We went to Paris

Last week was our one year anniversary of moving to London, and this weekend is our 2 year anniversary of being married!! It's hard to comprehend the life that we have built over these last two two years: getting married, moving abroad, traveling to 10 different countries in our second year of marriage, LOVE... It's everything I've ever wanted and more.

With our anniversary approaching, I thought it would be appropriate to tell you how we spent our first anniversary. Our first of many trips to Paris.  We have a guest host for today's post... Brett has had many cameos on the blog, but this is his first post! Take it away Brett....

Actual Date of Event: October 25-27, 2014

One of the best things about being an expat in a city like London is the entire continent of Europe being at your finger tips. At a moment’s notice you can book a weekend getaway to places that would take months to plan (much less afford!) if we were still living in the States. Our first experience doing just this was the second week after the move when we went for a short week to Paris for our one year anniversary.

After work I met Mary at St Pancras train station for our 6 o’clock Eurostar train under the Channel to Paris. After a short wait in the queue and security check for the Eurostar we were seated on the train, bottle of wine and homemade sandwiches at the ready and on our way to Paris! 

I had been to Paris while on a study abroad trip in college but this was to be Mary’s first time so we actually had quite a busy weekend planned trying to get to most of the main sites. We stayed at the Westin Vendome in a beautiful room with views over the Tuileries gardens all the way out to the Eiffel tower.

After dropping our bags we headed out for an evening stroll towards the Latin Quarter where I spent most of my nights while in college and even came across the doner kebab shop I so badly missed. After ordering one kebab (Mary “thought” she was going to share mine) we grabbed a beer and walked back towards the hotel, passing through the Louvre’s impressive courtyard and fighting over the next bite of kebab the whole way back.

Saturday morning we had breakfast at the hotel and then headed off through the gardens to tour the Louvre. For anyone that’s been to the Louvre they know it can be VERY exhausting. This experience was no different. However for everyone that says “meh” to the Mona Lisa due to the crowds, there is still something awe-inspiring and majestic about being able to see a painting first hand that has memorised us for 500 years.

Upon leaving the Louvre we were in desperate need of fuel; both alcohol and food. We meandered over to the St Germain area and grabbed an outdoor table at a café just off the Blvd St Germain, where we proceeded to spend the next 2.5 hours drinking, eating, people watching, and trying our best to be Parisans. The rest of the day we spent walking through the Latin quarter and checking out Notre Dame Cathedral.

Sunday was all about checking out the Eiffel tower and again, relaxing in cafes. We did however have a pit stop to make! After breakfast we began the 3ish mile walk along the Seine to the Eiffel tower however it being our anniversary Mary had a surprise up her sleeve. She had brought a lock with her and wanted to add our lock to the infamous Ponte des Arts. After scavenging the bridge for an open spot we locked the lock to the fence and tossed the key in the river. We even re-located the lock seven months later when we visited Paris with my parents!

We spent the afternoon taking in the Eiffel tower and even took a small nap in the park around the base.

After our little afternoon and siesta we pulled ourselves together for a lunch and walk back to the hotel to get ready for our anniversary dinner at Les Ombres. This was a beautiful restaurant on the roof of the Quai Branly Museum at the base of the Eiffel tower and offered incredible views of the tower lit up at night. Although, to be honest, the food was not very good but the company more than made up for it!

After a romantic evening we awoke bright and early Monday morning in time for the 7 am train and arrived back in London by 8; just in time for me to get to the office like we had been in the city the whole time!

It is trips like this that make me really appreciate living in London. And while we haven’t don’t enough of them we have both made it our goal to do more weekend trips in year two!

Cheers!

Brett