Howe Two: Paris--Day 1

Matt surprised me the week of Valentine's Day by telling me he had arranged for us to go to Paris in June! He had a conference he could present at, and had already taken the week off, and asked his mom and Bryan to keep the girls. I was elated! I have always wanted to go to Paris (and had never been to Europe at all), and I spent the better part of 4 months researching, obsessing over details, and talking to friends who had been. Finally, on June 15th, we were off!

After an uneventful 7.5 hour flight (with a teeny bit of sleep, thanks to some Xanax for this anxious traveler), we landed in Paris, took a cab to our hotel to drop off our luggage, and hit the first cafe we spotted for a traditional French breakfast--croissant, coffee, and fresh-squeezed juice.

We had a solid 5 hours to kill until our room was ready, so we just walked and explored central Paris. A stop in the Tuileries Garden to admire the foliage and consult Rick Steves' about where to grab lunch on the Champs-Elysees.

Random street art. 1978 was a great vintage!

We walked a solid 10 miles before it was time to get into our room. I giggled at our room number--40--since part of the reason we decided to do this trip was in honor of our 40th birthdays. I was honestly stressed about choosing a hotel, and really wanted to stay in a tiny boutique hotel for the full experience. I researched for days and hours on end. I was pleased as punch to open the door and discover the Hotel Victoire et Germain to be darling in design and completely spotless. Total perfection in my book.

We grabbed a shower and a 2 hour nap, then hit the streets around Saint Germain des Pres to explore before our 9:30 dinner reservation at Les Christine (recommended by our hotelier and it did not disappoint)