Springtime in Paris

Our full itinerary, including where we stayed and the shoes that got me through wedding fun.

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Happy Sunday, Midlifers!

And happy June! It’s good to be back. ;)

After a really busy (and eventful!) May, I’m looking forward to a much more relaxed and quiet month.

I caught up with a friend over breakfast yesterday who wanted to know ALL about my trip to Europe last week for my son’s wedding in Paris. We ate our omelettes and I scrolled through my phone and showed her pictures of some of the highlights from our adventures. 🇫🇷

I showed her pics of me and the kids holding up baguettes we made during a baking class at a boulangerie in Paris’ Marais district.

And one of the four of us during a (very rainy) e-bike trip through the Dutch countryside.

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Another of me and my daughter posing in Monet’s fan-frigging-tastic garden in Giverny.

And a pic of me and the groom standing in Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors the day before the wedding.

My friend looked up from my phone and said, “You guys did SO MUCH.”

We really did. But in my defense, my travel companions aren’t the type to roam aimlessly through the streets of ________ (insert travel destination). They need to be walking toward SOMETHING. Also, I find that having one set thing every day gives a trip structure, which I guess is something I like.

The only days we did not clock at least 5 miles was wedding day and the Sunday we were stuck at CDG airport waiting for our delayed flight to Amsterdam.

As such, we logged A LOT of miles. Like, a little over 11 on our first day in Paris. And that was with taking the Metro all over the place (which I HIGHLY recommend — super easy to navigate and wow, so much cleaner/updated than NYC).

Here’s how the Paris itinerary broke down:

Day 1: Roam around Eiffel Tower gardens/Louvre “highlights” tour/stroll to Notre Dame

We roamed around the Eiffel Tower while waiting to get into our AIrbnb to drop our bags (we had used the app Bounce to store them nearby until we could get in)

Clearly, I was into the sculpture. Also: Winged Victory just kills me — she's so fierce.

Did we get inside? Mais non. It was closed by the time we got there. :(

Day 2: Shopping + Giverny

Not enough time for all the shopping I wanted to do.

Merci: LOVED (see plates above). Could have bought everything in the store. Settled for a tote bag and a “Non Merci” baseball cap.

Citypharma: My daughter knew exactly what she wanted to buy.

Officine Universelle Buly: We stood online to buy pricey TikTok famous personalized combs.

Sabre: My younger daughter turned 28 in the City of Lights and said she’d love something from this store as her gift from me. I ended up buying myself gorgeous butter and cheese knives. So special. And the packaging. GAH. Worth it.

Laurent Dubois: Procured French BUTTER with big flecks of sea salt that was vacuum sealed to bring home.

Monet's home and gardens were spectacular and worth the drive from Paris.

I’ll be honest: I did not want to spend a full day driving 1.5 hours out to Monet’s home in Giverny but I am so glad we did. We did a semi-private tour and were driven in a van by a lovely guide who told us all the things. Memorable.

Day 3/Paris: Versailles + hot chocolate + Seine dinner cruise

Versailles pre-wedding party!

I think my children almost killed me when I insisted we wait online to drink overpriced hot chocolate. The pastries, however, slapped.

Day 4: Baking + Wedding!

So fun to learn all about what makes a proper French baguette and croissant.

Our bride and groom. :)

Room with a view!

Where to stay in Paris: We stayed at an Airbnb with a killer view of the Eiffel Tower and a few blocks from the Seine that was convenient to wedding festivities. There was a nearby boulangerie for daily lattes and croissants and weirdly, a hair salon next door where my daughter and I got blowouts for the wedding.

But the location was not convenient to walking to any big sightseeing destinations and we took the nearby Metro (excellent) everywhere. Next time, I’ll look into St. Germain des Pres, Montmartre or the Marais districts. If you’re planning an upcoming trip to Paris,

Joanna Goddard

of Big Salad/Cup of Joe fame has lots of great recs of places to stay and things to do.

These heels from Aerosoles were perfect and are on sale.

Outfit MVPs: Remember me wringing my hands about what shoes to wear with my mother-of-the-groom ensembles? I walked A TON in these heels and not only were they sturdy enough to navigate cobblestones but I wore two nights in a row and my feet never hurt. A miracle.

Thanks for traveling along! If you’re interested, I can share more next week about Amsterdam and the travel pieces that helped me stay organized for the trip as well as my outfit workhorses.

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