Girls trip to Paris

The last two years we have been here Rand and I have each allowed each other a 4-day weekend away with friends. He has chosen to snowboard in Austria with fellow dentists and in March I went to Paris again with some friends from church. Five of us left our husbands and children home to stroll around Paris for a few days. Since this was my third time there it was nice to be able to not feel rushed to see as much as I had time for. We saw all of the big sights (it was our friend, Emily's first time there) and did lots of fun shopping that I definitely don't do with Rand. We went to flea markets and went fabric shopping in Montmartre and all bought fabric to make dresses for our little girls. We took pictures of lots of pretty things and got to practice our skills with our photographer friend, Marianne. It was like a big sleepover for 4 days- a perfect recharge of the batteries. I was also able to go back to Versailles which I had wanted to do and didn't have time for when I went with Rand the previous February. It was a fabulous weekend with great friends (two of which have left us now and are badly missed). I can't wait to plan the next one!

I love the metro signs they are all so different.

Way too pretty to eat.

Gorgeous flower markets are found all over the city.

Old books and photographs at the Flea Market

The apartment buildings are so elegant with their wrought iron verandas.

Sacre Coeur, my favorite cathedral in Paris.

This guy, and his equally hysterically dressed friend put on a dance for us under the Eiffel Tower to Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean." Sometimes you see the strangest things in Europe.

At night the Eiffel Tower "sparkles" if you can't tell that's what the white lights are.

Versailles

How would you like to walk through this gate to go home?

The ceiling of the chapel.

The last time I was in Versailles it was July and it was so crowded you could hardly move. I did not take a single picture of the interior then so it was really fun to stroll through without many tourists and notice all of the details of this beautiful palace.

In this photo you can see that every room has different fabric on the walls down the entire corridor.

Beautiful ceiling and chandeliers in the Hall of Mirrors.

Marianne and I taking pictures of ourselves in the mirrors.

Cherub fountain behind the palace.

The sprawling lawn and gardens that go on forever.

We saw these pretty trees on the walk over to Marie Antoinette's Hamlet.

Marie Antoinette had an obsession with peasant life and had this Hamlet built with many thatched roof cottages to visit and pretend to have a simpler life. Why is the grass always greener on the other side? They are still standing, many of them barely but it was neat to walk around this pretty area of the grounds.

Our group minus Marianne (who was taking the picture).

Me, Jody, Emily, Christina

Have you ever seen mistletoe growing? It grows in those big clusters in the tree branches. They have tons of it in Europe.