Paris

We went to Paris for a day! I wanted to avoid spending our one day in lines or museums, so we didn't do some of the traditional things. Instead, we tried to experience the heart of Paris.

We started at the Louvre, but we didn't go inside. We'll save that for when we have more time. However, I really wanted to see the glass pyramids and the view of the obelisk all the way across town to the Arc de Triomphe. (Click on the photo to enlarge it and see what I mean.)


Next we went to the island of St. Louis. We walked along the main street of the island, looking in shop windows and we had a (famous) Berthillon ice cream. It was as good as they say. (I liked the vanilla best).

We crossed to the other island and saw Notre Dame. We were lucky it's not the height of tourist season, because it really wasn't crowded at all. Here is the photo Justin took of it:


It was even more awe-inspiring in person. Afterwards I went to the outdoor flower market nearby. They had a store that sold just orchids. They were so pretty! The market also had a lot of shops with little crafty things and so many fresh flowers. This was one of my favorite parts of the day.


Another favorite part was crossing off the island and walking down this street of art, and used book and magazine sellers.


I think all of the parts of the day were my favorite! Because another favorite was when I got a crepe filled with nutella from a street vendor. Watching him make the crepe was so cool! I was too busy watching to take any video, but I found a good clip on youtube. The neatest part is watching them use the mini squeegee to make the batter into a big circle on the round griddle.

Well, no. The neatest part was eating it. Sooooooo good.



Did I already say it was good?
We also took a boat ride down the Seine over to the Eiffel Tower and back. Although it was cold and windy, I think we got a really unique look at the city. We were able to see a lot of things without spending the day on public transport or walking all over.

We found a little bistro to get some late lunch. The guys had paninis and I had a Croque Monsieur. It was two pieces of bread with ham and cheese toasted under a broiler and then stacked to make a sandwich. "Mr. Crunchy."

Finally, we went to the Arc de Triomphe. It is HUGE. It's also surrounded by what's probably the most insane traffic circle in the world. We went up to the top and there was an amazing view of Paris as the sun set. I can only imagine what it would be like on a clear day. Here's the reverse view of Paris from my first photo of the day at the Louvre.

Click to zoom in and you can see the obelisk. The big building behind it is the Louvre and you can see a glass pyramid partially hidden behind a tree.


Our day in Paris was perfect. Thanks so much to Becky for watching the kids, and to Justin and my mom for talking me into going. It was wonderful.

We took it pretty easy the next day after all that traveling, but we did some super fun shopping. Click HERE to see some cute Dutch fashions on Olivia.