how to be a typical tourist | sightseeing in Paris

Last Paris folks, I promise! Some of you may be disappointed and others may be relieved... either way, we'll be back to normal tomorrow. I'll end with all the things you have to do if you go to Paris. Everyone will ask if you saw La Jocande and you don't want to have to say you didn't, do you? I didn't think so. So here's what to do and where to go, according to me - 

arts and culture:

Louvre - I'm ashamed to say it, but we zipped around the Louvre like lightning to see Mona and Venus with a pit stop at Winged Victory of Samothrace (the one I actually really wanted to see), and then spent the rest of our time in the area at the Tuileries garden watching the fountains and eating pistachio gelato

Musée d'Orsay - impressionism at its finest. Go if you love Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cezanne, Van Gogh, etc. My favorite, along with... 

Musée de l'Orangerie - you'll feel like you're inside Monet's famous gardens. I could have spent all morning staring at the waterlilies. 

Centre Pompidou - Modern art, some to look at and some to experience, plus a fun children's section.

Palais Garnier - all I could think of was Victor Hugo's The Phantom of the Opera. The gilded halls, intricate wooden floors, and lush velvet curtains of the opera house were a sight to see for sure.

monuments and sights:

Arc de Triomphe - absolutely humongous, and it was fun to watch the traffic zooming around the circle

Eiffel Tower - of course! Go at night to see the tower twinkle.

Montparnasse Tower - ascend to the 56th floor for incredible views, and then walk up the remaining three flights to the rooftop. Better views here than from the Eiffel Tower because you can see the Eiffel Tower and not the Montparnasse Tower!

Place de la Concorde & Obelisk of Luxor - the light at the end of the Champs-Élysées

churches and history:

Notre Dame - so crowded but worth it to see the amazing stained glass windows

The Pantheon - see where Rousseau, Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, and Marie Curie are entombed. 

Père-Lachaise - the final resting place of many famous Parisians (or at least temporary Paris residents), like Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, and Gertrude Stein. If you're not into any of them, the cemetery is still a beautiful place unlike any I've seen in the United States. 

Chateau de Versailles - not in Paris but close enough. I would have been happy just visiting Marie-Antoinette's estate, but we didn't know what to expect and saw it all because we didn't want to miss anything. We were mostly hot, tired, hungry, and grumpy because the grounds are so extensive and we walked everywhere. Plan accordingly.

gardens:

Luxembourg - This was news to me in the months leading up to our trip, but in Paris you can't walk on the grass in many public gardens. We walked from one end to the other until we found a place to rest and promptly bought a crepe and sat down. Then just take it all in...

Tuileries - pretty fountains, a little carousel that Ezra loved, and a cart selling gelato = my kind of garden

That's all for my guide to Paris! I'd love to know if you visit (or have visited!) any of the places I've mentioned. And if you head to Paris any time soon, have a macaron for me!

hello weekend

Today will be filled with running lots of errands - there are big things happening at church in our youth department and I'll be picking up a few things for the junior high room and a high school girls retreat that's coming up in a few weeks. I'll also be working on a pretty gray and yellow quilt that I don't know if I'll be able to part with! Then on Saturday Matt and I are bringing Ezra to a children's music class, and after that we're going to a birthday party for one of his little friends. I'm excited to get things done and then have some fun! After a few weeks of not reading any blogs I have to say it was really nice to check in with my favorites again. Here are a bunch I wanted to share with you...

 - can't stop looking at this duvet cover
- can you feel it? fall is almost here
- print your own adorable bicycle note cards
- lots of mason jar love over here
- how to frost a scallop cake
- sew up a sweet mermaid doll
- what a sweet back to school tradition!
- dreaming of a studio space like this one
- build your own chalkboard city
- let's do ice cream!
- we made this Brussels sprout pizza last night and it was amazing!

Have a great weekend! Can't wait to see you again back here on Monday!

les Petits | things to do with kids in Paris

Paris is a great city for kids. We could have planned our entire vacation around activities for Ezra, but that would have been a bit much. Instead, each day we did something for us (the Louvre, for example) and then something that we knew Ezra would enjoy. Here are a few of our favorites...

- la Grande Galerie de l'Évolution - within the Jardin des Plantes, this museum has loads of animals to look at. I liked it even better than a zoo because you can get super close to the (fake) animals, but they're very lifelike.
- Centre Pompidou - Paris's modern art museum. After walking through the main exhibit areas we spent some time in the children's section. The current exhibit was about the funny words kids say before they can pronounce the actual word (for example, Ezra says "mout" but he means "milk"). You could go into a booth with your family and talk about the words your kid says (or your child could recall something they used to say) that are funny and then be added to the exhibit.
- Le 104 - on the outskirts of Paris but worth getting to. It's a cool exhibition space that has a (free!) play space for children called La Maison des Petits, which was like a combination of a children's museum and the child development center where I worked when I was in college. One of the current exhibits there was a giant cardboard labyrinth that we walked through, and there were also breakdancers practicing everywhere. Unexpected and definitely not an official part of Le 104, but fun to watch for a while.
- Deyrolle - amazing taxidermy store that is more like a museum than a shop. Picture yourself standing right next to a giant stuffed polar bear and you have the general idea.

In addition to the larger gardens around Paris like the Tuileries and the Luxembourg, there are little parks everywhere. We stopped almost every time we found one to give Ezra a chance to run around and ourselves a chance to sit down. Square Paul Langevin was a particularly nice one (located on the corner of rue des Ecoles and rue Monge) where we spent the better part of an afternoon one day. Also, metro rides function as transportation of course, but they're also great entertainment for a toddler. Ezra loved putting the ticket in the machine, counting down the stops, and sitting in the fold down seats or hanging onto the pole while we rode. If you're headed to Paris with children, be sure to check out this book, as it lists places to go along with nearby family friendly restaurant recommendations. If you're questioning going to Paris (or any foreign city) with your child, just do it! It was definitely worth it and I'm so glad we went. One more post coming next week on the typical tourist things we did while we were there...

croissants and baguettes | where to eat in Paris

Tell people you went to Paris and the first thing they ask you about it the food. We didn't do too much fine dining, but we enjoyed plenty of bakery type meals. Give me a chocolate croissant for breakfast and a sliced baguette with brie and veggies for lunch and I'm a happy girl.

Here are some of our favorite bakeries...
Paul, 77 rue de Seine - expect a line out the door, but for good reason. Delicious brioche sucre, croissants, palmiers, and macarons.
bread & roses, 7 rue Fleurus - organic breads made with whole grains, nuts, and seeds
Banette, 2 rue de ces Commines - a chain, but I had the most perfect little chocolate and raspberry tart here
Arnaud Delmontel, 39 rue des Martyrs - beautiful styling, and our breakfast treats were still warm!
Le Grenier de Félix, 64 avenue Félix Faure - our neighborhood bakery, perfect for a quick snack any time of day

For lunch or a light dinner...
Pink Flamingo, 105 rue du Vieille du Temple -  a funky pizza parlor serving up unique topping combinations like fresh fig, honey, and goat cheese called the Brangelina (and it was fantastic!)
Le Pain Quotidien, 2 rue des Petits Carreaux - I had such a delicious artichoke heart and white bean salad here
L'Ebouillanté, 6 rue de Barres - cute patio seating outside an old church on a cobblestone path; we had crêpes, quiche, and fresh juice.
La Ferme, 55-57 rue Saint Roch - order your meal at the counter, choose a drink from the cooler, and sit where you like. We liked the laid back atmosphere, and everything is made in house!

For sweets...
Ladurée, 75 avenue des Champs Elysées - macarons, of course. 
La Maison du Chocolat, 8 boulevard de la Madeleine - we bought a teeny box of chocolates, but they'll offer you a sample! Seriously, it's worth checking out for the sample alone.
And get a palmier at every boulangerie you walk by. I did.

licking the windows | where to shop in Paris

Before I dive into my few favorite shops in Paris, let me say that I am loving this fall weather! New England is cool and crisp today, but the sun is shining which makes it even more perfect. I feel like wearing boots and drinking apple cider. Maybe we'll head to the farm this weekend to pick up a gallon. Anyway, I titled this post 'licking the windows' because that's what the French call 'window shopping.' Well, really they call it faire du lèche-vitrine, but I can't pronounce that. When we arrived in Paris I had a list of shops to visit as long as my arm. Sadly, some of them were closed for vacation (August is typically when Parisians go on holiday) and others had funky hours so we missed out on a few, but there was still plenty of shopping to do! Here are some shops I could have browsed in for hours - 
MUSKHANE, 3 rue du Pastourelle - felted wool everything. I especially liked the little mice and the polka dot balls.
the Collection, 33 rue de Poitou - pretty little ceramic pieces for the home, gorgeous wallpaper selection, modern children's furniture and home accessories
ie boutique, 128 rue Vieille du Temple - beautiful fabric sold by the meter, handmade children's clothing
Chou Fleur,  21 rue Monge - they sell children's accessories, toys, and clothing and host craft workshops for kids, too. A lot like kreatelier, for those of you who are local.

L'Autre The, 40 rue Mouffetard - huge selection of teas and little tea room all in one, they even serve fresh juice!
Le 4, 4 rue Mouffetard - gourmet foods (think oil, vinegar, spices, tea, and chocolate), candles, vases, and funky children's items

Then for open air shopping, you have to visit Les Puces, the biggest flea market in the world. Jordan has a great map of how to get there right here. Now I feel in the mood for some online shopping...

hello weekend | we're back!

After a week of being back home I finally feel like things are getting back to normal! We returned from Paris last Friday and the smoke has finally cleared, so I'm ready to start sharing some photos and all my favorite places from the city of light. I'll put together a few posts on our trip, sort of a mini guide to Paris. Very mini. (To start off, the photo above was taken on the steps of The Pantheon.) Once I finish that up I'm excited to get back into the swing of things. Now that fall is here (!) there are apples to pick, pumpkins to carve, and pies to bake, so expect regular posting from here on out! Thanks for reading again... it's good to be back!