Paris

Did I mention that I am the luckiest girl in the world? Because really, I am. Matthew is amazing. Before I met Matthew I had so many dreams that seemed just out of my reach. Other than being crazy in love and having beautiful babies, I wanted to travel! I wanted to see things for myself, try new things and experience everything. When I would tell people of my wanderlust they always thought I was a little crazy. So I began looking for service opportunities in the church that would allow me to have new experiences. I was making some calls and a kind-hearted grandpa told me to "just settle down and get married." Well, bless his heart, that just fueled my fire even more. But, before I knew it I had gotten myself into graduate school with no impending travel plans and then I met Matthew. One day I will get around to writing about our perfect and lightning fast courtship, but for now I will just say that all that traveling I didn't do without him, is so much better with him. He was, and still is, worth the wait.

Did I also mention that this post is forever late? Last December, a few days before Christmas, I got an e-mail from Matthew. I had my hands quite literally full of Isabelle, I was distracted and  ready to dismiss the email as frequent flyer nonsense. Then I realized that I am the luckiest girl alive and that in a little over a month I would be going to two of the most romantic places in the world with my ever thoughtful husband and our very cute baby.

When the end of January rolled around we packed our bags and headed to the airport. Isabelle was a great little traveling companion and AirFrance is where it's at if you are traveling with an infant. They provided us with a bassinet for her to sleep in, they brought her baby food, spoons, bibs and blankets a plenty. Not to mention they escorted us to the front of every line, we had our own security station, complete with a playpen, and we were the very first three people on every aircraft. It was awesome.

Isabelle waiting to board the plane. She made lots of friends.

When we arrived in Paris I was amazed at how beautifully intricate everything was. And how old everything felt. I've never been in a city that wanted to tell a story so badly before. It was breathtaking and I loved it. I also love the way the French say Chandler, it sounds more like chandelier and I found it quite charming.

Matthew had already been to Paris so I was in charge of planning that part of the trip and he planned Barcelona. Well, true to form, I planned A LOT for us to do and I am proud to say we did everything but one. We never made it to Versailles due to it being a "Special" day, we think that meant it was a Saturday, and the trains were not running from that particular station so we settled in for a day of eating and wandering.

Our hotel was only a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower and just behind Palais de Chaillot. Every time we came and went we walked though the fountains of Trocadero gardens and had an incredible view of the Eiffel Tower, which is bigger and yet smaller than I imagined. The base is HUGE and there are tons of people standing in line everywhere but the tower is somehow smaller that I thought when compared to the splendor of the rest of the city. It was of course beautiful and iconic but less dramatic when compared to the cathedrals and churches.

Trocadero fountains at the Palais de Chaillot.

We had the most incredible hot chocolate at a teahouse called Angelinas. Both Matthew and I thought we were going to die and if I were to have any regrets about this trip, it is that we didn't go back to this cafe daily. The hot chocolate was more like the best, I mean the very best, chocolate you have ever had, melt that and add a little cream (ok, a lot) and top with the richest whipped cream of your life. It was decadent. Since then, we have been making knock off Angelinas hot chocolate just to stave off the wanting. It was a dream and so were the pastries.

We had the red one and it was amazing.

We went from our sweet little cafe to the Louvre. I was not prepared for how massive this museum would be or that I would love it. Honestly, I didn't even want to go to the Louvre, but I knew Matthew did so of course I planned it into the trip, but only for his sake. It was more than incredible. Mostly, I loved the building itself, the romantic girl in me loved that it was once a palace and you could certainly tell. It was grand and over the top and so French. I loved it, even though we probably only saw 1/20th of what the museum had to offer, it is that big.

A bridge on the Seine with the Louvre in the background.

The pyramid at the Louvre

After having our first real sit down meal in Paris, which was delicious of course, we walked the two miles home along the Seine while Isabelle slept in her stroller. Our timing was perfect, as soon as we neared the Eiffel tower it began twinkling. It was a great way to end our first day in Paris.

The next morning we slept in like Parisians and ate like them too. The food is reason alone to visit this beautiful city. We walked and walked and walked all over the place. Isabelle did beautifully and never fussed. We went to the Hotel des Invalides and saw Napoleons tomb, checked out the Cathedral there and roamed the war museum for a few hours. Then we headed over to Notre Dame. After visiting the cathedrals in Italy I did not think Notre Dame would be as impressive but it still was. It felt and looked and smelled so old. It was also very dark, striking and imposing. Then we headed over to the Pantheon and once again I was amazed at what people could accomplish without modern technology.

Isabelle loving some french bread.

By this point we hastily went to our dinner reservation. Parisians eat so late. We were always the first people to arrive for dinner and it would be 8 in the evening. Anyway, we went to a fondue restaurant and I had never enjoyed such a stressful meal in my life. After sitting down the server turned on a grill in the middle of our table. She then brought us each a large platter with cheese, raw meat, a baked potato, a small skillet and one fork. We hastily began cooking the meet on the grill and melting the cheese in the frying pan. It proved difficult to do all of this with one fork and try to eat off of our plates with raw meat, while Isabelle kept trying to pull everything on top of her. It's a good thing it was so delicous.

The next day was a blur. We went to the top of the Arc de Triumphe and because we had a baby with us we got to ride the elevator. It was a lifesaver, my legs were killing me and I was not looking forward to that hike with Isabelle strapped to my body. The view was incredible, we could see the famous Champs Elysees and the Eiffel Tower and it was picture perfect.

Panoramic shot from the top of the Arc de Triumphe. Champs Elysees is in the center.

We went to Montmarte which is a hill that overlooks the city. This was a highlight for me because once again we had an amazing view but there is also a perfectly understated Cathedral on top of this hill called Sacre Coure, meaning Sacred Heart. It is also nicknamed the concrete wedding cake for obvious reasons. This was my favorite cathedral of this trip. It was beautiful in a quiet, understated kind of way. We went during mass and the overall feeling of worship was definitely present. After the Cathedral we explored Montmarte some more, including a playground for Isabelle and the best pizza I have had since Italy. Isabelle's smiles were highly sought after and after finishing our meal, the restaurant owner brought a crepe to the table, pointed to Isabelle and said "bebe." Parisians don't see enough babies. The whole time we were in paris I only saw two other babies and I never once saw a pregnant woman. So everywhere we went people made a fuss over our french named baby. She enjoyed the attention but not nearly as much as all of the french people (mostly the french men) enjoyed her. It was cute.

From there we went to the Opera House, the reason I had wanted to go to Paris in the first place. Years ago after reading The Phantom of the Opera, I decided I would one day visit the Opera house and see the famous box number 5. Did you know that is based on a true story? Well, it is. I love it. And I loved the Opera House. I have never seen so much gold in my life. It was one of the most ornate, gaudy places I have ever been but it has such a story to tell. I loved all of it and my sweet husband was a trooper and let me walk through each and every room.

And finally, on our last full day in paris we went to the Musee de Orsay which is a beautiful train station that has been converted into a Museum. I think this was one of the highlights of the trip for Matthew. Isabelle enjoyed walking through the museum acting like she owned the place. Then we went to Pont de l'archeveche "lovers bridge." At first glance it looks like the bridge is made of gold but it is actually covered in padlocks. Lovers attach a padlock to the bridge and throw the key into the river to symbolize their undying love. So of course, we did too. From there we went to Saint Chapelle. This Chapel is extraordinary. It is not tall, the ceiling is plain and the architecture is typical, but it is wall to wall stained glass. If you begin in one corner of the church and "read" the windows top to bottom they depict all of the major stories in the bible. It was fascinating. Then we went to the Conciergeri which was the first Palace in Paris if I am remembering correctly. It has also served as a prison and is where Marie Antoinette was held captive. We finished the evening with the best food we ate on the whole trip in a little restaurant called La Coincidence. We had foi gras dipped in minute eggs, I found it totally disgusting but Matthew enjoyed it. The rest of the food was amazing. The French really do understand food as an art form. We had ratatouille and it will forever be one of my favorites.

The next morning we woke up bright and early and headed to the airport. For most of the trip, having Isabelle with us did not slow us down one bit, she is the most agreeable little person. However, Paris is an old city and the Metro is old enough that it does not have elevators or escalators. As we were leaving that morning Matthew carried our two pieces of luggage down the stairs while we both wore backpacks and I carried our full size stroller with a sleepy Isabelle cacooned inside. We make a pretty good team.

I really do have to say one more time how good Isabelle was. She happily ate strange food, had her diapers changed in her stroller, sat wrapped in blankets for hours each day, napped on the go and nursed in the oddest places and yet she was the best baby.