Paris - Sharing my favorite city with some of my most favorite people

Wednesday was my first day of vacation, and we took off at about 7:45 in the morning for Paris. The whole way there, it was pouring down rain... seriously, at one point I almost had to pull off of the road because my windshield wipers couldn't go fast enough! I was a bit worried about being outside in this kind of weather, but Paris didn't let me down. Every single time I've been there, the weather has been clear and sunny, and this trip was no different. It was a little windy (skirt = poor choice! Yikes!), but other than that, it was great! It was really fun to show my parents all of my favorite sites - I'll never get tired of the Arc d'Triomphe or the Eiffel Tower. My parents loved it too. They kept saying, "We can't believe we're really here!". Frankly, me neither... it's amazing the twists and turns that life takes us on sometimes. It does kind of feel like a dream sometimes. :)


Our First Stop - the Arc d' Triomphe - some of the best views of Paris can be seen from the top of this structure


I was so proud of my parents - they climbed all 283 steps to the top... this is a picture my mom took as we were going down to the bottom.


Views from the top - the Eiffel Tower in the background.


Notre Dame - we toured this later in the day... note the still very blue skies - I loved it! :)


Self-photo at the Eiffel Tower - this was our last stop after a nice dinner at a cafe in the Rue Cler neighborhood

All in all, a great day. We got to Paris around 1, and left at around 9. We packed a lot into 8 hours! Mom's highlight: seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time. Dad's: looking down from the Arc d' Triomphe and seeing the Louvre down the Champs Elyses... and then walking all the way there! It was so fun to share my favorite city with my parents. We left town, and then stayed in Versailles for the night. Our hotel actually used to be the horse stable for Louis XIV, but it has been very nicely converted. I think we all slept really well after this day! :)