Missing button

I bought a cute new wool jacket over the weekend, and was so sad when the front button popped off a few days ago. I hate sewing and love procrastinating, so I left the new jacket and button aside and just started wearing my old jacket again.

Last night, I came home to my oh-so-lovely jacket with the button sewn back on! By my husband! I nearly swooned. Now I can twirl around in my pretty jacket again! Thanks hun.



- Michelle

Honeymooon in Europe: Day 10 (Versailles)

Day 10 did not start bright and early. Our plan was to catch an early train out to Versailles and get there before the crowds did, but we were so tired that we slept in and just took a (much) later train instead. Oh well, it worked out. We got there so late that the crowds had pretty much left :)

The Palace of Versailles was definitely on our must-see list. Basically, it's a palace that started out as a royal hunting lodge until Louis XIV decided he had enough of Paris and moved out there. In the ensuing decades, he had it expanded into one of the largest palace sin the world and held court there. Or, as Jay put it: He made a kick-ass cottage for all his friends to enjoy.


 

Much of Versailles' beauty is outside in the gardens. This is about 5% of the gardens. There's even a giant canal where you can rent a rowboat and row around (I got scared off after seeing a 20lb carp jump up out of the water to eat an insect).

It's also famous for its many fountains:

One of Jay's famous jumping shots (I managed one too, but my shirt flew up and it's not exactly blog-friendly)

We had lunch (grilled paninis) in a lovely quiet spot, while Jay gave me his "haven't-we-taken-enough-food-photos-on-this-trip" look

Marie Antoinette's bed in her mini-cottage off the main palace. Did you know that the royals slept in beds with viewing areas? When they woke up and got dressed, there was a whole crowd watching! I think it was the historical start of the paparazzi.

Then we headed to the palace. Don't you love the clean lines and modern elegance? Just kidding....it was the most ornate place I've ever been to. If there was a spare inch of space, trust me: they covered it up.

Jay's second favourite Frenchman, Louis XIV (he declared Napoleon his top choice):

The famous Hall of Mirrors (where I believe the Treaty of Versailles was signed).

Mickey Dee's is good anywhere, anytime.

One of our favourite dinners was at Cafe Constant. We sat outside as usual, but this "patio" was basically the sidewalk and people had to walk around the car behind Jay to get past us.

My artichoke and mushroom salad (Jay tried some and almost gagged). I liked it though.

Mmm...my delicious risotto and fish:

Jay's usual steak and potatoes. I have a hard time not eating off his plate, so I tried his potatoes, they were fantastic.

This peach dessert was so good I had to include 2 photos, but they still don't do it justice. French pastries just can't be beat.

We spent our evening in the park by the Eiffel Tower, and had a picnic (a bottle of wine counts as a picnic, right?).

This was one of our favourite moments on our honeymoon. We just hung out drinking wine and taking in the fantastic view as the sun went down. It felt so quintessentially Parisien. The Eiffel Tower lights up as it gets dark, and twinkles wildly for 5 minutes at the top of the hour. It was just a perfect way to end the day.

- Michelle

Honeymoon in Europe: Day 9 (Paris)

We started the day at the famous Musee d'Orsay, which is well known for its Impressionist paintings. The building used to be an old train station and looks really cool.

There are tons of famous paintings and sculptures in this museum, like Whistler's Mother, Van Gogh's self-portrait, Renoir's Bal au Moulin de la Galette Montmartre, etc.... but Jay's favourite was this one:

He was going to pose like Degas' ballerina, but chickened out at the last minute

 We loved the Impressionists, and Jay particularly liked Van Gogh:

Jay in front of the Gates of Hell:

We had lunch on the steps of the museum (Jay had ham on baguette, I had chicken salad with whole hard-boiled eggs(!) on baguette), and we finished with some espresso and a Nutella + coconut crepe:

We walked towards Napoleon's tomb and the army museum but stopped to take a much-needed break in a pretty park:

Napoleon decided to house his tomb underneath a magnificent golden dome with giant paintings. Jay was impressed and is considering doing the same in the future.

Is it macabre to take a smiling photo in front of a casket? While we pondered, I quickly snapped the pic:

We dropped by the Quai Branly Museum, which housed primitive art.

Then we took the metro to the Sacre Coeur Basilica, which was pretty far away on Paris' highest point. The best part of the basilica is the front steps, which offers a great panoramic view of the city and people hang out and musicians play live music.

We wandered around Montmartre and wondered why there was a perfectly good tent on the sidewalk. I suggested we pop in to take a look, but Jay steered me away.

We popped into a restaurant and took more food pics (I had chicken and some seriously good frites, and Jay had really tender beef under all those delicious onions):

I asked Jay if he was in the mood for tatas and tassles, but he wasn't (maybe because he saw the price):

- Michelle

Honeymoon in Europe: Day 8 (Paris)

We started the day off at the Louvre, with its controversial glass pyramid designed by I.M. Pei.

The beautiful Venus de Milo statue:

Ass shot:

The Mona Lisa, arguably the most famous painting in the world.



















It's much smaller than you'd expect!


























After a lovely lunch in the Tuileries Gardens, we went to the Orangerie Museum. Monet was commissioned to create 8 huge water lily paintings specifically for these 2 oval rooms. I literally gasped when I walked into the first room, it was so beautiful - definitely one of the highlights of the trip!

We walked along the Champs-Élysées and came across Ladurée, a world-famous pastry shop. They are especially well known for their amazing double-decker macarons, which did NOT disappoint.

We needed a break, so we stopped by McCafe/Mickey Dee's and sat at the patio, doing some people watching

The Arc du Triomphe also offered a steep staircase walk up to the top. Naturally, we walked it.

Why is Jay so sad?

Well, we tried to go to the Picasso Museum, but sadly they closed THAT DAY for the next three years! Argh.

So we went to the Pompidou Museum instead and had a good time wandering around the modern art exhibits.

What, more wine you say? OK, fine, twist my arm...

Another delicious dinner:

- Michelle