We're in PARIS!! We only had 2 full days in Paris and we definitely packed them full of sightseeing.
Before we went to sleep I had to grab a picture of the view from our balcony.
Like I mentioned, our first full day in Paris was my birthday! I wasn't (and still am not) terribly pleased with the number, but hey, might as well enjoy it.
We headed over to a cafe for a little French breakfast. I wish I could remember the name, it was pretty famous though. It was also the one place where we were frisked before entering.
You can frisk me all day long for that croissant.
I made Kev get up and out early because we had big plans for the day. First stop, the LOUVRE!
Yes, the first thing I wanted to do on my birthday was visit a museum.
So fricking excited.
I'm going to show a bunch of pictures from inside the Louvre. Some pieces I remember the names of, some I don't and the rest are just really cool architecture.
This was in the section with Greek/Roman statues. The view when you entered the hall was spectacular.
Love the vaults
Winged Victory of Samothrace - Goddess Nike
Even the ceilings were spectacular
Just me and Venus de Milo, no biggie.
There she is without me
This is famous and in like every Art History book.
So is this one.
There was a very passionate student talking about the meaning of this painting and what it represents. Youth and old age, the path of life represented in the garden pictured in the window. I had a flashback to me before I became all jaded and went into sales. Really though, art history is all sales. If you can convince someone that your interpretation of something is the best, you're awesome and successful.I was most surprised by the sheer size of some of the pieces. When you study them, everything is the same size. It's crazy when you see they aren't.
I knew the Mona Lisa was super small, but I had no idea how small.
Crowd picture for scale.
Yea, this was all the people who were in front of us to get to the barrier. Usually it's packed and getting up front is impossible.
Not for us! Kev insisted that I not take a selfie with the Mona Lisa.
Mona and Kev.
The coronation of Napoleon. Again, super famous.
This chick on a bench (not its real name) by David. I swear I wrote a paper on him once.
Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People". Super famous and what I always referred to as the Les Miserables painting.
Do you hear the people sing, singing the songs of angry men. They are the voices of a people who will not be slaves again... Now it's in your head. You're welcome.
A French painter in the Louvre! It doesn't get more French than that.
We were under the glass pyramid and I was thinking about the DaVinci Code. Didn't Tom Hanks crash though this? (Yes, the book was way better)
Like I said, I could have spent all day in there but when you only have 2 days in Paris, you need to get in as much as you can! So we bid adieu to the Louvre and headed to the next stop.
It's much bigger than I expected.
And there's a ball up inside there. It looked more celestial than like a globe. We never did figure out what it was. I even googled "what's the ball all up inside the Eiffel Tower" not surprisingly, it returned 0 results.
In all its glory,
Kev sadly did not go to the top of the tower with me. He took one look at the exposed elevator and was, "nope".
I went up and even with my hatred of heights, it was fine. And SOOOOO worth the trip.
Paris!
More Paris
The view was AMAZING
I did selfie myself at the top.
The view on the way down, which is why Kev said nope.
We were done at the tower and then it was time to walk back to the hotel and get ready for dinner.
The Arc de Tromphe! and a sign for Ikea.
Dinner was at a place called Steaking , which is known for its amazing cuts of meat from all around the world.
Fun fact, it's not easy to get a Cosmo in Germany. You have beer, or schnapps. But in Paris, in Paris you get your Cosmo.
We decided to go all out and started with the foie gras. Yes, it's duck liver and we both agreed that it was FANTASTIC.
It would have to be a really good US restaurant for me to order this here.
Kev went with the Wagyu beef and some little potatoes.
If you know me or have read the blog before, what I ordered for my birthday meal won't be much of a surprise.
Steak tartate, frites and another Cosmo.
And a little champagne to end the meal.
I highly recommend Steaking, It was probably one of the top 5 best meals I've ever had. Not quite the best tartare, but really, really close. When you add everything else, top 5 meal.
We staggered out of there and headed back to our hotel, which was on the Champs Elyees. Well, we might have missed the Christmas Market in Munich, but the Paris was up and running!
I learned that the giant Ferris wheel only goes up at Christmas time. We didn't ride it since Kev doesn't do rides, but it certainly was pretty.
The Government building was lit with the colors of the French flag.
The Christmas Market was to DIE for! So many little shops full of Christmas things, food and treats. OMG, the food and treats. It went on for blocks and blocks, on both sides of the road. It's more than worth it to visit Paris at Christmas, for nothing else but the market.
Crepes and hot chocolate!
Smoked fish on an open fire!
Christmas themed animatronic Michael Jackson.
Me, Santa and my new hat.
I was less than thrilled to turn another decade older, but it was a pretty epic day. Paris, the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Christmas Market and Kev and I got to experience it together? It was hella amazing.