{ monday in paris }

Dear Friends & Family,

I realized today that it's been three weeks since John and I were in Paris, not two. So three weeks ago from Monday  was our last day in Paris...

Shannon & Guillaume left for work in the morning, and our flight wasn't until later in the evening. Our plan was to have lunch with Shannon, and then visit the Louvre. We mentioned to Shannon that we haven't had good sushi in Berlin. We tried one bad place, and that was enough for us to decide we wouldn't have good sushi until we were back in the states. We do have a couple places on our to do list in Berlin but haven't tried them yet. 

So we met Shannon at her work, and she took us to a sushi place that was the next block down from her work that she frequents often. It's been awhile since I've had sushi that I forgot I can only eat so much before getting full. I overdid it with my sushi, but I was happy it was at least decent. dammit, now i'm craving sushi...

After lunch Shannon took us to the rooftop of her work to show us their spectacular view. I believe it is one of the tallest buildings allowed in Paris. Shannon told us there was a high-rise building that was built in the city. They realized this wasn't what they wanted the cityscape to look like, so they moved all subsequent high-rises to the outskirts of Paris where it is now known as the business district or La Défense. 

From Shannon's work we were able to walk all the way down to the Louvre. I was hoping Monday would be less crowded than Friday when we first walked by. Every room and every hallway was filled with tourists. There was a large crowd in the room that kept the Mona Lisa, and we were warned about the size being much smaller than most people would expect. 

We breezed through the museum knowing it would be impossible to see everything in the short time we had, so we stopped by some favorites mentioned by friends and then headed back to the apartment. 

Overall it was an amazing trip, and I loved every second of it. I can't wait to return, but I also really appreciate the fact that John and I are living in a foreign country, and we are making it our home. Whenever we are on the train going somewhere in Berlin, I squeeze John's hand and smile. I can't believe we live here. Yes, we miss the beach and that California sunshine, but we know it'll be there when we come back. Right now Berlin is our home, and we hope our friends & family will take this opportunity to visit us and experience Berlin with the same freedom we had exploring Paris. 

{ John & Shannon }

{ taking in the view }

{ capturing these moments }

{ glimpse of the Eiffel Tower }

{ glimpse of Arc de Triumph }

{ waiting to get through security }

{ Mona Lisa from afar }

{ behind a glass case }

xoxo,

The Prindles

 
{ our last picture in Paris }