Bonjour, Paris!

Eiffel Tower at night

There is nowhere on earth quite like Paris. It has a certain vibe that cannot be described in words nor experienced anywhere else. This past weekend we met my parents there to properly celebrate my dad's 60th and their 35th wedding anniversary. It's a big year for them to say the least! My mom and I had traveled to Paris together about 6 years ago, it was my dad's first visit and Justin's 7th trip (no joke). My dad, an architect, was in awe of the city and it's intricate detail. And the rest of us had not remembered Paris as being so wonderful as it was last weekend. We even had several encounters with very polite Parisians, a welcome change from previous visits. 

The City of Lights really is the epicenter of art. The Louvre contains more art than anyone could digest in a month. One room out of the Museum d'Orsay would be enough for most museums' entire collections. The Water Lilies housed at Museum de l'Orangerie are displayed in oval shaped rooms designed by Monet himself and are some of the most beautiful art I've ever experienced- even grander than on my trip to Zurich. Watching the Eiffel Tower twinkle at night atop the Arc de Triomphe is one of the coolest sights to be seen. And the architecture itself from the Pantheon, and Notre Dame, to apartment buildings dating back to the Napoleon era are breathtaking and unlike any other city on the planet.

Me taking pics of Monet's Water Lillies. You can see how the room was designed in this pic (my dad's photo)

And then there is the food and shopping. I easily could have spent weeks exploring all of the neighborhood stores and side street boutiques. If I had more time and money I would have come back to Nussloch with a new wardrobe (but sadly, I did not). We tasted macaron's, Mont Blanc's and sipped hot chocolate mixed table side at the legendary Angelina, where Coco Channel used to do the same. We ate delicious Jewish/Mediterranean food at Pitzman. And carefully filled our tummies with plenty of delicious treats in between.

The crew outside our hotel, the Westin Paris 

A wonderful Parisian weekend it was. It's always nice being with family, no matter where in the world you are, but it helps to be in a place as beautiful as Paris! For me, Paris is love at second site.

Me and mom on our first night (dad's photo)

Polished off the weekend with a tour and tasting at Moet and Chandon. Cheers to a big year and many, many more!

See all our of Paris and Moet pictures here.