Paris, France

For the May bank holiday, we booked the Eurostar train to Paris.

And in Paris, we found our friends!

Our friends from St. Louis, Holly and Curtis, planned this holiday to Paris/London in January. We've been counting down the days!

When we first arrived in Paris, we quickly realized how unprepared we were for the French speaking country - our cab driver spoke zero English and my high school French wasn't coming back quick enough, if at all - we had to find Curtis (who had been teaching himself French in the months leading up to their holiday) immediately!

Our train was delayed getting into Paris so rather than meeting Holly & Curtis at a museum, as we had originally planned, we opted for a wine bar. Walking into a Parisian wine bar and seeing Holly & Curtis' familiar faces was the best thing.

Holly & Curtis were amazing and planned the whole weekend. Shane and I had both been to Paris so we wanted them to prioritize the things that they wanted to do. They went above and beyond with their planning, finding fabulous restaurants and cute local markets - we had the best time.

After meeting them at the wine bar, we headed back to the hotel to change before dinner. Dinner the first night was in quaint restaurant, with less than 15 tables, in the Victor Hugo area of Paris. It did not disappoint.

On Sunday, we headed to the Eiffel Tower. The plan was to climb the steps to the middle level but when multiple armed gunman showed up, asking people to the clear the area, we felt it in our best interest to just admire the middle tier of the Eiffel Tower from afar.

We then headed to a nearby market along Rue Cler. The market was adorable and a perfect place for a quick macaroon snack. After strolling the market, we all decided that it would be fun to pick up some picnic items - fruit, meat, cheese and wine - and head to a nearby park. This was one of our favorite activities and it was so relaxing: great company, food, wine and weather - what more could you ask for?

After the picnic, we decided that we all could use a walk and headed to the St. Germain area. St. Germain is an extremely cute neighborhood and home to our new favorite happy hour spot (when in Paris) discovered by Holly & Curtis via Anthony Bourdain - L'Avant Comptoir. L'Avant Comptoir is a small restaurant with its menu items hanging from the ceiling and has anything you could ever want - free raw butter, free gherkins, crepes for 2 euro, fabulous wine selection and so many tapas. We were too full to try any of the tapas but had just enough room for a crepe. Dessert always wins. 

Even though we didn't want to leave L'Avant Comptior, we had too much free butter and needed a cat nap before dinner. Despite the public holiday, and multiple places being closed, Holly & Curtis found a place nearby to make a dinner reservation - again, it did not disappoint - the food was excellent.

On Monday morning, we headed to the Arc de Triomphe and then strolled the Champs de Lysee, stopping of course for a macaroon snack! 

  

After stopping for a quick bite for lunch, we headed to Montmarte and climbed the steps to see Sacre Couer. A street performer entertained us until we made the trek down through the narrow streets. 

We caught our train shortly after leaving Montmartre.  We were sad to be leaving such a fun weekend behind, but excited to have Holly & Curtis in London in a few short days.

Thanks for all the fun planning Holly & Curtis, we had the absolute best time! And thanks for learning French, Curtis, we would have been lost without you!