celebrating two years … in paris!
*** don’t forget to register for the mom conference! it starts today!!! ***
last year, on our first anniversary, ian surprised me with a weekend trip to paris. it was so wonderful! we trade off who is “in charge” of anniversary celebrations each year, so it was my turn this october. and since ian had mentioned last year in paris that there were a couple things we didn’t get to that he would really like to see, i decided we might as well head back to the city of lights to celebrate our second year! paris is such an easy trip from london – just a 2.5 hour train ride. and … it’s paris – a place so frequently lauded for its romance – kind of a perfect anniversary trip locale, right?!
so we woke up last saturday morning at 4:30am, fed moses and loaded him up in the carrier, grabbed a couple small suitcases and headed for the train! by 9:30am (which is 8:30am in london), we were enjoying the peculiar charm of the streets of paris!
the two things that ian still wanted to experience in paris were the palace of versailles and the louvre museum. we saw those and enjoyed some other paris essentials (like the sparkling eiffel tower, some outrageously delicious macarons, a stroll along the seine, and a banana nutella crepe) before we headed home to london sunday evening. we also got to stay at a really nice hotel and enjoy the most amazing breakfast buffet (ian’s anniversary gift to me – he sure knows that good food, particularly breakfast, is the way to my heart!). amidst all the paris magic, we had sweet and romantic moments as we heartily celebrated our true love and the excellent choice we made to be each other’s forever two years ago.
it was pretty dreamy … but also, we were quite exhausted from our early departure and then were up several times in the night with moses. and due to some necessary nursing pit stops, major metro delays and underestimated travel times, some of our weekend felt pretty rushed. but all in all - yeah, it was pretty darn dreamy to be in paris as lovers and with our moses! – the perfect, darlingest embodiment of our love and companionship.
i’ll have to write a separate post about our second year of marriage – so much has been learned and so much joy has been experienced. our life together is so, so beautiful, and i am tremendously grateful.
click through to see photos from our anniversary weekend in the romantical city of lights!
^^ our hotel was right by the opera house, so this is what we saw as we emerged from the metro. i’ve been to paris now four times, and i’ve never seen this gorgeous building! i love it! ^^
^^ it was a gigantic treat for us to stay at a super fancy hotel – the park hyatt vendome. our stay cost $8 because we used points from our hyatt credit card. usually we travel very cheaply, so this was a fun luxury for us. ^^
^^ walking through the tuileries on the way to the metro to head out to versailles. we caught a little first glimpse of fall foliage! ^^
^^ and a first (of this trip) peek of that iconic, fabulous tower. ^^
^^ versailles! the definition of grand. it’s amazing! ^^
^^ i got such a kick out of this sign. all the necessary directions a visitor needs at versailles … entrance, bathrooms, macarons! ^^
^^ i love that floor at the entrance! ^^
^^ ^^ ^^
versailles is just room after room after room of gaudy and grand. it’s pretty mind-blowing and a lot to take in!
after meandering through all those extravagant, colourful, golden rooms, we arrived at the hall of mirrors – the best part that we were so excited to see! <<<<<<
…and so were a few other people. such a mass of humans and cameras!
^^ as we noticed all the tourists posing for pictures all around us, i mentioned to ian that sometime we’d have to try the kiss-dip pose he is partial to with moses along for the ride! he said, "let’s do it now!" and quickly asked a stranger to snap a photo. ha! ^^
^^ i love this blurry shot of us emerging from our dip kiss :) and again, i love that floor! ^^
^^ on to the gardens! we could have spent double the time we had exploring behind the palace. it’s insane how huge the grounds are! ^^
^^ many of the garden areas are kind of like mazes with these huge hedges and fountains at the intersections of paths. it’s so cool and not what i expected! we were there during a time that the fountains were running and classical music was playing all over the grounds. it was really cool! ^^
^^ it took us a couple hours to get back to central paris due to some metro delays, but we made it to champs de mar just in time for the eiffel tower’s first sparkle of the night. there’s just noooothing like it. i love being around a crowd and hearing the gasps when the shimmering begins! ^^
^^ ^^
on sunday morning before church, we had the yummiest anniversary celebration breakfast at the hotel. it was perfectly fancy and french and lovely and endless. when our waiter asked how old our baby was, we told him that moses was three months old exactly, that day! and so he brought us a slice of french toast with a birthday candle in it – haha! it was so sweet. i was so happily stuffed by the time we dashed out to make it to church on time.
after church (which was great – visiting different mormon congregations when we travel is one of our favourite things!), we walked along the seine back to our hotel. had to snap a quick photo when we passed notre dam! >>>>
and i adore the stalls along the river selling pretty art prints and old maps…
^^ and then we went to the louvre! i love watching people take posed photographs in front of iconic landmarks. ^^
we downloaded the rick steve’s audio tour of the louvre before we went to the museum. it was perfect because it helped us see and learn about many of the most interesting masterpieces in those huuuge, overwhelming galleries. i love winged victory; ian loved seeing the da vinci paintings. and the crowd around the mona lisa is always a sight to see in and of itself! moses did a pretty good mona lisa-esque smirk when we held him up at the front of the crowd for a photo :) <<<<
^^ this is the same photo as above, just zoomed in. because look! moses is totally smiling for the picture. his first time! :) it’s funny because we saw so many interesting, historical, beautiful things in paris, but we’d still rather just stare at moses and delight in his every move. how did we get the cutest baby in the entire world?! ^^
^^ we went back to the eiffel tower to bid our quick, celebratory, wonderful weekend in paris goodbye. ^^
ian knew i really wanted a little family photo with the eiffel tower – on the day that marked two years of our marriage and three months with our moses. so even though we were tired and hungry, and going back to champs de mar would put us quite tight on time getting to the train station, he made sure that a quick trip back across the city happened. we had a lovely seven or so minutes admiring the tower and the sunset and then we scrambled to get on our train. gosh, i love that ian wright. for a million reasons and with all my heart. year two has been better than year one, and i know that pattern is going to continue - the best is surely yet to come! i am so grateful for our romance, our friendship, our partnership, and our little growing family.
here’s to the magic of paris and the promise of year three!
Just beautiful, your love, Paris and the baby. X
ReplyDeleteWhat great pictures! (Sounds like they rarely turn on the water fountains there...so your timing was perfect!) Your little one is so cute! Beautiful family and a fun adventure! (Refreshing to read such a positive outlook on life! Your Zest for life brings me back to read again and again! Thank you for sharing!)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures. I love Moses peeking at his French toast in the 2cd pic and reaching for his Birthday toast in the first pic. So adorable.
ReplyDeleteSophia
Congratulations on 2 years. I adore the picture of Moses and the Mona Lisa.
ReplyDelete