Back to Paris

I'm back in Paris and saw off my host family on their trip to America. It was a gorgeous day, and I decided to get out and walk and see some of the sights.

I started by painting the Gare St. Lazare. I found out today that the bus that sails downtown on a Sunday morning is painfully stalled in weekday traffic. So I jumped ship at Gare St. Lazare.

It felt a little silly to tear up in a train station, but I had the poster of Monet's amazing painting of this place on my wall all through middle and high school. It was powerful to be there in person.

After doing the sketch I hopped the Metro downtown and just walked to get my bearings and see the sights. Since I had gone towards Notre Dame last week, I walked down the Champs Élysées this time. It was busy and crowded, so not somewhere I'll revisit often, but fun to see.

I also hadn't seen the Eiffel Tower up close yet, so I found a quieter street and worked my way over.

There was a tiny spring festival going on just at the base, so I dived in to see and came our with a blue polka dot scarf and a little paella.

I walked back away from the tower and towards a metro station that would take me home. I loved seeing all the Parisians out enjoying their parks and public spaces.