First Day in Paris

Matt recently had a trip for FedEx that ended in Paris, so we decided that Kellan and I would meet him there and make a mini-vacation out of it.

We were debating on whether or not Kellan and I should take the train or drive there.  Under normal circumstances, when driving in the U.S., a five-hour drive isn't too intimidating.  It's something I've done a million times.  But driving for five hours, at night, through three countries in a used car that hadn't proven itself in terms of reliability just yet was pretty scary.  Everything went smoothly (except that the outlet in our car doesn't work - which I discovered about an hour into our trip - and my GPS died right as I entered Paris), but I was definitely nervous and we made it.

The first night Matt was staying at a hotel near the airport, so we met him there, arriving around 11pm.  Kellan slept most of the drive, which was nice.  The next morning, we drove to the hotel where we would be staying for the remainder of our trip, the Pullman Montparnasse.

After getting settled into our room, we headed out for Jardin du Luxembourg.

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We decided that starting the day with some activity would make for a much happier K.  There was a massive playground there (it was so big and nice they charged about 5 euros for the three of us to enter) and K had a great time playing.
Choo choo train...

 All aboard!

 There were wooden bars that K had to step over or climb under on this toy.  He figured it out and went back and forth and back and forth...

 K loves to climb up onto park benches and just hang out.  Always makes for a good photo op.

 We let him explore around for at least an hour, so that by the time he got back in his stroller he was ready for a rest.

We left the playground and let K run around in the rest of Jardin du Luxembourg.  K and Matt were walking  ahead of me and I was able to snap this photo of the two of them walking down a wide, tree-covered path.  This picture is going to be enlarged and hanging on our wall forever.  Love.

There is a huge square with a fountain in the middle of the Jardin du Luxembourg and Kellan had fun playing on the stairs and checking out the ducks in the fountain.

Once K was sufficiently worn out, we set off to explore the city.  We meandered through the streets of the Latin Quarter, first.  Every time we went around a turn I found myself smiling.  It's just a magical place.

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 I thought this street corner was interesting.  I love the street signs and the colorful graffiti.

 A light outside of a bistro that I thought was romantic.  I thought everything was romantic!

 One of the oldest streets in the city.

 A small grocery store and a meat market.  And some stylish Parisian women...

 A music shop with vintage, French vinyl records.  I wanted to buy a turntable just so I could buy one of these and listen to it.  Next door, a waitress buses an outdoor table.

 A lovely flower shop.

 Street vendors line the street that runs along the Seine, selling vintage magazines, books and art.  We are going back in June and I am going to do a lot of shopping here.

 We stopped at a park near Notre Dame to let Kellan stretch his legs.  I glanced and saw my handsome husband relaxing on a bench and had to snap a photo of him.

After the Latin Quarter, we headed to Notre Dame.

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Notre Dame was absolutely breathtaking, as was the beautiful Seine.

 There were cafes on corners around Notre Dame and even a street musician playing traditional Parisian music on an accordion (the type stereotypical music you hear in a movie set in Paris).  The weather was beautiful, so there were many people taking in the afternoon in these sidewalk cafes.

 They were actually having mass when we went inside Notre Dame.  The afternoon light through the stained glass windows was beautiful.

 Kellan and I posed for a photo op in front of Notre Dame.  I carried him through the cathedral in a sling because he was starting to get grumpy - ready for a nap.

After our visit to Notre Dame, we began to head back to the hotel, hoping Kellan would drift to sleep so we could stop for some wine at one of the sidewalk cafes we had been passing.  With a little coaxing, he was asleep within a half a mile of the cathedral.  We considered a few different spots for some vino, but decided on a place about a mile away from our hotel.  K slept while Matt and I indulged in Bordeaux and bruschetta and people watched.  

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We headed back to the hotel after this and figured that we logged about five miles of walking that day - looks like it may not have been quite that much, but it felt like a lot!  We were happily exhausted by the time we collapsed into our room.