Paris: the Goods

As I said before I brought home tons and tons of souvenirs. A lot of them were for my kids. I just couldn't help myself!

They each got a book. 

And Paris shirts. I also got them both shoes and Olive a dress for Easter. 

I got them these Parisian action figures. I especially like the King Louis IX. 

Here are some of the things I got myself. A cute table runner from the fabric district that says "Made in France",  a little tin house of Monet's house, a handmade cast iron bird, a cook book, Chanel perfume, an cute ceramic plaque from the Puce, and a blue glass bottle.  

Scarves of course! I bought scarves for most upcoming gifts that were coming up like birthdays and mothers day.

I got the Hunchback of Norte Dame for Scott and Les Miserables for me from Shakespeare books. 

I brought home Fleur del Sol and chocolate and soaps for my friends.

I also brought home lots of chocolate for Scott and me! The plate is a replica from the Musee de O'rsay and I saved my Laduree boxes. 

One of our favorite tv shows ended while I was in Paris and Scott waited to watch it with me when I got home. He is such a sweetie. But I made it up to him and brought him Laduree cookies home for some tv watching treats. 

Pairs Day 10: Le Train Blue

As a special treat we got to go out to a really nice French restaurant on our last night in Paris. I thought it was the perfect way to cap off our amazing trip. We reminised about our favorite things and laughed at some of our craziest adventures. It was a perfect, lovely evening. 

 

We wanted some authentic French cuisine and on the fabulous recommendation of Kelly we went to Le Train Blue inside the Gare Lyon train station. It is a turn of the century restaurant that is so authentic. 

Here is the view of the station from the door of the restaurant. I don't know why I love that in France so many cool things are in train stations. 

The inside was just as charming as I had expected. It was ornate and perfect. 

Our sweet waiter took a picture for us. 

One of the highlights for my mom was getting to try some of the French cuisine she had wanted. In one meal she had foie gras, escargot, and steak tartar. They were the biggest snails I have ever seen! I tried a bite of each of her foods but definitely enjoyed my lamb and potatoes more. 

Escargot. When in France right?!

Here is my face while eating it. In my opinion, escargot tastes like dirt and earth. But my mom loved it. 

This was our handsome waiter who is slicing my meat off of a giant leg of lamb. It was pretty surprising to see but very delicious. Afterwards we ordered desserts and left stuffed. It was such a perfect night. 

Paris Day 10: Chantilly

Our plans to go to the Loire Valley didn't really pan out. But Kelly was gracious enough to offer to drive us out to another amazing chateau in the country side. It was called Chantilly and was named after the city it was in. This city's claim to fame is that it is where they invented whipped cream which makes sense why in French chantilly is what they call whipped cream. This chateau also has huge stable where they do really famous shows with horses but I forget what they are called. 

This chateau was amazing! We only saw part of the grounds and part of the chateau but it was still  amazing. 

There is a giant moat around it which was gorgeous. 

Since Kelly came with us we were able to get some pictures with all of us in them!

This two story library was so incredible. There must have been millions of books in it. 

There was also one room that was all gold and white and I think it might be inspiring my new craft room.

The chapel was bright and lovely. 

The gardens were designed by the same person who did Versailles so they looked very similar. 

Down from the chateau is this little village that the owners constructed. They have turned one of the "houses" into a restaurant and that is where we ate a nice, quiet, calming lunch. 

A few more pictures on our way out. 

Paris Day 9: The Puce, Piccard and a random stop by the Eiffel Tower (again)

Day Nine was kind of a random day. My mom had injured her ankle a few days before. After so much walking it was swollen and she needed a day off of it. So we mostly hung out at the apartment which was nice to have a low key day. These two cute girls are Kelly's youngest. Somehow I didn't get a picture of her adorable boys! These kids were so darn cute and helped me not feel so homesick when I was missing my kids so much. By this time I was really missing them. 

We slept in that morning which was a nice treat. While the others rested and hung back I went to the Puce with Kelly. It is a gigantic flea market. Like humungous. It was so cool. I would have bought everything in sight if it wasn't all a small fortune. 

We had gotten there a little bit before it opened so we stopped in a charming cafe for some croissants and hot chocolate that was the cutest thing I have ever seen. You pour in your cream and liquid chocolate and then add some sugar. Oh it was amazing. 

There were shops filled with so many amazing things that it was almost hard to believe. There are hardwood chevron floors everywhere. Kelly was looking for a marble mantle and some hardwood floors to install in their new house to remember their adventures in Paris. 

I loved all these mini globes. I couldn't bring myself to spend 60 euros on one which was probably smart because I wouldn't have been able to fit it in my bag but I still kind of regret it. 

What I really wanted was something copper and this cool kitchen store had tons of copper stuff but I couldn't afford any of it. 300 euros for a bowl, ummm no. I did love this backlight wine bottle display. 

After the Puce we just hung out more and chilled. We didn't have dinner plans and Kelly's family was out so we decided to walk around their cute little neighborhood and buy ourselves dinner at the Piccard. This was the scene we walked into across the square from the store. And yes we did quickly run in to that church to see how charming it was. 

After dinner Kelly had to run some errands so she invited us along. It was really cool to see this "other side" of Paris. We had seen to much touristy stuff but it was fun to see their "mall" and their version of Walmart. But Kelly wasn't able to find exactly what she wanted at either place. She had an idea of where she might find a certain kind of hat and thought she might be able to find it kinda by the Eiffel Tower. So she drove us over there and we walked right up to it. Since it was almost time for it to sparkle we got some crepes and hung out for awhile. It was a pretty cool night. 

Here is the view from Kelly's apartment. It overlooks the Seine. Isn't it amazing? 

I included this cute picture because I wanted to remember that both of Kelly's cute girls were really fascinated by my long nails. I thought it was so funny.