Montmartre and the Eiffel Tower

La Basilique du Sacre Coeur

Stacy and Jason's apartment in Les Halles




On our second day in Paris, we slept late to get over jet lag. Jason, Stacy, Zach and I stopped at the Gulledge's favorite shawarma stand for a bite to eat and we headed through Rue Montorgueil near their (temporary) apartment in Les Halles on our way to Montmartre.

Shawarma!

Rue Montorgueil


Rue Montorgueil is a shopping area with lots of stalls of food--lots of cool things to look at. We loved it!

Gallette des Rois - French King Cake. Kind of an almond pastry - not like Lousiana king cake

Next, we took the metro to Le Basilique du Sacre Coeur. We rode the Funicular up the stairs and got to see inside the Basilica. This is another place Zach and I have visited several times, but we've never been inside! We couldn't take photos inside, but it was so beautiful!

Sacre Coeur has a beautiful view of Paris.

Jason and Stacy at Sacre Coeur

We wandered around the Montmartre, the former bohemian neighborhood near Sacre Coeur and looked at street art. We grabbed a coffee and some cheese and recharged while we were there.

View from Montmartre

Sacre Coeur

View from Sacre Coeur steps

Macarons!

Old windmill in Montmartre

Stairs in Montmarte

Cappuccino in Montmartre

Deeper into Montmarte is the famed Moulin Rouge. I'm a big fan of the movie, and the area is just so funky. We stopped by for a photo and then went nearby to Bistro Chat Noir. The first time I went to this iconic location, a friend dunked her Aggie ring (study abroad). This time, it seemed fitting to drink absinthe... so I tried it. Not my favorite, but it fit the scene :-) Trivia time: Bistro Chat Noir is located in the Pigalle region, on Boulevard de Clichy. Both Pigalle and Clichy are also designs of Christian Louboutin shoes. :-)

absinthe... tastes kind of like licorice.

The one and only Moulin Rouge

Moulin Rouge

Stacy and I jumped on an air grate to take a photo and our hair went crazy!


After Montmatre, we took the metro over to the Eiffel Tower. Three years exactly from this day, Stacy shot our Day After photos. RIGHT HERE. And three years ago exactly, Jason proposed to Stacy. RIGHT HERE. And now, they live in Paris! Needless to say, it was a really special day three years ago, and on this day as well. We celebrated by re-visiting the Eiffel Tower together and by eating at the same bistro nearby. This was a really wonderful night for all four of us!

Can't get enough of this tower and its sparkles!

Cell phone pic that is now my phone background

FInally, we HAVE to talk about Speculoos. Being a huge Nutella fan, I was skeptical when Stacy made me try a spoonful of this peanut butter-like sweet treat. Surely nothing could top my beloved Nutella? Ladies and gents, I was wrong. Speculoos (known as Biscoff in the US) is made of Speculoos/Biscoff cookies. Crushed into a spread. Seriously amazing. AND THEN... I had it on a crepe. HOLY CREPE.

The shawarma stand (where we ate earlier) also makes crepes.

Both of these are awesome.

Spreading the Speculoos

Look at that happiness right there. Seriously the best one food I ate on this trip!

Notre Dame and Galleries Lafayette

Notre Dame


Bonjour! I'm excited to talk about our anniversary trip. We had such a good time in one of our favorite cities in the world, and also in one of our new favorite cities. You might have seen some photos on Instagram, but I have many more I'll be posting soon. I really write these posts for myself to remember what we did (it's a combo of my journal and my photos). However, if you're planning a trip to Paris or Istanbul, you might get some ideas of things to do and things to eat. It's probably going to take a while to post all of them, so if you want some resources rightthissecond, I have to send you to my dear friend Stacy's new website L'Amour de Paris. More about her in a minute!

Winging over the atlantic. Almost to Paris!



We took an overnight flight to Paris. Due to mechanical problems, we left five hours late--on a flight that's only 8 hours long. So we arrived around 11 am. Our friend Stacy (Reeves) Gulledge met us at the airport and we took the RER train to the apartment she and her husband Jason shared. It was fun taking the train for us Texans used to driving everywhere.

Recharge!

Hotel de Ville

Beautiful Christmas decor in Paris. Saving the idea!

After a quick stop for French Starbucks, we walked to Notre Dame. Both Zach and I have been to Paris about four times apiece, but neither of us had ever been inside this most famous cathedral. We finally got to do it this trip, and it was totally worth it. However, I 1) only brought my point and shoot and 2) massively underestimated the temperature. Only made those mistakes once! :-) Here are some photos from Notre Dame. We felt very fortunate to visit Notre Dame in during its 850th birthday celebration.

Chandelier in Notre Dame

The ceiling is my favorite

Stunning stained glass

Love this wrought iron

Beautiful wrought iron inside

Such a colorful ceiling

View from the back

Sunset at Notre Dame

Sunset

Notre Dame

With Stacy!

Notre Dame



We didn't get to go in the tower at Notre Dame because it was closed, so we headed to Galeries Lafayette for some hot chocolate. It's a fancy department store... not like one I've ever seen before. Exhibit A: the ceiling.

Galeries Lafayette - so beautiful!



We saw some crazy shoes in this place. Would any of you wear these?

cray shoes

Angelina's Tea Room hot chocolate and macaroons

Onward to Angelina's Tea Room in the store for some hot chocolate and macaroons. It was just the ticket to warm us up. Jason met us there, and we went shopping for a top to wear for a photo shoot Zach and i were doing later in the trip. I also got to wear my jacket and got a giant scarf from H&M.  Parisians are all about these giant scarves. It's pretty much as warm as wearing a big blanket, but it looks cooler. :-)

Trying to look chic :-)

Metro stop - all the tiles are silver!

Some delicious foie gras, my dinner of salmon and penne, our dessert of creme brulee (my all-time fave) and wine!

We went to Le Bistrot des Comperes for dinner. It was one of the Gulledges' favorite places, and we really enjoyed it. It was a great introduction to Paris.

Zach and I and our hosts Jason and Stacy