J'adore Paris..

Lines at the Musee D'Orsay -thankfuly we didn't have to wait!

A few weeks ago, I embarked on a day trip with my host family to Paris for the Manet Exhibition at the Musee D'Orsay. I had traveled to Paris once before with my Mom when I was 20 but it had been six years since I was in the city, and I missed the Parisian way of life- Hands down, the culture, the museums, and the unforgettable Eiffel Tower, I love Paris. We woke early, 4:45am to catch our train at Schiphol at 6:30am.. the public transportation in Europe is a love/hate relationship might I add. Although we had booked tickets, you can never know what your day holds for you if you're at the mercy of public transportation. There was a problem with our high speed Thalys train, therefore, we had to take a train to Rotterdam via Schiphol to, fingers crossed, make our connection into Paris.. We also had tickets booked for the exhibition.. miss one, miss them all type of thing. Did I mention the exhibition was our sole purpose of traveling to Paris for the day- therefore not being admitted to Manet would have been a detrimental downer of the trip. Thankfully, the transportation Gods were on our side because we made it to Paris in just over three hours from Holland. Arriving at Paris Gare du Nord we were off to the museum, which lead us to a four hour stroll around the beautiful museum.

Interior of Musee D'Orsay

Illegal Photograph of Manet work- compliments of Emma

Inside the Musee

My Dutch boys in Paris

After the museum, we went for a walk to go catch a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. The children have never seen it before and were extremely excited, I too shared their enthusiasm. Even though I have been fortunate enough to experience it before, it still is beautiful. How ironic that it was built as a tower for practical use and over the years has become a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. It's a staple of Europe, a trademark of the Parisians, and one of my most favorite sights in Paris.

Does this need a caption? 

Following our photo shoot at the Eiffel Tower, we walked to have an early dinner of amazing duck breast, rosemary potatoes and french wine. After dinner, we were back on the high speed train and home before midnight. One day- traveling through Holland, Belgium and to France. Dutch breakfast, French dinner. This could become a dangerous habit. 

View of the River Seine