The Sister Holiday [Part 3: PARIS!]

Who wants to see pictures of Paris???

I do hope all hands are up!!! Because Paris is FABULOUS!

Hilary and I trained to Paris from London. The Eurostar was great --- just 20 minutes under the English Channel, and you're in France. The villages dotting the north of France were charming and mysterious. I loved seeing the fog lift from the ancient, little towns in the early morning. 

Arriving at Gare du Nord and getting to where we needed to go was a bit of a pain. The ATM's at the station were all broken. The machines to purchase metro tickets wouldn't take cards. The taxi queue was looooooong. And all I had was dollars, sterling pounds, and credit cards. I did learn the following: if you go straight out the front of the station and across the street, you will find BNP Paribas ATMs on the left. Heaven sent! However, I wouldn't spend much more time on the streets in that area of town.

Once we checked into the hotel, we hit the ground running. First up: paninis and tuna nicoise at a small cafe on Rue de Beaubourg. Then we went exploring!

Check out the detail at Hotel de Ville. Offices relating to the municipality of Paris have been at this site since 1357.

We also visited Notre Dame.

Then we took a coffee break --- best idea ever! Sometimes it's worth the four euros to sit instead of stand with an espresso for one euro.

Vendors along the Seine

Dining on Crepes

So delish!

Isn't it so beautiful?

 When we were perusing the shops at Champs-Elysees, we stopped for macaroons at Lauduree. Yum!

 Hil and I could barely scrape the surface of this lunch in Montmatre. I think our dad would have loved helping us!

Montmatre

If you're ever in Montmatre and want to visit the Sacra-Couer then walk down to the Moulin Rouge, let me make a recommendation: don't take the main streets. (A poor choice I made last year!) Take the back streets along Rue Veron and stop by some cute boutiques like Sofkipeut Atelier. We couldn't get enough of their hand crafted purses, jewelry, and other accessories. This is precisely the kind of stop one can make with a sister and not their husband. However, I would feel much more comfortable taking my husband along Rue Veron instead of Boulevard de Clichy. Now that's one tip to write down and keep in your back pockets my friend!

We had a blast and are already talking about the next time we go to Paris. It's just one of those places you can keep returning to and experience something new each time. It's seriously magical.