Paris and London lived up to everything we hoped and expected. Our honeymoon was nothing short of spectacular! We registered with the Honeyfund, and knowing that so many of our family and friends gifted us parts of our honeymoon really made the whole trip extra special and truly connected to our marriage. We talked about and toasted so many of you during our trip! Oh, and you get to say husband a lot when you travel, so that’s fun! In Paris we decided to rent an apartment through Airbnb. After lots of searching we finally decided on this one for the amazing location and AC (a rare find!). Our host greeted us with flowers and a bottle of red wine to welcome us to Paris!We arrived late the evening before, but jet lag had me up at 4am. I tried not to squirm as long as I could, but around 5:30am Dan woke up too and we watched the sun come up from our flat window. Our apartment was cozy (small) but completely renovated in an old Parisian building. We were on the top floor, and if you leaned out you could see the Eiffel Tower to the right! Below were the cobblestone streets of Le Marais with a mix of boutiques and falafel shops. Since we couldn’t sleep, we decided to roam the streets early that morning. Almost everything was closed at that hour, but it was such a calm and beautiful time to take in the city. ^^The courtyard of our building.^^A bunch of people had recommended L’As du Fallafel. We knew it was in our neighborhood, but it turned out to be almost directly below our flat! We may have stopped in for second dinners a few times…it was too good and convenient to pass up! I don’t have a photo of it, but it’s directly across the street from this bright red store (also a falafel shop).^^Paris really knows how to embrace flower boxes! I felt inspired to add some greenery to our little balcony back in LA.^^Shortly after 8am we stumbled upon Cafe Loustic for coffee. I diligently did my best to order us two cappuccinos in French, although we found out later the barista was Australian. It became one of our favorite spots because it was one of the few spots we “discovered” rather than seeking it out as a destination. From there we walked down to the Hotel de Ville (City Hall) and across the river to Notre Dame. The cathedral had just opened, and while there were plenty of people gathering, it was still relatively sparse. When we walked by a few days later in the afternoon, we were a bit shocked by the crowds in comparison.^^Totally unrelated but we passed this shop with the most massive meringues I’d ever seen! ^^The famous love locks!We had lunch reservations at Derriere (thank you, Gillian!), a large, eclectic restaurant that’s designed to look like a family apartment. The idea being that you entertain friends at home each night. Each corner of the restaurant is styled like a different room, and if you go upstairs, there are even bedrooms and boudoirs to dine in. We ate in what I think was the living room, right next to a ping pong table. The atmosphere was really fun, and the food here was simple and delicious. We had a string bean appetizer that was one of our favorite dishes from the trip, and I ate some of the only mushrooms I’ve ever liked in my life. Everything was really fresh and full of flavor. I’ve been told they also have an amazing brunch. I highly recommend checking it out. I made the reservation online and could only get lunch, but I think if you are able to call it would be easier to score a dinner reservation.After lunch we went to the modern art museum, Centre Pompidou, just down the street, and then headed back to our flat for a jet lag induced nap. Most of our days in Paris had us up early, with a nap in the afternoon. But the days were so long during this time of year (the sun didn’t set until 10pm!) that when we woke up it still felt like there were plenty of hours of daylight to take in the city. So we took the metro over to the Eiffel Tower, grabbed a bottle of rose just before the stores closed, and sat in the grass to watch the sunset. ^^The other direction. We weren’t the only people with this idea!^^Right after sunset the tower starts sparkling with hundreds of glittering lights for about ten minutes. It was so romantic! (Apologies for the blur, I had to shoot this handheld on a really low shutter speed to get any of the crazy fast sparkling lights.) Then we hightailed it to Le Relais de l’Entrecote for double portions of the yummiest steak frites! Can I please end every day like this??