Paris, in two sleeps and a wake-up!

We had a really good time bopping all over Western Europe with Bonnie and Warren (my in-laws) and Eric's brother, Steve and his wife, Yoshimi and their son Howie over the last month. Steve and his family were here for a week, and Bonnie and Warren came for 2.5 weeks! It was great to show them our world here in London and to explore some great cities together!

While everyone was here, we tried to pack in as much as possible, which meant that we traveled light and fast and zipped around quite a bit, just hitting as many highlights as possible.

With so much to share I'll limit the descriptions, so I can use lots of pictures. We had three or four cameras going at any given time for three weeks, so we ended up with LOTS of photos!

So - Paris! Seeing the City of Light in 60 hours is ambitious to say the least. As you can tell from the photos, the weather was gray and chilly for much of the trip, so we kept the pace up and drank lots of lattes and cafe americanos! On day 1 we woke up early in London, left home before it was light outside and took the Tube to King's Cross / St Pancras station (yes, HP fans, we were there, but we didn't see the Hogwarts Express), and then jumped on the new super-fast Eurostar train. London to Paris in less than 2.5 hours is wonderful!


There was napping on the train as we zipped past the misty French countryside. We got to Paris before 11am, dropped our bags off at our hotel and then explored Rue Cler before heading to Notre Dame.


After lunch we walked to the Louvre and saw as much world-famous artwork as some of us could stand.



That night we had supper in the Rue Cler neighborhood and then walked over to the Eiffel Tower for a peek during it's romantic night-time best.


I had never gone up in the Tower, and since it was a foggy sort of evening in February, there was NO line. We got tickets and rode the glassed in elevator to the second balcony to take photos and enjoy the city lights. A great way to celebrate Brooks's 15 month birthday!



The next day we had a delicious omelet breakfast and then started at the Arc de Triomphe. Another famous monument I'd only seen from street-level, we climbed the spiral staircase and enjoyed the view from the top tremendously. It's amazing to watch the cars and buses and taxis and scooters all navigate their way in and out of the tangle where 12 different streets meet.




After a picnic snack of pain au chocolat (yum!) we strolled several miles down the Champs Elysees, over the river and back again, finishing at the Place de la Concorde. We stopped at a crepe stand (yum!) near the Tuileries Garden and sat in the park chairs in front of the fountains for a quick lunch. Brooks LOVED getting out of the backpack to stretch his legs for a few minutes.









After our break, we headed to the Musee D'Orsay for a feast of Impressionism. We got our fill of Monet and Manet and Renoir and Degas and Van Gogh, and then rode the Metro up to Montmartre to soak up some historical ambiance and see the area where all these famous painters lived and worked. When we arrived at Sacre Coure - the enormous white church at the top of the hill - we entered to the sound of angels. A group of nuns was conducing the service and the moment's reference was incredible. I was so pleased with our timing!


We wandered around the hilltop village and eventually found supper at a wonderful bistro. Unfortunately, Brooks wasn't all that impressed and had a bit of a meltdown, but we survived to head home and off to bed, tired but full of yummy French food.

The next morning we went back to Ile de la Cite to do a walking tour of the two urban islands and the Latin Quarter. We saw all sorts of old buildings and cathedrals (one was even warming up its organ!) and streets that pre-dated the Roman conquest. We finished our walk at the Sainte Chapelle - the gorgeous Gothic chapel built in 6 years during the 1200's by Louis IX to house the religous relics he had acquired - supposedly including a piece of the true cross and the crown of thorns. Relic significance aside, this is one of my favorite places in all of Europe. The colored light from these windows, the blue starry ceiling, the golden candlelight all make me long for heaven.




After the chapel we stopped for lunch behind Notre Dame and then walked over to Ile St Louis for the best chocolate ice cream (no, sorry - glacee!) outside of Italy. Brooks complained that he wasn't getting his own, so the shopkeeper gave him a cone to munch on. :) We strolled back down the Left Bank of the Seine, enjoying the view and the chocolate and then made our way over to the Rodin museum.




At that point, we were thankful for our Museum Passes as we were running out of time and so wanted to hit a couple more sights. We did the fly-by version of the Rodin Museum, spending just a few moments in front of The Thinker, the Kiss, and the Burghers of Calais. It was fast, but worth it - Rodin was a masterful sculptor.



And then we raced over to Napoleon's Tomb and the Invalides war museum. Eric and I had lots of conversation comparing Napoleon to other war heroes/dictators from history. It was really interesting to me to see the shrine that was built for a defeated exiled has-been, right in the heart of Paris (history buffs, take comfort. I recognize that there is more to the story than that!). From there we zipped back to the Rue Cler, picked up our final taste of Paris from my favorite street creperie and gathered our things and headed to Gard du Nord to catch the Eurostar train back through the Chunnel.

What an amazing trip. More than a dozen beautiful sights, hundreds of pieces of art, and thousands of delicious calories in just 60 hours! When can I return!?