FeiThere is so much I could say about Paris, but it would never be enough. I simply loved it. It was everything I thought it could be and much more. While I loved the small towns in France, Paris won my heart.
Photos can’t do it justice.
You just can’t soak in the Paris-ness of it all. But here’s some snippets of our time in Paris and I’ll break in with words when I feel it’s necessary.
Our small, chic, modern hotel room in the Rue Saint Cler (arrondissement near the Eiffel Tower).
Small spaces make for some difficult picture taking.
The architecture was beautifully intricate.
108 Euros a Kg! Someone double-check my math, but that sounds awfully expensive.
That National Assembly (kind of like the U.S. Congress).
Paris bridges are so fancy.
A smoked salmon crepe served by the crepe Nazi. Seriously…I thought we were going to get ran out of there after I saw him run off a couple and get into a yelling match with other customers.
He served me a rancid glass of wine and I kept my mouth shut. I wanted my lunch and complaining just wasn’t worth it.
Ah…A whole store devoted to cheese. I love you, France.
Brad and I popped into the small exhibit of Dali works. Much much smaller than his museum in St. Petes. But we both love Dali so we had to pop in and check it out.
Brad’s favorite piece in the exhibit.
One of my favorites.
This park was bustling.
City skyline from the top of a very tall hill.
We climbed the Eiffel Tower on our first full day in Paris.
Like something from a move, no?
The view from the first balcony…
…where we stopped to enjoy the view at a cafe.
The Eiffel Tower is great for kids or kid-like husbands.
More gorgeous views…
Just me and the Eiffel tower…
On the second rung.
See that green rooftop terrace? In my next life, that will be my terrace.
If you go to the Eiffel Tower, you should know that you can only climb up the second rung of the tower, and then you have to take an elevator to the very tippy top. The line is shorter to climb versus riding the elevator the entire way. I really liked climbing the tower. It seemed more exciting than just shooting up an elevator.
Views from the very top…
And just like that were were done and it was off to Notre Dame for more sightseeing and more beautiful things to gaze at.
We had lunch at a little side street restaurant. I ordered a smoked salmon salad (see a theme here?), which was perfectly delicious and light enough to afford some gelato later. 😉
Outside of Notre Dame
After Notre Dame, we wandered back to Rue St Claire to enjoy some mussles with a pesto sauce.
I ordered roasted chicken which I ate over and over again in France 1) because I love it so and 2) because it is so readily available everywhere.
While we were there, we met a grandfather and two grandsons from the Charlotte area and spent some time talking with them about where they had been and what they had seen.
We turned in early that night despite the best intentions to see the Paris nightlife. We were exhausted after a day of traipsing around Paris and wanted to save our energy for the next day.