Paris Snaps

In addition to our gorgeous day at Luxembourg Gardens, we hit a few other highlights while in Paris for three days with my mom. 

It's been a while since I've been to some of these key attractions, and it was great fun to take the high-speed train from Amsterdam and play host in my favorite city.

The Louvre was crowded and quick, but sometimes it's okay to enjoy what you can and check it off the bucket list.  I've been to the Louvre quite a few times, but for these three, it was great fun to actually see the Mona Lisa in person.  Check, check, check!!

Île de la Cité and Notre Dame . . . it was time to bore charm everyone with the differences between Gothic and Romanesque architecture. 

I love that I inadvertently captured a man praying in this picture of our crew in front of Notre Dame.

See the pointed arches of the doorways?  Gothic archicture.  In the pictures above, you can also see Notre Dame's flying buttresses, also classic Gothic.

There's a cute playground on the south side of the cathedral.  A great place to take a break with the kids.

Also on the Île de la Cité, the unparalleled glory and stained glass of Sainte-Chapelle, a royal medieval Gothic chapel.  If you ever find yourself in Paris, this is a must-do sweet spot.

Saint Germain des Pres is the oldest church in Paris, over a thousand years old.  It is the only remaining building of Romanesque architecture.  We had a memorable brunch at Les Deux Magots, which faces the church, and then we popped into the church for a visit, also made memorable as a service was in process.  The district around the church is over FIFTEEN centuries old, and a favorite spot of the first kings of France.  Later, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Picasso and others would sit at the cafes surrounding the church and write their masterpieces.

I love the scale of Abby (watching the service, mesmerized) against the soaring height of the transept.

See those rounded archways along each side of the nave?  Tell-tale Romanesque architecture.

A moonlit trip down the Seine:

We had lots of good meals while in Paris (mais bien sûr), but it was particularly fun to take my mom to Le Grand Colbert, where scenes from the movie Something's Got to Give were filmed.  I knew she liked the movie a lot, and the restaurant is one of the oldest, classic, and still independently-owned Parisian brasseries remaining.

Just for fun, here's the clip from the movie!

Bon appétit!