We left for Paris via car around 12pm on Friday. Our dear friend Tiffany and her family watched Lilly for the weekend, so thankful for them! :) About one hour into the ride, Savannah had a meltdown and we almost turned around. We pulled off the autobahn and got some fresh air and let her crawl around the car, after 20 minutes she was okay. The trip was back on...again! It took us about 6.5 hours to get there because we had to stop a lot. Savannah just didn't want to be confined to a car seat that day. Helga (our GPS) led us directly to the front door of our hotel with no detours. We LOVE Helga!!! :) Without her we would be up the creek without a paddle all the time.
We stayed at 7 Eiffel, a tucked away gem located in between two nice shopping/restaurant streets and a seven minute walk to the Eiffel Tower. Hmmm maybe that's why the hotel is called 7 Eiffel, not sure but interesting thought. Anywho the concierge knew exactly who we were when we arrived and she had our room perfectly waiting for us with a baby crib all set up! Savannah was thrilled to move her little legs and crawl around. It was really sweet to see how happy she was to finally move around after the long car ride. While checking in a nice lady recommended a restaurant up the street for dinner. We changed and Rocky parked the car right outside the front of the hotel (only 4 Euro's all weekend to park, totally amazing). We got lucky on the parking spot and never had to move the car until we left Sunday morning. We carried Savannah in the Ergo baby carrier all weekend. With Savannah on my back, we left the hotel in search of the restaurant. It was kinda rainy that night so we were really booking it to the restaurant. Apparently we walked a little to fast and blew right past the recommended restaurant and we ended up at this small Italian place at the end of the street, what we thought was the right restaurant. We didn't realize it was the wrong place until our walk home! hehe However it turned out this wrong restaurant was the right restaurant for that night because it was late and Savannah was tired so we didn't have much time. The little Italian man was really nice, our food came quick, it was delish and the wine was the best yet! We took a pizza pie home and ate it after I put Savannah down. We had to put her crib in the shower room so it was quiet and dark for her to sleep soundly.
Saturday morning we had a 9:30 appointment with the Eiffel Tower. We packed up, loaded Savannah on my back and headed out for a day of sightseeing. The Eiffel Tower was more magnificent that I ever imagined. It was breathtaking, in fact everything we saw in Paris was breathtaking so you might hear that word again! :) Our tour at the Tower was the first of the day so I was amazed how crowded it already was. Good thing we had purchased our tickets in advance because the line for tickets was very long.
Now for the funniest part of our trip. We get on the elevator to go alllllllllll the way up to the top of the tower. It is precisely 324 meters tall, or about three and a half American football fields tall! I did not know these facts before booking this tour. Once on the elevator, we were shuffled to the back corner surrounded by a young British soccer team of about 15 teenage boy. Needless to say they were all very excited to go to the top! We make it to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower and I started to freak out. The elevator was getting very small, the air started to get stuffy and I began to think, "How will they administer medical assistance to me at the top of this tower if I faint!" Rocky was as always remaining calm telling me to take a deep breaths. With Savannah on my back the Ergo suddenly felt like it was strangling me. The elevator came to a stop at the 2nd floor, I looked over at the British soccer coach and he said, "Do you need to get out?" He was so sweet. I said "Yes!" and he kindly told his team to move to the left and that a lady with a baby needs to get out! He was so nice and kind, I thanked him and off the elevator we went. I felt much much much better when we got off. The view was beautiful but I only took a tiny glance because it was just to scary!
Rocky was going to go all the way up alone but didn't want to go up without us. Very sweet of him, but I felt like such a chicken and really bad that he didn't get to go! There were little shops on the second floor where we bought some pretty pictures of the Eiffel Tower to frame and tea set for Savannah and I to play with.
It was very cold and windy that morning so after this we went back to the hotel for a quick Savannah nap and then headed back out for lunch and more sight seeing on a Batobus on the famous Seine River. The Batobus is like a huge water taxi that takes you to eight historical landmarks in Paris. The great thing about this boat versus other sightseeing boats is that you can get on and off the boat at the eight locations. It is great and I would highly recommend it!
Paris was beautiful by boat, there were so many georgous bridges and staues. My favorite out of the eight sights besides the Eiffel Tower was the Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris. This Gothic Catholic Cathedral took over 180 years to built and was completed in 1345!!! It was breathtaking. The detail of the achticture was mind boggeling. I just couldn't believe how enourmous and peaceful it was. We said a prayer along our tour of the cathedral and took a few pictures.
During the boat ride we took tons pictures all over the city and really absorbed all the sights. On our walk home we stopped in a few shops and bought Savannah the most beautiful white dress for her 1 year birthday pictures we will have taken in a few months. There is even a little hat that goes with the dress, it is so innocent and sweet!
We came home late in the afternoon to catch a quick Savannah nap while we refreshed for dinner at a restaurant called Le Petit Nicois across the street from our hotel. We got a little dressed up, I even put on make up! This is the first time I really got dolled up for a night out on the town since we were at home and celebrated my Dad's birthday in Georgetown at the end of January! It felt really good! :) Now we get to dinner, realizing that even though Savannah had a mini nap she was not in the mood to sit still. The restaurant didn't have a high chair, very odd! This was the third encountering this in Paris. We had a delish filet mignon and salad. It was really good but hard to really savor because Savannah just want to crawl around.
After dinner we took a brisk walk up the street to the Eiffel Tower for some night pictures. The Eiffel Tower is even more spectacular at night all lit up! We had asked a nice couple to take a few pictures of us to capture the moment. By the time we got home that night, we were all exhausted! When I put Savannah down Rocky went out to get us ice cream for desert. About 20 minutes later he literally came dashing through the door with two cones of gelato in his hands, frozen yogurt for me and vanilla for him. Best ice cream I ever had, it was the perfect night cap to our day! Rocky said the lady at the shop told him to run home with the ice cream because it was going to melt, so that he did! :)
Sunday morning we took our time getting up and mozied around the sourronding streets of our hotel. There were dozens of fresh food shops, each with their own specialty. It was heaven for a foodie! We stopped at shops here and there and purchased a few goodies. There was one shop were we bought the most amazing sweetest strawberries in the world. I took pictures, they were so yummy!
We ended the weekend with breakfast at a cafe and again no high chair! If you go to Paris with babies, make sure to scope out family friendly restaurants first! For booking our trip last minute we were really prepared for everything but researching restaurants. Trip Advisor "advised" perfectly on the hotel and tours but we didn't have time to research restaurants. Next time we will check it out for restaurants too because that website is very accurate and a great reference! Huge Trip Advisor Fan!
The way home was much easier, Savannah slept like a puppy for about half the trip and it only took us five hours to get home as opposed to 6.5! Lilly did great at our friends house and we came home and crashed for the weekend!
Rocky did a wonderful job in making my 30th birthday very special and unforgettable! I love you babe! Now that we have one trip under our belts we are more confident in traveling.
We also learned that way less people speak English in France than in Germany. Rocky knew a little French to get us by but next time we'll learn phrases in the country's language. Also, we were almost taken advantage of a few times money-wise but Rocky insisted they were wrong and they backed down and told us the accurate price. I was very proud of Rocky because I would have just said, "okay, whatever you want!" One more thing, everyone smokes in Paris and I mean everyone so you have to accept that walk very fast! hehe Sidewalk cafes are very common and the tables are very close (like touching) and they face the street. Makes for great people watching!
When we return to Paris we will take the Eurorail, enjoy this Chocolate Tour a co-worker of Rocky's recommended, see a show, and shop! Enjoy the pictures!
XO
Elizabeth
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