And while in France, we felt we just couldn’t pass up Paris! We headed to the city just a few days before our flight, so we could bunk up in a tiny little AirBnB flat and enjoy all the classic tourist activities and the Parisian streets in between.
Of course, the Louvre. Having been deprived of regular museum visits for nearly a decade now, I absolutely loved this. We were there when it opened, stayed until it closed, and loved it.
They had a special room–can’t remember the name now!–but they had pieces you could touch. It was pretty full with kids on field trips, since it was of course the easiest place for the teachers to manage! But there was also a man with his wife. The man was blind, and his wife described the pieces as he felt them. And this was perhaps one of my favorite moments.
And the Eiffel Tower. (With my husband who graciously takes photos with me using apps I’ve learned about from our neighbors!) I honestly expected this to be a bit of a disappointment and was pleasantly surprised. It was incredible and beautiful to see.
Notre Dame was stunning. We we warned for the lines, but arrived early enough to walk right in. It was lovely to see, but even more lovely to sit.
My favorite statue inside of Notre Dame was this one. It was donated by a Christian organization in China, in honor of a martyred Chinese Christian. It’s a statue of Jesus, with a Anglo-Saxon boy to one side and a Asian boy on the other. I love it for many reasons, some probably more obvious than others.
Just around the corner from Notre Dame was the very best bookstore I’ve ever been to. Since we already had a carry-on full of books, we sadly bought none. But I loved our afternoon there enough that it deserves a photo!
And the Sacre-Coeur.
We also showed up here earlier than most (perhaps we’re a bit morning folks, used to 5:30am breakfast service!), and caught part of the early morning mass. We loved it.
And, the flagship Apple store in Paris, which just opened in November. We visited that, too.
While I can’t say I get too excited about Apple store visits, this was a stunning building they renovated. It was four or five floors and really beautifully restored.
Christmas markets were set up all over Paris, so we trekked through those for most of our dinners and enjoyed all the classics: pretzels and raclette and hot chocolate and macaroons and other things we don’t know the names of. So much good cheese!
For a once-in-a-lifetime trip we never guessed 2018 would hold, it was far more incredible than we could have imagined! Surreal, but nice.
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