A Parisian Vacation

Today marks Day 2 of my Post-Paris Depression. How wonderful it was to wake each morning and eat a delectable pastry; wander the city in awe of how old and how BIG everything is; and then finish off a long day of walking with a well-deserved, and most delicious gelato by night. It was wonderful; all of it.

We left Wednesday afternoon and could barely get a kiss good-bye from our kiddos. They just as excited to stay with their cousins as we were to leave them;) We picked up our Williamson friends on our way to airport, had a delicious Café Rio lunch once there, and then boarded the plane. Tisha was most thrilled to see that her beloved Stephanie Nielson was, in fact, flying on our same flight. We chatted it up with her and her hubby, and of course, couldn’t resist getting a photo (see: Aish and her freak show response to seeing celebrities).

The flight was long (10 hours, 40 minutes). We didn’t catch any Z’s, but it felt shorter to me than flying to NYC or Orlando. The plane had a myriad of On-Demand movies, so after watching 5-6, we were there.
***I will say, their chicken meal they served for dinner…not good, but all the little sides were tasty.

 

We got to Paris, hopped on the train, and landed just steps away from our hotel in the Latin Quarter. The hotel had a crappy elevator, but everything else was perfect, especially it’s location. It was right in the center of the action and close to everything. I would never stay anywhere else in Paris.

 

Here’s our lovely Magenta and Black small room:

The beautiful view from our room:

And an amazing view from our hotel’s rooftop terrace:

 

Once we got all unloaded it was mid-day Paris time. We fought the urge to sleep and pressed on to see all of the sights. Stop 1; Notre Dame:

 

As part of Notre Dame, we got to go into the city's archeological crypt (above). It's a bunch of old city foundations that date back to Roman times. Pretty cool actually.

 

Nearby is Sainte-Chapelle. The church took only 6 years to build and was built to house the Crown of Thorns. The church's walls are almost completely covered by stained glass. Coincidentally, the walls are also completely covered by about a 2 inch layer of dust. Why does no one clean there?

 

Next, we hit the Conciergerie, which is the prison where Marie Antoinette was held just before her beheading:

Behind the creepy mannequin is the actual wallpaper from her prison cell:

Next, a little lunch break from a crepery:

Mmmm...ham and cheese and banana nutella; both seriously satisfying. Why on earth don't we have street vendors in Utah Valley? Don't answer that.

Surprised that we still had time in our day, we went to the Orsay Museum, which is known for it's impressive Renaissance art collection.

Two Creepers

 

That night we ate right outside our hotel at a little corner restaurant, Le St Andre Brasserie. Food was good. My chocolate shake made with water and coco, and shook with ice...less than good, but not a big deal;) The waiter, too, was a huge flirt, but very nice. We ended up waving to him several times each day as we passed by.

 

We headed back to the hotel, bushed from our travels. Mark and Tisha hit the sack, but after a few minutes, Dave and I decided we were rejuvenated enough to take a floodlit walk through the City of Lights. Glad we did this; so fun walking the streets with my sweetie. Here's the Louvre at night; breathtaking actually:



 

 

 

We also took a minute to put our Love Lock on Pont Neuf bridge, the oldest bridge in Paris. Basically, you attach your padlock somewhere on the rail, lock it up, and then throw the key into the Seine river symbolizing your undying love; kind of romantical, and something totally Bachelorette-worthy:

We then finished off our night at Amorino, an Italian gelato joint. We didn't know it, but we would hit this place every night for the next 4 nights because it was that good.

Here's their hot chocolate. It tastes exactly like hot pudding that hasn't set; kind of an odd feeling having the thick gloppiness oozing down your throat. But it was a good treat and we finished it:

 

So that's Paris Day 1. More to come...