Alas, our last day in Paris.....

Our last day was still filled with wonderful experiences!  We met our TERRIFFIC guide, Katia, and we were off to the newly opened, very modern, Louis Vuitton exhibition.  It is an amazing art gallery built to remind you of the sails on a ship!  It is a lot of individual glass "sails" that are each unique!  There are only three artists exhibiting currently, but there will be several more by next June!  Definitely worth a visit, even if you aren't into contemporary art and sculpture!  And by the way, did you know Louis Vuitton used to pack the many trunks of the wife of Napolean the Third?  In the beginning, trunks had rounded tops which made them impossible to stack.  He was the first one to invent and design a flat top for trunks and suitcases so they could be transported more easily!  Also, for those ladies that sometimes travel with "excess" luggage, just tell people you're better then Sarah Bernhardt who traveled with over 300-- yes, 300 trunks!   

After the Vuitton Exhibtion, we traveled outside the city to visit a petite Versailles--- the Vaux Le Vicomte Chateau!  It has the MOST gorgeous Christmas decorations!  It is a private chateau owned  by the same family for three generations and is  being maintained  by patrons and private contributions.  It is quite a Lovely Chateau and well worth the 45 minute ride from the city!  It was built in an entirely different style for the time- much more light with an "airy" feeling and acres of beautiful formal gardens.  The owner and builder of the chateau  , the Minister of Finance for Louis  XIV, was Fouquet .  He had been a successful Finance Minister who rose from humble beginnings.  But there was great jealousy for his success in the court and there were those who worked behind the scenes to "frame" him for embezzlement. He had no idea of the undercurrents.  When the Chateau  was completed, he threw a gala party and invited the King (to whom he offered the Chateau as a gift.)  Louis was very jealous (he was then living in the Lourve) and ultimately he built the much grander version -- Versailles.  He confiscated all the treasures from Fouquet's Chateau  and threw him into jail. (I know, so unfair, right?). Fouquet's wife was banished from the country for 10 years.  She later returned to the Chateau and remained there for the rest of her life while her husband remained in prison until his death.

Our evening was a trip to a church to hear a concert by the Harlem Gospel Choir.  While they are an excellent group, the acoustics were not the best unless you are sitting down front and we were disappointed that they didn't sing one Christmas song....

What a "treasure" this trip has been --- in so many ways!  A very special memory of a lifetime.....thank you to all who helped create this memory and worked so hard to keep it a secret!  And special love and thanks to my pretty TERRIFFIC husband!

Model of the new Louis Vuitton Foundation Art Exhibtion.

Models of some of his trunks....

Glass fish....

A lovely and creative use of water!

Katia and Bill just outside the Exhibtion.

The Chateau...

A little drizzle didn't hurt a thing!

Entrance hall...

The fireplaces had real fires blazing!

A peacock tree!!!

A live pianist playing carols...

A brief view of the gardens in the rain!🌂

Children of all ages are enjoying the Chateau today!

Made entirely of chocolate!

The kitchen!

This Enchanted Evening!,,

Remember when I said could it get any better?  The answer is an unequivocable YES!   It did! We had all my packages delivered to our suite from the Galerie, and once dressed, we appeared in the 

Lobby for another delicious surprise!  A ride in a 1934 Rolls Royce (not easy to drive with no power steering and a very long body!) to our dinner spot.  We had an amazing drive down the Champs Élysées with all its Christmas lights showing off this amazing city!  You should have seen the looks we got in the Rolls!  We had no idea where we were going, so imagine our surprise when we pulled into an underground garage (a great thing since it was pouring rain!) with a Peninsula Sign on it.  At first I was thinking there was a second Peninsula Hotel,in Paris? Hmmm.  Actually, not.... We had returned to our  very own hotel,where we were whisked to the top floor and taken out (under umbrellas) to a heart shaped enclosed air bubble!  It took the, all afternoon to set it up (in the pouring rain no less)!  The decorations around and inside the bubble were beautiful, AND, once again we had a a amazing view of the Eiffel Tower!  

Our dinner menu was superb and the Exeutive Chef even stopped by our "bubble"!  Everyone was so attentive!  A big thank you to Arlene Feen who sent my husband over with an amazing CD of special music she had created for this evening!  This has, by the way, been in the planning stage for 18 months!  Arlene sent out an email to all her Virtuoso agents for ideas and 100's came back! She and Bill began the process of whittling down and detailing!  What a great job!  Nothing will ever top this!  In spite of the rain, the roof top "bubble""was amazing!  It was double insulated-- two doors to enter our very special bubble!  

The piece de resistance, however, was the treasure box on the table!  Bill bought the basic box at Hobby Lobby and then crafted the interior to hold the beautiful ring, necklace, bangle and earrings!  All are engraved (except for the earrings!). He purchased them aboard them aboard the NCL Getaway on our  trip earlier this summer!  Beautiful! You have to see them in person.  The camera doesn't do them justice!

Some photos of our magnificent evening....

 I LOVED my red shoes, but they are suede and NOT to be worn on a rainy evening!

My new jacket and scarf!

What a handsome guy!

Our Magical Carriage ride --- a 1934 Rolls Royce!

Our romantic bubble!  It took them all afternoon to create!  Thank you Peninsula staff!

Our Table!

The "Mastermind!"

Could it ever be more perfect?!

My dress even matched the orchid spray on the table!

Peninsula hotel swizzle stick toppers!

The Executive Chef who created our amazing dinner and our WONDERFUL server who brought  food through the pouring rain! Have no idea how he could do it holding an umbrella!  But he did an amazing job!

Centerpiece on the table!

Dessert was a brownie deluxe with ice cream!

Note ring, bangle and heart necklace!  Delived in a handmade treasure box !

What an amazing "WOW" adventure!  This can never be topped!  Thank you to all the MANY people who helped  make this a memory for a lifetime!  I can't begin to imagine all the effort of so many who helped pull this  off!  My eternal gratitude to all who participated in my "fairytale"!