The City of Lights

Paris! We are almost all done with travels this summer! No trip to Europe would be complete without beautiful Paris. We spent two days in Paris sleeping, a bit during the day, meeting up with our dear friends Elizabeth and Philip, and stopping at some of my favorite places. Mr. Finter really fell in love with this city and it made me so happy! We got in late at night and took the metro to Ile St. Louis where we had dinner at a cafe and watched a clown play tricks on the people in the street. We had Boeuf Bourguignon, French Onion Soup, Baguette and Creme Brulee. It was heaven. 

The next morning we got up early and went through Notre Dame. 

Then we walked along the Seine to an outdoor market. 

We stopped to rest at the Tuileries Gardens and relaxed in all sorts of beautiful places!

Then we went to Angelina's. They have the best sipping chocolate in all the world! It is basically equivalent to drinking a French chocolate bar. Absolutely divine! Intoxicating in fact!

We also enjoyed some Macarons!

And the BEST part of the day, we met up with Elizabeth and Philip! They were also traveling all across Europe this summer. Elizabeth and I spent hours and hours planning our trips together and since French food and culture have always been so much a part of our dear friendship we absolutely had to meet up in Paris! 

It was so hot in Angelina's greenhouse room that some chocolate granola I had in my bag burst through the ziplock bag and ended up everywhere inside. Some covered the lens of our camera for a couple shots before we noticed! But look a goat in the park! 

So excited to see Elizabeth!

At the Louvre.

Nina and Landon!

Philip was hunting all over Paris and Europe I think for these famous mosaics hidden up high and in small corners! 

We went up north to enjoy another open air market. 

Then we headed our separate ways for a nap before we met up again for dinner. Dinner was a Parisian picnic beneath the Eiffle Tower. 

 The above photos are all credit to Philip Hurst, an amazing photographer! See more of his work here.

Then we went to the ballet! In Paris! A dream come true! We saw Cyrano de Bergerac.

Afterwards we walked around the city all lit up. And made our way up to Montmartre where we watched the Eiffle Tower sparkle and ate some divine desserts. 

Saying goodbye! Another of Philip Hurst's. 

It was so sad to see them go! Elizabeth and I had become the dearest friends in DC and when we said goodbye in Paris it was goodbye for the next three years while Philip attends law school in Virginia and we moved to California for work. Hopefully they end up in California soon or we all move to Switzerland!

Our second day in Paris Mr. Finter and I hit a threshold. We were supposed to go straight to Switzerland, but we were absolutely exhausted. So many nights without sleep and so many days running around in the heat that it finally caught up with us. We decided to book our little place for one more day and relax. We spent the day sleeping until mid afternoon and then we made it to the Louvre one hour before closing so Mr. Finter could literally run through it. Mr. Finter's favorite things were Egyptian relics and the statues. 

And of course we stopped to enjoy some more ceramic yogurt. 

We spent the evening listening to a live concert in Hotel de Ville while eating the best ice cream on earth, Switzerland's Movenpick.

And that was it for our time in Paris!