Luxembourg Garden, Montparnasse Cemetery: Monday June 24 (photos to follow)

Fountain in Luxembourg Garden

The fence around the South and West edges of Luxembourg Garden is hung with photos commemorating 100 years of the Tour de France and we spent a good hour after breakfast admiring this exhibit and comparing the cycles and cyclists of the 1920s (spare tire tubes wrapped around their chests, no helmets) with their modern day counterparts. From there, we walked to the cemetery in Montparnasse, locating memorials to Sartre, Ionesco and a few other famous, but dead, people. The cemetery is full of interesting resting places from small enclosed chapels to enormous granite monoliths and is less crowded than its counterpart across the river in Montmartre. Salad Nicoise and roasted chicken lunch always taste better in Paris.

Dinner at Au Port du Salut, 3 minutes from the hotel, where the sea bass and salmon were cooked perfectly and the racks of lamb roasted rare for Pat and medium for Tom -- just as ordered. This old atmospheric restaurant in the Sorbonne/Pantheon neighborhood is newly owned by a chef and his son (the baker). Wine flows freely and the night quickly gets away from us. This was our first bottle of chardonnay from the small Chablis region of Burgundy. For Pat and Kathleen, this flinty wine became a real favorite. Recommended.

Note: There are musical concerts in the Luxembourg Gardens. Upon arrival in Paris, check the schedule.