J'Adore Paris!

Mike and I decided that we would cash in some of our Amex points this summer for another European adventure.  When we found out that some of our dear friends were going to be getting married in Tuscany in June, we immediately started to brainstorm other European cities to tack on to another Italian adventure.  The only pre-requisite for selecting our vacation destination was that we wanted to relax and we wanted to take in the sights without feeling the need to be "touristy".  We had the greatest time in Italy last September, but I'll admit, we packed A LOT into those 10 days that we were there.  Mike and I had a pretty aggressive itinerary last year, and we both agreed that we wanted this trip to be more relaxing.  With the craziness of my new job & jam packed summer schedule, the only agenda we had included bottles of wine, countless cappuccinos and long nights of sleep.  So it was decided that we would spend 3 days in Paris before flying down to Tuscany for the wedding.

My first dessert of the trip!

We arrived in Paris in time for a 2 hour lunch at a local cafe in Saint Germain  - an adorable neighborhood that was perfectly located for our needs.  We stayed at the Esprit Saint Germain, a lovely recommendation from our travel agent, and it proved to be one of the highlights of our trip - and it's NOT just because of the daily 14 hour open bar from 12p-2a and free access to the mini bar...OK, so that was the main reason.  And it didn't hurt that we were greeted with a bottle of Bordeaux and a plate of the finest French cheeses!  But it was a beautiful boutique hotel just a yards away from the Seine, and feet from some of the most delicious little sweet shops you could ever imagine.  What more could you ask for?

Handsome husband taking
advantage during "open bar"
time!

Of course it wouldn't be a Mobley vacation if there wasn't some sort of element of surprise, right?  So the morning of our second day in Paris, Mike had his phone stolen by little gypsy children while we stopped for a quick cappuccino.    To my traveling friends, let this be a lesson to you all to watch out for those little stinkers - they are sneaky and they have the most clever ways of getting to your belongings!  It was an initial bummer - and we were both deflated for a bit, but once we realized that the IT department at IAC could immediately shut down service and wipe out the phone, our spirits were restored and we accomplished the only thing I had on my agenda for the entire 9 day trip - a quick visit to the Pont Des Arts.

Our little love lock

As you all may know, the Pont Des Arts is a bridge that crosses the Seine, and it has become very popular for couples to attach padlocks with their first names written or engraved on it.  Once the padlock is locked to the bridge, it's a romantic gesture to throw the keys into the Seine, to show that your love will last forever & that the love can never be broken.  It's a silly little tradition made popular by tourists, but we brought our lock all the way from New York, and fixed it onto the Pont Des Arts so that we can go back to visit with our families one day!  It was a little 15 minute "ceremony" that epitomized the romanticism in the "city of love' - AND helped us forget that we had lost a $400 iphone5 earlier that morning!

After we threw our keys away forever!

Both Mike and myself had visited Paris before with our families, so we had previously checked off all of the French monuments and museums on previous trips.  But we did take time to do some obligatory Paris sight-seeing.  My patient husband let me ride the rickety carousel on the grounds in front of the Eiffel Tower after a glass or two of wine.  And he entertained my insatiable request for gelato, chocolate covered waffles & macarons - sometimes all at the same time.

The last night was my favorite night in Paris.  Mike and I decided that we would go to a different restaurant for each "course" of the meal.  We started out having a bottle of wine and some delectable fois gras under the shelter of an overhang while the rain poured down around us.  We stayed nice and dry while sipping Bordeaux and chatting with our animated waiter (who was in no way rude!).  We ran from restaurant to restaurant through the rain for our other courses of escargot, steak frites and of course, dessert crepes - all paired with delicious French wine.  While the rain wasn't ideal, it was pretty romantic, and with more wine, it became comical as we ran through the streets of Saint Germain in an effort to stay dry!

It was a bit easier to leave Paris, knowing that we had another city in Europe for the Mobleys to explore, but our three days in the City of Love and Lights provided us with hours of glutinous meals, juicy wines and unbelievable sights & sounds.  We were up nice and early the next morning (4am to be exact!) to fly to Florence for our second leg of the 2013 Mobley Eurotrip - stay tuned for highlights from our stay in Tuscany!