PARIS

So awhile back Michael asked me out of the blue where my dream vacation would be to. I mentioned probably Paris or Tahiti and then we moved onto something else. I didn't know he was actually considering it. As an early anniversary gift and excuse to take off before the baby comes, we splurged and planned a week in Paris. We loved Paris and all that it has to offer. Europe is so unique and so fun. I love the fashion, history, architecture, food, and people. Paris kept us busy for a full 6 days. We loved taking the metro, walking on the cobblestone roads, and exploring the many sites of the city. Neither Michael nor I are that great about taking pictures but here are some we captured between his phone and my camera.

The famous Notre Dame. Super gothic and random because it took almost 300 years to build and so there really isn't a cohesive style. Still pretty amazing though.

Cool street in the Montemartre district

Sacre Coeur cathedral. One of my favorite spots in Paris. Set up on the only hill in the entire city, this church provides a beautiful panorama of Paris. What is more, this church is actually the most tasteful and beautiful cathedral I've been into as opposed to the super gaudy churches that fill most of Italy. I love this spot.

Opera Garnier- the old Parisian opera house.

The scandalous moulin rouge. We didn't watch a show here but we sure got our fill of boobs just from walking by the entrance. Europe certainly does have a different standard of propriety than we do.

Versailles was quite amazing and much bigger than I had anticipated. The palace was super elaborate and ornate as you'd guess, but the gardens were the real jewel of this place. Miles and miles of manicured gardens line this massive estate. Marie Antoinette had quite the setup here (that is until she met the guillotine).

The food wasn't as good as we were expecting, but that is probably because we were tourists. People say the same thing when they return from a trip to Italy, and I just roll my eyes at them, so ignore my tourist snobbery. A lot of the cuisine centers around cheese and wine, neither of which we appreciate. That having been said, the pastries and baguettes were to die for. We did have a couple of great meals, the best of which was the beef beef bourguignon (thanks for the tip Julia Child). I looked everywhere for ratatouille but was unable to find any. Oh well. Everyone sold magnum ice cream bars and bueno candy bars, so I had more than I needed to eat. Yum.

Outside the Louvre. We visited this in the late afternoon and my feet felt like they were big cement blocks, so I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have. It is still worth seeing and quite impressive with more art than I could appreciate in 10 lifetimes.

Stairs leading the to the top of the arc de triumph (234 to be exact). Yes, our legs were burning.

View from the top of the arch.

Arc de triumph

You can't have too many pictures of this place. We rode up the Eiffel Tower by twilight. The view isn't as good at night but the tower itself is remarkable lit up. You can't grasp what am amazing structure it is until you stand underneath it. Apparently this was built for the world's fair in 1889. Originally they had plans to disassemble the tower after the fair. Paris wouldn't be the same if they had. They do a light show for the first 10 minutes of every hour at night. So cool.

My travel companion. Isn't he cute? What a great guy I'm married to.