Our first visitors...Paris (part 2 of 2)

Ernest Hemmingway once said this about Paris...

"Il n’y a que deux endroits au monde où l’on puisse vivre heureux:  chez soi et à Paris."
(There are only two places in the world where we can live happy:  at home and in Paris.)

Another quote I like is from the movie Sabrina, "Paris is always a good idea."

Ahh, Paris. Its called the City of Love and the City of Lights.  Its also the most visited city in the world.  Alex and I knew Brian and Meghan had to see this magical place while they were on their first European voyage so, lucky for all of us, we just had to hop in the car.

Since Alex and I had both been to Paris while in college, we knew a little of what to expect on our trip.  We decided to rent an apartment for the weekend in the cute neighborhood of Montmarte, in the 18th arrondissement, near the Sacre Coeur.  (We found the apartment on Airbnb and I highly recommend it!)

Here's are some of the things we did and saw...

First, we visited the Sacre Coeur, which means Sacred Heart in French, and the surrounding area of Montmarte. 

The Sacre Coeur

The view from the top!

It was here that Brian and Meghan caught their very first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower :)

That evening, we had dinner at Le Grand Colbert, from Something's Gotta Give, starring Jack Nicholson.  Friends recommended this restaurant to us and it was delicious!

Le Grand Colbert

One of our favorite finds of the weekend was a precious neighborhood restaurant in Montmarte called Coquelicot (coquelicot means "poppy" in French).  We stumbled upon it and the cute bakery / breakfast spot caught our eye.  There were no tourists in the entire place, which was a good sign, and the pastries in the front counter drew us in.  In addition to the pastries, Coquelicot served fresh bread, homemade jam and amazing coffee in big bowls.  We proceeded to go back two more times in two more days :)  They even packaged us up a jar of of their delicious jam for us to take with us.  Love.

The coffee bowls :)

Yummy!

We are full and happy and sure to return to Coquelicot

Notre Dame cathedral was next on the itinerary.  We visited the inside and also climbed the 400 steep steps to the top to get a special photo.

If you've ever been to my house, you know that I love old black and white photos. Alex and I have this black and white photo print from the 1950's hanging in our living room... 

Alex had the great idea to find this location in Paris and copy the photo with us in it, eventually hanging the pictures side by side.  The problem was, we initially didn't know where in Paris the photo was taken.  Even our Parisian friend, Bertrand, didn't know exactly where this lovely shot was staged.  To our surprise, when we arrived in Paris, we saw a postcard of the photo with "Notre Dame" written on the back.  So, the hour and a half line and 400 steep steps were worth the effort to get this special shot...

With a little photoshop to erase the protective "cage" around us, this photo will hopefully look a lot like a modern day version of the original above.  So excited!!

Pause for a sunscreen application for the pale one.  Thanks, sweet, Alex...

After all that climbing, a snack was absolutely neccessary so the four of us made our way to the Ile St. Louis.  This small island is beside the Isle de la Cite, where the Notre Dame is located, and is known for its gelato and ice cream shops.  Rick Steve's travel book mentions this one...Amorino.

Rick Steves was right.

In order for us to see the most of Paris, I chose a restaurant in the neighborhood of Marias (4th arrondissement) for our last dinner.  Les Bonnes Soeurs, which means "the good sisters" in French was delightful.  We were seated literally in the window, which was totally open on the lovely evening.  Our waiter was fabulous and the food lived up to every expectation we had.

Les Bonnes Soeurs

We saved the best for last and saw the Eiffel Tower on the last day.  Nothing says Paris quite like the Eiffel Tower.  It will always be romantic, no matter how many times you see it.  I'm happy to have finally experienced this landmark and the city of love with my husband :)

Love until next time...Melanie







Our first visitors! (part 1 of 2)

I could hardly sleep last Wednesday night knowing that my brother and sister in law were on a flight to visit us in Luxembourg!  Brian and Meghan landed Thursday morning in Brussels and I brought them back to Luxembourg as our first official visitors!

I'd prepared a little itinerary for the 4 of us, which was a challenge since Brian and Meghan were only going to be here for one week.  Between Luxembourg and Paris, there is just SO much to see and do!  We spent half of our time in Luxembourg and the other half in Paris.  It was the perfect combination of exploration, charm and adventure.

Here's a little rundown of our activities in Luxembourg!

- A tour of the Grand Duke's Palace (this is only offered one month out of the year and it happened to be August - yay!)

Brian & Meghan in front of the palace

- A drive along the lovely Moselle River (our wine region and border to Germany) and champagne tasting at Bernard Massard

In the beautiful vineyards overlooking the Moselle

Champagne tasting at Bernard Massard

Our tour guide at the Bernard Massard caves, Richie

Leaving Bernard Massard

- A bike tour of Luxembourg's Grund area

- Luxembourg's 671st annual Schueberfouer Festival

Schueberfouer's ferris wheel

- A train ride to Trier, Germany, which is the oldest city in Germany (16 BC)

Brian and I waiting for the train to Trier

Trier's Roman Ruin, Porta Nigra (2nd Century)

Lunch in Trier

- Drinking hot chocolate at the famous little Chocolate House and sampling macaroons from Kaempff-Kohler

Meghan's first (but not last :) macaroon

- Eating at our favorite restaurant, L'Entracte, and having raclette (a very French DIY meal) with the Queens

A huge thanks to my sister in law, Meghan, for the use of her photos :)  You can also view her blog here, which I'm sure will soon be updated with a post on the trip.  Check back soon for part 2, the post on Paris!

Love until next time...Melanie

A day in Brussels

This weekend, Alex and I made a day trip to Brussels, which is about 2 hours away from Luxembourg by car.  Our friends, Kristy and Jacques, who recently moved to Lux from South Africa, joined us for the adventure!  I've been known to forget my camera at very crucial times - for instance, our honeymoon - and it happened again.  But thanks to Kristy and Jacques, I have some great pictures to share :)

Brussels is known for several things including chocolate, waffels, beer and an odd little statue called Manneken Pis.  Tourists always flock to this tiny "monument" in the old city but I'm not sure why.  It seems that the little boy was a fountain dating back to the 15th century that played an essential role in the former distribution of drinking water.  The little guy has survived traumatic events in the city including a bombing in 1695 and now stands proud (but not tall) in the middle of Brussels.  Evidently, people in the city dress him up in funny outfits year around but sadly, last weekend, we found him only in his birthday suit...

See how small he is?

After seeing Manneken Pis, the four of us headed to the second most coveted thing to do in Brussels - eat "frites," (or french fries).  Did you know that french fries aren't French?  They are Belgian!  Kristy had some some research before arriving in Brussels so she led us to the "best frites" in town - Fritland!

No idea what the flesh colored sauce is below the fries.  I stuck with Ketchup.

After some frites (and a stomach ache), we ventured to the Grand Place, the (ancient) city centre of Brussels.  The gothic buildings were breathtaking!



After a little more exploring, it was time for another snack.  A Belgian waffle...

Alex and I opted for the waffle with chocolate.  We were still full from the frites :)

After snack #2, the 4 of us continued to explore the city and saw several Cathedrals (almost a dime a dozen over here), some chocolate shops (our favorite is Neuhaus) and popped in a famous brewery, Delirium Cafe.  Because Brussels is a popular place for tourists and the streets were packed, we decided to take our explorations to the outer edges of downtown, which turned out to be a great idea.  We saw the Palace of Justice (with views over the entire city) and Kristy found an adorable restaurant for us to eat dinner.  En route back to our car was the best view of the trip but its hard to see behind us...

Meet Kristy and Jacques!

And again a little closer...

Great friends...great day...the end!

With love until next time...Melanie