Paris {Part 2}

On Monday we took the metro right to Saint Michel. Around the corner from the fountain, we stopped in Shakespeare & Co. The bookstore has floor-to-ceiling books with ladders to climb up to reach the books at the top - a dream! We perused books for a little while before heading to Sainte-Chapelle. The sanctuary has huge stained glass windows that are so beautiful. We then went to Notre Dame, which ended up being one of our favorites of the whole trip. The cathedral is just incredible, inside and out, and we also went up to the outer walkway near the top for a beautiful view of Paris. After lunch we went to the Conciergerie, the prison where many were kept before heading to the guillotine (including Marie Antoinette). We then stopped by to the Jardin des Plantes and the Panthéon before strolling down rue Mouffetard (one of the older roads in Paris) and finding dinner.

On Tuesday we set out for the Musee D'Orsay, but it was closed for an unknown reason. We quickly switched gears and went to the Rodin Museum to see The Thinker and some of his other works. Nearby was the Hotel des Invalides where you can see Napoleon's tomb. We stopped by one more church, St-Germain-des-Pres, which is the oldest church in Paris. Nearby were the famous cafés Les Deux Magots, Café de Flore, and Brasserie Lipp. We picked up some lunch and went to sit in the Jardin du Luxembourg for a little rest and some people watching. The park was full of people, and there were tons of kids who were sailing boats in the fountain. It started getting really cold, so we hopped on the metro to see if the Musee D'Orsay had re-opened; thankfully it had. I love impressionist art, so I enjoyed the Musee D'Orsay even more than the Louvre. It's in a beautifully restored train station which makes the entire experience that much more enjoyable. Tuesday night we found dinner near the Eiffel Tower so we could see it all lit up and sparkle. It was beautiful and felt so magical! Definitely one of my favorite moments of our trip:)

Paris {Part 1}

I'm excited to share pictures of our Paris vacation with you! I'm going to break up the pictures into three different posts that I will share this week. The photos I'm sharing are just a glimpse of all that we saw; I'm trying to keep these posts somewhat brief:) If you have any questions about what we did or the logistics of our trip, leave a comment and I'll be sure to answer. I might even do a follow-up post on some tips + how I planned our trip.

I arrived in Paris Friday morning, but Caleb didn't get there until late that night, so Saturday was our first full day there together. We hopped on the metro first thing and rode over to the Arc de Triomphe. We climbed all of the steps to get to the top for a beautiful view of Paris. We then strolled down the Champs-Élysées with a stop in Ladurée for a mid-morning snack of macarons. After crossing Pont Alexandre III, we headed for a late lunch and the Eiffel Tower. (fun fact: a pigeon pooped on Caleb on the way to the Eiffel Tower - hah!) I LOVED seeing the Eiffel Tower. It's the icon of Paris and it made me feel like wow I'm really here! We didn't go up it because I'm afraid of heights + elevators and also the line was 4-5 hours long (no thanks!). We spent a good part of the rest of the afternoon sitting in the Champ de Mars, and then we walked across the Seine to the Jardins du Trocadéro for a different view of the Eiffel Tower. After we checked into our second hotel, we found a restaurant nearby and had a late dinner.

On Sunday we spent most of the day at the Louvre. Art history was one of my favorite classes that I took in college, so I loved seeing so many of the works I had studied. Caleb was a little less enthused with all of that art, but was very gracious to allow us to be there for so many hours! It was pretty overwhelming as there was SO much to see, but we did see a good majority of the museum. After we finished in the museum, we strolled around the Jardin des Tuileries, saw the Place de la Concorde (the site of the guillotine during the French Revolution), the Place Vendôme, and the Opéra Garnier. We walked SO much that day and were really tired by the time we had a late dinner and settled into our hotel.