Paris

Last week Curt's mom came up on Wednesday so that she could stay with the kids for a long weekend while Curt and I went to Paris.

We flew there Thursday overnight and arrived early Friday morning.

We headed straight to the thing I wanted to see most, the stained glass of Sainte Chapelle.

{in front of the Palais de Justice, next door to Sainte Chapelle}

As far as cathedrals go, this one is little, but the stained glass is just amazing.

We then went on a walk past the Notre Dame Cathedral and then through the city up to the Palais Garnier Opera House.

 {a passageway with shops, a very early version of a mall}

{a view up to the Palais Garnier}

This place was pretty incredible.

 

We then went and checked into our hotel and took a little nap (overnight flights are rough) before heading out to get some dinner and to see the exterior of the Louvre at night.

In the morning we went to the Eiffel Tower pretty early, early enough that the only other people that were there were those doing photo shoots...engagements and what I can only guess as people who fancy themselves professional instagrammers. Pretty funny to watch.  

{yes, that woman in red climbed over barriers in heels to do that dangerous thing for a photo...she didn't fall to her death while we were watching at least}

 {one of my favorite things in Paris, Nutella crepes...several other times I got bananas + Nutella and to be honest I now want to buy a crepe maker for my house, so yummy}

We then took a train out to Versailles.

Man, that place is huge.

and ornate.

After Versailles, we stopped by our church's temple nearby.

It felt like home.

By the time we got back into Paris after that, my bum knee was pretty bad from all the walking, so we spent some time reading at the hotel and turned in for the night.

Our last full day in Paris we spent in the Louvre.

As with Versailles, I just can't convey how gigantic this place is. 

My phone says I walked 7.7 miles that day, and the majority of it was just walking in this museum. 

 {giddy at the thought of a museum visit without kids to keep happy, we got there right when it opened}

 {the hilarious crowd around the Mona Lisa}

 {check out these thousands of years old colors on this famous Egyptian sculpture}

{I loved the building itself as much as the items it contained}

That night we went out to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle (which it does on the hour every hour for five minutes after it's dark)

And then Monday we flew home and hugged our babies tight, thankful to have seen a beautiful new place and thankful to be home.