Surprisingly, everyone was awake and ready to grab our train to Reims the other morning. At first, I thought I had booked too long a day in the champagne city, but with a plethora of houses to sample and gothic architecture to experience, we filled the day to the brim as much as our champagne glasses.  This Notre Dame is - for lack of a term that can properly describe it - is absolutely majestic. It's where all the kings of France have been coronated and one step inside, you can tell why. And, yes, it is hot in France. It is very hot, but it's not the hellish bowels of Dante's Inferno, either. Don't get me wrong, I would love it if it were even ten degrees cooler, but this is July. We expected it to be hot, and really, it just makes me want to plan a trip in the fall. After all, I've been here in all the other seasons.

Only 45 minutes from Paris, our trip to Reims was a perfect excursion. What struck me the most was that  the entire city reminded me of a studio backlot. While we didn't have the best food, it was still French, so it was delicious. But, let's face it, the main attraction here is the champagne, and that was a perfect escape from the heat of the day. Did we buy a bottle is a question that should never be asked. Although, we should have bought it at the end of the day. It was a bit cumbersome to have it in our bag while we visited yet another church. This time, it was St Reims Basilica, where a wedding was taking place. There were bags of rice waiting to be thrown by the doors, but John scolded me and told me to put one of them back. The best champagne turned out to be the first private house we visited, while Tattinger ranked next and Pommery, unfortunately looked too much like Epcot. It had none of the charm of the others and maybe we were just tired, but the champagne didn't leave us wanting more.

You should see the corner of our hotel, which is piled with everything we've purchased this trip. From wine, champagne, beauty products, shoes, shirts, sweaters, cutlery, and more, it's a good thing we brought that extra suitcase. Although, we could have bought one here. They are sold everywhere, and as two of our newest friends that we met at dinner on Sunday night said, "just buy an empty one. We have tons of them back home because of it."

Our new friends were from, of all places, Los Angeles. Marie and Les, who spend months on end in Paris. They were chock full of information on how to stay here for months. We could have talked with them for hours. After all, they are living our dream. That's the beauty of Paris - to spend dinner with people you've just met without even thinking twice about it. After dessert and more wine, John and I called it a night and I tried not think that another one of our trips was coming to an end.

But before it does, we had more shopping to do - and shopping we did. More wine, clothes, and French condiments and truthfully, I forget what else. The Bon Marche and La Grand Épicerie de Paris had hundreds and thousands of items. Unpacking our suitcases is going to feel like Christmas. Overall, today was another incredible lesson in what makes our time in Paris so special. While the ladies explored Montmartre, we met up again with Paris John and his partner for drinks, a stroll on the Seine and a very quintessential French dinner. Discovering restaurants off the beaten path, away from the throngs of tourists is our specialty and since Paris John and Francois don't spend a lot of time in the city, we actually know more places. We stumbled into a tiny Italian restaurant called Milo where we sat outside with no traffic on the street because it was a resident only avenue. For over three hours, we laughed, talked politics (!), learned about Parisian history, and among other topics, debated the sanity of bathtubs in Paris. I had to constanlty remind myself to relax, that there was no hurry to go anywhere. This was our table for the night, this was how the French live. At one point, our friends asked if I was okay after I had spent some time staring out at the Eiffel Tower during our walk, I told them, that I was just taking a picture in my mind about the moment and how lucky I was to be here again. As we finished dinner, Paris John said that this was  the art of living, and I knew right away that I was going to use that title. We have one full day left in the city before I start planning our next adventure and I couldn't have agreed more. We heard the sound of the fireworks in the distance as the French began their Bastille Day celebrations. John and I walked home, stopped for an insanely delicious crepe with Grand Marnier and bananas while we people watched from a perfect perch on a side street. There is a life like nowhere else here. There are lessons the world can learn by coming to Paris. Spending time here, you  realize that there is art outside the walls of the museums. Living IS an art. Never take it for granted and yes, living it in Paris is not always a good idea. It is the best idea.