September 2, 2007Paris
What a treat it was to find a note on my pillow informing me that Chris had planned a weekend in Paris for our anniversary! Chris keeps very busy at work, so much of our family travel has been initiated and often planned by me, and Chris had made it clear that it wasn't in the budget to take a trip. Sneaky fellow! He arranged for my brother and family to come over from Germany to stay with the kids and everything!
The thought of a weekend with just Chris and me was delightful! Chris booked first class train tickets from Aachen to Paris and a room just blocks from the Eiffel Tower. Thank you to our friends Margaret and David who have vast Parisian travel experience and who gave Chris loads of pointers!
We stayed at the Hotel Eber Mars, which can be found in Rick Steves' Paris book. It is 'famous' for having the smallest elevator in Paris. I didn't double check that fact, but would agree. It was 'coffin sized.' We put our suitcase on, pushed the button for our floor then ran up the stairs to meet it! Only one person OR one suitcase could fit in it...not both!
After checking in, we walked around a bit and found a cafe for dinner. Given that Chris and I love French onion soup, we stopped at a cafe in the Latin quarter advertising theirs. I think we are very spoiled by Chef Elmo's famous French onion soup from the Sovereign, because while it was okay, it was not great. Oh well...we enjoyed a very nice, quiet dinner and good wine, too!
The next morning we got up early and hit the Eiffel Tower line. We bought the works...the ride up and tour. Then we spent the rest of the day walking the entire city. In an effort to not remind Chris too much of the kids, I kept my mouth shut until about 5 pm when I couldn't take it anymore! We walked and walked and walked. There was so much to see and do. After walking much of the city, Chris promised a sit-down, night bus tour after dinner. My feet were happy about that!
On Sunday, we had planned to try to catch the Louvre before our train departed, but chose, instead, to sleep in a bit and plan to see it on our next trip (along with the Sacre Coeur and Montmartre).
Many thanks to Ed and Shelly for watching our brood so we could celebrate our anniversary in style!
The Eiffel Tower at night...spectacular!
The Arc de Triomphe at one end of the Champs-Elysees....
...and the Tuileries Gardens at the other.
Children sailing boats in a fountain/pond near the Louvre
The Arc du Carrousel with the famous Louvre pyramid behind it.
Notre Dame de Paris, me at 'point zero' and the lovely garden behind.....
The Bored Gargoyle....
Photos from our night bus tour.....
1 comment:
Romantic! Kudos to Chris. Looks like such a fun time.
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