A weekend in Paris

I never imagined I'd be in the position to spend a weekend in Paris on a whim, but there it is.  I canceled my Friday afternoon classes, scurried to the train station, and was northbound by noon, excited not only to see the City of Light again, but to explore it with company this time.  My friend Reid and his mother were the reason for the trip.  How nice to go on a trip where all I had to do was get myself there! He booked the hotel and made the plans.

The night I arrived was rainy-- I looked like Mary Poppins with my big black handbag/suitcase in one hand and my umbrella in the other.  After meeting Reid's mom and hearing about their bus ride over from London, we trotted out for a late dinner in a brasserie, which I happily ordered for them in French (they joked that I was their French-speaking guide, but in reality they could've gotten on just fine without me).  Vegetable soup, steamed potatoes, pate, bread, fish with the eyes still in it, and red wine.

The rain had stopped when we walked out of the restaurant.  We headed for the Eiffel Tower which was only a few blocks away.  As we stood admiring it (you always remember the first time you stand before it), it burst into sparkles before our very eyes-- must have been midnight.

Blurry, but I like it.

Other highlights of the weekend included an afternoon of reading in the sunny gardens of Versailles, a morning at the Louvre, buying bread, cheese, and six bottles of wine for nights at the hotel, a sunset boat-ride on the Seine, and a trip up the Eiffel that Reid finagled for us-- for half the price, we got to skip the 3-hour wait in line! (Let me know if you're ever in Paris and I'll tell you the secret).

We went up the Tower on our last morning, a clear sunny day-- Paris is a very white city from up there!

On the second story-- that's plenty high already, then you keep going up all that way!

Reid and his mom at the Louvre

Some trees were in bloom and there were daffodils and tulips in the parks-- a change since I saw it under snow at Christmas!

Versailles

 

The sunset we witnessed on our sight-seeing cruise-- we marveled at the perfect timing of all of our excursions and the beauty God blessed us with.  When the boat turned around and we trolled back toward the Eiffel, the sun had set and everything wore its night-time lights.