We are in the final days of the Paris trip, and we made sure we addressed some of the basics today, before it is too late.

Several hours in Parc Monceau, watching the bourgeoisie run and play … a trip over to our favorite Paris restaurant … a walk under the Eiffel Tower … and an American kid handing us a bottle of sparkling wine. We will call it champagne, but it wasn’t. A random gift, and we accepted.

First, Parc Monceau … then our favorite resto.

I mentioned Parc Monceau on this blog three years ago, when doing a roundup of jogging opportunities in the heart of Paris. It does have a wide track, and it’s not dully repetitive. The gravel strikes me as a little tough on the joints.

The park has all sorts of other stuff crammed into a semi-small area. A merry-go-round for kids (below), unusual plants, a tiny pyramid, a lake, a skating area …

Mostly, we took advantage of the numerous benches that line the paths, alternating between sunny benches and shady benches, depending on the sun and the wind.

When we go back to Abu Dhabi, we will not want to sit outside … until late November or so. We sat outside quite comfortably today, however, and watched scads of toddlers and their nannies/grandparents. Not sure I’ve ever seen so many little Parisian kids in once place.

Around 8, we took the 92 bus over to the area near the Eiffel Tower, and walked the few blocks to Au Bon Accueil, a smallish place down the street from the edge of the Champ de Mars, near the foot of the tower.

Au Bon Accueil got some rave reviews by professionals perhaps a decade ago, and one or the other of us has eaten in there probably 15 times, and always found it a very pleasant experience.

Reviews on Trip Advisor of late have been all over the place, from five-star happiness to one-star horror. All I can say is that we have never had a bad experience there. Never. It has been consistently good, in our experience, and upscale without being intimidating.

Here is why this is a good choice for tourists, especially those new to Paris.

–The wait staff speaks English, and they are not condescending about it. If your French is pretty good, they will go with French. If your French is halting, they probably will reply in English, and you will be fine. In short: This is a great place for Americans or Britons who want above-average cuisine but hope to avoid the awkwardness of not speaking French.

–This is a nice restaurant without attitude. Those who complain about service … I wonder if they were themselves rude, or perhaps underdressed. It is not a formal place, but maybe see if you can do better than jeans and tennis shoes. We have found the wait staff to be especially helpful in choosing wines, and they have never steered us wrong.

–The cuisine is inventive and good, and the 32-euro formule is well-priced for a restaurant clearly above average in Paris. The menu includes a starter, a main and a dessert/cheese.

Our starters: Artichoke salad with parmesan, and smoked duck salad.

Our mains: Duck breast with wild mushrooms (excellent) and spinach (above), and hake fish, with squid and zucchini.

Desserts: Mango and strawberry sorbet, and four varieties of cheese from an impressive platter of at least eight choices.

And every diner receives the Au Bon Accueil signature dish — a small bowl of mashed potatoes with lots of cream/butter. The spuds, alone, will leave some people with fond memories.

The wine was a Vin de Pays d’Oc from the Herault region in the south of France, and it was quite nice, and became more so as the air reached it. It is one we definitely will seek out on our next trip to the region.

The restaurant seats about 35 inside and 10 outside, and is attractive but not scary and diners are not particularly squished.

We like it. Still do, after another pleasant dining experience.

An upside to the resto is the proximity to the Eiffel Tower, and we walked over in time for the 11 p.m. “flashing lights” … which comes around for five minutes, on the hour, until 1 a.m.

Because the weather was nearly perfect, hundreds of tourists were waiting in line for the elevators, and as we walked through them a young guy, American, began speaking to passersby, saying, “Anybody want some champagne? They won’t let us take it in!” He did not want to throw it away.

He held out the bottle. Several people passed by, disdaining the offer. We said, “Well, sure, thanks!” and the young man (who seemed to be accompanied by several young women and men, college-aged kids) handed it over and wished us well, and we thanked him. It was all quite random.

I had considered giving him the 5-euro note I had in my pocket, but then I noticed that the bottle cost only 4.50 … and it isn’t actually champagne … and by then we were a few feet away. I still wish I had given him some cash for it, but it happened quickly.

The bottle was actually a Muscador Muscat, which is a sweet, inexpensive sparkling wine from the Alsace region of France. And a bargain at the price.

So, the park, a fine meal, the Eiffel Tower, a free bottle of sparkling white … and that marked the end to a fine day, indeed.