Family Vacation: Paris

After our stay in Normandy, we headed east towards Picardie to stay a few nights with my cousin Joy and her family.  It was really nice to be with family reminiscing and laughing about old family stories from our every other year childhood reunions in the south.  Refreshing, relaxing, and much needed for this slightly homesick mama.  You loved the fact that they had a dog and had a lot of fun following Lucas around making small talk with one another.  It was short but sweet and I was so thankful for it. 

Again not so stroller friendly :)

On Thursday morning, we headed out to the train station to make our way into Paris for the day.  In true Parisian fashion, the skies were grey, gloomy, and bursting with clouds ready to rain on our parade.  The rain held off for the first hour or so before, ever so gently, beginning with a slight trickle that would turn into a steady flow for most of the day.  It made for an interesting trek down the Champs Elysees with the two of you, and resulted in many hard glances from French moms thinking we were crazy for having you out in the cold rain without the proper winter clothing despite the fact that it was NOT winter at all! :)  Regardless of the looks, the four of us had too much fun walking down the Parisian version of the Magnificent Mile, your brother snuggled close to my chest, singing loud and proud the song we walked out of the church to the day we were married three years earlier:  "Aux Champs-Elysees, Aux Champs-Elysees, Au soleil, sous la pluie, A midi ou à minuit - Il why a tout ce que vous voulez aux Champs-Elysees."

We set out to see the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tour, and Sacre-Coeur and low and behold we managed to hit up ever one, albeit quick stops, but stops nonetheless!  You my girl were in a crazy fun mood making all those around you laugh along with you as you bounced all around singing and dancing. You ooze joy my girl, and we love you more for it.  Your added craziness might have had something to do with the two suckers your Papa decided to get you to make up for the lack of park time due to the rain.  On top of the suckers, you also enjoyed two carousel rides, french fries, AND ice cream.  It was a day of treats and a whole lot of fun times.

I have now been to Paris twice, but both times were rushed and without time for paying attention to detail or leisure.  One day we will go back and spend more than an afternoon, leaving plenty of time for soaking in the beauty, life, and history poured into the city of love.