Pariiiiii

After a phenomenal birthday weekend in Annecy, we geared up for our 3 nights in Paris.  We caught the early train to Paris so naturally there were screaming children to keep us from snoozing.  That didn’t slow us down though as we arrived around midday to our centrally located hotel- just one block from the Louvre!  My mom met us there fresh off the plane from America.  Thanks for joining us Mom!

We had steady rain our first day, but that did not stop us from storming the streets.  We started with a falafel lunch in the Jewish quarter that was one of the best falafel meals we have ever had... yummy!  We followed lunch up with a cold/wet stroll through the streets and brought home some fresh challah bread and French macarons to nibble on.  Good food is always the way to set the tone for a good trip.  After drying out a bit we took a riverside walking tour through the heart of the city.  Wandering through the streets is my favorite activity in Paris, which in my humble opinion has the most expansive and incredible architecture of any city I've seen.... beauuuuuutiful!  Eventually though the rain defeated us and we had to call it a day.  Don't tell anyone but we ate McDonalds for dinner in the hotel room.... with 'Freedom Fries' and all.  :)

Anyhow, the weather Monday was much better so we took full advantage of the outdoors.  We started in the area of Montmartre and visited the Sacre Coeur Basilica.  The views of the city were almost as spectacular as the building itself. 

Afterwards we stopped through a cemetery which, like the city, also has some really spectacular architecture.  We captured a few nifty shots.

We had a fantastic lunch of French onion soup, duck confit, and pasta with salmon: so simple but so good!  We spent the evening/night watching the Eiffel Tower….I mean it’s pretty much law that every tourist visit the tower within their first 24 hours in Paris.  Not wanting to break any laws we posted up at Ol’ Eiffel around dusk, which given the northern latitude was a stunning 9:45 p.m.  We watched the tower light up and twinkle just in time before bedtime.  Although not the prettiest, it really is an unbelievable structure I think everyone should see- pictures don’t do it justice.

Our final full day began at the Musee d’Orsay, apparently the most popular sight in all of Paris.  Even though we bought tickets in advance the line was still 45 minutes to get through the door.  And although the crowds were a bit intense inside, it was well worth it to see some of the most impressive works in art history and some amazing architecture. 

We spent the evening visiting the holocaust memorial museum and the Notre Dame.  Continuing with the tradition of eating well, we had delicious crepes for lunch, really amazing Thai food for dinner, and some designer ice cream for dessert (25€ to feed 3!!!).  Good food is apparently the perfect way to end a really good trip too.

All in all, we had a really amazing time in the city of perfect walking tours and food, but it felt like we hardly scratched the surface in 3 days’ time.  Though this is about all the time we could handle given the extra intense crowds, traffic, and noise.  It was time to get back home to our quiet village of Munich.  Au Revoir Pariiiii, thanks for the memories!!!