The last leg of our Spring Break tour brought us to the City of Lights, Paris. Daughter Liz, son-in-law Peter, granddaughter Adeline and I had already had wonderful adventures in England, and as we touched down “on the continent” we were set to enjoy ourselves in France.

Though we were only there for two days, Adeline had a list of things she wanted to do. She wanted to eat at a sidewalk café, see the Eiffel Tower, and do some clothes shopping. I just wanted to eat good food, which we did, repeatedly.

We stayed at Le Grand Hôtel Cayré, the same place that we had stayed in on our legendary Stabbert Family Vacation tour of 2007, though it had since changed hands and had been beautifully renovated. They also added Annette, a wonderful restaurant. We had a delicious lunch at the hotel, and I enjoyed my Tartare de bœuf au couteau à la “Grande Brasserie,” aka Beef Tartare, aka raw beef. Yum!

On our very first evening, we walked through the streets of Paris to a busy sidewalk café and enjoyed a lovely meal.  From there we ambled over to the Champ de Mars so Adeline could see the light show at the Eiffel Tower.

During Day Two in Paris, we strolled to the Grand Palais to see the work of Parisian sculptor Eva Jospin who creates elaborate works using corrugated cardboard. This exhibit had some of her larger works which are fantastical buildings and natural scenes. Really incredible. 

From there we wandered over to the Place de la Concorde and Rue de Rivoli where we found Angelina, the place for French desserts. While my comrades had savory treats, I headed straight for the Coupe Rivoli which consisted of chocolate ice cream, vanilla ice cream, hot chocolate, whipped cream, and meringue. I believe that at least once in your life, you should consider eating ice cream as your entire meal. I marvelously accomplished this mission at Angelina.

The primary purpose of our trip was shopping, which I totally supported. We wandered around for hours, but it wasn’t until the next day that we struck the motherlode. We took a trip to Le Bon Marché where La Ferme (The Farm) was the theme.  Papier-mache farm animals on bales of hay were suspended from the ceiling.  We did some damage there and then some serious clothes-and-handbag shopping was done, much to everyone’s satisfaction.

Liz and Peter took Adeline to the Eiffel Tower one night so she could see the light show from the inside out, which is highly recommended.  That checked everything off her list.

All too soon, our days in Paris came to an end and we were winging our way back home. This trip, which took place during Adeline’s spring break, was certainly a busy one, and I, for one, was ready for a week’s worth of naps.

But what a wonderful time we all had, and what beautiful memories we made! We are very blessed, indeed!