Note: this post is one of  my last installments of “catching up” that I need to do for this blog. Hannah and I went to Paris November 22-24, 2013.

One of my favorite series when I was a child was about a little girl in an old house in Paris that was covered in vines. She had 11 awesome friends and they walked in two straight lines. That series, of course, was about Madeline. Later came Eloise, my favorite girl-wonder who living in a swanky hotel. One time she explored Paris with her adorable pug named Weenie and her turtle, Skipperdee. Madeline and Eloise made Paris seem magical, beautiful, glamorous, and fun.

I didn’t make it to Paris when I was a little girl like Madeline and Eloise did. But I got the next best thing and went as a young woman–and with my good friend, Hannah, to boot. We saw the Eiffel Tower…

We were stumbling around on our first morning and it suddenly appeared across the Seine!

This makes me Madeline, right?

Hannah can be Eloise. She’s certainly a troublemaker.

And ate lots of sweet treats…

Macarons. We’re ready for you!

Yum! Also, it’s really cold!

You can buy Ladurée sparkling wine.

Or Ladurée gâteaus.

But certainly the best treats are…

…the ones in front of your nose!

Pretty packaging.

Excitement!

The anticipation builds…

…and they are so beautiful! Also tasty. My favorite was the pistachio.

The tea room entrance.

And the side of the tea room all dressed up for Christmas.

We climbed the Arc de Triomphe…

We thought, oh, that looks like fun! There’s a student discount with our visas! Let’s do it!

This structure is actually MASSIVE.

And then there are the stairs. 284 of them.

But it was all worth it when we saw these views.

The Champs-Elysée.

And when we got to six pm, the Eiffel Tower shimmered and sparkled! It does this every hour, but seeing it the first time was breathtaking.

Part of the top of the Arc. Really beautiful from up there.

and roamed the Louvre–how neat!

On the walk back to the Louvre, we found the street named for one of my favorite composers (he wrote Carmen, if that helps you).

We saw it sparkle again!

The Louvre was such a maze. Look at how huge this painting is!!

The tiny pyramids were très mignonne.

The inside was incredible, too.

All lit up at night…

…and we went straight back the next morning.

The fountains and water structures made the whole plaza seem like it was made of glass.

The Louvre: just like a palace.

Selfies with the Louvre!

Hannah rocking the “I’m wandering the streets of Paris in autumn” look.

We got hop-on-hop-off river cruise passes. Seriously, one of my favorite ways to take “public transportation” in a big city with a river.

There it is again!

This time we actually got up close and personal. The park was just as beautiful as the infamous tower.

Before we thought to say goodbye, we ate our way through town…

Ice cream at Angelina.

The best hot chocolate I have ever had the pure pleasure of drinking.

Our one fancy dinner in the Latin Quarter.

The incredible space for dinner.

Look Mom, I bought a baguette!

Wrapped in the French way with just a bit of paper to keep the butter from oozing on your hands.

Pastries. Every day.

And hot chocolate.

And maybe a Croque Madame or two.

We even got some reading in–and left with nary a frown.

The famous English-language book store in Paris. We found Madeline en français here!

That sign down there? It says “free the starving writers.” I put a euro in.

Instagram-ed goodness of our awesome weekend.

Thanks for stopping by.