Weekend in Paris

Brian had to go to Paris for work, so I decided to join him over the weekend! The Friday before Thanksgiving, I hopped on a direct flight to Paris after work. Brian, sweetheart he is, had made reservations for us that evening, so I went straight from the airport to meet my hubby for dinner. The restaurant was quite small, requiring a game of Tetris with the tables anytime someone wanted to get up, but it was very cozy and intimate, which I loved! We enjoyed a fantastic French feast of seafood ravioli with an amazing tomato cream sauce, a perfectly cooked medium-rare steak, and the MOST delicious souffle I've ever tasted. Seriously, I still daydream about that souffle. France really has cooking down to a science.

To attempt to walk off our 3-course indulgence, we went on a nice walk around the city. First we found the Louvre, which is gorgeous at night.

Carousel Arch in front of the Louvre

The Louvre is so huge and impressive

Then we walked along the Seine river and watched the lights sparkle on the water. After a week away from Brian, a romantic dinner and walk in Paris are just about the best things in the world! I soaked up every second of it.


It was 12:30 before we knew it, so we decided to call it a night. Work and traveling can really take it out of ya! We hopped on a metro and headed to Bri's hotel.

The Metro signs are so cool in Paris - I think everything is picturesque in that city

The next morning, after taking care of some logistical details, we began a day full of exploring Paris. The weather couldn't have been better, so we were able to cover some serious ground! Among our finds were:

• An adorable cafe where we ate lunch. I wish I had a picture of it, but just imagine the most French-y, adorable cafe and you're probably close to where we ate. And of course the food was fantastic.
  
• Several fun kitchen stores, where we found some cool candles to add to our Christmas decor
  
• The largest department store I've ever seen. It was so huge, even I got overwhelmed and had to leave.
• Two model shoots - I know people say that models are airbrushed to look as good as they do in ads, but we happened upon the most beautiful women who definitely didn't need airbrushing!
• A few beautiful churches
• A gorgeous sunset

Here are some pictures from our relaxing Saturday

Taking a break and warming up at a coffee shop

Cool store that had old sewing machines from floor to ceiling in all windows

The week before I left for Paris, Brian's mom told us that she had always dreamed of getting her picture made in front of the Eiffel Tower while enjoying a champagne toast. She asked us if we could take a picture of us turning this dream into reality, and so it became our mission for Saturday night! And it was such a fun little activity! We found a chilled bottle of champagne at one grocery store and some champagne flutes in the back corner of another grocery store. I was so elated with our find, the store clerk asked me in broken English as he was ringing up our two glasses, "This make you happy?" I answered with a very excited "yes!"

Our walk to the Eiffel Tower

Such a photogenic work of architecture at night

We did it! Cheers!

After capturing the moment, we walked around the park area in front of the tower and took in the view while enjoying our champagne.


On the other side of the tower was a crepe stand that was way to enticing. We needed one. There was quite a line, but that could only mean one thing - they had to be delicious! And, they were.


We continued our stroll all the way to Notre Dame, which was also beautifully lit at night. There was an interesting group of fire dancers in front of the church, providing a little entertainment for the evening.


We stopped in a couple of bars during our walk and shamelessly had one more crepe before going back to our hotel. Great day in Paris!

Sunday was quite rainy, so we checked out of the hotel in the morning and headed to the Monet museum. I'm not usually the biggest museum person, but I loved the Monet museum! I learned a lot about him and really enjoyed seeing so many of his works. After the museum, we went to a restaurant that had heaters in their porch seating area and just ate and people watched all afternoon until it was time to fly home. It was a great way to conclude our romantic weekend together!