Day 13 - Paris/Montmarte

Feeling absolutely refreshed and ready to go, we took the day head on.

So I said, let's go to Montmarte. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a small village, right outside of Paris city center on top a hill where dozens of famous artist's and writers lived and came to be inspired. Today, artists still gather here and work on their trade.

Cobblestone streets, bistros and cafes on every corner, musicians strumming their guitars or playing the accordion, painters with their oil paints and cigarettes dangling from their lips. Everywhere you look is a picture.

Sacre-Coeur sits on top of the hill in all its grandeur. This beautiful church is free to visit and offers a panoramic view of Paris at the top for a small fee. We entered, and were welcomed by vaulted ceilings, beautiful frescos and stained glass windows. We paid the fee to walk to the top and I'll tell you, it's not an easy trek with its very narrow spiral staircase corkscrewing all the way up, but once you've caught your breath, the view will take it away again.

Back down, we strolled through the quaint town, pulled up a chair at a café, ordered wine (Sam a Gin and Tonic) and a cheese plate to share and watched painters, sketch artists and passerby's in slow motion. An accordion nearby started to play La Vie en Rose and all was right in the world. I reached peak happiness in that moment, sipping French wine and spreading a healthy amount of Brie on my baguette.

I could have stayed there until the sun went down but we had reservations to climb the Eiffel Tower at sunset, so we made our way. Skipping the line because we bought our tickets in advance, we took our first steps and started a Stair Stepper workout on our Apple watches.

It took us 7 minutes to make it to the first floor, and already the view was incredible. We caught our breath, grabbed some water and took some pictures then pressed on.

The second leg of our journey I was expecting to be brutal but maybe because we did Sacre-Coeur as a our warm up earlier in the day our bodies were prepared? It really wasn't that bad! I forget how many steps their are but within 7 more minutes we were at the second floor and the sun was setting on The City of Lights. It was perfection. A dream. Pictures do not do justice.

After admiring the view, we took the journey back down. Once at the bottom, we had only 15 minutes to wait until the tower was expected to sparkle for the first time that day, so we snuggled up on a bench and waited. It was a picture perfect ending to a perfect day. I will always remember this day and hope to someday soon live it again. Maybe with my sisters and mom, or my own daughter someday.

Now that I'm crying, I will say bon nuit my darlings.

-Keely