return to the city of lights

+jmj+

The (a little more than) slightly delayed recap of my last weeks in France continues...with a return to Paris! After a tour of Western and Southern France, we took the train back from Avignon to Paris for a weekend stay before my mom's return to the States.

My mom had been to Paris once before (on my parent's honeymoon--quite some time ago...), but after all that time, the memories had understandably collected some dust. Though we visited many sites and monuments that I knew from old photos taken by my mother herself, most of what we saw seemed brand new to her. Thankfully, we did not have to fight too many tourists around the city since it was still not quite peak travel season. We enjoyed much of the beauty Paris has to offer with that wonderful, casual European pace I very willingly acquired.

arc de triomphe

maureen along the seine

inside notre dame

flower market on my favorite street :)

cheers! lunch at a great bistro along the river

not my favorite, but my mom loved seeing all the fish markets

Within a weekend, we made it up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for one of the best views of Paris, to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night, to several of the city's lush gardens, to some of my favorite restaurants & cafes, and all along the river. We walked more than our feet wanted to take us, but it was worth it to see Paris above ground in the spring rather than from an underground tunnel. Especially at night. The City of Love easily rivals the City of Light.

It was definitely worth re-visiting these places that I know inside and out to view it all from my mom's excited, fresh perspective. Just as I was preparing to leave the country to which I had grown so accustomed and acclimated, it was like rediscovering it all over again. Exactly what I needed to engrave this most beautiful city in the world into my memory.

With that, my mom's trip to France came to a close and we headed our separate ways for only two more weeks. She braved Charles de Gaulle all by herself (!!!) to fly back to Chicago. And I hopped a train headed west towards the coast, off on one last adventure before my own homecoming!

pax christi.