Hotel Max Paris 14
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48°49’40.6452″N, 2°19’47.6976″E

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Boulangerie (Bakery) Near Hotel Max
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48°49’40.5480″N, 2°19’49.4652″E

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Charles de Gaulle Paris Terminal 2C
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49°0’8.7804″N, 2°34’37.8624″E

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Air Canada Toronto Pearson Airport
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43°40’38.4708″N, 79°38’3.1020″W

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Via Rail Toronto Union Station
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43°38’44.1744″N, 79°22’45.2280″W

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Via Rail Station London
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42°58’52.8096″N, 81°14’48.5268″W
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Home – 914 Country Club Crescent
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42°56’59.4852″N, 81°14’55.6908″W

Today we head home to London. It’s been a wonderful trip. A bit of a whirlwind on some fronts, but we thoroughly enjoyed our adventures.

It was fitting on our last day in Paris that a miracle happened… Emily was out of bed at 6:00am & on the subway to join us for breakfast at our favourite boulangerie & then come to the airport with us to make sure we got there OK & to say goodbye for now.

Photo above  – we were the first ones in the bakery this morning – there just a couple of minutes after it was opened. The smell of freshly baked breads & pastry delights was amazing!

After our petit dejeuner we walked for  15 minutes from our hotel to the metro station Denfert-Rochereau to catch the RER B train for a 45 minute ride to Charles de Gaulle Airport. We waited for a couple of trains to go by as they were packed full of people going to work and we didn’t want to try to wrestle our suitcases on. Fortunately that train comes every 5 minutes and we were able to get on with our suitcases and get a seat.

We had checked in online yesterday so all we had to do was attach some tags to our checked bags & head on through security.

It was difficult to say goodbye to Emily, knowing that she is going to be living there for a while & not just coming home in a few weeks.

She is pursuing her dream & we are happy for her to have the opportunity to do that.  After all, Catherine & I each did something similar (i. e. moved far away from our parents) when we were around that age, so who are we to suggest that she shouldn’t do the same thing. Besides, Paris is certainly not the worst place to be & the logistics of getting there from London & not as complicated as getting out to Victoria,  BC or somewhere in the USA.

Photo above  – on the plane to Toronto.  I wonder if they’ll be serving us champagne & filet mignon on this flight.

No gastronomic delights on this flight but it arrived in Toronto a few minutes ahead of schedule & we were even able to catch an earlier train home to London.

We were happy to be at home to sleep in our own bed & think about all the wonderful things we have done over the past month.

Tomorrow we’re back to porridge, old clothes & a pile of laundry.

Maybe the day after that, I’ll spend some time taking a closer look at this brochure I picked up along the way.

Cheers!

Where to next?

Hotel Max Paris 14
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48°49’40.6452″N, 2°19’47.6976″E

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Emily’s Hotel @ Notre Dame
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48°51’8.8380″N, 2°20’49.4844″E

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Cafe Aux Tour des Notre-Dame
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48°51’13.0104″N, 2°20’58.1856″E

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Luxembourg Gardens Paris
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48°50’44.9700″N, 2°20’14.2332″E

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Restaurant Emily
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48°51’35.5212″N, 2°17’49.0992″E

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Eiffel Tower Photos
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48°51’35.3268″N, 2°17’35.3832″E

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Trocadero Photo Spot
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48°51’37.5588″N, 2°17’29.4828″E

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Hotel Max Paris 14
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48°49’40.6452″N, 2°19’47.6976″E

Today was our last full day in Paris. We took the subway to Notre-Dame to meet Emily. She wanted to show us some of her favourite spots.

Photo above  – Notre-Dame just down the street from Emily’s hotel. Much progress has been made on the restoration since we were here last year.

Photo above – we just missed the Lego tour boat!  Perhaps the next time.

Photo above – coffee at La Tour des Notre-Dame cafe right beside the cathedral.

Photo above  – Emily knows the staff & the owner well. We enjoyed one of their charcuterie plates with our coffee.

Photo above – one of the cathedral’s gargoyles was “spitting” on the tourists when it was raining so workers put a muzzle on it! 🙂

Photo above – we stopped in front of the cathedral for the “obligatory” selfie. It would be nice to have a Euro for every one taken during just one day!

Photo above – our next stop was at the Luxembourg Gardens to enjoy the flowers & the peace & tranquility compared to the hustle & bustle around Notre-Dame.

We all went back to our hotel to rest for a couple of hours prior to heading towards the Eiffel Tower area for an evening dinner & to view the night lights.

Photo above – we are getting quite adept & riding the subway here. People might even mistake us for locals!

Photo above  – it’s interesting to see that several of the renovated stations have installed special glass walls with sliding doors that prevent people from accessing the tracks. These doors only open when the subway train has stopped & opens its doors to let passengers on & off. I wonder if we will start to see this in North America.

Photo above – early in the evening we took the subway to the Eiffel Tower area & had dinner at cafe Emily!

Photo above – dinner was delicious & followed by creme brulee.

Photo above – the Eiffel Tower light show was very impressive. The crowd was unbelievably large & it was chaos getting through the subway station at the Trocadero. We were glad to get back to our hotel.

We have had a great time in Paris viewing the sights with Emily.

We will sleep well tonight & and tomorrow we fly home.

Cheers!