Last and final day in the city of blinding lights. We had a few more landmarks to see and left the rest of the day for leisure, meaning that was the only time we had to frantically shop for souvenirs.

The last few days spent in Paris, we hadn’t really had a Parisian-type meal. This was mainly due to the exhorbitant prices and thinking that that money could be better spent elsewhere. None of us are big foodies anyway. The morning of the last day, I suggested we brunch it at one of the two famous cafes in Saint-Germain-des-Prex. We made our way to a table in the sun at Cafe de Flore, and after opening up the menu, realized we couldn’t read a lick of French and there were no English translations to be found. So we left and went across the street to Les Deux Magots. I felt a little bad—until I tried the coffee and breakfast at Les Deux. BEST. COFFEE. EVER. Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit but I think just the whole idea of sipping coffee on a sidewalk cafe in Paris is so charming that it made the experience that much more enjoyable.

This will definitely be on my list the next time I visit Paris again.

After our brunch—if you can even call such a small meal that—we happened upon Berthillon, a sorbet place I had read about in my planning. I remembered the book saying it would be closed the time we were to be in Paris, so to find out it wasn’t was such a welcome surprise—especially since it was pretty warm out! I had the strawberry flavored sorbet and it for sure lived up to its popularity. We munched on this sweet treat as we walked towards the Notre Dame Cathedral.

A huge reason I wanted to revisit Europe this time around was because I wanted to do and see the things I missed last time. This involved a lot of snapshots that I wanted to capture of the city—mainly ones that are well known like the one atop the Notre Dame with the gargoyle in the foreground. So imagine my horror when I rounded the corner to the line for the towers and saw that it extended way past the end of the cathedral. I was pretty bummed to say the least. But this just means I am owed another trip back!

Before we headed off to our final destination, the Basilique du Sacre Couer, we made a quick stop to see the Galeries Lafayette. It was just as gorgeous as people described. I had imagined it to be something like the Rotunda at Nieman Marcus in San Francisco but that didn’t even compare to this interior dome. It’s so elaborate, like a little piece of Versailles right in the middle of Paris.

The whole reason we stopped at the Galeries was to see all the designer boutiques that populated the ground level. I had only one goal in mind and that was to purchase a second Longchamp bag. Of course the Burberry’s and Louis Vuitton’s made their tempting offers but I was already saving up for the ultimate purse in my mind, the timeless Chanel. The line alone to purchase a bag in Longchamp was long, but then there was a second line just to get INTO the boutique! I didn’t make the VAT refund at the Galeries with my 65 Euro purchase like I had initially intended, but even with the 20% or so tax, it was still cheaper than in the U.S.

Basilique du Sacre Couer was our next destination. This gorgeous white-domed basilica sits right in the Montmarte district and has great views of Paris. We took a few pictures, wandered around Montmarte and watched all the artists at work. There’s a great buzz of energy in the Place du Tertre, with artists using different mediums to create pieces they make their living off of, each artist better than the last.

Doesn’t he look like an artist? I just happened to catch him in that pose, but it was a little difficult pretending I WASN’T taking a picture of him. :)

The rest of the day was spent souvenir-searching and postcard-writing. Had to get in early because we were jetting off for Venice the next morning!

It was a bittersweet feeling leaving Paris behind. This time around, the city I so idealized in my mind left me feeling a little disappointed. It wasn’t so much the food or sights or even weather, but the people. They were rude, snobby, selfish and always carried a cloud of smoke with them. It was sad to see them live up to their stereotype, and as desperately as I tried to ignore it, some made it blatantly obvious when we were unwelcome. But regardless, I will always hold a special place in my heart for this city. I’ll just ignore everyone, then I’d fit right in!

Everything about Paris evokes a sense of undeniable romanticism. It’s idyllic culture of meandering down side streets and lazing in parks and cafes people-watching is just so alluring, you can’t help but want to fall in love in a place like this. This Parisian charm, what the city is consistently best at, is what lets me say the following with utmost confidence.

Paris, our love affair continues!