Paris

I just realized I forgot to mention something that happened once we got into Paris. We parked our car in this parking garage that was very close to our hotel, but we really didn't know where the hotel was. So we come up the stairs to the street level, and just kind of stood there, looking around with really dumb expressions on our faces. This woman walked by and kind of looked at us...kept walking, then looked at us again. Then she said something in French. We replied "Parlez vous anglais?" (which became our favorite phrase to say), and we found out that she was an American. She pointed us in the right direction (we were headed in the opposite direction), and chatted with us for a bit. We found out that she had been living in Paris for about 20 years. Can you imagine? A random American walking by us right when we needed help? We called her our angel - because it was totally providential that she was there right at that moment.

Anyways, Wednesday morning, we woke up (later than we wanted, but we were seriously jet-lagged and Kendall-lagged, but more on that later), and got ready for the day. We walked out of our hotel, and saw this street vendor that had a very fancy stand, and he was making crepes and paninis, and all sorts of goodies. We ended up getting some nutella crepes for breakfast (Grant's was nutella and banana), and some ham and cheese sandwiches - which was this really long baguette with ham and cheese on it - for the road. This is where we ended up eating every single meal. We figured, that was expensive as it was, a restaurant would be way more expensive. Plus, it was really good food! The guy started to get to know us, and every morning he would point to me and say, "Nutella crepe?" and then he would point to Grant and say, "Nutella Banane crepe?" We were so predictable. So here I am waiting for our delicious food, and then there's Grant eating his crepe.




We made our way down to the metro, which was also right outside of our hotel. We eventually got to the train station, so we could catch a train to Versailles. After alot of confusion, we finally got our tickets, and took the train - which was maybe 20 minutes our so. Here we are on the train...and look, Kendall can stand already!




Once we got off the train, it was about a 10 minute walk to the Palace. On the way, I saw that Watley was watching us! Okay, so his face is white, and he's reading a newspaper and wearing a suit, but it reminded us of Watley.



We finally arrived at the Palace, and I was just so excited. I've always
been kind of obsessed with everything French, and always dreamed about coming here. It did not disappoint.











Just a side note, breastfeeding while traveling is a very interesting thing. It's not like you can just go back to your hotel every time you need to feed. So Kendall got fed in some really cool places - in the gardens of Versailles, underneath the Eiffel Tower, along the Champs Elysses, in the Louvre, inside Notre Dame - and thanks to the Hooter Hider that Jasmine got for me, Kendall ate in style.



After Versaills, we were off to the Louvre. We heard that after 6 pm, there was a discount. So being the "frugal" people that we are, we waited until after 6, which we actually unintentionally timed pretty well. We got there about 5:45, so we didn't have too wait long.










The next day was Valentine's Day, and I just thought it was so cool to be in Paris on that day. First we went to Concord Square, which is where the guillotine was set up during the French Revolution. But to me, the coolest thing was that when we came up from the Metro, I got my first view of the Eiffel Tower! It was breathtaking. It was also the first time we saw the Arc de Triomphe.





Then we walked down the Champs Elysses toward the Arc. We came across the Pont Alexandre III bridge, which was just beautiful.




After a lot of walking, we finally made it to the Arc. It was much, much bigger than either of us had pictured.







After the Arc, we got back on the Metro, and headed towards the Eiffel Tower. After waiting in the freezing cold in several lines to get to the top, we made it! It was a little hazy, but still - what a view! Please excuse the messy hair, it was quite windy.







Then, we went to the Notre Dame. Simply amazing! All the stained-glass windows, the architecture, everything about it was just amazing.






After such a long day, it was finally time to go back to the hotel and get some much needed sleep. Which reminds me. If any of you are wondering how Kendall did while travelling - she did awesome! Except for sleeping. We have this little travel bed for her (we call it her box), and for the first 6 weeks or so, she slept in the box on our bed. When we got back from Florida, she went in her crib. We took the box with us on this trip, and our first night in Paris, we quickly learned she didn't like her box anymore. Oh, and she also didn't like being swaddled. So, even though I was opposed to it at first, she slept in bed with us. After losing almost a full night's sleep the first night, I felt like I didn't have a choice. Thankfully, now that we're back home, she's gone back into her crib with no problem.



The next morning, it was time for us to leave Paris. I wished we could've stayed longer, but was kind of glad as far as the weather goes. We had 2 gorgeous days, and the day that we left, the typical Parisian winter weather returned.