My sister and I gifted my mom a trip to Paris for her birthday in December. Despite some uncertainty due to my mom's health, we were so thankful that we were able to make the trip! I am deeply grateful for Michael's support and encouragement as well as my friend, Ruth Robertson, who helped watch the kids during the day.
This will be a long post . . .
The adventure began when I drove up to Dulles and flew through the night solo to Paris to meet Mom and Heather who had arrived a couple of hours previous. The flight was pretty uneventful despite the fact I couldn't sleep much.
And we're off on our first metro ride. We grew to enjoy the buses more, but it was great having options.
Our Airbnb was in the 17e arrondissement (neighborhood) of Paris, semi-close to L'Arc de Triomphe. It was fun to come "home" each day and feel like we got to know our little neighborhood.
Isn't this such a cute complex? Our apartment was to Mom's right on the first floor in the corner.
After unloading our bags at the apartment, we hit the ground running and headed out to check out Paris. So many boulangeries. Patisseries. Bistros. Brasseries. These meringues were so bright and colorful, we had to try some!
We visited a fun fromagerie--tempting but I didn't purchase any cheese.
We took a Hop-On Hop-Off bus tour, and I was so thrilled when we drove by this boulangerie which I'd read about just days before our arrival.
The boulangerie had won the award in 2018 for the best croissant, and boy, they did NOT disappoint. Seriously the best croissant I've ever had.
Notre Dame was still under (re)construction, but it was lovely to see and also to learn about all the restoration efforts and opportunities the terrible fire is actually providing.
Paris is getting ready for the summer olympics--lots of evidence of those preparations everywhere. My mom did a great job handling all the walking.
We braved the chilly weather and took a Seine river cruise. It was a lovely way to catch a unique view of the city of lights.
Le Pont Alexandre III (a famous bridge).
The Eiffel Tower at night. Then we took an Uber home (still figuring out the bus/metro system) and hit the sack.
Next morning (Friday) we were up and at 'em to see Sainte Chapelle and its inspiring stained glass. That's one thing Heather and I talked about more than once--the skill and dedication of these artists.
Le Relais de l'Entrecote was a fun restaurant that had been recommended by my French tutor (Kimber Hawkey) whose friend lives in Paris. They have one thing on the dinner menu: a walnut salad, steak, and fries. The servers were quite efficient. The walnut salad was dressed with a super strong Dijon dressing--it about burned my sinuses out. The meal was fun--not my favorite, but the locals love it apparently and the line was out the door.
Enjoyed profiteroles (cream puffs filled with ice cream) for dessert. Fun!
Afterwards we headed to the Luxembourg Gardens, which were pretty but honestly so chilly it was hard to enjoy them.
But watching the kids use long sticks to move these boats around on the water was amusing and made me miss my kiddos even more.
Next we went to the L'Arc de Triomphe.
So cool from the top! I didn't realize that it really was a star (etoile) going around the arch with all the roads heading out from the center. I admired our Uber drivers (whom we used less and less as the days went on) who braved the crazy traffic around the center.
Heather and I hurried out to a Carrefour grocery store that evening to grab some food. This entire cooler is just cheese. So much cheese. I love checking out grocery stores in other countries. So interesting to see how people shop. There were hardly any cold cereals there, whereas in America it's an entire giant aisle.
Saturday morning we checked out the marche' aux puces--the flea market. It was okay--some parts felt safer than others. The lady at this stand yelled at me after I took a photo telling me to stop taking photos or I'd have to pay for them. She was pretty scary and looked pretty rough around the edges. We left shortly thereafter and headed to . . .
La Musee d'Orsay! We splurged for the audio guide, which was semi-helpful. It was really cool seeing all the impressionist works (my personal favorite).
Lunch at a cafe--we had some soup and a croque monsieur.
As we walked around, we would spy something yummy and hop in to check it out. This was the best creperie we found. That's strawberry ice cream in the middle.
Church on Sunday was so great. What a wonderful feeling to see the familiar sign outside the door (after exiting the metro into a semi-sketchy area) and to be welcomed so warmly by other fellow Latter-day Saints.
The missionaries translated the meeting for visitors into English, and I opted to try to listen without translation. It was fun trying to stay focused and understand. Especially great to sing the hymns in French.
After church we saw a cute park near our place and decided to walk through. So sweet to see families and children together and enjoying the brief sunshine.
Me and my beautiful sister (I'm not quite this much taller than her, lol).
Bibimbap for dinner--delicious!
Monday morning was the Louvre. I hadn't been the last time I came (over twenty years ago with some of my siblings) so I was glad we could do it this time.
Good ole' Mona. The crowd around her was sizable but made me especially grateful that we weren't here in the summer. Considering how crowded the Louvre was now makes me so glad we came in the semi-off-season.
So much art. So.much.art.
We found a fun lunch place near the Louvre and we decided to have des escargots for an appetizer.
I have to say I am flippin' proud of myself for eating two of these. Were they terrible? No. But the real question is, why eat them in the first place? My smoked salmon (cold) and potatoes with creme fraiche were pretty yummy!
Amorino gelato--delish! We also tried Berthillon ice cream but were not as impressed. My favorite is the flower design. We came home afterwards and enjoyed pizza from Carrefour and watched Sabrina. I mean, we kind of had to.
Tuesday was an early morning off to the palace of Versailles. We got there a little early so we stopped in a cafe and enjoyed some warmth and a snack before heading out to the grounds.
Again, the opulence. This wall of women portraits I found appealing.
The ceiling of the chapel.
Louis XIV (and the other kings) sure had a thing for painted murals on the ceilings. It truly is remarkable how these artists did this.
Those are basically two entire trees in the fireplace. Now that's what I call a fireplace.
Marie Antoinette's furniture, for real.
Don't you think Louix XIV's mustache is just the worst? As we walked through the palace Heather and I were talking about why wigs became a thing, and Heather looked it up and learned that the wigs became popular as a way for men to cover up their balding as a result of STDs like syphilis (apparently Louis XIV started thinning at age 17 for this reason) and that the powdering of the wig helped to prevent parasites and to decrease the smell. So glad we don't have this tradition anymore.
We walked through the cute town of Versailles (didn't remember an actual town being next to the palace) and saw this open-air market. Looked so good!
We had hoped to have an opportunity to eat outside at a cafe, and our last day was finally semi-warm enough to enjoy lunch in the sunshine. We shared a delicious salad and vegetarian pizza.
The Paris temple was a short bus ride away from our cafe. How great it felt to see it! It really is right in the middle of a row of buildings and is tucked in very neatly.
The visitor's center was so simple and lovely. This stained glass, entitled "Consider the Lilies," at the entrance was just gorgeous. The sister missionary taught us about the symoblism that the artist had incorporated into this piece (he visited them and talked to the missionaries there last year). For example the lilies (a motif throughout the temple), which represent us, are made of the same piece of stained glass as the Savior's robe, symbolizing how we are a part of Him and his care for us.
The temple grounds were also so nice.
I had really wanted to have a mille feuilles while we were there. The one in back is a montblanc. Both were good, not amazing, but that didn't prevent me from eating most of them!
Heather and I went on a hunt to find macarons--Laduree for the win!
And that’s a wrap! We flew home safely, and I am still trying to get on eastern time. It was a wonderful experience and I am so glad we could do it.
