Tredding up the Arc de Triomphe.

Well, hello again.  We're still playing catch-up.  So, here's the re-cap for Saturday, the 12th of February.  

It was my parents' last full day and we had a lot to do!  We started out the day by climbing 284 spiraling stairs leading up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe.  Ouch!  It was so painful...and I did it in heels, (luckily they're Clarks)!  Since our apartment is a spiraling staircase with more than 100 steps, it was like we were in training for a week in order to complete this ultimate climb!   

Taking a break about 3/4 of the way up.  Colin went up without stopping...woaw...

Once at the top, the view, of course, was breath-taking! 

Dad and I did another little video. 

Here are some pictures we took from the top.

And here are some from the bottom.

We then quickly made our way to the nearby restaurant called La Gare that was recommended to us.  The decor was beautiful and for how busy it was, the restaurant was surprisingly quiet, thanks in part to the large swaths of fabric hung from ceiling to floor throughout the restaurant.  La Gare is a modern restaurant set in an old train station.  The food was just ok, unfortunately not mind-blowing as the recommending website described it.  The best part was hanging out with my family and having the opportunity to get all dressed up!  Colin was impressed by the little old lady, who was seated in the sunken center of the restaurant, who had her little dog seated on a fancy pillow beside her, enjoying his version of brunch.  So cute!  

Afterwards, we headed back to the Champs Elysees to do a little shopping.  We walked the entire length from Le grand palais to the Arc de triomphe and back.  Exhausting, but fun to see so many world famous designers battling it out for the same shoppers!  The interesting thing about this street is that it isn't just clothes and jewelry, but there are car dealerships as well.  I like the way the French do the car sales-pitch.  They put them in the front window displays, just like anything else!

Once we had gifts in hand for everyone's favorite little girls, we headed back to the apartment for some much needed rest.  What a whirlwind day/week!  

It's time for Colin and I to shift into the next phase of our vacation. What's to come is anybody's guess!  Stay tuned!