The Boatwrights Abroad: Galeries Lafayette and More Friends!

Favorite view of my favorite building in Paris!

                                         

Sunday morning we got a little bit of a late start (late nights! lol), but we walked to Galeries Lafayette… except I put the Champs Elysees address in my Maps app instead of the one by Garnier Opera House. So… a little bit more walking than we had planned. It just set us behind a little bit on time. 

Walking by our nearest monument!

Louis Vuitton on Champs Elysees

Tiffany & Co.

We walked through this luxury department store and gazed at the beautiful dome ceiling, then took the escalators all the way to the top, which is my favorite spot in all of Paris. The rooftop terrace overlooks Garnier Opera House—one of my favorite places in Paris, home to Phantom of the Opera inspiration. It also is a great spot to look at the Eiffel Tower and the rest of the Paris rooftops. And it is free! 

The dome!

Garnier Opera House with the Eiffel Tower in the background

After taking in the view, we went down one floor to the 6th floor and ate at the cafeteria. Felicity and I split her children’s meal (HUGE portion for a child) of roasted chicken, French fries and a beverage, and I got a salad, and she got a yogurt dessert. Zach split the same dish with Wilder with his own salad. The cafeteria has nice views looking out at Paris as well. 

Next, the kids went shopping for souvenirs. Felicity wanted a beret and a graduation outfit. The clothes were out of budget, but she found the perfect pink beret and some souvenirs. Wilder found a cool toy. 

Felicity always has good taste :-)

View from the cafeteria

Her cherished souvenir - a beret!

Garnier Opera House. AKA inspiration for the Phantom of the Opera.

Soon it was time to meet my friend Charlotte and her son Maxime at the Tuileries Gardens. Charlotte and I met in an online mom group when we were pregnant with Wilder and Maxine, who were born in the same month. We’ve been friends ever since, and have met up in person twice before this. 

Charlotte! (this was while walking along the Seine)

Wilder and Felicity with Maxine

We walked with our friends along the Seine, stopped and had crepes - wilder tried a kouign-amann. I thought it was a cookie when I ordered it, but it’s a sweet, round, laminated dough pastry that is very buttery. He liked it! 

The kids climbed some ropes and rocks installed along the Seine as well. It was so good to see our friends and let the kids play! 

Same shoes, different colors!

They're the same age, different heights haha! Having a serious conversation.

After we parted ways, a bathroom break was needed, so we stopped at a bistro and had an aperitif (I had a glass of wine, Zach had a beer) and a plate of cheeses and bread. 

We walked back to our apartment, and I stopped by monoprix to get some meatballs to go with our leftovers for dinner while watching a movie.

The beret became her whole personality!

The next day we started our Paris Museum Pass with the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre!

The Boatwrights Abroad: Visiting Friends in Paris

Visiting our friends Ryan and Dana Powell

On Saturday (March 15) we slept in a bit, since we had gotten to bed late. I was still struggling to figure out the metro card, and it was stressing me out to try to get to our friends the Powells outside Versailles, so we decided to take an Uber. Except in transferring the address of the train stop from my phone to Zach to put in the Uber app, we put in the wrong address and ended up very far away from our friends! Restarted the Uber trip and we eventually made it to Versailles, but it was frustrating. :-/ 

Our friend Dana stopped by the gates of Versailles and we took a look around—we did not plan to see Versailles this trip, so just looking at the front of the palace was good for now! And then we drove to the Powells house. We have known the Powells (who are American) since they joined our church in 2021, when they were living in Texas for a few years in between their times in Paris. They have three children close to Wilder and Felicity’s ages and the kids have missed their friends, so they loved getting to play together.  

Gate of Versailles!

We had lunch with Dana, Ryan, Dana’s mom and stepdad. They made us roasted chicken with vegetables with bread and cheeses and a creamy dessert. Yum!

Look at that beautiful lunch!

Dessert

Cute mugs

After lunch, Zach and I and Dana and Ryan took a walk to their friends’ coffee shop in town while the kids stayed and played at the park behind their house. It was chilly, but nice to walk around and see the neighborhood where they live. And of course to chat! Dana and I have kept up on Marco Polo talking frequently in the 2 years since they moved, so it was so nice to see each other in person again.

Clara, Bella the dog, Emma and Felicity

Bryce and Wilder

Walking!

Zach always loves a Golden

On the way back to Paris, we took public transportation. I talked with the lady at the information booth at the train station, and she helped me get the RATP app and pick the right Navigo cards to put on my phone wallet. However, I couldn’t figure out how to switch from one card (mine) to the other (Felicity's with its reduced fare price). They let us through, knowing we had purchased tickets, and we got on the RER train, then the Metro, and got off at the right stop. 

Riding the RER train

We walked through the Champ de Mars and Eiffel Tower, which lit up sparkling just as we went by! So magical. We walked to a restaurant called Cafe Fleur where we met our friends Claire and Corentin, and their three children. 

Such a cute little car

Claire! <3

Claire and I met when I studied abroad in Angers, 20 years ago. She was born and raised in Angers and attended the university where I studied. We became friends because she and a group of French students were coming to study at Texas A&M the following year. Between that summer and the next year when they were Aggies, we formed a lovely friendship, one we have maintained ever since. Every time Zach and I have come to France since then, we have gotten together with Claire (even stayed with her one time!), and then with her husband and family as they grew. This time, our children are all close in age—her youngest is three. The older kids used our phones to google translate and talk with each other, and we all had a nice visit. 

Using google translate to make conversation

Claire and Corentin live in Viroflay, which is actually close to Versailles, but were in Paris for an afternoon concert. 

Felicity and Wilder were very much looking forward to trying escargot, lol

Wilder and Felicity were eager to try escargot and lucky for us, it was on the menu at this restaurant. They both tried it and liked it! I have always liked escargot, so I wasn’t worried—if they didn’t like it, more for Mom and Dad!

I had a fish with haricot vert (French green beans) soaked in butter. YUM. Zach had shrimp risotto, also delicious. Felicity had a burger and fries and Wilder had cheese pizza. They shared a molten chocolate cake dessert and Zach and I had creme brulee—my favorite!

Snails!

Trying escargot

She liked it!

Wilder liked his snails too!

My dinner. Very good and I the green beans. YUM!

Creme brûlée, my favorite

The crew!

With Claire and Corentin

The girls

After our dinner, which lasted till late—the kids were such troopers, all of them—we walked home, and got to see the Arc de Triomphe lit up at night. It was a very late evening, but totally worth it. 

Part of why we wanted to make a trip to Paris right now was to see the friends we have who live there. It was such a sweet day, and we had more friend visits to look forward to!

On Sunday, we went to Galeries Lafayette, and saw more friends!