Rome and Final Week in Paris

   Well I hope everyone is getting ready for a fabulous Thanksgiving today!  We have been moving at full speed trying to squeeze every last bit of fun into our final weeks in Europe.  We went to Rome for a couple of days last week and met some Italian-American friends.  I used to work with David and Maria in the states before we had children.  They now live in Naples with their 3 boys and despite not having seen each other in 5 years, we all fell right back in sync.  It was a very rainy 3 days but we had a great tour of the Vatican, saw the great fountains and piazzas and walked through the Colisseum.  The highlight of my trip was dining with great friends (who speak italian) and seeing my kids play with other kids (something they haven't really done in 3 months).  David and Maria brought a Neapolitan feast to our apartment for our first night together and we dined out the rest of the time.
   After Rome we had one afternoon to recuperate before our Coronado friends, Beth & Bill, arrived.  They found an old, charming apartment on Ile St. Louis.  It's been our kid drop off zone and resting spot between marathon walking expeditions.  So far we have gone out to a few memorable meals including dinner at the very old La Petite Chaise and a tapas-style happy hour(s) at the Anthony Bourdain recommended L'Avant-Comptoir.  We also booked another bike tour with Amber at Bike About Tours.  It was a very cold day but we all had the best time riding through the quiet backstreets of Paris and learning some new things.  Last night we had a wine class at O Chateau where we learned some new things about French wines and sampled some really good ones.  Today, we plan on having a true Thanksgiving in our apartment.  We shopped for some of our provisions yesterday and will be chefing it up all day today.  Hoping you all have things to be thankful for and are surrounded by friends and family.  Cheers!

Our street in Rome, Via Margutta.

Piazza del Popolo

The Vatican 

Neapolitan happy hour hand delivered by David and Maria and their darling boys

Maria's eggplant parmesan

Mortadella for 'bologne boys'

smoked mozzarella

Dance party!!!

Chestnuts roasting

Trevi Fountain in the rain

Back to Paris.  Dinner at La Petite Chaise...

Wally and Nicola, our hilarious waiters at La Petite Chaise.

La Porte du soir

Pont Marie - my bridge

Place de Vosges

Touring with the amazing Amber again

Most expensive restaurant in Paris. 800-1200 euros for dinner for 2 not counting drinks!!!

Arche de Carrousel

biking around the Louvre - priceless

L'Avant Comptoir

Anchois for Beth

Awww

Prepping for Thanksgiving

Tea shopping

Centre Pompidou

Place Vendome

Wine class