Coco what?

Have y'all seen coconut water everywhere?

I have.

And I'm wondering if I should try it.

Even Kourtney loves it.

I've heard some people say they love it and then an equal amount of people say they hate it.

I just wonder which brand to to start with.

After some review reading, mostly Healthy Happy Life, I think I'm going to start with the first brand I see at Target.

Yup, that's how I roll.

After all I think if it isn't of my liking

I can try this:

Thank you Pinterest.

Farewell Paris

We started our last day in Paris, Christmas Eve, with breakfast at Laduree.

Known for it's incredible macarons, it was on my list of to-do's for Paris.

One of my favorite blogs to read, Oh Happy Day, posted about a Macaron taste testing and knew when in Paris we should do the same.

We followed her map but decided to start with breakfast at Laduree.

Breakfast was delightful, although it was very busy it was a great way to start our last day in Paris.

We even had a celebrity sighting.  Genevieve Gorder from HGTV sat a couple of tables over.

We used to love her on Trading Spaces.

She is so pretty and so very tiny.   

After breakfast we completed the shop for our "research".

The goods at hand.

We then walked over to Tuileries and noticed the Christmas market on Champs Elysees, so we decided to take a stroll.

Fun rides for the kids.

Food for those with a big stomach.

And lots of little shops

Yum.

Half way through our stroll we walked over to see this beauty one last time.

We sat and drank some beer to take it all in, hey when on vacation.

Then walked the rest of the Christmas market.

We retraced our steps for a couple of gifts and then decided on an early lunch.

For me.

For the hubby.

It was such a great way to end our trip.

Oh but not yet.

We took the Eurostar back to London that night.

Picked up a bottle of champagne at the Eurostar terminal

And at Midnight we toasted to the birth of Jesus.  

Paris macaron style.

The competition begins. 

So very beautiful

The final winner.

Laduree.

The next morning we were up early and on our way home.

Home on Christmas day to be with the ones we love.

Especially a certain little one.

Paris Day Duex

We started our second day with a trip out to Versailles

It was amazing even on the dreariest of days

The palace is so large and the grounds even larger

All incredible

As I've traveled Europe I've been reminded of the cobblestone streets.  

I love them.

My feet not so much.

I've started to take picture and think one day I'll do something with pictures of all the cobblestones.

Maybe Pinterest can help.

The famous wall of mirrors.

 

Our next stop was the Eiffel Tower

My absolute favorite

It's such a glorious structure

The view from the top.  Did I ever mention I'm not a fan of heights.

Totally worth it.

After our visit we pit stopped at La Maison Angelina close to the Louve.

It's a well known chocolate cafe.

It was to.die.for.

                          

Their chocolate was beyond this world.  

Seriously and I'm not one to go gaga over hot chocolate.

Calories out the window.

Best ever.

After our refuel we went on to the Louve.

Friday nights they stay open late so we decided to take advantage.

I prepared myself for it being a huge museum.  

It's beyond.

It would literally take days to walk through it all.

Sadly we didn't have that much time so we hit up the most popular.

Remember these from art and history books?

Wow!

 

And her most famous resident.

Mona Lisa

The crowds were insane.

All worth it.

 

Yes I did contemplate selling everything and moving to Paris.

Still do.

Paris: AhhhMazing

Catching up from life...the vacation tour continues....

On our first day in Paris we started the morning with a trip to Arc de Triump

It's such an amazing structure. I wasn't up for visiting but am so glad we did.

All of Paris is around you.

And the sun came out!

In all my years in NY I don't think I've ever seen a poster change in the subway.

Or a police man on rollerblades.  I think he was busting her for not biking on a designated area.

Heck if I know.

The gates of the Palace of Justice

A bridge near Notre Dame.

You are to buy a lock, write your name and the name of your beloved and throw the key into the Seine River.

Love.

We climbed the stairs of Notre Dame and we able to see the gargoyles up close.

And the amazing views of this beautiful city.

Even though it was overcast it was amazing.

Notre Dame allowed photography however no flash.  

It was super busy as only a couple of days before Christmas.

Another beautiful church.

We crossed the bridge over to Ile Saint Louis in search of a famous Parisian ice cream.

If only I had a coffee maker with k cups

Lovely flowers

Found our destination.  Maison Berthillon 

Because of it being close to the holiday we weren't able to purchase from the store but we were recommended to try a cafe around the corner.

We feasted on Hazelnut, Chocolate and Vanilla with Honey.

It was AMAZING.

After that most delicious treat we walked to Musee d'Orsay.

An incredible museum.

Life changing to be amongst such beautiful art and a truly beautiful building.

After our museum tour we pit stopped at a cafe for some coffee and to drool at our view.

We then went on to a late dinner.

I ordered a chicken dish while the hubby decided on the night's special.

Sooooo

It reads Cocotte de Rognon de veau.

We figured it would be a veal dish...however learned later it was a...

Casserole of Veal Kidney..

Lets just say we ate dessert quickly.

Then we went off to the last boat ride along the Seine.

Among the most beautiful buildings in the world lit up at night.

My absolute favorite.

Life Changing

On the way we go

We started the day with one more visit to Harrods

Which btw features above, a shrine to Lady Di & Dodi

Read about it here.

I thought it would be creepy and well it was.

This section of Harrods is quite decorative.

After some last minute gifts off we went to the Palace

Buckingham Palace.

We went to catch the changing of the guards.

It was amazing to see so many people especially on a rainy cloudy day.

To be honest the changing wasn't that interesting.  Lots of ceremonial stuff that really can't be seen from the greatest of any angle.

But it was great to be there and to see the spot of Will and Kate's balcony kiss

The area around the Palace is really nice, I'm sure in the spring it is beautiful. 

After the changing of the guards we went off to the Churchill War Rooms.

The hubby is a history buff and nothing beats some WW2 museum.

The war rooms lies beneath the city and housed people during that time.

More importantly it housed Churchill and his cabinet.

It's amazing to see how people lived.

One of the meeting rooms, the maps to either side are original and marked the areas under control by Hitler's army.

A hallway showing every one's sleeping and living areas.

After our tour we were off to Paris via the Eurostar.

We took a late train so once we got to our hotel we quickly went on to find a dinner spot.

We found an amazing place near the hotel.

We were quickly given wine.  

The hubby a happy camper

The French have the most amazing food

A Lentil salad

A Block of Ham

Dinner was so good.  

After dinner we took a stroll.  

We were after all in Paris!