Montana, You're Kind of Nice

Memorial weekend was fast approaching and we had no plans.  One area I have never been and always wanted to was Whitefish, MT.  So we loaded Doug into the jeep and went.  It has to be my favorite areas of Montana, I love Bozeman, but this was a place both Rick and I could see ourselves retiring to.
We worried that it would be busy being a holiday weekend, but we had no issues.  No traffic, we booked a pet friendly room at the Firebrand last minute (I highly recommend this place, gorgeous and walking distance to everywhere downtown).  In fact we loved it so much decided to camp outside Glacier for a couple of extra days and extend our weekend.
We both loved every minute of this last minute getaway!

Our first sight of Flathead Lake

Whitefish had one of the greatest dog parks Doug has ever been to!

The trail system in Whitefish is one of the best I have been to.  I believe there were 12 different trailheads around Whitefish.

My tip for traveling with a dog, that sleeps on a bed.  Pack your own sheets.  I always throw in a couple extra or a blanket to put over the main comforter at the hotel.

Stopped in Glacier at Lake McDonald

This guy strolled right by our car

Camping with Doug

I loved the hotel we stayed at for 2 nights, but nothing can beat this place to sleep,

Vacation wore Doug out.  He slept the 7plus hours home.

Mom's Weekend

I officially attend my second and last WSU Mom's weekend (back in April, I'm a little late posting).  My son is graduating this winter with a degree in digital technology and culture and a minor in fine arts (his creativity definitely does not come from me). 
The first one we attended in 2018 was a party at the frat house, that was an experience.  I am not much of a "drinker", I like a beverage here or there so was a bit of  fish out of water so to speak.  This time was a lot more chill.  Enjoyed the awesome breweries in Moscow, wine tasting, a dinner at the Lumber Yard, hiking and my favorite we attend a bear enrichment!

Paris...Still

It's cold and rainy today, the perfect day for trip planning.  However, I have decided I have got to finish Paris!
This will be the last few photo's of Paris. 
While there we did all the classics, but my personal favorite museum was Musee de l Armee Invalides.  I love history and could've spent all day in there.  We opted for about a half day, saw Napoleons tomb, then moved over to the WWI and WWII sections.  We skipped the French Revolution, only for time.  For me these wars from the French perspective is fascinating.  It was an impressive display of artifacts from these two wars.  The weaponry, uniforms (french and all the foreigners), propaganda, posters, maps.  There is also the Charles De Gaulle section, amazing and I hope to go back one day and spend even more time.
Disneyland Paris, we did it.  Lo loved it, I could've gone either way with it.  It is an easy train ride from the city (just read up on current scams first, that's a long story), Disney Paris tickets are a quarter of the price of the US parks.  I would say that's because it's not quite as magical.  While it is neat and impressive, the rides are all more roller coaster fun and fast, versus the impressive stories you ride through at Disneyland.  All in all I am glad we did it, but probably wouldn't visit a second time!

Napoleon's Tomb

This small museum dedicated to Marie Curie is well worth the stop.  This was her lab, and all her contributions to science as well as her husband and children's

The reality of the Mona Lisa

Paris Part Deux

I've decided to post the rest of Paris in photos.  Paris is overwhelming, in the sense there is so much to see and do.  We spent a week there, initially I thought I'd never want to go back (keep in mind we came from Dublin with some of the most friendly people I have ever met traveling), but a few days in the beauty of this place grew on me and I know we were merely touching the surface on all there is to see.  The photos you'll see are places Lo and I had each read about and made a point to see, there are many things left still to be seen.  Most days were spent seeing several places, we averaged 10 miles a day walking, but really enjoyed this way of seeing the city.  One entire day was spent at Euro Disney and I will do a separate post on that.
I have been to many countries in Europe, traveled to Asia and Central America as well.  All with languages other than English, Paris was the one country you need to at least learn the basics in French to really enjoy your time there.  This trip was Lo's dream trip. She had taken 3 years of French, and while she wasn't fluent she got us around, she ordered our macrons and baguettes daily, and translated how many euros were needed.  I'd bring her back in a heart beat!

Obviously the Eiffel tower.  We walked from the 6th here, it was a decent walk.  We stopped on way through Rue Cler, a market street for a baguette (our Paris staple) and macarons.  So many great shops along here to grab picnic items.  We opted not to go up the tower, and instead go up the Arc de Triomphe so we would have views of the Eiffel Tower.

Basically everything in Paris is picturesque

There are no words that can truly describe Angelina's, it is that good. Their desserts are unlike anything I have ever tasted, but they are know for their hot chocolate.  Trust me I thought what's the big deal....it's a big deal.  I have no idea what is in that, but has ruined all other hot chocolate for me.  Sitting inside was lovely and should be done, however we craved their sweet treats after and they do have a shop at the front you can grab and go.  The Tuileries is across the way so if it's busy the gardens make for a lovely place to eat. Word of caution, 1 dessert is enough to share, our eyes were always bigger than our stomach and entered dessert coma after!

Again, picturesque.  This is the beauty of walking, it was breathtaking.  Of course my daughter did find a Lululemon while shopping in Le Marais

We stayed in the 6th arrondissement, which is lined with fabulous cafes.  This one happened to be smoke free, with great vegetarian foods and right across from the Luxembourg Gardens (which was my favorite).  In fact I loved this whole area between the 5th and 6th.  On this particular day we walked to see the Pantheon and went to the Marie Curie museum (small but so worth it). Ok and we can't forget french wine, even cheap french wine it good...like so good!

We got an early start one day to head to Notre Dame.  We were there in late March and did get tickets ahead of time, but just that morning to avoid cuing up.  In fact we had no problem getting day of tickets anywhere this time of year.  This building dates back to 1200 and sits at the center of Paris, I loved it.

This was a month before the fire so we were able to go up in the bell tower, well worth it.

Seeing the gargoyles up close was remarkable

After we walked to the Eiffel Tower we walked to the Arc De Triomphe, we wanted views of the city that included the tower. This was a great spot, but I recommend using the rest rooms before you get there.  They were pretty bad, and could've done without experiencing that.

No shortage of desserts for us in Paris, gelato in Europe is always so good.

This picture doesn't even begin to do Saint Chapelle justice.  We walked over from Notre Dame and did not plan to be blown away.  It was remarkable and should be on everyone's list.  It doesn't take long in there, so easy to fit in.  Also Lo was free inside all attractions.  Anyone 18 and under!

For my Gossip Girl loving girl this was our go to macarons. We definitely ate others, but Laduree is all over Paris.

Just thinking about these I get hungry!

More pictures on the next post!  I took hundreds, but just giving the sample over everywhere here.

Paris!

Finally getting to the Paris post.  I have been out on medical leave and had high hopes to get through to a Whitefish, MT trip.  However, I've read 5 books in 3 weeks and working on backing up 4 years (roughly 6000) photos...with the promise that I will in the future stay on top of this!

Ok here we go Paris! As I mentioned in previous post I flew Aer Lingus and did a stop over in Dublin.  Flights I always look for the most direct route and that was an excellent choice! The hardest part for me about Paris was actually deciding where to stay.  Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements, starting with 1 at the very center.  1 being the oldest part of the city, right where Notre Dame is located the going around that in a circular motion as the city was built out.  My main objective was to be able to walk everywhere.  From 1 to where the Eiffel Tower is 7.  In searching I did a lot of google maps to figure out distances.  My kids are use to walking a ton on vacation, but 2 miles out is about the furthest I like to be from one particular destination, because we also want it to be as efficient as possible.  There is Uber and taxis, but Paris is much like NY, either taking the train or walking is faster than being stuck in a car.  I ended up choosing the 6th and staying at the Hotel Bel Ami.  This is a smaller boutique hotel, and knowing European rooms I upgraded to a slightly bigger room, the deluxe room since we would be spending a week here.  I also did the breakfast.  I know Paris has amazing cafes, and trust me we still enjoyed them, but I like doing hotel breakfast when I travel.  My breakfast of choice is always fruit and coffee. I like not having to put thought into that part of my day while on vacation. While not giving thought to it, it also allowed us time while down there to plan/map out our day.  Their breakfast was great.  A pretty standard European breakfast, with cheese, breads, meats and eggs, along with fruit and delicious pastries.
I do not plan days out ahead of time, because until you are actually in the city you can't really plan how much you'll be able to cover in a day or not.  The day we got in was relatively early and we only had an hour time change coming from Dublin, so we grabbed a handy paper map. At this point I had not activated my international phone plan (however it was set up ahead of time), in Dublin everything was so easy to get around I didn't need it.  Paris is confusing, two days later I activated it to be able to use google maps! We went on a walk down the Siene, crossed over on a bridge that happened to be the bridge of locks, traveled down the Tuileries, ended up at the Louvre, decide to go in and see the Mona Lisa and a few other exhibits (this place is HUGE and crowded, this you should maybe go in with a plan, we did not and I couldn't wait to get out), realized we were close to making a loop so headed back to the hotel.  After a quick change went around the corner and ate at Cafe de Flore (as a Hemingway fan this was a must), the french onion soup and hot chocolate were great, but keep in mind there are only a few smoke free restaurants in Paris, and this one seemed to be one with a lot of smokers. 

You'll see a lot of this type of photo, by the end of the trip she got it pretty close to perfect!

The room that the Mona Lisa in was likely filled with at least 100 people. You just had to swim your way to the front to snap a photo. I have a photo of this, I will try to find and share, it was CRAZY!

Back to the map

In Dublin her eye got really infected, thankfully we found medicated drops at the airport heading to Paris but this is why her eye looks all wonky here, no contacts for her.

Surprisingly they did have a vegetarian club on the menu, it was ok.

In the next few posts I'll share a few of our favorite stops while staying in Paris.