Paris For the Win! (again) - Part 1

We have been to Paris many, many times. And every time we are here, we find new ways to fall in love with the city. This was no different. We could have stayed longer and longer. We did some things we have done before (because now the kids are old enough to remember the experiences). But we also did some things we have never done before--and we loved all of them!

We had asked the two Muggles what they wanted to do while we were in Paris. They wanted to go up the Eiffel Tower. When we were here in Paris last year we did just did the Olympics and walked to the bottom of the tower, but we went up this time. Because we got our tickets as we drove to Paris, we could not get elevator tickets. So while seeing the Eiffel Tower was not a new experience, we have never done the stairs before. THERE WERE A LOT OF STAIRS!!! Thankfully it was a cool day so the stairs were not too bad! Once you get to the top and see the views, you forget about the stairs and just enjoy it!

We spent so much time just wandering around the streets of Paris. Some of them we have been down before, others were new. We found so many beautiful places. We went into so many boulangeries than we can count. It was Lady Hiva's happy place! We bought so many baguettes and we ate them as we walked. 

Another new checkbox was Montmarte Hill and Sacre-Coeur. I am not sure why, in all our times of being in Paris we have never done it, but we did this time. It was well worth it! We loved the cathedral and the views. We spent some time wandering through the streets of Montmarte. That, alone, was an experience. 

I found that throughout this trip, I was focused on the textures of Paris. You could do a whole photography book of them. 

Europe has a lot of graffiti (sadly). But some of it is striking art. This piece was so striking. 

These pixelated art pieces were all over the city. The two Muggles noticed them and then started to watch for them were ever we went. We looked it up and they are installed by an unkown artist named Invader. He seems to be a pixel version of Banksy and puts up art around the city at night. 

One of the other things the two Muggles wanted to do was Notre Dame. We have not been through the cathedral since it was rebuilt after the devastating fire. All I can say is that I loved the building before, but it is GORGEOUS NOW. It is even more grand than before. The colors, the details, the textures, all were amazing.

 

I thought this small chapel was cool. The stone floor raised up and there was an elevator to the catacombs in the basement. 

We LOVE Laduree. We went to six different Laduree stores throughout our time in the city!