How did I forget to post this?!? Court has a special skill – the pole trick. Any pole she sees is a potential prop. She wanted to be the last one off the gondola in Switzerland to get this photo.
After sending Adelle on her way, Jay, Court and I had dinner at Valentinos. Our favorite.
Court loved it so much she wanted to go back for a drink the next night. 🙂

Jay was on solo kid duty while I was Court’s tour guide in Paris for the weekend. Thanks Jay!!!

Court’s 1st European train ride
All aboard!!
It was HOT in Paris. Like ugh. But we had places to see and things to do, so we powered through. We checked into our hotel near Champs Elysee and walked to the Galeries Lafayette mall.
There is a rooftop with an amazing view of the city. I spy the Eiffel Tower.
Court at Court.
We meandered through the Palace Gardens. I didn’t take a picture, but we stood in this spot for several minutes watching a lady who was taking a nap standing up hugging a tree. She looked so peaceful. I’ve never seen that before, but the hustle and bustle and noise of the city tends to leave you amped up. This lady found her serenity amongst the sounds of the city.
We arrived at Notre Dame about an hour before they closed for the day. It was perfect timing – they weren’t letting anyone in after we left. The other times I have been to Paris, the church had been hiding behind scaffolding while they continued the 5-year renovation after a devastating fire. It has only been open about a month, so I feel blessed that we got to go inside. Amazing.
There she is – in all her glory.
Mass was in session while we were there. I’m not a good Catholic so I didn’t partake in Communion, and I didn’t understand a word that was said, but it was a beautiful experience.
Many of you know that I grew up on a farm between Perry and Ogden, Iowa. Perry address, Ogden school district. What you may NOT know is that the closest “town” is Berkeley. Not sure if it is even considered a town, more of a little rural community. I wonder if the restaurant owner got their inspiration from there?
Crossing the Champs Elysee and we stopped midway to snap a super quick selfie with the Arc de Triomphe photo bombing us.
Oh hey. There’s the Eiffel Tower.
Let’s ride the elevator up.
This view never gets old
Speaking of photo bombs. Court snapped a selfie (isn’t she gorgeous?!?) and didn’t realize that there was a couple smooching in the background. Paris is the city of love.
The pole at the top of the Eiffel Tower was Court’s next victim
Not my best angle, but it’s too cool of a shot to not post it.
We decided to take a Seine River Hop On Hop Off ferry to travel from the Eiffel Tower to the Louvre. We had a couple hours to kill before out Louvre entrance time, so this was a nice way to see Paris from a different mode of transport.
Fun fact. Court is basically McGyver. She dropped her sunscreen lid through a the deck. I would have walked away and thrown out the sunscreen with no lid. Not Courtney. She rifled through her bag until she found something that she could use to get the lid close enough to where she could fit two fingers in a crack. SUCCESS!!!
Made it to the Louvre! I didn’t get any pictures inside, but she saw the Mona Lisa. 🙂
Wishing Emily were with us
The other times I have been to Paris, we have been tuckered out by sunset to go back to the Eiffel Tower at night. Every hour there is a beautiful light show for about 5 minutes. So glad we found a second wind and went to see it!
I think everyone single person in Paris was in our bus after the tower light show. Packed in like sardines, but luckily we were crammed against the front window.
Court took lots of pictures during that bus ride. None of them turned out – they were all partially covered by a black screen. Mystery solved.

Court has had a hell of a year. She has shown strength, resilience, tenacity, and class when many others would crumble. I have hated the fact that I have not been able to physically be there for her. I am so thankful that we got to spend this time together making happy, hilarious, healing, amazing new memories. It’s a big world out there, and I loved being able to show her a part of it.