Hello there, dearies....
Happy Oscars Sunday to you! Ha. I hope you're enjoying your day.
Just thought I'd pop in with a bit of fun news today. Bartley and I will be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary in a couple weeks and to celebrate, we've booked a week-long getaway to London & Paris, for a couple months from now, when the weather's a bit warmer in Europe. To say that I'm excited would be a slight understatement! I have fallen head-over-heels in love with Europe over the years and to have the opportunity to go back again for a 4th time, is thrilling......and a complete blessing. I'm so, so thankful.
We went to Europe for the first time back in 2005. It was an 18-day bus tour and it was a BALL! Granted, we were moving at break-neck speed in order to squeeze in 7 countries in that 18 days, but we saw a LOT on that trip. We met some great friends that we still keep in touch with today and we really got a great overview of Europe on that trip. It was a great opportunity to see a lot and decide what countries/cities we loved and really wanted to go back to. For me, London & Paris were on that list. London was the first stop on that trip 6 years ago. We walked about a 4 mile radius one day, stopping at all of the sites along the Thames and counted 12 Starbucks on that 4 mile walk! Hahaha. Paris was the last stop on that trip, and by the time we got there, we'd traveled a lottttt of miles on that bus. We were definitely starting to be tired and in both the cases of Paris and London, we wished that we had had more time to explore.
This time around, we'll have a few days in each city and while that may not seem like enough time, it will be so nice to just take things at our own pace. This time around, I'm looking forward to going back to so many of the places we visited, but taking our time at each stop.
In London, we're looking forward to going back to Big Ben, St. Paul Cathedral, Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard, etc. We didn't manage to get to Windsor Palace the first time around, and we didn't get to go in Harrod's to shop around, so those are on our list for this time.
I've been reading my travel journal from that first Europe trip today. It's been so fun to revisit all of those memories.....to see what our first impressions of London and Paris were. It's making me so excited to go back! I've gotten out the photo albums to look thru tonight too.
When it came to seeing the Eiffel Tower, it wasn't something I thought would be all that big of a deal. Don't get me wrong....I thought it was pretty, but I had no idea just how MOVED I would feel, standing at the base of the Eiffel Tower for the first time. And then, to see it twinkle with thousands of lights at night......magical. That's all I can say. I'm completely smitten now.
One of the things I'm most excited about for this trip, is photographing London and Paris with our Nikon. The first time we were there, we just had our point and shoot and while it did great in day time shots, there were a lot of low-light shots that were pretty bad or didn't turn out at all. In fact, someone took a picture of us standing in front of that twinkling Eiffel Tower at 10pm one night and the photo is completely blurry. Completely. So you can be sure that this time, I'll be packing the tripod in an effort to get that perfect romantic twinkle-light shot. :)
I think we're pretty much going to photograph and eat our way thru London and Paris. Haha. Speaking of eating......
I would like to eat proper French macaroons.....perhaps at Laduree?? This is another item we didn't get to the first time around, but I've seen so many pictures of these little beauties online that I really want to try them for ourselves.
Other Paris sites we're excited to go back to include the Eiffel Tower (all the way to the top this time - only went to level 2 the first time), the Louvre (to see the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo -- got blurry pictures of both last time), the Arc de Triomphe (want to go up on it this time), shopping/walking along the Champs Elysees.
Places we didn't get to the first time but that are on the list for this time around: Notre Dame and Laduree.
We have a couple months until our trip, so we have plenty of time to research the best places to eat and visit. However, I know that some of you probably have some suggestions too! If you live in Paris or London or have been there and have recommendations for places that are not to be missed, we'd love to hear your suggestions! When you're there, where do you love to eat? What is quintessentially London or Paris? This time especially, we're interested in all of those quaint little local cafe type places that have great food and a great atmosphere. The type of place that really SAYS "London" or "Paris" right when you walk in. It doesn't need to be expensive.....it just has to be GOOD! :)
I'd love it if you'd leave a comment on this post and let us know what your favorite London & Paris sites and eateries are. That way we can all refer to this list for future reference! Thanks, Peeps!! You're the best!
P.S. We're watching the Oscars and Amazing Race over here tonight. Having our own little Oscars private party for two. (Riley's not really into the Oscars) :) Will you be watching too? Can't wait to see all of the dresses!
