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  Paris Travel Diary Paris Quays of the Seine
The Seine is enclosed on both sides by concrete embankments which are called quays. Today, there are roads next to the quays that wind along the river. We chose to walk the quays on a blustery, windy, rainy day. But then almost every one of our days in Paris were rainy. It didn't dampen our spirits or stop us. We went everywhere we had planned to go and then some. Some of our pictures were taken from under an umbrella.
We left the d'Orsay Museum and walked east on the left bank. The first important point we passed was the Pont des Arts which is a pedestrian bridge. The bridge was completed in 1803 and takes its name from the Palais des Arts, the Louvre's original name. We continued our walk up the quai de Conti, and crossed the rue Dauphine. The street changed its name to the quai des Grands-Augustins. One block further on the right is the Restaurant Laperouse. It has served good food for nearly 200 years. Some of the patrons of this restaurant were Dumas, Zola, Hugo, Maupassant and many others from the world of art. Today it is still considered one of the great restaurants of Paris. We looked at the menu prices and decided that we would take their word for the restaurants good reputation.
The street zigged and zagged and changed names to the quai St. Michel. This is the street where Matisse lived and from his upstairs window painted the Saint Chapelle and Notre Dame. We ended our walk here.
We were at the Latin Quarter and after being sidetracked by the grandeur of Notre Dame we ate supper at a wonderful little country restaurant, Le Petit Hostelleier on La Harpe Street.
A superb Caesar salad, roast chicken with potatoes, and tasty dessert.
We strolled back to our hotel on the right bank, had coffee at McDonald's and reveled in the atmosphere. We heard Leslye say as she prepared to go to bed, can you believe that we are in Paris. This is Mike Clay with "Word Pictures from Paris". A community service of Lifesongs. Checkout our website at www.virtualtravels.com.
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