Paris with the Paxtons

My wonderful friend Rachel (who used to be my high school English teacher...long story), moved to Paris with her husband Chris about two years ago and then they eventually had this little guy named Oliver. I had the opportunity to visit them there when they first moved and so have already done the majority of the touristy things there are to do in Paris. They've been so far away for quite some time, so when I moved over here to Sevilla, it was obvious that we had to meet up. The original plan was for them to take a trip to Sevilla, but with the cost of getting all three of them here, and with the upcoming move back to Texas approaching so quickly, it just made more sense for me to come there. I obviously was not complaining about visiting the capital of pastries for a second time, especially because I got to experience a little fall weather for a change!

The first afternoon after my arrival, we walked to a shmancy pastry shop that had been recommended to Rachel by a friend at church who is attending Le Cordon Bleu pastry school in Paris. The pastries were quite pricy so we went with a little brioche which was pretty delicious. I somehow managed to eat a lot of brioche that weekend and have decided it holds a spot in my top 5 favorite types of bread. Or at least the brioche in Paris does. I got scolded for taking this picture by the slightly scary french woman running the counter:

Then we took Oliver to the park to play. This kid literally melts my heart.

Oliver sails on the raging seas to conquer France and the nearby lands

He's such a good hand-holder

By the time we got home, Oliver was getting pretty warm in his turtle-neck. So while mom was chatting with a friend, I turned him into a hillbilly:

The next day Rachel's friend showed us around Le Cordon Bleu! Although we weren't allowed to go into any of the kitchens, we did walk past some swinging doors and I got to sneak a glance at some sort of demonstration/show-kitchen. It was such a fun surprise! And such an intimidating place!

That sculpture in the middle is made out of chocolate!

Here is a shot of Oliver making squinty faces in the elevator in his "professor" sweater, while enjoying a toothbrush:

And sipping on his water outside Le Cordon Bleu:

On the way home we stopped at the neighborhood market to pick up something things for lunch.

I miraculously ran into some friends from Sevilla and we stopped at the macron stand for some tasty treats. I had never tried one before because they didn't really look that appealing to me when sitting next to a raspberry tart or chocolate ganache cake, but I decided to try the lemon ginger one and it was fabulous! Turns out the macron guy has been to Houston and had a friend who worked in the Galleria. Small world!

Rachel was sweet enough to invite my friends over to the apartment for coffee and some suggestions on what else they should see while in Paris. They decided on the Rodin museum and so I walked with them to the entrance and then headed back. For dinner we went to the Latin Quarter, grabbed some crepes and pita grek, and sat in a park across from Notre Dame to eat our treats and hang out:

Chicken, cheese, and mushroom crepe. Yes, the cheese is crispy and burnt and delicious on the outside. YUM!

Yay for poor lighting!

Stopped by Shakespeare & Co. bookstore:

Fending off the rain

Had some crazy-looking gelato that was spectacular, walked into Notre Dame, and headed home on the metro:

Baby Gap model?

The next morning we took the metro or bus or some form of transportation to Angelina's, a fancy French cafe that is famous for their hot chocolate. Literally, a bar of chocolate that just happens to be hot and melted. So rich. So tasty. So totally made me feel sick. So worth it.

Went for a stroll through the Tuileries:

Love them so much!

Totally in love with this little dude!

 After our stroll, Rachel to Oliver back the apartment and I went to the Pompidou, the Paris museum of modern art that I was not able to see last time because of some sort of artist strikes. It was a really excellent museum! Here are some shots from my walk to the Pompidou:

Weird angry monkey hanging out of the window of the Lourve...

Hotel de Ville

Outside the Pompidou

 View of Montmartre from the top of the museum:

Other shots:

Guess where this was written? The toilet paper dispenser?

 After church we went out for dinner and I got to try escargot for the first time. Surprisingly delicious! I would absolutely order them again. Sorry for the awful photo:

Overall, my trip to Paris was so relaxing and so wonderful. I loved getting to walk around Paris without tons of snow and without any real need to visit a thousand different places. It was great to be around people who love me and who were so sweet to spoil me and let me hang out with them for a weekend. Thanks Paxton family! Y'all are THE best EVER. Miss you already!!!