Paris, France 1

Bonjour!

We are in Paris for our “babymoon” before Blake comes in a couple of months, soaking up the French sunshine and beachy weather!

Okay, it’s not really sunny. Or beachy. But we’re still enjoying the French weather (clouds).

We arrived in Paris Saturday morning and found that my metro navigation skills were more than acceptable to get us to where Margaux was waiting. Margaux is my French friend from high school, who took part in an exchange program with me where we went to live with each other in our respective countries for three weeks each. We’ve kept in touch, and now she’s letting us stay in her Paris apartment for a couple of days! She had quite the breakfast waiting for us – all my favorites. Bananas, kiwi, cantaloupe, baguettes, brioche with chocolate chips, and yogurt. We all know who ate the most baguette (me).

After getting settled, Taylor and I headed out to Île de la Cité, a touristy area of central Paris along the Seine River where you can walk around and get a feel for the heart of Paris. We saw the Cathédrale Notre-Dame, Shakespeare & Company bookstore, and the Seine. We stopped at Cafe le Dante for a coffee and tea and enjoyed a quieter street of people-watching. We grabbed sandwiches at a boulangerie (bakery) and Taylor fell in love with French bread. (You may think it’s because he was comparing it to airplane food… but no. It’s just that good.)

We had been awake for almost 24 hours at this point, so we were walking in order to stay awake. We weren’t much in the mood to pose for pictures, unfortunately, but we’ll be back in this area of Paris next week so maybe we’ll have more to share then.

Back at Margaux’s apartment, we took a nap to keep us going for the rest of the day. Margaux took us on a walk later to Parc Monceau, a beautiful park closeby where a lot of people were going running (weirdos). I did get approached by a French teenager who asked if I would kiss him if he did 30 pushups. Evidently my baby belly wasn’t protruding enough under my coat, and Taylor’s presence wasn’t a deterrent either, but Margaux (who was the only one who understood what this chap was asking) told him no. His little girl friends were very entertained by the whole interaction when he returned to them, no doubt getting a few kisses for completing the dare.

Margaux has three sisters, two of which are living in Paris. Caroline and Maylis, and Maylis’ boyfriend Nicholas, came over for dinner and made pasta with vegetables. We had such a fun time hanging out with them! Thankfully they all know enough English to make conversation with us, although I slipped in a few impressive phrases like “Where is the trash can?” and “I like your coat,” just to make sure they knew they were talking to a skilled French speaker.

I have always enjoyed watching Margaux, her sisters, and her mom interact. Since their dad died of a brain tumor, they’ve been raised as best friends and they have so much fun together. They’re all funny, sweet, and so welcoming. I hope to always stay in touch with them.

To put the cherry on top of a great first 24 hours here, Taylor and I both woke up needing to vomit every hour or so. So it’s lunchtime on Sunday, and we’re experiencing France from indoors and pajamas, bonding with Margaux over glasses of water and trips to the restroom. If you read this before we feel better, please pray for us to get rid of this bug! We leave for London in the morning, and would like to be able to enjoy the rest of our trip. God is good though and is allowing us to be with Margaux for today. She even went to get me another baguette this morning in case I wanted it <3

So there’s day 1! We’ll post again from London, and hopefully from the hotel bed instead of a bathroom. Love y’all!

Taylor & Michelle

PS. We love to hear from you, so if you feel like it, leave us a comment. Sometimes I feel like I’m talking to myself. Are you out there?