Friday flânerie

Today was my first time having a guest flâneur! It was great having Jill along, of course.

She summed it up at the very beginning by saying that it felt luxurious to just be strolling along, with no real destination, no plan to speak of, and no timetable. Exactly!

We started by getting almond croissants for a late breakfast. My favorite. {Photo by Jill.}

We then walked across the Pont Alexandre III. I had no idea that Jill never got to walk on any of the bridges last time she was here -- we had to remedy that!

I love taking pictures of her taking pictures. She has a great eye, I almost always like her pictures better than mine. Plus, she has a very cool way of frequently taking photos without looking through the viewfinder -- and she gets some great surprise shots that way. (And look at her cute new jacket!)

We had to muse over the traffic here. I would never want to drive in Paris! The traffic rules elude me: everyone seems to go every which way, there are very few designated lanes, and vehicles often try to go through red lights, even when pedestrians are crossing.

We walked along the length of the Champs-Elysées, and were treated to a little exhibit of French Vogue magazine covers. Some of them dated back to the 1930s, and it was interesting to see how they have changed over time. Of course I was drawn to this polka-dot dress.

We contented ourselves by taking photos of Ladurée's windows. (It helped that I was just there on Wednesday, so I didn't feel quite the magnetic pull I usually would have...)

I got several more sets of chairs for my collection. I just can't seem to resist them.

We sat on a bench, watching people walk by. We enjoyed the delightfully cool temperature and the complete and utter lack of feeling hot (bliss!). We were amused by all of the Asian tourists taking photos, and the many ugly dogs.

We made it all the way to the Arc de Triomphe, where several tourists asked me to take their picture, including one who was rather pushy about where I should stand and had me re-take! {Photo by Jill.}

We walked along the Rue de Rivoli, which never fails to surprise me by its strange combination of high-end hotels and tacky souvenir shops. Even Paris is not immune to ugly.

We stopped at a café to both eat and rest our tired legs and feet. We thought we would be more energized by this than we were. {Photo by Jill.}

We strolled over to the Louvre and found this serene raised garden square, which we had almost all to ourselves. Our bench, above, where we sat and talked.

Jill had some peanut butter m&ms in her purse that we ate while chatting. One fell on the ground and within a minute or two, we had about 25 pigeons at our feet! I am so not okay with pigeons congregating near me.

These bike rentals are all over the city. You can swipe your credit card, take off, and return your bike at any of their locations. They are inexpensive and look like fun, but you have to ride on the streets of Paris with all of the cars, ambulances, buses, and crazy taxis. I'm not brave enough.

After a little more walking, we decided to head back home and indulge in a little crème brûlée at the café across the street from our apartment. So good.

{Photo by Jill.} Our last stop was buying postcards and magazines on Rue Cler, and then we came home, where we both put our feet up, read a little, and fell asleep. Ah, Fridays!