Ali and Maddie in France: Le Vin!

July 5th, Day 8: Today we decided to not go to any iconic names, like the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower or something like that, we decided to appreciate the local neighborhoods of Paris. We explored Le Marais (the local gay neighborhood), the Jewish neighborhood, and the neighborhoods around the Pompidou Center which we caught a glimpse of when biking with Robert. At the end, we both ended up with some goodies. Maddie bought an éclair to start off the day, then we both took advantage of the sales around, buying clothes for ourselves and some gifts for our loved ones. We had lunch at L'As du Falafel, well know for their crazy good falafels. We ate them in front of the Pompidou fountains and watched some of the local kids kick around the football, almost getting hit multiple times. Then we slowly made our way back to the apartments going in and out of cute stores and eventually grabbing some sorbet at the Luxembourg gardens before returning home for some down time. For dinner, we went out with Maddie's uncles, Robert and Peter, and their long time friend from Normandy, Stefan, who we may be visiting towards the end of our trip. We had dinner at Terra Nova, an Italian restaurant on rue Mouffetard, where we enjoyed our first glasses of wine. To top it off we had an extraordinary tiramisu for dessert. Then the five of us walked back to the apartments happy with our full bellies. We passed by the Pantheon and could see the Eiffel Tower lit up in the distance. La vie est belle!