So did you miss me??

For those of you who missed me...I am back from Paris. For those of you who didn't even realize I was gone...guess what?? I am back from Pairs!

We left Thursday afternoon got on a plane around 6PM at the Newark Airport.

Here I am (not a particularly flattering photo of me...but hey it is part of the story) on the plane ready for my Paris adventure.

We arrived at Charles de Gaulle International Airport around 7AM Paris time. We took a taxi to our hotel...The Park Hyatt Vendome on 5 Rue de la Paix in Paris. The hotel was very luxurious & had we not been staying there for free, by cashing in my husbands hotel reward points, it would not have been even close to our price range. I think our room rate was about 600 Euros a night which is about $900 a night & with David's travel points we stayed three nights for free!!

Our friends Chris & Lori were already in Paris & met us down in the lobby. We all headed out for some croissant & café au lait at one of the corner places & then headed off to wander around Paris while our room was being prepared.

It was fabulous traveling with our friends as it was their seventeenth trip to Paris & they knew their way around. First we went to The Sacré-Coeur Catholic basilica, built at the end of the 19th century, at the top of Montmartre hill in Paris. The spectacular view of Paris from atop the hill there was amazing . The village like streets and squares, its cafés and restaurants, its painters on Place du Tertre, and the ticky-tacky tourist type shops were all so much fun.

Here are our pals Lori & Chris. We stopped & had crêpes avec fomage et jambon (crepes with cheese & ham) & David tried crêpes avec fomage et champignons (crepes with cheese & mushrooms) they tasted particularly yummy standing on the street in Pairs on a brisk afternoon.

Here we are on the steps to Sacré-Coeur

The next day we headed to the Musée Rodin. If you are even remotely a fan of this artist you must go there. I was just so blown away by the beautiful work. I could have spent hours in the gardens there. It must be beautiful to be there in the spring to sit & have a picnic there amongst all those fabulous sculptures.

Here is just one of the many pictures we took there. Can you believe how amazing this is?

David took a picture of me taking that photo. How funny is he?

From there we headed to Notre Dame de Paris.
My fabulous husband David caught this great shot of Notre Dame reflected in this large Christmas ball on a tree in the square. I just love this shot. Yeah David!

Well, I could go on & on about all we saw & did, but I am sure that is not as interesting for you as it is for me. So here are just a few more pictures (Click on the names of places if you want more information)...

The line for the Louvre Museum. This was before 9AM on Sunday morning.

My David getting some crepes at a stand along the Champs-Élysées.

The Arc de Triomphe.

Opéra de Paris

The Eiffel Tower

It did rain the entire weekend, but there was something sort of romantic about Paris in the rain. I am so glad my husband decided to surprise me with a long weekend in Paris. He is so romantic & fabulous. I am such a lucky girl!!