Springtime in Paris

Living in Europe, Jeff and I have moments where we just laugh, look at each other, and ask, "Is this really our life?"

Here's one of those moments: My parents come into town, my mom looks at us and says, "Get lost." Okay, she wasn't that rude. My mom looks at us and says, "Leave." So what do any ecstatic new parents do? They got to Paris! What?!?! Is this really our life?!?! Yes! Woohooo! It is!

Knowing our little William was the best of hands, Jeff and I left for a quick Friday night to Sunday night getaway to Paris. While I always envisioned us sleeping in and just enjoying down time, we surprised ourselves by going into hyper-tourist mode and seeing twice as much stuff than we normally could with William. Hello hilly avenues of Montmarte! You're much more enjoyable without a kinderwagon!

At the advice of Paris-knowing friends, we watched the movie Amelie a few nights before we left. It made the Montmarte neighborhood come alive!

We laughed everytime we trugdged up and down Metro stairways, so thankful we didn't have to lug a stroller every single time!

We rented bikes and rode around the neighborhood between the Champs-Elysees and the Eiffel Tower, just because we could!

Fun trying on hats at the Galeries Lafayette.

The biggest highlight of the weekend was being able to see the city at night. Instead of settling into the dark silence of a hotel room at 7:00 for our super-traveler son, we found ourselves leaving the hotel room at 7:00 after freshening up for a fun dinner and night on the town.

We were so giddy -- Midnight! We're out at MIDNIGHT!!!

Sunday was filled with showers which made a perfect Louvre and Musee L'Orangerie day.

We couldn't leave the city without paying homage to Notre Dame, so with our luggage in hand, we strolled around this amazing cathedral en route to the airport.

Ahhh, Paris in Springtime!

Merci, Oma and Papa! It was such a wonderful weekend!

On a totally random, but completely related note . . . .

The Saturday we were in Paris we received an email from my brother saying he and David were having a great weekend too. They included this photo:

What? How did we not see them? Steven and David were at the Eiffel Tower too?!?

They sure were . . . . in Vegas!