We finally got out of London on the 29th and arrived in Paris without a room (we had one for the night before that was non-refundable of course). Gotta love Starwood - we ended up finding a room in the city and used our points for a night to recover and relax in Paris. The next day we got into our 5 star hotel we had booked many months ago for our 6 nights in Paris! The Prince de Galles was located right on George V, just one block from Champs Elysees. We were in walking distance to basically everything - Arc de Tromph, Eiffel Tower, The Louvre. If only the people in France were nice, it would have been unbeatable. But it was a very nice week anyway.
The first thing on my agenda was to find a wedding dress! I headed out on Saturday afternoon to a few shops and was able to get an appointment at one shop with Dominique. We tried on three dresses and the third one I loved! Since we had six days until I left Paris she had to move fast. The dress was shipped overnight in my size (or close enough). Dominique stayed up all night making alterations for me two nights in a row! I didn't even know you could have a dress fit in two days, but she did it! She even delivered it to me at my hotel my final morning in Paris. She was amazing!
The week we were in Paris also happened to be the quarterfinals and semifinals of the World Cup - which France won both games. This is no big deal in the US (especially when we lose early) but over here it is life altering. After each game there were fireworks and rallys at the Arc de Tromph and all the way down Champs Elysees. We weren't crazy enough to go out on the streets - especially after we saw 10 police vans with full riot gear pass us - but we could hear and see the debauchery from our hotel room that lasted into the wee hours of the night! Once again Scott and I were cheering against the local team - so it was safer in the hotel.
We did the typical sightseeing things including The Louvre, which was still amazing and surpassed the hype. It is free on the first Sunday of the month, so we were afraid the crowds would be unbearable, but we breezed right in (Scott knew a shortcut) and got all the way to the very front rope to see the Mona Lisa from 8 feet away. We also went up the Eiffel Tower to get a view of the entire city and battled thru the insane crowds to get back down the elevator. With all the pushing and shoving (yes, just like in China) we got separated, but made it thru without any bruises. And Notre Dame once again did not disappoint. There were many museums and gardens we didn't make it to, but it's always good to have a reason to go back! Paris is a fantastic city with some of the best food ever, but a week at a time is about all we can handle of the attitude.
A highlight while in Paris was our 2 year anniversary on July 4! We had dinner at a fabulous restaurant at the bottom of our hotel in their garden. We opted for the tasting menu which consisted of about 9 courses complete with various wines to accompany the dishes. Everything was superb complete with servers in tuxes - quite the opposite from the day we met 2 years ago at a wild 4th of July party! More thumbnails ...
| 
