The Other Side of Paris

I know, I know I promised to be back with more Paris post yesterday, but I just didn't quite make it. Too much thing to do! But, I am here now and it's going to be a long post. :)

Today I am sharing things that I saw there that makes me happy. First up, dessert picture!Oh-em-gee... so many awesome pastry place. Their pastry display is so pretty and being a dessert person, I want them all. Good thing that our goal was to visit as many places as possible, so we're always out and about and by the time we come home usually the pastry places already close. Otherwise, I'll be in s much trouble. I did get some macaroons, though.

Yum.... yes please...

Then on our fist day exploring, we found this super cute store! My kind of store. Filled with so many cute, funky & smart stuff. And colors! Happy colors every where!

They have these colorful fish hanging from the ceiling and I just thought they're super cool. You can click the pic to see them in larger size. Did you notice that the fin or tail were made of fan? Or on the case of the second pic that has head made of super cute tea kettle. I am always drawn to cool, unique stuff.

Cute stuff & happy color galore.

Seriously, this store Pylone just makes me happy. If budget was no problem, I'd have bought a bunch of stuff from here. From cutlery to stapler to wall hook, everything in bright cheerful color & super creative designs. I don't know if you could see the cluster of 3 birds on the bottom left corner of the above pic, those birds are so fun. It chirps like real bird when you hold them. I had to buy one because I think Eli would be so curious about it. :)

 

With the awesome architecture and art in Paris there's always place to find inspiration. Below is the stained-glass window in Notre Dame. It is pretty awe inspiring to stand in this church, considering that it was built in 1100. Imagine if this church could talk the history it could tell us.

 

I have to admit though, that as grand and amazing Notre Dame is, I actually love Basilique du Sacre-Cour better. It's a much smaller church, but inside it feel so welcoming and when you look up you'll see this beautiful painting of Jesus on the ceiling dome.

 

There's no picture taking allowed on  the inside, but I found a picture from the internet, just so you could see what I am talking about. And, no this picture didn't even do it justice.

 

 

I was walking on the left side when I look up through some of the pillar and from that one spot all you could see is Jesus spreading his hand as if he's blessing you in person. I was so stunned by the effect and the beauty that I stood there for a while and said a prayer for my family.

 

The atmosphere, the beauty and warmth of the church filled me with so much gratitude that when I prayed I can't help but get teary eye. It wasn't a prayer asking for thing, it simply a prayer to say thank you for all the blessings, for my life, and for the fact that I was there able to see this beauty in person and being there with my mom & hubby.

 

This church located on the highest point in Paris, so you do get amazing view from the step of the church. So, we came back here for the second visit to enjoy the sunset view. And, we were so blessed that on this second visit, we catch the end of a mass where the nuns were singing the choir. Yes, it's one of the few church where the nuns still singing the choir. It was beautiful.

 

My mom went back to Jakarta on Saturday and hubby and I went home on Sunday. So, for our last night, hubby and I determined to really explore and luckily for our last night the weather decided to be nice and dry.

 

Literally we walked all the way from the Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower. It is a long walk, people! BTW, if you're going to do lots of walking, invest on Skechers GoWalk. Best walking shoes out there. And, no they don't pay me, I am just recommending them because I love them so much.

 

Walking away from the tower to the Trocadero (where you get the best view of the tower), hubby was looking at a window when he said oh, look at all those flash. LOL, we thought people just went crazy with taking picture (thus all the flashing), but we turned and look back it was The Eiffel Tower itself twinkling. Right on the hour starting at 10pm, the tower lights twinkling for 5 minutes.

                                              

So, hubby and I decided to hang around for another hour to catch another twinkling of the lights. And while waiting we captured this picture of the sun going down on the horizon. Kind of weird to experience sunset around 10 pm, but cool as well. I think this is one of our best picture from the whole trip.

 

 

The twinkling lights on Eiffel Tower

 



I know, this last picture is not the best, but it captured the twinkling light the most. Well, I hope you enjoy today's showcase. No people picture... just things I saw that makes me happy. I hope you like them and thank you so much for visiting. What's on your travel bucket list? Do you have one? I have a long one. LOL, I get itchy if I don't travel at least once a year. It's what I am saving for every year. :)