Oh, Paris. I've dreamed of visiting this magical city since I can remember--certainly since I was a little girl. I've probably wanted to see the Eiffel Tower in real life since the days of reading Madeline. So, yes, I teared up in awe when I saw it up close for the first time on our babymoon. Chalk it up to pregnancy hormones...or just overflowing joy. Here is a peek into the Paris portion of our babymoon. I adored being in the city of love with my first baby and my babydaddy!
MONDAY
TUESDAY
Tuesday was our only full day in Paris, so we packed everything in, and we did it well! We started the day with to go croissants and pain au chocolat from our neighborhood patisserie. We brought them on the subway with us and divulged in that fresh Parisian goodness!
We took the metro from our neighborhood to the Arc de Triomphe. From this starting point, we walked down the Champs Elysees and kept on till we hit Notre Dame. It's about 3 miles from the Arc de Triomphe to Notre Dame, and you hit so many sites in between! Totally recommend walking route if you're trying to see Paris in a day like we were. Of couse we made the 3 mile route longer by wandering in and out of places between the sites.
WEDNESDAY
From Charlotte to Heathrow we noticed how uncrowded the back of the plane was compared to the front. So many folks had the middle four seats in a row to themselves. So on the way back...we made that happen. Marky and I both took turns laying down on this big ol' 4 seat row. It was fabulous.
MONDAY
First stop? Starbucks. How very American, I know. We had some time to kill before we met our Airbnb host...but seriously we needed the free wifi to check on some location/contact details before we met.
I've heard people say that the Eiffel Tower was smaller than they expected. Mark and I both agreed that it was bigger than we anticipated. The base alone...enormous!
Parc du Champ de Mars | 28 weeks 6 days
Sometimes I feel like our little Houston family has its own language. We're weird enough to have our own language...or something like that. Anyway, there's a "meh" face, and this is it. Mehhhhhh.
Eiffel iphone selfies because of our no fancy cam selfie "rule"
You were warned about my Eiffel Tower fascination...just let me bask in it! ;)
We walked across the Seine from the Champ de Mars to the Trocadero...for more Eiffel Tower lovin'!
The Trocadero view is obviously insanely gorgeous. It almost looks unreal!
Trocadero
After our Eiffel Tower obsessed exploration, we headed to our flat to unpack, settle in, and decide what to do for dinner. We wound up walking around our neighborhood for most of the night. It was fun to get our bearings and see what was around us in this non-touristy part of Paris! Most importantly, we found where we wanted to go for dessert...
This...is joy. Ha! Hot nutella crepes. Folded up. Steam coming out against the 30 degree weather. Perfection. Take me back!
Tuesday was our only full day in Paris, so we packed everything in, and we did it well! We started the day with to go croissants and pain au chocolat from our neighborhood patisserie. We brought them on the subway with us and divulged in that fresh Parisian goodness!
We took the metro from our neighborhood to the Arc de Triomphe. From this starting point, we walked down the Champs Elysees and kept on till we hit Notre Dame. It's about 3 miles from the Arc de Triomphe to Notre Dame, and you hit so many sites in between! Totally recommend walking route if you're trying to see Paris in a day like we were. Of couse we made the 3 mile route longer by wandering in and out of places between the sites.
Arc de Triomphe
Also bigger than we imagined. And the traffic circle around us was madness too. I guess the cars coming onto the traffic circle have the right of way...not the cars already in the circle?! It was crazy to watch, actually.
Arc de Triomphe
Beautiful detail (and sky!) underneath the Arc
Onward! Down Avenue Champs Elysees!
Mark and I were amazed when we would just happen upon these giant squares of architecture, history, beauty, and openness. Cannot even describe...nor can pictures do them justice!
The highly recommended (and totally worth every Euro) Angelina Paris
The ambiance was grand. The wall painting we sat beside was gorgeous. It was the perfect pit stop for some...sugar.
Angelina is famous for its hot chocolate. I opted for the white hot chocolate. Literally tasted like melted white chocolate chips. So much so that I couldn't finish the cup. And I'm not the girl who doesn't finish her food. ;) Next time I would definitely try the regular chocolate just because...even as a white chocolate lover. Whoa. It was a whooole lot of sweetness.
Walking through the Jardin des Tuileries. I can only imagine how magnificant all of the city gardens are in spring!
And the Jardin des Tuileries brings you straight to...the Louvre! We wanted to go in, buuuut the Louve is closed one day a week. And that day...is Tuesday. Womp, womp!
I'm in love with French architecture. And my hubby too. :)
On the way to Paris, we discussed how we should google "that bridge in Paris where you put the locks on." Well, by the time we got wifi, we forgot. And then...we happened upon it! Which made it all the more special in a way. :) That tall fuzzy stick in the sky in the picture on the left is the Eiffel Tower. Of course, we made sure our lock faced that pretty view! And how sweet is Marky attaching our lock? He wanted to make sure it was directly on the fence and merely joined to someone else's.
Bless it. Paris, France. Babymoon. With my two greatest loves.
Notre Dame
He wanted to walk inconspiculously into the birds. He always makes me laugh. We agreed that if Nancy were there (and older), we would have her run into all of the birds as fast as she could and then pretend that we wanted her to stop but really...we would love it and laugh a lot.
One of the rose windows in Notre Dame. Fun fact: I did a project on stained glass windows in 7th grade for Medieval Day. Aaand I wish I remembered more about them.
After Notre Dame, we took the metro home to our flat for "rest period." Being a summer camp couple, we like to compare things to camp more often than not. We've found that in our married life, vacations include an afternoon "rest period." Who doesn't appreciate a solid vacay nap? Recharge at its best.
Of course "rest period" included FaceTiming my brother and our newly shaved (POOR TINA!!!) doghter. (Excuse the vajummy...eeek!)
Bundled up before heading to dinner. By the end of the trip (or maybe after all of the day's sweets?!), the bump really started busting out of this coat. My 5'4" petite little mommy let me borrow her non-maternity size small North Face puffy coat...and it juuust wasn't cutting it on this 29 week preggo by the end of the week. HA! And, yes, I was singing this as we walked out the door that night.
For dinner that evening we took the metro to Rue de Mouffetard (near metro stop Place Monge). It was suggested to us, and we were hooked by these key words: very Parisian, cobblestone streets, cheaper restaurants, local feel. So glad we followed this advice! Though we did choose an American restaurant, we were only Americans in the restaurant. So that was good. Sometimes...you just want a good burger. :)
Rue de Mouffetard
Alleyways and cobblestone streets...yes!
First Course: Nachos
Second Course: Burgers and Fries
Third Course...
Second Course: Burgers and Fries
Third Course...
...hot crepes from the same place that we went on the first night. I was preggy panicking that it might be closed by the time we arrived at 11pm. You can see the joy on my face that we managed to make it here in time. Thank ya, Lawd.
From Charlotte to Heathrow we noticed how uncrowded the back of the plane was compared to the front. So many folks had the middle four seats in a row to themselves. So on the way back...we made that happen. Marky and I both took turns laying down on this big ol' 4 seat row. It was fabulous.
So much room.
And that, my friends, was our babymoon. London filled with family and friends and Paris filled with exploring and my love. We felt so thankful to be able to take this trip before Nancy is born. You can't keep these travelers down, though! We head back across the pond this September (with Nancy in tow) for Mark's brother's wedding!!! Can't wait to get that little babe's passport. :)
Cheers to babymooning!
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