Day 14 -Wandering around the 1st Arrondissement; 12,000 steps

Today was an unplanned day.  I completed my planned itinerary, missing just a few minor sights, either because of inconvenience, fatigue, or lack of time.  My card system worked really well.

After a few days of sunshine, today was grey, but it didn't rain. I set out a little after 10 this morning, stopping to get some more cash at the local ATM before getting on the bus.  I headed down to Palais Royal and strolled through part of it.  So many locations are under some sort of construction or renovation.  Not sure what was going on here, but I watched a guy who was straddling the top of a stepladder and using it like stilts to move along a wall.  I stopped at a cafe for a cafe creme - 5 euros!  Geesh!  I walked up Rue St. Honore where there are many high end boutiques.  I thought much of it was gaudy, certainly not my taste, but way far out of my price range anyway.  The last time I was here, Place Vendome was under renovation with the column enclosed in a box, and the Ritz Hotel had been closed for three or four years for renovation.  Now the renovation is complete, so everything is back to normal.

I had lunch at Da Rosa.  I stopped here four years ago for "un cafe and les toilettes," and the people were so nice that I've wanted to go back for a meal.  The place has been rearranged inside and the nice lady wasn't there, but the staff was friendly, and became quite busy for lunch.  They still have their nice main floor "toilette."  In so many places, les toilettes are either up or down a steep spiral staircase, so having one on the ground floor is rare, though I have come across a few of them on this trip.  My risotto was really good with thin slices of Spanish ham, which is their specialty.

After lunch I walked up to La Madeline, which is undergoing its own restoration or cleaning.  Fouchon is a specialty food shop behind La Madeline and I walked up there, but ended up not buying anything.  About this time, my feet started to protest loudly, so I rode the bus up to La Opera, and transferred to the #29 that stops at Place des Vosges, which is 2 blocks from the apartment.  With just 3 or 4 stops to go, the driver made an announcement and some people got off, but instead of turning left onto Rue Rambuteau, he went straight.  I finally, asked to get off near the Hotel de Ville and walked over to the Metro for the short ride to the St. Paul stop and home -- feet protesting all the way.

This is my last night in the apartment.  This morning I spent some time trying to get organized and did a load of laundry, which is drying now.  I need to check out at 10 tomorrow morning and someone is coming to help me get my luggage down the steep stairway with no handrail.  There are just 16 steps, and they haven't been hard to deal with, but I can just seem me and my suitcase ending up at the bottom in a pile.  No thank you!  I asked for assistance and I am grateful to them for the help.

The plan for tomorrow is to take a taxi to the Novotel at the airport where I'll drop my luggage, then take the train back into Central Paris -- unless my feet protest too much.  We'll see.