5 Years and Counting ...

Hello all,

Thought it be fun to share with you what we did for our 5th year anniversary. 

Five years of marriage already! My, how the time goes.

As a great comedian once said, "Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana." 

Oh Groucho, how I love thee...

Anyway, we thought it'd be fun to spend the night in Paris and be romantic and all that jazz. 

Like cutesy couples do when they come to Paris. 

Like we haven't done at all in the two years we've lived abroad because...well...we live here and go home to our place outside of Paris and are constantly trying to make sure we catch the infamous RER B.

So we booked a night at the cutest little hotel in Paris, Hotel Le Petit Paris situated very near the Pantheon and Le Jardin du Luxembourg in the heart of the Latin Quarter, our favorite area of Paris. It was modern, neat, and it had great customer service. The receptionist/concierge was wonderful, telling us about their free tea and cake service for their guests in the afternoon and an honesty bar from 6pm to 12am. Because it was our anniversary, they comp-ed us two drinks. Lovely lovely people.

This was part of the decoration in the lobby. I love them!

We took the elevator up to the room and were blown away by a) the size of the room b) the size of the bed and c) the fact that we had air conditioning!

We may or may not have looked at each other and squealed like little kids.
Or then again, that could have been just me...

Isn't this a heavenly looking room?

Still smile when I see the photo...

And the best part? L'Occitane bath products. YES!

Even the sink had a pattern!

Of course, it's not a French room in the student area if you don't have a Liberty, Equality, Fraternity sign above your chairs. But, you know, who doesn't have that, right?

Those chairs were the most comfortable chairs I've ever sat in.
If only I could discover where to pick up a few of them...

While I was checking the room out, Mr K decided he needed to check out <<le grand lit>>. I came back from taking pictures to this:

Nice comfy bed equals a very happy, very much asleep Mr. K

After a bit of a rest, we decided to go see about this tea and cake business. 

And yes, my mind chanted like Eddie Izzard... Tea and cake or death...tea and cake or death...

Cake or death? Cake, please.

Mr. K even had some. It was glorious, heavenly, and the perfect cuppa.

Gotcha!
Mr. K is caught in the act of preparing tea (and also for scale next to the HUGE tea cups).

We went for a bit of a walk after that and then took the suggestion of our receptionist to have a reservation made at L'Estrapade, a little restaurant tucked away from the tourists that serves the best French food. The price is about 20 euros for a main, 35 for a prix fix with starter and main and dessert. I highly recommend them. Everything they make uses ingredients sourced from France. One tip though: they only seat you if you have a reservation, so make one and go. You will not be disappointed.

After that we walked by the Seine and then called it a night.

The next morning we had the buffet breakfast (also delish), checked out, put our luggage in the luggage room and headed out to to Canal St. Martin.

Yup, this baby.

This is where the Parisians go to hang out.

This is a pretty area and you all may recognize this shot.

No?  How about now?

Ah, Amélie. We have now seen the cafe from the movie, gone up to Montmartre many times, and have finally seen the Canal Saint-Martin. My Paris dream is complete.

As you can see, full of locks and sunbathing. Very calm and very chill.

Strolling back along the other side, we came across the iconic wrought-iron balconies that makes the city beautiful. They're everywhere and I can't get enough of them.

And thus concluded our perfect getaway for the anniversary.

Je t'aime, mon cheri. Pour toujours.

Until next time,
Bisous!