After a fun Friday in Paris, we started Saturday with a delicious breakfast at Dose Rue Mouffetard, complete with the best looking avo toast and a fresh salad for him, yogurt with granola and berries for her, and cappuccinos and fresh pressed juice du jour to share.  If you’re in the 5th, it is an all star breakfast cafe!!

We then headed to the Cluny museum, or the Museum of Middle Ages and one of my personal favorites.  It is currently being renovated through 2020 (much more modern now – hopefully the medieval building will be incorporated back in after renovations!) so some of the museum is closed but the entrance was reduced to €4 – a steal to not only see some beautiful historical art but also to get out of the cold! 🙂

The main attraction in the Cluny is still on display, the gorgeous Lady and the Unicorn tapestries.  There are six total from about 1500, right at the turn from the Middle Ages to Renaissance periods.  Each tapestry showcases a beautiful lady surrounded by a unicorn and lion, along with other forest animals.  Five tapestries represent the outward senses of touch, smell, taste, hearing and sight (shown below in that order), while the sixth, shown further down, represents an inward sense titled “my only/unique desire” as inscribed on the tent.  There is much debate about what exactly is the only desire of the woman, perhaps reason, virtue, love, or something else.

The tapestries are very intricate, woven in the millefleurs style (thousand flowers) and absolutely breathtaking.  They’re considered one of the most important pieces of Middle Age art and were commissioned for a French noble family, the Le Viste, as you can tell by the family crests in each tapestry.  I also love looking at the forest animals in each scene, particularly the monkey, although he’s not present in all six.

Another fun, more modern fact about these tapestries?  A replica is showcased in the Harry Potter movies.  They are hung on the walls of the Gryffindor Common Room, something I caught after seeing these in person for the first time in 2015!  They are not only beautiful, mythical tapestries, but showcase a lot of red and gold.  Bravo to Warner Bros for including them in the movie set!

After getting our medieval fix, we walked around town, popping in and out of stores , finding pretty red doors, and snapping a few pictures at the gorgeous Hotel de Ville, complete with one of the many carousels throughout the city.

…before heading to one of our favorite food spots in Paris, Au Bougnat.  We celebrated 4 years since David proposed to me in Paris, on the Pont Alexandre III.  Since we now live in Stuttgart a close 3 hour train ride away, we try to come back each January to celebrate, reflect, and enjoy this special time in our lives!  I love the interior of Au Bougnat, classic with exposed beams and gorgeous caramel leather benches.  The food is divine as well.  This time I had the onion soup and scallop risotto, one of my favorite dishes.

We woke up Sunday to blue skies and gorgeous sunny weather which is a rare winter treat in Europe!  We had a perfectly positioned top floor apartment with views over Square Saint Médard in the 5th, the blue skies complimented it perfectly.

We almost always try to stay at or near Saint Médard, it is our favorite place at the bottom of Rue Mouffetard.  The best part?  Each and every Sunday the neighbors gather for song and dance in the square.  It’s the same accordion player, singer, and cheerful, happy couples dancing and twirling.  I really think Disney must have stayed here for inspiration for their movies.  It is the cutest thing!  I posted about it here – you’re welcome.

We didn’t have to leave until the early evening so we grabbed lunch at le Comptoir des Arts around the corner and then hopped on a motorized scooter (Lime, a new city sharing app, which are all over Paris now btw!), to take us to the perfect spot to soak up some much needed sun, on the Quai de Seine or the Seine river banks.

Our go-to is by the Pont Neuf on the Île de la Cité.  It looks out over a row of classic Parisian buildings that the sun (shines and) sets behind.  In the winter it’s the perfect sunbathing spot, and in the summer it is even more gorgeous with the sunset glistening off the water, the weeping willow above you rustling in the breeze.

It’s also an easy picnic spot.  Grab some wine, fromage, and a baguette on Rue Mouffetard before, but if you arrive empty handed no worries.  A tour boat takes off from the other side of the Pont Neuf and they sell mini wine bottles to take away, which is what we did this day.  Perfect!

 After the sun dipped below the buildings, we hopped on another scooter, grabbed our bags, and headed to the train.

A bientôt, ma belle Paris.

xo