Last Saturday, JR, Lizzie, and I headed back to the states.  It was hard to leave my parents, Sissy, and Ryan in Europe – they headed on to Brugges – but work was calling!

It was a loooooooooong day – 10:30 am flight to JFK, then four hour layover, flight to Orlando, then pick-up car and pups at my parents, and finally a drive back home to Tampa.  JR and I were almost up for 24 hours, but luckily Lizzie slept on the plane and on the drive home.  Again, she proved that she was truly the MVP of our France vacation – handling all of the traveling as well or better than the adults (go Lizzie go!)

But, let’s get back to France!

I wanted to share some pics from another great day spent exploring Paris – specifically Monmartre.  Monmartre is a large hill in Paris’ 18th arrondissement.  It’s crowned by the Basilica of the Sacre Couer, surrounded by a charming artist’s village.

After climbing many stairs to reach the top of the hill, we began by visiting the basilica.  It was beautiful inside and out, and we even continued the climb up several sets of spiral staircases to check out the panoramic views from the basilica’s dome.  Breathtaking!

After winding through the village, we stopped for lunch and then made our way down to see the Moulin Rouge – the dance hall famous for being the birthplace of the can-can dance.  Lizzie wasn’t as impressed with seeing this historic building, but she did get excited about her ice cream cone! 🙂

  

After the day in Montmartre, we decided to hit the landmark we missed the day before – the Arc de Triomphe!  Finally!  Not a bad way to end our afternoon.