paris // 1

It took me almost a month before I sat down and scrolled through photos of our honeymoon to Paris, France. I think part of me just wanted to savor the feeling of living in Paris where we were drinking espresso twice a day and consuming ourselves with art and beauty and learning about history and language... I had a feeling that looking through the photos would transport our beautiful trip into the past, into a memory to be shoved away and thought of fondly. Indeed, six months passed since we stepped off the plane back into the States, and my photos remain looked through but untouched, collecting dust in my hard drive. So I thought I'd post these photos from Paris. These posts are 100% selfish: I just want to relive this trip a little and write about my experiences in this wonderful (I'm not using that word lightly) city. I'll be posting a few photos every day. I hope you feel a smidgen of the excitement and awe Joe and I felt as we explored and opened our eyes to the world of the Parisians.We landed in France on a Tuesday after a connecting flight in Reykjavik, Iceland. Our tickets told us we had less than an hour to catch our second flight, so both of us were a little stressed over the thought we could miss our plane. When we touched down in Iceland, we dashed off the aircraft and sprinted... all the way.... upstairs... Evidently, the Reykjavik international airport is really, really small.  Good news: if you're taking a flight to Europe and you're stopping in Iceland, they have a small grocery area where you can buy sushi to eat before/during your flight. Especially for those of you who get nauseous while you fly. Didn't care. Ate it anyway.After a smooth and short flight, we touched down in Paris. When we stepped off the plane and out of the airport, we looked over our shoulders a little confused. We were a little scared we accidentally escaped some kind of official customs business. Definitely not like arriving in the States. We waved down a taxi, and I tried really really hard to keep my tired eyes open as we drove through Paris for the first time.When the cab pulled up to Hotel Le Six, we checked in, and manager told us, "This must be a special trip. You have the best room in the hotel.""It's our honeymoon."The room smelled like Paris. Soapy and bright. A magenta painted wall and white sheets greeted us, and we napped for a good five hours before waking up around 7p.m. and exploring the surrounding Left Bank. Starving and dazed, we headed into a restaurant and ordered... pizza and beer. What?! Yeah, we know. After dinner, we walked up near the Montparnasse, the only skyscraper in Paris, bought ice cream and wandered.The next day, we were awake and ready to go. The first photo I took of the trip is the one above. Doesn't Joe look happy and excited and newly married? The second is this view from our balacony. Joe requested our room especially to have a balcony. For me. His new wife. So I could see the streets of Paris. To step out onto it, you opened a window, and literally stepped up and out onto a narrow space with a rail. Everywhere, I saw plants and flowers. Pots of green. Colorful life hanging from the windows and balconies. That will always be my Paris.