Love and Life

Paris.
Paris + My Mom = A dream come true.

Mom looking out at the Louvre-- so immense.

What an incredible city! I had so much fun showing Mom around, exploring new neighborhoods, and of course eating amazing food! We walked EVERYWHERE and weren't too surprised when we realized we had walked on average 10 miles/day by the end of our trip. Our feet were exhausted! (we even soaked them in cold water each night). I was a true tourist and read from Rick Steve's book almost the entire time. Although I had been there before, this time it was with a new lens-- I wanted to soak up all the history and details about this amazing place. We were blessed with gorgeous weather -- allowing us to do just about whatever our heart desired.

Day 1:
We started at the Army Museum (which is HUGE-- see below), this museum now holds Napoleon's Tomb. From there we walked down Champs-Elysees to the Place de la Concorde. We continued down Champs-Elysees to the Louvre and then continued through Historic Paris as we walked to Notre Dame, going across the Seine a number of times. From Notre Dame we walked back to our hotel (near the De Orsay) and then from there headed to Rue Cler to grab dinner. We found a quaint Pizza place, and took a picnic to the Eiffel Tower for dinner and sunset. It was gorgeous! We got ambitious as the sun was setting, so we walked to the Arc de Triomphe. We then strolled down the Champ-Elysees and made our way back to our hotel ...

Lovely ladies.

I love all the intricate detail.

One section of the Louvre.

Just one small piece of the Louvre.

Notre Dame.

Sunset in front of Eiffel Tower.

Eiffel Tower lit up at night.

Day II:
We went to Le Marais Neighborhood, because that's where church is. We walked around this cute neighborhood, appreciating the ringing of church bells, and lots of people out for Sunday brunch. We spotted a cute Pasterie, so we stopped and indulged in a few pasteries (amazing). We also grabbed a few sandwiches for lunch on the run. We started looking for church and after staring at a map for 10 minutes we spotted a few well-dressed men and followed them to the building :) We were pleased to find out they had an English Sunday School, and mom spotted a few friend from her BYU days! I love the spirit that you feel when you go to church abroad-- it's a calm reassurance that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the same everywhere. Just beautiful.

AMAZING!

 After church we made our way to Versailles. This was such a fun experience to have with my mom. We gushed over the wallpaper, paintings and gold plaited everything. The gardens and fountains were just stunning and we found ourselves trying to see as much as we could on this huge property. It's amazing Versailles was considered "home" for some people!

Mom and I at Versailles.

My favorite wallpaper.

Famous Hall of Mirrors. I LOVE these chandeliers!

Garden view from inside the palace.

The fabrics are amazing!

So unreal.

Mom and I in front of one of the many fountains.

These were so cute!

Versailles.

One of the "summer" homes on the property-- so they could get away from the hustle and bustle of Versailles.

Romanesque fountain.

Water Fountain show.

The epitome of Versailles.

Love the gold gates.

After an exhausting day at Versaille (it was hot and there wasn't much shade...) we regrouped at our hotel and then went out for a walk -- we explored our neighborhood and beyond and soon found ourselves in the middle of the best shopping ever! Lucky for Ryan and my Dad it was Sunday evening and the shops were closed...but it was still fun to window shop! We made our way to a cute eating district and selected a quaint cafe for dinner. It was surreal to sit at a Parisian cafe with my mom and enjoy the street music and delicious food! We shared a creme brulee, which was the perfect end to our evening. What an amazing experience to spend a few days in Paris with my mom!!

I was a little excited about this shoe-handle. Think Ryan would let me put this on our door?

Walking the streets of Paris.

Can you tell we had a long day? :) Dinner was delicious!

Paris Day III: Our last day in Paris we got up and went for a speed walk (our feet were too tired to actually run, walking can be just as good for you). I continued to read from our friend Rick Steve's Guide and we savored our last few moments in this great city.

Luxemburg Gardens. One of my favorite little spots in Paris.

I love this statue.