Dream Awake

The past six weeks or so may have been the most blog worthy weeks I've had since I moved to DC. Too bad my blogging habits don't reflect that. It's okay though, I wouldn't be me if I didn't procrastinate and then play catch up later. I'll work backwards over the next few days to get y'all up to speed. ;)

I FINALLY used my passport! The family I work for decided to go to Paris for Thanksgiving and they took me and my best friend along with them! Best. Trip. Ever. If you would have asked me a month ago, Paris probably wouldn't have made my short list of places to visit. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to go, but there were several other places I dreamt of going first. Now it's almost like I'm homesick for Paris and am plotting ways to get back asap! In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm going to take a French class or two next year. :)

We were scheduled to leave at 5:30 pm Tuesday the 24th. Our plane finally took off around 10:30 pm. Not the most fun thing, but at least it made it easier to sleep for most of the seven and a half hour flight. We got off the plane, got through customs, grabbed our luggage and were on our way by about noon Paris time. As soon as we started driving I was in complete awe. I couldn't believe I was actually in Paris! That feeling stayed with me pretty much the entire trip. It was so incredible.

The apartment we stayed in was located in the 6th Arrondissement, not too far from Notre Dame. Before we got there we figured we'd all be crammed in some little apartment. We were wrong. It had 3 nice sized rooms, a big living room, huge dining room, 2 bathrooms, and a nice kitchen. Honestly, a family could live there quite comfortably their entire lives. Here are some pics.


We did so many fun things, saw so many beautiful places, and ate lots of delicious food in the 5 days we were there. The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame, Deyrolle, the Arc de Triomphe, the Christmas market, a boat ride down the Seine . . . ahh, I just LOVE Paris!

I could write a book about the trip, but for your sake I won't. I'll just show you some pics and explain a little bit. If you want the extended version, feel free to give me a call or set up a lunch date. ;)

The first set of pics are kind of random. There's the Ferris Wheel we rode, which was actually a first for me. I'm not the biggest fan of heights and several of the things we did helped me to get over that. Spencer and I rode it our last night in Paris. There's a pic of Spencer and I outside the Pompidou (modern art museum) on Thanksgiving. Too bad they were on strike both times we tried to go! Don't worry, there's a lot of fun shopping in that area. The other pic of us was taken while wandering around our first night in Paris. Then last, but not least, we have the Knutson's! I am one lucky girl to have such fabulous employers who are fun to travel with!


One of my favorite places we visited was Deyrolle. It's probably not a spot tons of tourists visit, but it's definitely worth checking out if you're ever there. Here's a great little review of the place. I got a butterfly that looks something like this:

Spencer and I met up with the Knutson's Friday afternoon to ride the Bateaux Mouches down the Seine River and see the sites of Paris from a boat. It was super cold, but super fun.


We froze our butts off at the Eiffel Tower and of course I opted to wear my jacket over my coat on the coldest day we were there! If only I would have known . . . Despite the temperature, the Eiffel Tower was stunning! We went up to the top, which is so much higher than I ever imagined and had yet another awesome view of the city. Ingy didn't love all the walking that went on, so Spencer gave her a piggy-back for a while. Then afterwards we took a cab back to our apartment. Me, Spencer, and Matty in a cab with a driver who didn't speak any English! At first I was a little worried, but it wasn't even a problem. :)

Here are a bunch of pics from the Louvre. There's so much to see so I figure the next time I go to Paris I'm going to spend an entire day wandering around the entire museum!


We spent a good portion of our last day at Notre Dame. We climbed to the very top of one of the towers and let me tell you, it was a hike! So worth it though. We were also able to go inside during a mass which was an incredible experience.


When we were on our way to meet the Knutson's at the Bateaux Mouches we came across a Christmas Market. We didn't have the time to visit that day, so we came back our last day. It was so much fun to just walk around and be in Paris!


As we were planning out that last day we really wanted to get to the Arch de Triomphe but we didn't think we could because it was pretty far away and we hadn't ever figured out the Metro. But as we made it to one end of the Christmas market, I looked up and started laughing. There right in front of us was the Arc de Triomphe! Okay, so it was right in front of us, we still had to walk a ways to get there, but it was way closer than we had expected! So we went. :)


Let's not forget about the food! I didn't take pictures of everything, but here's a good sample. Nutella drenched waffle, gelato made to look like a rose, pistachio/peach tarts, the most delicious open-faced ham sandwich you'll ever eat, chocolate covered orange peels, crepes of all kind, and of course, my Thanksgiving dinner: a hot dog. FYI, my mouth is watering.

Everything good you hear about Paris is true. Times ten!

Now that this took all night, I think I'll go to bed. :)