The Limit Does Not Exist: Paris Day 1 & 2

"Sitting there, alone in a foreign country, far from my job and everyone I know, a feeling came over me. It was like remembering something I'd never known before or had always been waiting for, but I didn't know what. Maybe it was something I'd forgotten or something I've been missing all my life. All I can say is that I felt, at the same time, joy and sadness. But not too much sadness, because I felt alive. Yes, alive. That was the moment I fell in love with Paris. And I felt Paris fall in love with me."

That quote from the movie "Paris, je t'aime"describes my thoughts on Paris perfectly.  Paris surpassed any expectations I had for it and then some. We were blessed with beautiful weather and spring had definitely sprung.

Of course the first thing we wanted to do once arriving in the city was find our way to the Eiffel Tower. I'm sure you are wondering how many pictures is too many pictures of the Eiffel Tower. The limit does not exist. When in Paris, one is allowed to take as many pictures as one desires.

After the Eiffel Tower we made our way to Arc de Triomphe. Little did we know we took the longest route possible because we weren't paying attention, but it's okay because we got to walk down Champs-Élysées and take in everything it had to offer. By the time we climbed all those stairs (all 284 of them)  we got to see the most beautiful view of Paris as the sun set.

View from the top. Stunning.

Cheri and her sister, Amy, walking down the steps at Arc de Triomphe

How did we end our first day in Paris? By having dinner at Häagen-Dazs of course. #cantstopwontstop

Bradley joined us for dinner.

Day 2 of our day in Paris we started by eating at a boulangerie for breakfast then we made our way to Luxembourg gardens. After that we grabbed some gelato and went shopping for a little bit.  After lunch we walked through the Pantheon.  Unfortunately I nor Amy or Cheri are well versed in French history or the history of architecture so I cannot take this time to tell you all about the history of the pantheon but it was beautiful & very intricate. There are also a lot of people buried there. Of course as soon as I saw Victor Hugo's grave I started singing Les Mis because, Les Mis.

I'm that happy because that mango gelato was that good. 

inside the Pantheon

I love the detailing in this ceiling. Beautiful.

After some more shopping at the Latin Quarter we walked to Notre Dame.  Did you know that there are 387 steps between the ground and the top of Notre Dame?  We climbed each one (spiral staircases, btw) and were rewarded with another breathtaking view of Paris.

Of course we rewarded ourselves for successfully climbing Notre Dame with more gelato (when in Paris, right? for those of you playing at home, yes, that is gelato twice in one day plus ice cream for dinner the night before) and then stopped by Shakespeare & Company to browse.  As a lover of books I was in heaven.  I could have sat upstairs curled up on a window seat surrounded by books and read for hours, especially if someone provided me with some hot tea. Unfortunately I did not buy any books because they are heavy and flying home with them wouldn't work. Maybe next time I'm in Paris.

Just call me Belle

That wraps up my first two days in Paris.  I could have made this post 10000x longer with every detail and thought I had but I will spare you from reading all of that.  I can't wait to tell you about our last two days!