Paris: December 20-23, 2012
Date of this event: December 21, 2012
Oh man. How do I even begin to choose which photos to share with you? For this trip, my mom and sister exponentially increased my amount of photo options. I give the credit for these photos to my talented sister, Julie, and my fabulous mom!
It all started when my mom, dad, sister (Julie), and my sister's boyfriend (Michael), decided to visit James and me in Scotland. We were extremely excited for this reunion! We picked Paris as our meeting point. The plan: After exploring and enjoying the delights of Paris, we would head to Prague for Christmas Eve and Christmas day. After Prague would come Aberdeen, our new home town. Using Aberdeen as a base, we would travel a good bit of Scotland- the Cairngorms, Loch Ness, the highlands, Saint Andrews, etc. For Hogmanay (New Year's Eve), we would stay in Edinburgh and experience the famous street party. The last stop of the adventure would be in London for several days. It was about to be an amazing three weeks!
My family arrived in Paris first, and then James and I flew to meet them. Arriving at midnight, James and I quickly realized that not all of the metro lines we needed were open so we had to walk a bit. Yikes! This not being in our original plan, we had a difficult time navigating and reading road signs in French. Quite some time later, we made it to the flat to celebrate seeing my family for the first time in four months!
Starting out fresh first thing in the morning
We didn't make it very far before we stopped to take a peek at some delicious pastries.
Naturally, we had to try some of this sweet bread with pink candy bits baked into it.
Walking through a lovely flower market
First stop: Eiffel Tower
It was massive!
Cute couple
Sweet parents
I love my sweet sister!
Family with the Tour Eiffel- next Christmas card?
After getting our shots, it was time to climb it.
Hiking up the endless amount of stairs was quite a task, but the incredible views were worth it!
Lovely photos of Paris from the second story of the Eiffel Tower
Family Photos from the Eiffel Tower
Looking up the side of the tower
After climbing back down the Eiffel Tower, we strolled across the Seine river to the Christmas market at the Jardins du Trocadero.
Plenty of crepes and mulled wine!
The boys found baguette hot dogs!
Quite a picturesque setting for a Christmas market
When we were satisfied with the market, we headed to the Champs-Elysees for some shopping!
The Arc de Triomphe honors those who died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars.
The Champs-Elysees likely has the most expensive real estate in the world.
While mom was shopping for her newest Swarovski addition, Julie and I admired the staircase made out of crystals.
I was excited to finally try French macrons at the famous Laduree!
Mom, Julie, and I chose lemon, strawberry, coffee, salted caramel, and vanilla.
Delicious!
The Pont Alexandre III is an arch bridge that spans the Seine River and connects the Eiffel Tower quarter with the Champs-Elysees quarter.
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