was never more relevant...
Inside the museum L'Orangerie, we walked the oval rooms paneled with Monet's famous Water Lilies paintings, which he completed over the course of 25 years of work.
Inside Paris' central garden, the Tuileries.

The finishing touch on Zach's finely crafted photo of a grouping of garden flowers: the unexpected insertion of a Tiffany head.
One of the unique metro signs marking an entrance to Paris' underground labyrinth of public transportation. Again, no opportunity for artistic expression left un-utilized.
Another outpouring-of-cute moment. Fuel efficient? Yes. Tiffany-sized? No.
An impressive lineup of cannons outside Les Invalides (the Army hospital and museum) with the Eiffel Tower looming in the background.
Even the windows are on guard duty at Les Invalides.
Sometimes jet lag can work to your advantage. We had the city all to ourselves and were able to enjoy the dawn light breaking the horizon and slowly spilling out over the River Seine.
Lest we forget our roots, Tiffany spotted a museum advertising the display of the Terracotta warriors of China.

After wearing our soles thin on the cobblestone streets of the City of Light, we understood why France is the number one tourist destination in the world. Delicious food, timeless art and immaculate gardens combine in the perfect recipe for romantic culture and nostalgic appreciation of European living at its finest.