Paris calling!

Sound familiar? Well after the wonderful replies received from the London calling post, I got an email from a regular reader, Cheri, who is finally getting her wish of going to Paris in May. Now that I have gotten over my happiness, jealousy, I am happy to help her plan her trip!  Being its one of my most favorite cities on earth, I was happy to oblige when she asked if I might consider doing a similar post on Paris. 
Any country that makes me feel obligated to indulge in a croissant and crusty bread on a regular basis makes it straight to the top of my list! I make no secret of my love for all things French so its with pleasure I present "Paris calling". Cheri..this is for you! So to all who have been or who might even be lucky enough to reside in France, the floor is open for any and all suggestions on just about anything. Just a few ideas to get you started below. And to start I am going to leave my own comment about some personal highlights for me. Thanks in advance to all my readers for your help, expertise and your wonderful generous spirit in sharing all that you know!! We could so start our own Fodors and then some!  Here we go.....
Restaurants not to be missed..........

Must see and do "typical tourist attractions" 

 Magnificent museums...

Shopping must dos/sees/drools?

Authentic bistros or outdoor cafes?

Favorite hotel (s)?

Interesting customs worth noting.....

Special tours worth taking...

Favorite foods?

Markets to meander through?

If  one day can be spent taking a day trip, where to go......

Thanks in advance to any information and helpful tips you want to add. I know it will be so appreciated by not only Cheri but many more too, if not inspire more than one of us (me included) to plan a trip to Paris ASAP. What a fabulous, inspirational and beautiful place!  Mon Cheri, my friend,  you are in for a wonderful treat! This post has me so wanting to be there too....nothing quite like Paris in the springtime!

Dust is settling and moving update.....

Before I begin this post, I want to thank the 50 or so of you who so kindly and generously gave so much amazing information on London. Wendy and I are both so grateful and now I am craving a trip there myself. Needless to say several already told me they are bookmarking this post as I already have. You are the best! Fodors has nothing on you!

Hi, well suffice to say I am feeling a little calmer today than I was this time last week. I cannot believe we have been in the house 10 days! It has been exhausting, exciting beyond description and exhilarating all at the same time. Moving is no laughing matter and the last time I did a big move where I fully unpacked was 10 years ago and lets just say theres a big difference between 30 something and 40 something:) But I do believe the worst, most exhausting and hardest part is over and I will admit its been fun opening up boxes and rediscovering so many of my pretty little treasures (treasures to me). 
At this point I am putting things away and know that they will be rearranged all over again in the future. After all that is part of the fun, don't you think? I remember after being in our old house even after 7 or 8 years, I was still always fiddling around, adding to, moving things around. So here's some of the latest, not a tremendous difference from last weeks post but little things here and there, a real hodge podge of things happening around here....

Though I am petrified of heights, had to share this cool view from 2nd floor down to basement

Teddy adjusting to his new digs, took a few days!! Thanks to many of you who asked about how he was doing!

Finally he is happy.......

I love the sun that streams through in the late morning

Feeling right at home....and that window is perfect because he can see right through!

Remember the hardware for island? Well here it is completed, love it

Family room is a room we are enjoying immensely!

Got the antique mirror and panel applied above opening (hard to see the ant. mirror in this pic)

2 chairs flanking doors in my room

My favorite chest, this picture shows the color better for those who asked.....

Beautiful desk and chair from France

Floors all done

Small landing

More boxes arriving......WARNING for anyone not into china,silver,etc...this might be incredibly boring to those of you not obsessed with this stuff :)

Loved getting reacquainted with all my goodies and collectibles!

Love these glasses, but upset that I so far haven't found them all!

My beautiful antique Limoges

Love this service too!

And of course always had a weakness for beautfiful silver pieces......

And my pair of crystal dolphin bowls

My silver ice bucket from my wedding!

One of my favorite gallery trays (yes thats Dayquil on the tray) forgot to take it off, was about to take it for the cold I have been fighting:) 

Love the detailing on this exquisite soup ladle, I bought at an antiques store in Vermont

Love this beautiful little covered dome dish for things like asparagus or veges

Isn't this cherub dish beautiful?

Love and missed my Dolphin crystal bowls

Love this silver angel compote dish, its quite old

The Limoges to my left were the very first set of Limoges that I bought!

My good luck "charm", my wedding cake topper from 26 years ago! Its goes wherever we go!

Love my coffee and tea pots in silver

Remember these little beauties that I found at the antique store?

This is a beautiful service from Nippon

Lots of polishing in the future!

And at the end of another long day of unpacking, a dear friend brought over these scrumptious cupcakes from a favorite bakery and the most beautiful housewarming gift, this stunning William Yeoward domed cake plate!! Love it......

Clearly it has many new "family members" to get acquainted with and plenty of company:)

Love it!! Will be cherished for many years to come......

We are using the family room a lot, its such a comfortable and cozy room

I am sorry for including so many pictures of the china, crystal, etc...clearly you can see I love that stuff! For anyone like me, hopefully you enjoyed it and sorry for boring anyone else. Its just so exciting for me to see these things after being in hiding for 4 years!! Much more to come soon I promise! Enjoy your day....