Paris Days 4 & 5

With the amount of free time I have on my hands right now, you'd think that I would have written about our final days in Paris with excruciating detail, right? Ah, procrastination -- how I love thee!

Our fourth day in Paris actually wasn't -- in Paris that is. We decided to take a guided tour up to Giverny and check out Claude Monet's house. It was amazing to see the Japanese gardens and iconic bridge that served as the inspiration for his famous waterlily series of paintings. If you're a nature lover, his home would be heaven with countless rows of different types of flowers and plants. The inside of his house was painted in crazy pastels -- we only got one picture snapped before we got in trouble, but his love for pastels didn't stop at the canvas.

After having lunch in what can only be described as the most picture-perfect little restaurant that epitomized the French countryside (above), we headed south to the Palace of Versailles. I had been there before, but it was neat to see AC trip out over the lavish furnishings. They explained that most of the good stuff got melted down to fund the French Revolutionary War, so you have to imagine things with more hardware. They had also just finished a major renovation, so everything was in pristine condition. You could almost picture Louis the XIV and Marie Antoinette at their lavish parties, before they were kindly parted from their heads of course.

Our final day in Paris was bittersweet on so many levels. Knowing that it was our last day in France, and also finding out I was losing my job made for a somewhat somber mood. AC continued his surprisingly laid-back approach to our trip and we decided to leisurely wander around the streets of the Montmartre district, making pit stops and The Moulin Rouge, the workplace of Amélie, the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur and other places of note (such as where Picasso lived for a short time).

A non-scientific survey conducted by myself (n=2), revealed that this was the best vacation we ever had. Europe was such an interesting change after being in Asia for such a long time. We can't wait to go back. As always, here are the pictures!