happy birthday h. ray hart

i love paris

my birthday shout out sign

rose window at the notre dame - breathtaking

okay i gave in and lit a candle. i had to!

just eating another nutella crepe.

what can i say. i love shoes!

shoes at sainte chapelle

these windows are amazing

the detail - c'est incroyable!

beautiful orchids at an flower market. mmm

just doing what i do best. groovin at the BHV

today i am happy.

i got to do one of my favorite things, with some of my new favorite people!

i went ice skating! (le patinage!)

ice skating in paris, does it get any better than that?

girls skate

isn't this just whimsical?

skating in paris. love

other noteworthy events. we have this class called 'paris walks' and it is all on our own. we just have to follow a certain number of walks that are all laid out for us in this book called 'walking through paris' history' (please read that in an uppity, scholarly accent). sounds easy right? oh wait. all the walks are at least three hours long and take forever! emily and i had quite the walk today (19528 steps!) it was also my dear grandpa hart's birthday today so i made this little shout out sign and took pictures with it everywhere! that was fun. we went to the notre dame, and actually went inside this time. i loved it. we sat down for a little mass, walked around and could barely speak as we took it all in. it truly is beautiful. and even though it was filled with all kinds of tourists and touristy things, i couldn't help but remember that one time that beautiful cathedral was dedicated simply to the worship of God. years were spent perfecting it, and being there just filled me with joy.

next we headed to the conciergerie. i'm not going to lie... it was a bit of a let down. but hey, it lowered our expectations for the next stop, sainte-chapelle, and once we figured out we could go upstairs we were absolutely blown away. it is almost impossible to take in all the stained glass that literally surrounds you. each window tells a bible story (though i found them a little bit impossible to read) and each window is completely different. the detail and work that has gone in to each of those extensive windows... holy cow. (or perhaps in honor of my grandpa for his birthday... crad!) we just sat and looked for quite a while. oh, right before st. chapelle we headed to the latin quarter for a little crepe break to lift our spirits and give us needed energy. it totally worked. we ate at the little "boulangerie de papa" love it.

after sainte-chapelle we were freezing cold so we took a quick stop at the Palais de Justice and might have snuck into a court room that i don't think we were supposed to be in (no one really stops you from doing anything here) and then we headed to explore the BHV while waiting for the rest of those who wanted to ice skate. i love the BHV.

ice skating was an absolute blast. it really was so whimsical with the glowing carousel and sparkling hotel de ville lights surrounding us. and they played some kesha and usher so it felt a little bit like home.

at home nannick (actually it might be mannick!) made us a little pizza dinner because we had not eaten yet. she is so cute. love life. how do i always end up staying up so late? goodnight all. thanks for taking the time to read. bon soir.