Bonjour

Bonjour!  Parlez-vous anglais?  Oh good, because my French is not so fabulous...parlez-vous anglais was the one line I perfected quickly when we arrived in Paris!  My hubby, on the other hand, really did try to speak the language and I was very impressed!  He also managed to get us on and off of the Metro many times inorder for us to really explore all areas of the city...and never once did we wind up on the wrong train!!  I could never have done it myself as I am completely, shall we say, directionally challenged?! 

Before we check out some of the sights of the city, let's stop in to Le Mistral for some cafe au lait...

and this...

I'm embarrassed to tell you how many Nutella crepes I had in the first two days we were in Paris!  I can tell you that Le Mistral made them the best!  LOTS of Nutella, just how I like it :)

Now let me take you around "our neighborhood"...

This lovely view was one block away from our hotel, The Britannique, which had such a great location for everything.  At night, we could see the Eiffel Tower all lit up...very romantic!

On our first full day, we decided to walk to Notre Dame since it was fairly close to our hotel and one of the number one things I wanted to see while in Paris...

It was crowded, but well worth seeing!  We lucked out and had sunny weather in the 60's the whole time we were in Paris, so I didn't mind waiting in line to get into places.  The outside of the building was so beautiful, I had to just stand there and take it all in for awhile!!

{When I was reviewing photos the other day, and noticed the odd sun spot on the above photo, I told my husband that maybe it was an angel hanging around the church and that's how it came out in the picture...you never know!}

I wish that I could have captured just how incredible the inside of the church was, but they did not want anyone using flash photography and the lighting in there was obviously very dim.  Upon entering, I was moved to tears...it was such a holy place to be, and I feel truly blessed to have experienced it.  I lit a candle at the Saint Therese statue for my children.

As we left the church, I was beyond delighted to stumble across an amazing outdoor French flower market!

Being that I love to garden, this was a lot of fun for me :)  I couldn't believe how perfect all of the plants were...none of them wilted or damaged like a lot of the plants I find at the nursery I go to.  Apparently, Paris doesn't get the mighttime frost that we get here in the Midwest during April, so they are able to plant things much earlier than we are...that made me a tad bit jealous!

Our day finished up with dinner at Le Zimmer, which was literally right across the street from our hotel.  The food was wonderful and with it being so convenient, we ate there on more than one occassion...

Oopse, how'd that get in there?!  Okay, maybe I needed a small "snack" before dinner, you know the French eat dinner at 8:00 at night and that was a bit late for me :)

Here's Le Zimmer...

The cafes and brasseries in Paris really are a wonderful part of the French lifestyle!

Of course I didn't forget about announcing the giveaway winner...it's Shellagh from Ticking and Toile!  I wish I could say I had time to photograph the goodies going out to her, but my weekend was jam packed with gardening and trying to get caught up on things.  So I'll just list them for you.  They are all like items to what I kept for myself, so when I photograph my own items for you, you'll see what she is receiving!

Giveaway package includes: a large vintage French grain sack in burlap, an old French button card with 24 mother of pearl white buttons, an old French postcard, the latest copy of one of my favorite French decorating magazines, and a beautiful book of French "poetes" from the 1800s!  Thank you to everyone who participated in my giveaway, I really do wish I could have brought something back for ALL of you!!!

Happy new week!!!

Tracey