Paris in a Day

This week, Doug had a meeting scheduled in Paris that Kate and I tagged along to. After all, when will we ever have the opportunity to travel to one of the most beautiful cities in the world for the day?

We arrived just before sunset, got checked into our hotel, and headed out to dinner. Kate grabbed a quick cat nap in her daddy’s arms and all was perfect in her world. We found a little French “brasserie” called LeBallon des Ternes and had a delicious meal, complete with profiteroles for dessert!

We're off!  To Paris we go!

First View of the Eiffel Tower

Mmmm....profiteroles

The next day, Doug set off for his meeting and Kate and I explored a little piece of the city. Our first stop was the Boulangerie Patisserie de la Tour Eiffel…a little café that overlooked the Eiffel Tower…for some pastries (pain au raisin and pain au chocolat), coffee, and milk. I must have been clearly smitten with the moment, because at one point in our breakfast conversation, Kate looked at me and said, “Mommy’s happy!” I love that little girl.

This is her 'say cheese!' smile, which doesn't actually look anything like her real smile!

After that, it was time to see Paris from almost 1,063 feet atop the Eiffel Tower! The light rain had passed just in time for our pre-booked reservation, which I was very thankful for! Kate seemed to soak up every little thing she saw…the buildings, Seine River, cars and busses below, Ferris wheel on the Champs Elysees…she didn’t miss a thing. We stayed up there for a couple hours, and as soon as we got on the lift for the ride down, she fell right asleep.

Stealing a kiss

What a view!

 While she rested, we hopped on the Metro for a quick visit to the Cathedral of Notre Dame. She awoke just as we were getting off the Metro, which settled the personal dilemma I was having to either wake her from her slumber or break my strict never-wake-a-sleeping-baby rule. We had just enough time to grab a quick lunch and admire the beauty of the stunning Cathedral before navigating our way to Paris Nord train station. Doug was taking the later train home because of his meeting, so Kate and I were on our own getting from Paris to Oxford…which isn’t exactly a direct route.



Cathedral of Notre-Dame

 



All in all, our 36 hour Paris adventure went something like this:

DAY 1 (with Doug)
*House to Oxford Rail Station via taxi

*Oxford Rail Station to London Paddington Railway Station via train
*London Paddington to London St. Pancreas International Railway Station via London Underground subway

*St. Pancreas to Paris Nord via Eurostar train

*Paris Nord to hotel via taxi

DAY 2 (without Doug!)

*Hotel to Eiffel Tower via Paris Metro subway
*Eiffel Tower to Cathedral of Notre Dame via Paris Metro subway

*Cathedral of Notre Dame to Paris Nord via Paris Metro subway

*Paris Nord to London St. Pancreas via Eurostar train

*London St. Pancreas to London Paddington via London Underground subway

*Paddington to Oxford Railway Station via train

*Oxford Railway Station to home via taxi

WHEW! At 21 weeks pregnant with a 2 year old, stroller, and backpack, I was exhausted by the time we got home that night. It was soooo worth the trouble though, and I would do it all over again if given the chance. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times…I am in constant awe of our little girl. She is adventurous, flexible, patient, helpful, polite, well-mannered, and just the sweetest, most fun child I know. In all of this, not once did she throw a tantrum, pitch a fit, or complain about anything - waiting in line, being packed in a crowded elevator/subway/train, or not having her toys and babies to play with. She is truly a gift from God and I couldn’t be more proud to be her mom.