Valentine's Day in Paris

Since Valentine's Day landed on a Saturday this year, Nate and I thought... where can we go to celebrate it? Of course, the first thing that popped into my head was PARIS! At first, Nate wasn't exactly jumping up and down at that idea, but after he thought about it, he said, "Let's do it!" He was reminded of the saying, "when in Rome," except we were saying "when in Europe, go to Paris while you can!" I was so excited because neither one of us had ever been to "The City of Lights" before, so it was a first for us both.

Valentine's Day arrived and we left first thing in the morning. When we stepped out of our building, it was snowing. Snow doesn't usually stick here in Basel, but it had stuck to everything and it was beautiful. We were sad that it happened on a day we were leaving and I didn't even have a chance to take any pictures because we were to rushed to catch the train, (as usual, because of me) but fortunately, we made it! Once we arrived to Paris, we had to take two underground metros to get to our hotel. I told Nate that when we got above ground we had to look for the Eiffel Tower because I knew how to get to our hotel from there. Well, we didn't have to look far! It was staring us right in the face as soon as we came up the steps!

Nate's face lit up once he saw it... I think he was more excited than me!

I was excited too! The Eiffel Tower is much bigger than we thought... look at how small the people look next to the base of it.
Some American girls took a picture of us... although, it is a little crooked.
Here is a straight one...
After we saw the Eiffel, we went to our hotel room, dumped our luggage and we were off! We took a bus to get us to the historic core, which is where we saw the Notre Dame Cathedral. I like all the old churches I see, but I really think this one is my favorite!

Nate is standing on "Point Zero" which is the center of Paris as it was 2,300 years ago!

Here is another angle of the Notre Dame along the river.

We continued to walk along the river and we saw all sorts of sights. These booths are run by the so-called Left Bank book sellers where you can buy all sorts of second-hand items like books and paintings.

The Louvre Museum and the famous glass pyramid... Don't I look tall here?

It's because I was standing on this! Jake wanted to be in the picture too, but it looks like he was blinded from the sun!

Trying to be artsy... the buildings and fountains surrounding the pyramid were so beautifulThe Carrousel Arc. If you look closely, you can see the Louvre through the Arc.
Going toward the next arc, Arc de Triomphe, we walked through a lovely park along the way. There were open grassy areas, gardens, and ponds with chairs scattered everywhere. This is a nice spot to sit and relax... you can even see the Eiffel Tower to the left.Part of the Arc de Triomphe... Unfortunately, we couldn't go back any further to take a full picture because there was a major round-about road where TWELVE roads connected to it. Yes, twelve.
The triumphal arc honors those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. On the inside of the arc there are all of the names of generals and wars fought. Underneath is the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I.
We then took the metro back to our hotel, it came above ground for a split second and I got a quick snapshot of a different side of Paris... the sky rise buildings. I prefer the old buildings, but I thought it was a pretty sight along the river.The Eiffel Tower at duskWe went out to dinner on the quaintest street in Paris, Rue Cler. They even had roses and candles on the tables for Valentine's Day... so romantic! As we ate a delicious meal, Jake was unbelievably good. He even laid down and went to sleep! I think it was all that walking that tired him out!We shared the best creme brulee ever for dessert...
We were so exhausted after a long day of traveling and walking, that we just wanted to go back to the hotel and go to sleep! But we knew we had to take advantage of being there and see the Eiffel Tower at night, especially since we were only a 5 minute walk away. I thought it was an even prettier sight all lit up!
Nate is anxiously awaiting the light show... he's got the video camera ready! And there it is! It's hard to capture all the glimmer in a photo...
We walked around to the other side and found an even prettier view with the fountains in front... have you seen enough pictures of the tower yet?!
Last one... I promise
I asked someone to take this picture and the tower turned out straight!
We left the next morning so that we could relax a little at home and make it to the evening service at church. We were so thankful for such a wonderful weekend... the weather and everything else was just perfect. We hope to return another time, when it's a little warmer and we actually have time to go inside the museums and art galleries. Let us know if you want to come visit and join us!