paris is always a good idea

when we were planning where to stop in europe, i mapped out a whole tour of eastern europe. yet, with last minute plans and flights, we had to go through a major airport hub so western europe made more sense. nate insisted we take sage to paris...and paris is always a good idea. 

nate still speaks much better french than i do. i mean, did i ever even speak french? my mind felt so jumbled as i tried to remember french words and conjugations.

our last time in paris, i marched nate around to all my favorite things and reminisced about living in that beloved city. this time, we took a more relaxed approach. we slept in. we ate brunch. we wandered without a plan. we walked more often than hauling a stroller up and down the metro steps. we only stopped at our favorite museums and works of art. we rode the carousel in the tuileries and shared lemon gelato. we used all our marriott points to stay in a great location on the champs-élysées (we still went and visited our favorite little rue cler neighborhood though).

we rode the train from barcelona to paris, and arrived in the city just in time for dinner.
french onion soup, naturally.
and sage insisted on drinking from a goblet only.

s picked out a postcard for grandma at shakespeare and company

we stopped and paid homage to my old school

so thrilled about the "horshies"

a few smiles at the tour eiffel with a lollipop bribe

speedy tours of the louvre, l'orangerie, and musée d'orsay to visit our favorite art

then on to the centre pompidou for a little modern art...but mostly for the views at the top...

s loved the children's exhibit, but didn't quite get the don't-cross-the-line thing in the galleries

if you stroll through the marais, you must stop at le gay choc, home of the most buttery, flaky croissants...and raspberry pistachio tarts too.

we hiked hundreds of winding steps to the top of notre dame, and my pregnant bod was feeling it big time.

the bells rang out as we reached the top of the tower and looked out onto the seine weaving through paris

on our last night, we met up with my cousin and her family in the park, then made our way to the eiffel tower for one last look. we couldn't have ended our paris time with a more beautiful sunset.

we packed up and caught another train to frankfurt, where we had just enough time for some soft, salty pretzels and german brats before our long haul back to the motherland.

sage was a trooper on our endless flights, trains, buses, taxis, and metro rides. i'm not sure if we've forced her to be this way because of our lifestyle or if she came this way, but she's a traveler, that girl.