Paris: Nov.14-20

Nathan was visiting a professor at the Université de Paris 13em for three days. We did not hesitate at all to make it into a one-week trip. I was excited to see La Tour Eiffel again (Wow, it has been 12 years!), and most importantly walk Chana in Paris!

We decided to stay in Montparnasse, where we found a small hotel called Hotel Acacia St. Germain which allowed (welcomed!) Chana. In Paris, dogs were allowed on the metro unlike Lyon, but as Chana got a little too excited on the moving sidewalk on the first day and left a nice souvenir, I decided that we should be outside as much as we can.

On Monday, Chana and I spent almost 6 hours staring at the Eiffel Tower, from a café, a park, underneath the tower, and another café waiting for Nathan. It was not enough tower gazing, so we went back again on Wednesday this time with Nathan, where we saw lucky Parisien dogs running off leash in the park in front of the tower. We saw a Great Dane or two from a distance. Small apartments in Paris and Great Danes do not go well together, so they must live in a mansion, they must.

Another favourite location for us was Le Jardin du Luxembourg. It is the largest public park in Paris, and to my surprise dogs are not allowed in the most of the area. We enjoyed the first walk without knowing the rule, the second walk involved some conversations with a guard, and the third time we behaved ourselves. Paris is contaminated with dog pollution, and I do not blame the most of the sights became dog-unfriendly. However, people still love dogs. Paradox.

During our stay, we were again in boulangerie heaven. The best one amongst I tried is Jean Noël Julien. We did not do much fancy dinings in Paris, but La Grande Epicerie Paris at Le Bon Marché provided us a nice take out meal one night. It was probably more expensive than sitting at a restaurant, but it was delicious. Nagoya, a Japanese restaurant, had a really good "Oyako Don (chicken and egg served on rice)," which was the first Japanese meal we have had so far in France.

Some dog-less visits were made to the Cathedral de Notre Dame and Le Louvre. We decided to do only one wing of the Louvre and we promised we will be back before too long.