Dreaming of Paris-Part 1

This week, three years ago, I was in Paris. Corey is in Paris right now with her daughter and has been posting about it on her blog. Oh how I wish I was there with her.

For quite awhile now, I've been wanting to post about my Paris trip, but other things seemed to take precedence like Farm Chicks, vintage finds, projects I've been working on, etc. But, with this week being the three year anniversary of my trip, I thought I would share with you some stories and pictures of that wonderful time.

Let me back up a bit. In high school I took two years of French and another year in college. Since then, it has been my dream to go to France and see and experience all the wonderful things and places I learned about. As the years went by, I always knew in the back of my mind that I would make it there someday. Flash forward to the year I turned 40. I decided it was now or never and so I planned my trip. My hubby didn't really want to go and I didn't want to go alone, so I invited my Dad who had been there a few years before and I knew wouldn't turn me down. I had never taken a trip with my Dad before, (he and my Mom were divorced shortly after I was born and we became close after I graduated high school and moved to California for the summer-another story for another post) so I wasn't sure what to expect, but he's a pretty easy going guy and I knew we'd have a good time.

So plans were made, hotel was booked and we were off. My Dad was flying from California, me from Oregon with both of us getting connecting flights in Houston so we would arrive together. The week we spent in Paris was magical and completely amazing. Each night I would come back to the hotel we were staying and write down in a journal everything we did, saw, ate, so I wouldn't forget a thing. I thought I would do a series of posts where I share these journal entries with you, my lovely blog readers. I will put in some pictures to break up the writing a bit so you aren't completely bored. Here goes:

Day One in Paris

"Arrived at Charles De Gaulle Airport and was picked up by Eddie who took us to our hotel. Outside Paris, lots of industrial buildings, looks like any other big city. Came into the city of Paris where I was overwhelmed by the architecture of all the buildings. I kept saying 'I can't believe I'm in Paris!' It was surreal. We checked into our hotel, the Grand Hotel Leveque, which is an almost not noticeable building on a wonderful market street. Just like I imagined. Neat shops for produce, meats, flowers etc. Man making crepes, yum! Our room is tiny! Probably 10 x 12 with a tiny but updated bathroom on the 4th floor (actually the 5th floor-they don't count the bottom floor). Tiniest elevator in the world. So cute. Room has two twin beds pushed together.

After we check out the room we strolled on the Rue Cler and found our way to the Eiffel Tower by way of the Champs du Mars Parc. It was incredible. So huge with what seemed like a million people waiting in line to go up. I am in awe of with the number of tourists from all over the world here. We loved hearing all the different languages being spoken. After walking beneath the Tower, we hopped on a tour bus and took a 2+ hour tour of the city. Great decision as we got a good overview of where everything is. Riding down the Champs Elysee and seeing the Arch de Triomphe and seeing Notre Dame were the highlights.

After the bus tour we made our way back to the hotel for a nap and showers. Got lost on the way and was helped by two lovely French women. Very nice. After being refreshed, we decided to have a bite of dinner at Cafe Rousillon down the street from our hotel. Cute, but smoky and food just so/so. I had Chicken Provencal which resembled the chicken I had on the plane over.

We then walked down to the Seine were we boarded a riverboat which took us down the river for a tour of Paris past all the monuments. Decided to get off the boat at the Hotel De Ville to check out this department store an American couple told us about, but by then it was 9:30pm and closed. We tried to get a cab unsuccessfully back to the hotel which was a blessing, because we stumbled upon the Notre Dame. We went in briefly as they were having a service. It was very dark, but so cool.

Somehow trying to walk our way back to the hotel we accidentally found the lively Latin Quarter where we stopped at a cafe for Creme Brule' for me, glass of wine for Keith. Lots of young Parisians and tourists. Neat alley like streets with shops open late. After finally getting a cab which dropped us in the vicinity of the hotel, we finally made it back where we collapsed at about 11:30pm.

Tomorrow we will take in the Champs Elysee and a movie. Possibly the Marais neighborhood or Montmartre."

Please keep in mind, this trip was pre-blog and my picture taking skills were and still aren't the greatest. I hope you enjoyed this little stroll down memory lane with me. I will be back soon with pictures of some of my latest finds and will being doing more Paris posts throughout the summer.

We are going camping at the beach for a few days this week. Nothing like a trip to Paris, but still fun family time. Have a great week!