Hope everyone had a great weekend! Thanks to my sweet and charming boyfriend, we had a little impromptu weekend trip to Paris to celebrate our anniversary……pretty amazing boyfriend, right?! I have been DREAMING of visiting Paris as far back as I can remember, of course, as all girls do, and I must admit, every single expectation was exceeded.   I felt like I was dreaming the entire time, a completely surreal experience…and he actually enjoyed it too!

We really only had one full day to explore the city, which was Saturday. We completely lucked out and got sunny 70 degree weather with perfect baby blue skies, which hasn’t happened too often over here in Europe. I made a check list of all the things that we HAD to see and do…

• Eiffel Tower, duh!
• Rue Cler Market
• Arc de Triomphe
• Love Lock Bridge
• Cathedral of Notre Dame
• Walk the street of Champ de Elysee
• Eat macarons

With the help of Rick Steve’s Pocket Paris, the City Metro, and my amazing skills of keeping my laid back, kind of move at his own pace boyfriend ON TASK, I got to check all of those things off my list, and even got to add some things to the itinerary!

This is Rue Cler, where they have a huge daily market up and down the street. From adorable cafes and brasseries, to butcher and cheese shops, produce, seafood, bakeries, and flower shops, this street market has everything a local Parisian would need to keep their kitchen fully stocked with fresh and delicious food. I would definitely would be shopping here daily if I lived in Paris!

Here is a picture of myself in front of the iconic Arc de Trimphe. It was one of those things that was just surreal to see in person, for I have probably seen it 20 thousand times throughout my life in print. Very cool.

So, one of the most important things I told Dan we had to do was put a padlock on the Love Lock Bridge. The concept is so cool, although Dan considered it vandalism at first before he actually saw the bridge. What you do is bring a padlock to the bridge ( and of course they have a million vendors selling them for 5 euro, in case you forget to bring one), write your names on it, lock it up, and throw the key together into the Seine River, as a symbol of your undying love. This just added to our perfect anniversary day in Paris 🙂

And these my friends are macarons. A delicate french pastry cookie, of which I have never before eaten, but decided  that Paris, France was the perfect place for my first time. Late mid-day after lunch, our stomachs were ready and the hunt for the macarons began.  We had passed bakeries with them in their windows all day, but suddenly once we were actually looking for some to eat and enjoy, there were none to be found. Our hunt lasted literally about 40 minutes, asking other bakeries and people on the streets, “where are the  macarons?!” We realized that we were in the international quarters of the city, near the Notre Dame, which was why we were having such a difficult time finding them. Having a sweet tooth and passing so much other eye candy, we decided to give up on the macarons for the time being, settle for a delightful scoop of gelato, and continue our hunt after we get off the Metro on the other side of the city. So, we got the gelato, continued walking, and two shops down was a macaron bakery. Unbelievable.

They had a large selection of minis for 1.50 euro a piece (bargain)! We bought eight, each a different flavor, took them back to the hotel,  and had a macaron party with a cup of coffee. Then, we had a terrible sugar headache, but it was worth every crumb.

Don’t worry, the headaches didn’t last long, and I was soon enough enjoying a  chilled glass of white French wine at dinner. We went to a small French restaurant near the Eiffel Tower because another point on my list I forgot to mention was to see the Tower lit at night, and watch it sparkle. It only sparkles on the top of the hour, so of course we had to go somewhere for dinner that was nearby.

And there it is. Beautifully lit up in red, blue in green. It was actually only lit up on that one side, which I thought was a bit strange, but regardless, it was breathtaking. I had one of the best weekends of my life and I am so blessed that I got to spend it with the love of my life!

Au revoir! Until next time!