Paris!

 Of all the amazing places we planned to visit while we live in Europe, I was most excited for Paris. Yes, the only one of these places we'd already been. But, it's Paris. You understand.

We arrived Friday night and had dinner (good Italian, ha!) then walked a few blocks to the Champs de Mars to watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle. 

Sometimes things are magical in theory and meh in real life. The Eiffel Tower is not one of those things. 

On Saturday morning, we walked up the Champs de Mars again, then along the Seine to the Tuileries.

 It would be hard to pick just one favorite spot in Paris, but the Tuileries would be tough to beat.

We also re-did the Louvre. We briefly walked the Napoleon Apartments and the Italian wing (stopped by Mona again... world's most over-hyped painting), the latter basically just to see the gallery with the glass ceiling. 

In the jewel room at the Louvre, I was most interested in the window hardware (and the view).

We spent most of our time in the 19th Century French exhibit-- they had ROOMS full of Corot! Todd could hardly get me to move on.

Todd hates shopping, but he managed to put on the happiest possible face and tolerated an hour or two of shopping and wandering the Marais, then sitting in the Place des Vosges. I love every part of Paris, but I'm not sure why this one is anything special.

I wanted to go to the famous Saint-Ouen flea market on Sunday. Mom and Dad are convinced it's not worth the time, but I must get it out of my head. But Todd talked me out of it, and I felt bad for the somewhat boring Marais wander of the previous afternoon. So we went to the army and Rodin museums instead, which are a bit lame. (The flea market is still in my head.)

But this place completely redeemed the day.

We saw all the buildings of Versailles on our last visit, but not the gardens. This trip was for the gardens.

We rented bikes to ride through the Grand Parc, and it was the best hour of our trip. I don't remember the last time I was so... just... content. It was wonderful.

We biked to the Grand Trianon, all the way to the end of the Grand Canal, then back through the trees on the right side to the Petit Hameau. (We didn't go through it again, but that place is so cool!)

We walked through a few of the ornamental gardens as well, but nothing beat that bike ride. We breezed through the Chateau (and tried the hot chocolate at Angelina's, not special) and a downpour started right when we left. 

This picture makes me laugh-- Todd had just whipped off his hood for a quick photo before we ran to the train station. Square to the camera, cheesin' it... like an overgrown kid.

On Monday morning, our local bakery was closed! Quelle horror! So we walked up to the Arc de Triomphe (also magical in real life) and had breakfast at the bakery near the apartment we stayed in 2 years ago on Avenue Carnot (Maison Hardel). I don't know what the rest of the world is missing, but French pastries are just the best. 

Todd was in charge of food for this trip, and I think we agree he should be in charge of vacation food forevermore. He found the bakery (Les Gourmandises d'Eiffel, Rue de Grenelle) and two great, albeit expensive, dinner spots (Les Cocottes and La Fontaine de Mars, Rue Saint-Dominique). Best food trip yet!

We walked through the Trocadero on our way back. First thing we did on our first trip, last thing on our second. Todd got a sandwich from the vending truck, for old time's sake. We've made "French sandwiches" (baguettes with salami and cheese) so many times since we first went to Paris, but they never tasted the same. Todd watched the vendor make his sandwich this time and discovered the ingredient we've been missing: BUTTER!

Our last stop was Rue Cler. They had just put up the Christmas lights, we missed the cheer by one day! Todd was more disappointed by the fact that the À la Mère de Famille chocolate shop was closed. 

Next time...