Day 1 of sightseeing with Mom and Dad

Today was Day 1 of sightseeing with Mom and Dad. They went to the Louvre in the morning to see the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and the countless sculptures and paintings adorning the walls of the former palace. While we waited for their text message, I baked some homemade chocolate florentines and macaroons to take to our picnic.

As I was baking, I received a call on our land line from someone speaking in French. He said he was a florist with a delivery for me. I was so confused because I didn't think anyone had our phone number and address in Paris. When the delivery came, it was a beautiful bouquet of flowers from Greg and Tam with a note of congratulations for finishing school. Thank you Greg and Tam!!! I was really touched by the thoughtful gesture.

Quinn and I met my parents for a picnic lunch in front of the museum. We brought baguette sandwiches and my homemade goodies.

We walked towards Place de la Concorde and stopped at the Tuilieres Gardens where Parisians were relaxing near the fountains.

From there, we verged off to Place Madeleine where we stopped at the famous Laduree salon de the for coffee and pastries. We talked about Parisian life, the culture, and how the French can spend hours upon hours drinking their cafe.

Afterwards, we went to Fauchon down the street where we looked at all of the expensive gourmet food (caviar for 8,000 euros/kilo, truffles, 14,000 euros/bottle of wine).

Saint Madeleine was closing for the day but we were able to go in for a couple of minutes to see the inside of the church.

We took the metro to Champs Elysees and window shopped at Mercedes Benz before heading towards the Arc de Triomphe.

We admired the flowers on the apartment window sills as we rested our feet while admiring the view of the Arc de Triomphe.

We took the metro again to see another Paris must-see, the Eiffel Tower.

Ecole Militaire and peace monument

Dad was impressed by the great bike system in Paris. All throughout the city, you can rent a bike for a minimal fee and return it to any other bike station in the city... pretty handy!

After a long day of sightseeing, we headed to Le Nemrod for a late dinner and some drinks.