The Rest...

Well, all good things must come to an end. Our month in Paris was amazing and we were all sad to have to leave, but I think it is safe to say that we will definitely make it back someday. One of the things I miss most (and Justus too) - freshly baked croissants with Nutella EVERY morning for breakfast! We had a great bakery just a few steps out of our front door and we definitely took full advantage!

Another of my all-time favorite museums - the Musee Rodin. Auguste Rodin was a famous French sculptor (you've heard of "The Thinker"), and this museum is in an old hotel and it is beautiful. His sculptures are laid out in all the rooms and in the gardens as well, along with some Monets and Van Goghs. I loved it.
Hanging out in the gardens with our two little cuties!
A view of the grounds from inside the museum.
"The Thinker" - think about it, people.
We had to make a visit to the Arc de Triomphe - one of the most famous landmarks in Paris, and also one of the busiest (and hugest) roundabouts I have ever seen! It's at the end of the Avenue Champs-Elysees, famous for all the high-end shopping and fancy restaurants.
Coming up out of the Metro station right by our house. We were able to walk most places, but it was nice to have the Metro so close. And Justus still talks about riding the "underground choo-choo train" :)
A friend of the family who we shared a house with got us all tickets to go on a boat cruise down the river. We chose to go on the twilight tour and it was awesome. The sky was gorgeous and we even got to watch a lightning storm towards the end. An amazing background to see the sights.
Please check out the way this lady on the right is looking at Justus! Ha!! I love his face too.
Little Pipe Pipe.
A view of Notre Dame from the back.
Towards the end of the month, Justus was over museums (no touching, yelling, running, etc.) so we decided to take him and Piper to the Children's Museum. A good choice.
He especially loved the construction area - which he went to first and didn't want to leave! He loved "doing his work."
Piper was into it too!
It was so fun to watch Justus run around and play.
One of our last nights in Paris...walking around the square in front of Saint Sulpice. Not wanting it to be over...
In case you didn't catch on, I LOVE PARIS. We all did. It was such a great experience for all of us. Piper learned to crawl and got her first two bottom teeth. Justus loved riding the Metro, walking around the city, ordering & eating "vanilla ice cream in a cone" at Amorino (almost every night), and of course, his favorite, Notre Dame. Trav learned a little French (after all, that was the point of all of us being there!) and I took way too many pictures. Love, love, love that place.
Au revoir, Paris!

Disneyland Paris

Trav got us a smokin' deal to Disneyland Paris and we were able to go on two different days. It was Justus' first time (and Piper's, obviously!) and Trav and I hadn't been in years...so we were definitely excited!

Our first ride was Pirates of Caribbean, which we were sure Justus would love since he is all about water, boats and pirates, but we were wrong! I think he may be a little too young still to realize the difference between mechanical pirates shooting fake guns and real pirates shooting real guns. Woopsies! But he did love Star Tours and is now a huge Star Wars fan...
Teacups were also a fave. We figured out the 'baby switch' for all the rides, which meant one Trav would wait in line and ride with Justus while I waited with Piper, then when they got off I could go take Trav's place and ride again with Justus without having to wait in line. It's a good deal!
Disneyland Paris was small but still fun. Not quite the same as the ones in the U.S. - mainly because everything is in French! Ha ha!
It's a Small World was a highlight for Justus and Piper - they both loved it!
Justus wandering through the Alice in Wonderland Maze...
Riding the boat through Storybook Land...
Autopia - the ride Justus was looking forward to the most before we went. He was so excited to drive his own car!!
We only met a few characters...there weren't as many out and about. But Justus met Smee (from Peter Pan), he chased after Tigger as he was leaving, and he got some serious attention from Captain Jack Sparrow!
Another favorite for Justus, Buzz Lightyear.
We stayed until closing on both nights and this is the result...crashing hard on the train ride home!

Still More...

Still on Paris pictures, people...bear with me. We took Justus & Piper to the little zoo just on the outskirts of town. It was so old school. It is one of the oldest zoos in the world, and it felt like it too.

They didn't have a lot of exciting animals, but it was quaint and cute.

The zoo is also connected to Paris' botanical gardens. They are pretty but it was hot that day and hard to fully enjoy them. Piper looks over it... :)

Here is the area of town where we stayed - our street is just to the right. Trav found us an AMAZING place that we got for an even more amazing deal! We shared the house with another family of 5 and there was still plenty of room!!

Here are the huge doors leading into our courtyard...we all felt so fancy entering the code and pushing open these massive doors every time we came home! Ha ha!

Aahh...our street...Rue St. Andre des Artes...how I miss thee...

Justus playing with Chooch in her room building forts. The house had 5 bedrooms, and I'm pretty sure that is unheard of in Paris, especially right in the middle of the city.

There was plenty of room for all the kids to run around (only one lamp broken in the process!).
Justus & Piper's cute room.
Our room - view of the Eiffel out our window...not too shabby :)
We enjoyed many yummy meals around this table, which fit everyone comfortably! Even our guests!!
I would LOVE to go back and stay here again. Any takers???

At the Louvre

Here we are inside the Louvre. Justus is in the hall of statues, reading up on all the sculptures...

Piper in Napoleon's Apartments (the Louvre used to be a huge palace).Ahhh...the Monna Lisa. We came. We stood in the middle of a lot of pushy tourists. We saw. We went.Some of my personal faves - the Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Venus de Milo.
Justus playing at the inverted pyramid :)
Walking with dad along the Seine River back to our place.
Too cute.
Also way too cute.

I knew it...

...I knew I would get overwhelmed with Paris pics... and it happened. Seriously, Paris is my favorite place I have ever been. It is amazing. And I took WAY too many pictures (as I predicted). So much for updating a little at a time. Now I am over a month behind. But I don't want to give up because I want to share everything we did! So even though we have been gone for a few weeks, and Justus turned 3 today (Happy Birthday, buddy! I should be blogging about that!), I am going to pick up where I left off with our month in Paris. And just keep posting until I'm done!! So without further adieu, I present to you the Eiffel Tower...

It's not as big as you imagine it should be, but it was the tallest tower in the world when it was built. But the real question is, why is Piper so cute??!

Justus wins for best pose ever in front of the Eiffel.

Every night for a few minutes the tower lights up with over 20,000 sparkling bulbs and it is surprising (at least the first time you see it) and really pretty.

This is the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur (the Church of the Sacred Heart) at the top of Montmartre, the highest point in the city.

You have to climb quite a bit of stairs, but you do get great views of the city. Unfortunately, we brought Piper in our stroller (ha ha!) so I carried her and Trav carried the stroller. I would do it differently next time :)

Justus is showing me his commemorative coin that he got inside the church (I know, classy). This just shows my amazing photography skills...but he still looks so cute!

Eating a nutella crepe in Montmartre. YUM.

More to come...