McGouzburg Trip: Paris, France

Ah Paris, my husband and I's favorite city.  When we were planning out this huge trip we always wanted to visit cities we've never seen before.  Since our best friend Brie hadn't seen Paris though, we knew it was a must.  Paris is by far, our most favorite place on this earth to date.  I type with 100% confidence that we will be back one day, and most likely multiple times after that.  I know we'll bring our kids here, and that we'll visit when we're old.  Don't ask me how I know, I just do.  Paris is everything we love about Europe, so we were beyond excited to return to make some more memories!

Day 1:

We made it to Paris!

We dropped off our car at the airport and rode the train into city centre.  We navigated on foot until we found our hostel.

Sign in our hostel's kitchen

Our room with one roommate

The window was my favorite

Our view from the room

We ditched our packs and rode the metro (subway) to the Eiffel Tower!

We got lucky with the beautiful day!

 <3

Follow me to the Eiffel Tower

They were broadcasting the French Open for the public.

Now it was time to go up!  We climbed all 669 steps to the second floor.  Our guidebook recommended the best view is from the second floor not the third, so we stopped there.  Exercise and a view to match.

Busy day at the tower

Getting our steps in for the day!

From the first floor looking down

Second Floor View

She loved it.

The picnic lawn

And of course, we had to take more pictures.

I was mocking a girl we just saw doing the same thing, so rude of me!

Kit's model pose complete with fedora.

My model pose.  Nailed it.

Selfie Love

We're an adventure all our own <3

Strutting back down those 669 steps!

We snapped this two years ago and I wanted to recreate it.  Perfection.

MuAh!

Then we set off across the bridge to visit the Arc de Triomphe!

Parisian streets are lovely

We're walking along and Brie spots this truck all sprayed with graffiti.  She made us pose in front of it and I'm SO glad she did. This says it all about our feelings in this city!

Paris street corner full of Vespas

Finally we arrived at the Arc de Triomphe!  Below is my favorite shot we took in Paris.  We had to cross the street to get to the underground passage way that leads you to the Arc since there's a huge scary, never-ending traffic circle around it 24/7.  We're crossing the street and my husband yells for me to run out and give him my hand!  My husband is amazing for doing that, and we got one helluva photo from it.

Follow me to the Arc de Triomphe

Climbing up to the top

The view was spectacular.  When we visited here in 2011 we didn't make it to the top.  I regretted it later and swore when we returned that I'd make it to the top.  I highly recommend it for a wonderful photo op!

Inside the Arc, mocking a statue!

Planning our next move

Next we walked down the Champs-Elysees, very similar to NYC's 5th Ave.  Here are where all the luxury shops, cafes and shopping are located.

Every night we found ourselves at the Eiffel Tower, drinking wine with the French and enjoying the best view in town.  The first night the sunset was unbelievably pretty.

Day 2:

That morning Kit and I got up early and visited the Musee d' Orsay.  The museum was packed full of impressionism, so I loved it.  Next we all bought tickets to see a local ballet!

All dressed up

Snazzy couple

Cool seating and ceiling

We loved guessing what we thought was happening throughout it all.  We all came up with different story lines.

 We stopped in a cute cafe for coffee, S-Cargo and crepes!

Crepes and cider

Her first one ever!

Snails

Then it was off to the lawn for some wine and to watch a thunderstorm roll in.

Cheers!

JUMP!

Subway ride in search of a new bar!

Opera House

Been around since 1911

Best mixed drink Kit had in Paris

Representing!

After a night drinking we needed greasy fast French food!  Ended up eating it outside our hostel because it was so cool outside and we like to people watch.

Nomnomnom

Day 3:

Our friend Kyle's last day, so we headed for the Left Bank district.

Place Saint-Michel Fountain

Original metro stop, 1910

Notre Dame, 1862

Center of old Paris

Beautiful Left Bank street

Inside Notre Dame

Altar

 Behind Notre Dame is the infamous love lock bridge! A couple writes their names on a padlock, locks it to the bridge and throws the key in the Seine river as a symbol of their undying love.  We completely missed this our first visit, so we made it a point to visit the bridge this time around.  Thank you Brie for being our photographer for this, we love the photos!

Notre Dame and the love lock bridge

Thick layer of love

Shakespeare and Company is a bookstore than many of the great writers of the 1920s like Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce and Ezra Pound would  hang out here and write.  Kit insisted on us stopping in, and once we had a look around we didn't want to leave.  It was so cozy.

Saint-Chapelle built in 1248

Brie drinking brie beer!

Cider stop to send Kyle off right!

After we saw Kyle off, we caught a long nap at the hostel then headed out in search of my favorite neighborhood in Paris.

Montmartre District.

This area of Paris is where many notable artists worked and lived because the rent was so low, like Renoir and Picasso.  Present day, the area is packed full of artists, eclectic cafes and Parisian culture.

Feeling refreshed and ready to explore

There were about 6 of these staircases!

View at the top

Sacre Coeur, finished in 1914

Main square for artists

Want a portrait?

Munching on Brie's crepe

Favorite

We had to have one more crepe!

The "I love you" wall.  The phrase is written over 1,000 times in over 300 languages.

Store window selfie

Cheese and wine picnic!

 Day 4:

Last day in Paris!  It basically rained the whole day, but that didn't stop us wearing ponchos and enjoying the day.

Luxembourg Gardens

Break in the rain!

Started back up again so we hid out under an awning at a cafe and sipped/ate the time away like locals

French grilled ham and cheese

Finally the rain cleared just in time for our nightly picnic under the Eiffel Tower.

Wait for it...

Jump!

Best Friends <3

French Cognac anyone?

Grocery store dinner, keeping it classy...with 5 bottles of wine

Finally lighting our Cuban cigar we bought in Barcelona!

It wasn't bad!

Last Picture in Paris!

This two week adventure that we took was life-changing, exhausting, exhilarating, beautiful and amazing.  I won't ever call these vacations.  They aren't relaxing, and we definitely don't take it easy.  We averaged walking 13 miles a day, and we know this because we all wore pedometers.  We never took a taxi once, and we're proud of that fact.  We figured our own way through the streets of Europe with a compass, map, guidebook and each other.  If we weren't bonded for life before then we most assuredly are now.  This adventure brought out the good and bad in each of us, but we loved every second of it.

I love that my friend Brie started off in Barcelona and would only order her specialized coffee, just how she would order it in the states, at Starbucks only.  By the end of the trip in Paris she walked by herself to a cafe down the street while I cooked breakfast and successfully ordered us three of the best cafe au lait we'd had the entire trip.  We all grew and learned more about ourselves on this trip.  We pushed our comfort zones and discovered new boundaries that we didn't know we had.  This trip changed our lives.  We're so grateful for best friends like Brie and Shawn that we can share our fernweh with.

"Travel as much as you can.  As far as you can.  As long as you can.  Life's not meant to be lived in one place."