Our first day in Paris!

Paris is one of those cities that you just can't help but love!

Indy and I went there when we were dating back in 1996 and he was living in Germany....ahh, to be young and in love and in Paris!

We took the kids there in 2015 when we had some extra time during a visa renewal...sigh, to experience something again for the "first time" through someone else's eyes!

And, this year, a repeat visit because, well, we LOVE Paris!

We went with friends this time...and only one of them had ever been to Paris, so it was a fresh trip for so many reasons! We made sure to schedule a balance of things we had done before, and things that were new for our family. One new thing was to go to the highest spot in all of Paris (well, besides being on top of the Eiffel Tower,) Montmartre and the Sacre Couer. It was a lovely church and our hotel was just a block southeast of the hill in the Montmartre district. It was super convenient and just a 5-10 minute walk to 3 different colored metro lines, so we could get anywhere!

Our first day was a bit overcast, so we didn't have as grand of a view of the whole city as we should have had from our high point; but, as the day went on, it cleared up!

Looking up at the Sacre Couer.

Standing on the steps, looking out over the city.

From here, we took the metro and went to the Notre Dame Cathedral. It was supposed to be the last day of the Christmas Market (according to the website) but I think the rain put some people off and there was no Christmas Market evident upon our arrival. We still enjoyed the walk through the building and there was an actual Mass taking place while we were in the church. Lovely!

Girls having fun at Notre Dame!

A few more ladies together at the Notre Dame Cathedral!

This is the third time I have been here and I am still in awe of these stained glass windows!

One of the many statues in the alcoves along the sides of the cathedral.

We've never been here at Christmas time...they had a village and Nativity set up down one of the long hallways.

Mass was taking place while we were there.

Our view as we were about to depart.

A quick lunch on the street so we can keep on seeing things. We had some classic Croque Monsieur sandwiches and some crepes before moving on to Sainte Chapelle.

On the walk across the way to Sainte Chapelle, we found a flower and animal market. Sissi insisted on stopping to see the birds.

I wanted to stop to see all the flowers.

Tulips...in December....love!!!

Some of the neat crafts and Christmas decor at the market was fun to look at as well.

Then, we arrived at Sainte Chapelle....three churches in one day!

This was another new one for our family. We had never been here before. It may be small, but the place is lovely.

These stained glass windows are a rival to Notre Dame's and the height and light they let in...the atmosphere is amazing.

Indy and I at Sainte Chapelle.

Then, we got on the road and did a long hike...along the Seine River. We had 3pm tickets for the Eiffel Tower and we just made it!

Me and my girl, before we entered security.

Sissi took this picture on our walk up the street to the Eiffel Tower.

On the 2nd floor! The kids had a blast!

What a view...the weather was starting to clear.

Yum! Macaroons!

So, I had to buy the girls each one...they can't have come all the way to the Eiffel Tower and not eat a macaroon!

Family picture up on the top! It was windy and COLD!

Me and one of my guys...I did get a quick kiss on the cheek!

Indy and Krypto on the Eiffel Tower!

Sissi and her friend. Super excited that she got the beret, it totally fit her!

All the kids at the Eiffel Tower before we had to run down the stairs to make our dinner cruise!

So, we probably ran close to a 5k that night, no kidding...we had to book it to make our dinner cruise time, but the directions and Google Maps didn't agree, so we did quite a bit of running and literally got on the boat as they were pulling away. So thankful they waited for us!

And, I think our friends want to order, "I Survived the December 2018 Paris 5K" t-shirts.

On the dinner cruise. Lovely night, and as cold as it was, we took our jackets off because we were all sweating from our "jog."

We found out we all like the Nicholas Cage "National Treasure" movies and so we talked about the landmarks from the 2nd movie on our dinner cruise.

Two friends, on a dinner cruise, after running a 5k!

After dinner we walked back to the Eiffel Tower and took a few family pictures.

I just love it all lit up and sparkling at night for the first 5 minutes of every hour.

Another picture of our family by one of my favorite landmarks.

  

On the street, Sissi found this famous picture...she is watching the tv show, "Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir." She was commenting all through our trip about different places in the television show she was seeing in Paris, and she was so excited to see this post card.

Let me just say, we slept well after our first day in Paris!