The eighth day of our trip, we left our little apartment in Paris for the airport at 5:30 in the morning.

Every time we leave Paris I feel like crying.  I did [from what I was told] actually cry on the plane, however.  Apparently I was all doped up on sleeping aids and was laughing so hard about Frank Sinatra that tears were streaming down my face.  I don’t remember any of this.  As we left the city for Charles de Gaulle, we looked back one last time.  Even the Eiffel Tower was still sleeping.

Our flight left from CDG to JFK and we arrived in New York around 11:00 am [we slept almost the whole way and woke up refreshed for a full day in Manhattan].  Because of the 6 hour time difference, we almost gained a day on this trip.  An extra day to spend in the Big Apple.

We checked into our hotel and then went to grab lunch…at Shake Shack.  That was my one meal request.  Red meat has never tasted so good.

After our cheeseburgers we made our way over to SOHO for some post Black Friday shopping.  Luckily, there were still some awesome sales going on.  Last year, we spent all day of Black Friday in SOHO and the sheer amount of people was nauseating.  This year, the day after Black Friday…was just as crowded.  We shopped until we made our way over to La Esquina for our dinner reservation.  Zach’s been wanting to try this infamous Mexican joint our last few visits to NYC, but we have never managed to make it.  It’s always crazy crowded – and I even had to make a reservation 3 weeks prior.

It’s underground – with paintings of topless Latina women on the walls, great music, and phenomenal food.  After indulging too much, we made our way to the coat check and up the stairs.  As we arrived at the landing – there he was.  Deron Williams.  This is where it gets humiliating.  When I was close enough to touch him…I did.  I grabbed his arm.  He said, “Oh sorry” [as if we ran into each other unintentionally] and I did not let go.  I just continued to clutch to him until I told him we “missed him on the Jazz”.  He was polite, but growing uncomfortable with me still holding his bicep.  He responded “Haha, thanks!”  That’s when Zach literally had to pull me away.  My cool and collected husband shook his hand, explained we were Utah fans, and then we were on our way.  Like a dream – he was in my life and then out in the next second.  We didn’t even get a photo.  My second ever celeb sighting in NYC – with no photographic proof.

We ended the night at Topman/Topshop and getting some sweets and sodas at the shop next to our hotel – we have a favorite that we stay at each time in Tribeca.

Canal Street was humming all night long.  It felt so good to be back.

The seventh day in Paris was our last full day in the city.  I know it seems odd that we didn’t fly out of London to go back home, but it was actually cheaper to take the Eurostar back to Paris and then fly out of CDG.  Apparently flights out of Heathrow were outrageous.  So we spent one more day in Paris, and spent it doing some of our absolute favorite things.

First, we went across the river to Notre Dame and then decided to eat at a nearby cafe.  It had started to drizzle so we took our time at the restaurant.

I also had my first croque-monsieur.  It’s basically like a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, with the cheese on top.  So delicious!

After our meal we walked over to the Pont des Arts [the Love-Lock Bridge].  It was adjacent to our next stop, so we decided to be super cheesy and purchase a cheap lock and borrow a Sharpie and commemorate our 4 year anniversary.  We decided to place the lock near the fourth lamp post [for four years] on the Notre Dame side of the bridge.  We attached it to the chain link, locked it up, kissed the key – and kissed each other, then threw the key in the river.  It is somewhere in the depths of the Seine now.

We walked around the 1st Arrondissement for a while, had another crepe break, and then made our way over to the Louvre.

We took a picture in front of IM Pei’s glass pyramid [just like on our first date] and then ventured over to the galleries.

We both have explored the Louvre before, not the entire museum – that would take you 40 days!  Literally, I heard that if you spent 1 minute in front of each piece of art you would be at the Louvre for almost 40 days straight.  But we had seen everything that we wanted to see.  So, this particular visit we stayed in the most popular wing of the museum – the Denon.  We always go to the Louvre on a Friday night.  It is open past 9:00 pm only on Wednesday and Friday nights and it is so much more peaceful.  The giant tour groups and school field trips have usually disappeared by 6:00 pm – so that’s usually when we arrive.

We saw Ms. Mona…

…and my favorite sculpture in the entire museum – Nike of Samothrace.  We also stopped for a visit at the Venus de Milo, the Egyptian artifacts, and some other great sculptures before we decided to go to dinner.

We went to the Musett – the same restaurant we ate at on our first date.  Yes, I know…we are quite sentimental and repetitive, but it was so much fun!  We got a fillet and some lasagna.  We then walked back to the metro station, with a short stop for ice cream, before heading back to our apartment.

We started our next day in London at the National and Portrait Gallery.

After walking through both of the museums we stopped for lunch at the cafe in the basement of the National Portrait Gallery – it had a glass ceiling.

After we got our fill of the art, we walked around Leicester Square and then made our way over to Oxford Street to do some shopping.

We wandered in and out of shops for the rest of the afternoon and then got totally burned out at Primark – it’s like an H&M, but the clothes are even cheaper. We had gone there previously, and I asked Zach if we could go back. They have amazing coats for around 20 English pounds [about 40 dollars]. We left with two giants brown paper bags filled with merchandise and didn’t even spend 50 pounds.

We then went back to Leicester Square to have our “Thanksgiving Dinner” at Steak & Co. They brought out a roast chicken for me, a fillet for Zach, and two giant bowls filled with garlic mashed potatoes on the side at our request. Zach was thoroughly entertained when they brought the steak out to him on a hot stone to slice and cook to his leisure.

Even though it was just the two of us, without our families, we were together. I made Zach do my favorite tradition at Thanksgiving: say a handful of things you are thankful for aloud. Zach’s, direct quote from him mouth: ‘I am thankful for steak and my babe.’ Notice which item he stated first. Me? ‘My husband, my family, my church, and my job. And ice cream.’

After wishing all the Steak & Co. staff a “Happy Thanksgiving” – obviously they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in London, it was time to make it to St. Pancrias International to take the Eurostar back to Paris.

It was a short two days in London, but we enjoyed it so much. Zach repeated to me that this portion of the trip was in fact his favorite.