Mon-Wed, March 9-11, 2026 — Nice, France
No sooner had Don, Joan, De Ann and Steve headed off to the airport, than our good friends from Boston, Jed and Geraldine, hopped out of their taxi below the apartment on Rue de France. Meg met Geraldine and Jed on the « Big Ride » in 1998 -- an American Lung Association fund raiser with over 700 participants riding from Seattle to Washington DC. And, our first long distance bike ride ever with Dex and Kylie was riding from Hartford, CT to their house outside of Boston in 2010.
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| This is now: 2026 |
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| This was then: 2010 |
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| A little Dex |
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| A little Kylie |
Because Jed had never been to the Eiffel Tower, there was no way they were coming all this way without rectifying the situation. He and Geraldine were taking a side trip to Paris, so Meg and I happily tagged along. It was a quick trip, flight out on Tuesday morning, back on Wednesday afternoon.
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| Ready to board |
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| Nice below |
With a limited amount of time — and working around a couple of restaurant reservations arranged by Geraldine, we concentrated on just a couple of highlights.
First stop: a trip to the tippy top of the Eiffel Tower, 906 ft up. The cool, blustery conditions meant that our jackets were never far from hand, however, the unsettled weather did make for some dramatic skies.
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| Sacré Coeur in the sun |
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| Birds-eye view |
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| View of the Seine |
Second stop: a cab ride to visit the impressive Sacré Cœur cathedral.
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| Can ride to avoid the rain |
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| Sacré Cœur |
Despite having been in dozens of cathedrals over the years, the massive scale, soaring ceilings, impressive engineering, and incredible artistry — sculptures, mosaics, and stained glass windows, in this case — never cease to amaze me.
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| Surprisingly modern stained glass |
The final event of the day was an absolutely over-the-top, amazing meal at the Michelin-star rated restaurant, Shabour. An eight-course extravaganza, it was a real treat (literally and figuratively as Jed and Geraldine took care of the bill — thank you, thank you!)
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| Ready to eat |
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| A pot for any purpose |
The dining area consisted of a small square, kitchen space — cook tops, grill, food prep counter, pots and pans, plates, storage — around which five or six cooks prepared and served the food. There wasn’t much space to work as the seating area, a square-shaped marble counter around which the 20-25 patrons sat, surrounded the kitchen. Each chef was responsible for a particular part of the meal, and since each party was seated ten minutes apart, they could proceed from one seating group to the next.
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| Tight working space |
The choreography was impressive. Whenever food was served, two people magically appeared behind us to grab the plates from the chef and set them in front of us. The chef would then painstakingly describe the meal and answer any questions.
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| Eggs holding fish eggs |
Thursday was a rainy day, so we contented ourselves with a quick morning stroll past Notre Dame, a last breakfast at the hotel, and some window shopping.
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| A wet morning |
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| Breakfast at the hotel |
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| Iconic Metro sign |
However, once again, we had an excellent meal planned, this time at the well-known restaurant, Soufflé. I’m pretty sure I’ve never had a soufflé before, or if I have, it was nothing like the three I had today. Wow, who knew you could turn eggs into these super light, fluffy, delicious dishes.
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| Lunchtime with Mia |
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| That’s some soufflé ! |
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| …and soufflé for dessert |
To add to the fun, Mia — a family friend that had grown up with Geraldine and Jed’s twin sons — is studying in Paris this year and joined us for lunch. We each had a soufflé entre (starter), soufflé main course, and, of course , a soufflé dessert! Soufflé is the name of the restaurant after all! Fantastic.
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| Tummies full |
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