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.

Tuesday morning we took the Eurostar train to London. It literally travels underneath the English Channel through the Chunnel and in just over two hours – you are in The UK! It is much more convenient than flying – and much more affordable.

We knew our stay in London wouldn’t be long, so we fit in as much as we possibly could. We took the Tube to Westminster and saw Big Ben, the London Eye, and Westminster Abbey.

We then took the Tube over to Portobello Road to do a little shopping. We popped in and out of several shops and then had lunch at GBK – Gourmet Burger Kitchen.

It was SO good and the design of the restaurant was amazing! We then made our way up Portobello Road when it started to pour. We stopped in a few more stores before we made our way back to check in to our hotel. We let our coats and boots dry a bit before we left for Emirates Stadium.

When Zach and I realized that the Arsenal Football Club was playing in London the first night we were to arrive – we decided it was fate! We had to go to our first “football” game.

Zach and I have been to many professional sporting events…but NEVER have I seen that many people in one place at one time. We arrived at the stadium via the Tube and the streets surrounding the area were completely closed for the crowd. The people were flooding in from every angle. And with a stroke of pure luck – it stopped raining right before the game was to begin!

Our seats were fairly cheap and they were really close! Arsenal was playing Montpellier – a French team, what are the odds? The fans were NUTS. We sat adjacent from the opposing team’s fans and things got crazy fast. The French fans literally never sat down – the whole match. Before halftime the majority of them were shirtless and swinging their sweaters above their heads.

Arsenal won: 2 to 0. I am grateful, because I didn’t want to be around if they had lost the match. The Brits can be ruthless. We decided to stop at a place we had dined when we came to London a few years ago on our Study Abroad summer. Wagamama – a modern approach to Japanese food.

They have delicious noodles and one of the most unique and delicious desserts I have had: wasabi chocolate cake. Don’t knock it until you try it. We rode the Tube back to Kensington to our hotel and called it a night.

When planning this vacation, the one thing I really wanted to do was take a day trip to Chenonceau. Zach was a good sport to come along with me, considering it took three train rides there and three train rides back. We rode those three seperate TGV trains from Paris > Tours > Chenonceaux [the town that the chateau is located in]. I knew it was going to be a hectic commute – considering that on one connecting train we had less than 6 minutes to get to our next train. It was a stressful morning – we only had confirmation numbers for our tickets and none of the self service kiosks were working. We basically got on our first train ride with less than 1 minute from departure. It’s crazy, quite a few people speak English in Paris – but as soon as you get to the train stations it is like they “forget” or are unwilling to help crazy Americans find their train platform. And we were crazy alright. Darting in and out of the other passengers, waving at each other from different platforms, and yelling “excusez-moi” so we didn’t plow over anyone. Zach also got in a fight [verbal, not physical] with a gypsy woman at the Tours station when he gave her money and she was angry with him for not giving her more. She followed us for a good 20 minutes and then called her boyfriend to come intimidate us. It got weird.

Needless to say, we finally made it to the tiny town of Chenonceaux. We made the short walk over to the grounds – an archway of trees and falling leaves. Zach turns into a 5-year-old when he sees falling leaves.

Chenonceau literally straddles the Loire River. It stretches from one side to the other, and with the moat is is almost completely surrounded by water.

We walked through the three stories of the chateau and through the galleries [which were decorated for Christmas] and then outside to both of the gardens.

The chateau had real fires burning in all of the larger rooms. This surprised me – in a historical monument you would think they wouldn’t ever want to burn a real fire, but the staff was constantly checking on these massive mantels.

After the gardens we ventured on over to the maze.

Zach wanted to take a break and get a crepe – he claims it was the best crepe he has ever had. I wouldn’t know. He gobbled it up before giving me a bite.

We then decided to explore the town before our train was to depart. Literally we saw three people the entire time we were there – and one of them was the most adorable little French man on a bicycle with a basket. I want to live in the town, with those three people. Also, it was completely silent apart from the occasional motorcycle that zipped by. And the sound of our feet on the stone sidewalks.

Then we made our way back to the platform back to St. Pierre and then on back to Paris.

We ate dinner outside at a cafe on rue Cler. A tiny detail I debated on leaving out, but am divulging to you know: there was a mouse at that cafe. He ran by my leg. Paris is an old city, undoubtably filled with rats and mice that I could have never seen, and we were outside…but I couldn’t stop thinking about the mouse the rest of the meal. Also, Zach kept calling him Ratatouille. I didn’t eat much – and my pasta was really good, too. So, on the way home we stopped at a fancy creperie on our way back to our apartment so I could get a crepe. Banana and Nutella please. The staff kept offering us fancy alcoholic beverages, for free! We kept refusing, the most polite way we knew how. When they kept offering – Zach announced “She’s with child, she can’t drink. Pregnant. Yep, she’s pregnant.” Everyone looked at me with the same expression, ‘This child…is having a bebe?’ Obviously I am not “with child” but Zach thought it was pretty hilarious when he saw their faces. They didn’t offer me anything after that. They probably thought I was starring in the hit MTV Show, 16 and Pregnant – the French [especially the teenage/younger generation] love American TV shows and music. They also listen to Michael Jackson. A lot. I mean, I miss him too…but come on. Literally at every cafe we stopped at.

We enjoyed our crepes back at our apartment. Just the two of us.

Monday morning, our third day, we rode the Metro to Les Halles to visit the Pompidou – our favorite modern art museum.  We had lunch at the museum’s cafe and toured the galleries.

Zach could not stop laughing about this bear.  He was freaking out and made me take a photo next to it.

If you take the escalators to the top floor there is the most amazing view of the city.  It’s really hard to see in the background, but if you look closely you can see the Sacre Coeur off in the distance.

After our walk through the museum we did some shopping in the surrounding area.  There is also a big shopping complex nearby where we spent some time.

Later we went to dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant [our favorite place to eat was closed – Little Italy] that happened to serve popcorn instead of French bread as an appetizer.  Zach was elated.

After a long and crowded Metro ride back to our apartment, Zach begged me to stop at the Monoprix to get some supplies.  I LOVE French supermarkets.  The breads, cheeses, and pastries are so tempting, but we resisted.  They also had all their Christmas candy out on display.  Towers of European chocolate.

We did, however, splurge on a world wide favorite – some mini Haagen-Dazs glaces and bought a good supply of soda for our fridge.  Coca-Cola Light is phenomenal in France – so much better than Diet Coke in the US.  [Although it does have calories – just a fair warning for those of us who drink 2 + a day.]  We drank our beverages, devoured our ice cream, and hacked someone named Nour’s wireless internet.  It was a good night.  Thank you Nour for providing free wireless internet for the remainder of our time in Paris.