Sep 19, 2017

Paris Part Deux



     On our second day in Paris, we left our hotel and headed straight to Notre Dame to beat the line and crowds.  We had a very short line when we got there and were inside in about five minutes. We had forgotten that it was Sunday and we were surprised that mass was being held.  We sat for a few minutes "to get our church in",  but did't stay long. We aren't catholic and we don't speak french so we had no idea what was going on!  Even when mass is being held, they let people wander around and tour ND.  



























     We then headed to find a cafe for breakfast.  When I saw lemon juice on the menu I knew I had to have it.  I was hoping the lemon juice would work some magic on my puffy eyes and swollen hands and feet. Guys, I do not travel well. Cute shoes and rings are a lost cause because I cannot get them on when I travel.  It was so tart, sour and delicious - it was straight lemon juice with a lot of pulp. I was a fan! Barrett ordered grapefruit juice and a Nutella and banana crepe.












          Sainte-Chapelle was next on our list. It is a gothic style chapel known for it's stained glass.  It is just a block or so from Notre Dame














   We then headed towards the Louvre. We didn't have plans to go inside, Barrett spent a day in the Louvre on a student trip a few years ago and she wasn't crazy about doing that again and Hubs and I really aren't museum people. 




















What would they do without me?


  

We tried to sneak in a few pictures of this couple. Aren't they the epitome of a Parisian couple? We decided that she must be a fashion blogger in Paris or France because he was taking a lot of pictures of her and she had all of her model poses down pat. She also changed her purse, scarf and shoes.  We have tried to find her blog to see if we made it into the background of her post. If we did, Barrett and I probably look very creepy because we pretty much stalked them around the Louvre courtyard. 


     The rest of the day we walked and walked all over Paris and of course stopped in Laduree for some macaroons.  Oh my gosh, this place!  It is so cute inside and full of more colors and flavors than I can name! 














We stopped for lunch...



we stopped to stretch...




and no trip with the Odoms would be complete without a blister stop!







 Parisian Blister Buddies!!!



     After a little rest in our hotel room, we headed out towards the restaurant where we were having dinner. We took a longer route to get there so that we could see another part of Paris, through a mostly residential area.  Early evening is definitely the time of day that Paris comes alive. The cafes are crowded, the families are out and the air is full of delicious things to eat.






    
      Our little restaurant was down an empty alley behind a very inconspicuous door.  We had to step down a few steps, duck our heads and walk through a few smaller rooms to get into the main area of the restaurant. It was smaller, rustic and very very french.  We sat at a table beside a window with the shutters open looking into a  hidden courtyard with lots of french balconies and flowers. If that wasn't perfect enough, it started to thunder and lightning and eventually pour.  It was just so perfect! 



I order the onion soup for an appetizer,




Barrett ordered a french cheese melted with butter and honey,



and Art ordered the homemade pasta with a truffle sauce.




For dessert, we split a pear poached in milk chocolate with ice cream and whipped cream.
Delicious! I am actually going to look for a recipe like this and give this a try over the holidays because it is my kind of dessert.....a piece of fruit drowned in chocolate!

     It was still raining cats and dogs when we left. We ran and hid under doorways all the way back to the hotel. We laughed all the way and when we got back to our room we were drenched!





   Up next, my last Paris post, Summer 2017 in review and I am working on Brittany's wedding. I really wish I had not gotten so behind or ignored my little blog.  I have so many things I want to post about!


Au revoir! 


Sep 10, 2017

Paris Part Un




     I am really gonna do it this time, get this blog thing going again!  Bad habits are so hard for me to break and I consider not taking the time to scrapbook, document my family, organize my photos, blog and so on a bad habit. 

     Planning Brittany's wedding last fall became a full time job for me and I pretty much did nothing else and became uninterested in everything else. Now I feel very overwhelmed and am not sure where to begin here and I guess that is why it has taken me so long to begin again. I am just going to have to do it. I am working on and am going to post every bit of wedding prep and Brittany's wedding weekend. It was FANTASTIC! Oh my goodness - there are so many photos to sort through and how in the world do I pick just a few to post of each event? 

      Well, lesson learned, it is time to catch up! I am starting with a look at our summer. Speaking of summer - I am still in denial that it is all but O.V.E.R.! My flower pots all still look good and make me so happy and I still love sitting by the pool with Art when he gets home for work 

     So, without further ado, Summer 2017 Paris:

 Barrett, hubs and I took a short trip to Paris in July.  We didn't even plan it until the first of June and went without an itinerary, which is totally not my style. Our plan was just to walk the different neighborhoods of Paris, see all of the main sites and sit at a lot of cafes, especially the ones where the locals were sitting. Paris is a direct flight from our airport so the flight there and back was sooo easy. We landed in Paris early morning and by the time we went through customs and took a taxi to our hotel, we were ready for our first cafe experience and in BIG need of coffee, some people watching and authentic french croissants. 






     We stayed in the Latin Quarter on Boulevard Saint Michel  just a few blocks from Notre Dame.  After dropping off our luggage at our hotel (we couldn't check in for a few more hours), we headed towards Notre Dame. looking for the best spot for us to just sit and get acclimated.  We sat at a cafe for about an hour and just took in the sites and sounds of Paris.






















(notre dame)





     We decided to take a bus tour - one of those hop on hop off tours. Since Art and I had never been to Paris and our time was very limited, we thought that would be a good way to see everything quickly and we'd know where we would want to go back the next few days.  It actually was a great decision.  We saw everything and got off the bus at the Eiffel Tower and at Avenue des Champs Elysees. The bus even went by our hotel and we were able to hop off, check in, wash up and change our clothes and then we headed out again. 
































































our hotel
The obviously need to call someone about their sign!



view from our balcony (right)



view from our balcony (left)


     Our first night we were really feeling our lack of sleep and so instead of dinner somewhere, we "cafe hopped" by our hotel and ordered cheese and charcuterie plates and did a little french wine tasting.  Barrett became our map guru and picked out our route that night. (She's good and she's  for hire!)











     We were so exhausted after dinner, we headed to our hotel and definitely slept like rocks that night!  The next two days we walked all over Paris and tried to work off and earn all of the cheese and bread we were eating.

     ******************

I am so glad to finally break through my blog block (aka laziness) and get this posted. I have too many pictures of Paris to put on one post so I already have the next one ready to post in the next few days.  When I started this post, we were watching Irma and planning for it to hit North Carolina. The models had it hitting our beach house AND our home in Raleigh.  We had a very busy weekend planned before Irma shifted and is missing us.  I am so thankful, even though I know others are in her path. We flooded at the beach during hurricane Matthew last year and lost the contents of our downstairs.  This year we've replace all of our lawn equipment, furniture,  a refrigerator
 and our golf cart.  None of those things were covered by insurance.  I am not complaining because we could live without all of those things and we were not in danger when the flooding happened.  I just know the heartbreak, devastation and all of the work that is involved with water damage.
     I just hope that this is the last of the storms this season and that recovery is quick.