Paris: Day 5-February 2, 2015

This trip was now supposed to be over. (haha) We got up around 3am and grabbed our stuff and headed to the airport. After standing in line we finally were able to make our way to the counter to haggle any kind of confirmed seats we could find to Dallas. No such luck. Then Judson had this brilliant idea for her to check flights to Austin. She looked at us smiling and said “you two are probably the luckiest people in this entire airport. I have two seats to Austin at noon.” We felt so much relief. Then I looked at him and said but what are we going to do when we get to Austin? He quickly answered that our friend Kevin keeps a car at the other airport in Austin so we can just take an Uber. If that didn’t work at least we were close enough someone could come get us or we could rent a car. This was fine by me! I just didn’t want to spend another night in Chicago. We got our boarding passes, went through security and found our gate. I grabbed us some breakfast and coffee because it was still pretty early. Our flight was delayed several times. We tried a couple of times to fly stand by to DFW not giving up our booked seats to Austin. We passed the time by picking out save the dates, invitations and tuxedos. We almost completed our whole guest list. Then finally a few hours after we were supposed to leave, we were boarding and going home (at least to Texas).  We had separate seats and if I remember correctly a couple of hours apart from one another was probably a good thing! It had been a pretty stressful 24 hours. After what seemed like the longest flight we landed in Austin. Judson requested an Uber and about 10 minutes later we were headed to Austin Executive.

We finally got there and walk out to the car only to find a major flat tire. By this point I am just starting to feel like we may never get back to Chico. Luckily, the airport can fix the tire for us. Judson grabs the hidden key and starts to unlock my door. As he is trying to force the key into the lock it breaks in half. He only then realized that this was the ignition key! I look at him with what were probably the widest most sad eyes and he said “do not cry.” Judson calls Kevin and he suggests hot wiring the car or jamming the broken part of the key into the ignition and the inserting the rest.  As luck would have it once again the latter actually worked! The airport maintenance worker was able to jam the key and start the car. I was so thrilled, amazed, grateful all at the same time. We drove the car over and he aired up the tire. We drove that car from Austin to Chico with a broken key and a leaking tire. We never turned the car off when we had to stop for fuel and food and we never turned the radio on. We spent 4 hours driving and talking and laughing. We discussed our crazy weekend getaway to Paris. We told each other stories and discussed plans for our new journey in life together. Sometime around midnight we made it home. Judson slept for a few hours before leaving for Judge School around 4 am. I know he was so exhausted and I am so grateful that he had a safe drive.

The whole weekend was a crazy whirlwind full of highs and lows. I think it shows a lot that we didn’t stress out and lose our cool with each other. We teamed up and made the most of it. Looking back I wouldn’t change one single thing about it. I am so excited that I get to spend the rest of my life going on crazy adventures with this guy. He is my favorite part of every single day.

Paris: Day 4-February 1, 2015

I was so sad it was already time to go home. Since we packed the night before we got to spend the morning leisurely getting ready for the airport. I had ordered room service the day before so we enjoyed a huge tray full of goodies. We sipped our coffee and requested a car. The drive back to the airport seemed pretty quick with no traffic on a Sunday morning. The weather was cold but not completely intolerable. We waited quite a while for our flight to Chicago.

Once we were boarded they announced a terrible snowstorm was about to hit so we might have to make a change in landing. We both slept on the plane coming back. Judson of course slept better than me missing his dinner. I couldn’t wake him and I felt bad because I knew he was going to be hungry when he woke up. Once everyone had started to wake they announced that we were going to land in Chicago as planned. Not knowing the severity of the storm we were optimistic that maybe we could get on a flight to Texas. This was not the case. No flights were leaving. No flights were available for the next day. This was the 5^th worst snowstorm that Chicago had ever seen and we were there! After standing in a long line trying to get on anything even remotely close to Texas only to be told no, we reserved a hotel room. We trekked from the airport lobby over to the shuttle lobby in a blizzard to get on a hotel shuttle. This was the craziest snow I have ever been in. I’m so glad it lasted for less than 5 minutes. When we arrived at the hotel the snow was even worse. It was mounded on top of everything. We went to our room took some showers only to put the same clothes back on and then went downstairs to the lobby for dinner. We sat drinking red wine and strategizing about what we were going to do the next day. We decided that we would go to sleep and be at the airport at 4am to stand in line and find some kind of confirmed seats to Texas. We were both exhausted and stressed. We each piled up in our own king size bed needing a break from the reality that we were facing. Judson was supposed to be in Lubbock by 8am the next day and there was no way that it was going to happen.

Paris: Day 3-January 31, 2015

Finally, a day to sleep in just a little. I think we were both so exhausted from the excitement on day 2. He had told me how hard it was to keep it all a secret from me. I think he was relieved to have it all out in the open. I was still in shock over the surprise and the ring! Our plans were to grab some coffee and walk around Le Marais a while and then head to Montmartre. We walked down a lot of tiny little streets and went to Place de Vosges. We walked through the little square and visited Victor Hugo’s home. It was a nice little free tour. I really enjoyed getting to see what the inside of an old Parisian apartment looked like. I loved the little details in the staircase and window panes. 
 
 After we left Place de Vosges we grabbed a baguette sandwich at the little patisserie from the day before and then took the metro to Montmartre. My initial reaction after getting off of the metro was scared. I was so scared. I didn’t know what this place was but I didn’t like it. There were people rummaging through enormous piles of clothes over flowing out of bins. I don’t remember the smell but I remember being surprised that it did not smell bad. So far, I did not like Montmartre—at least not the metro stop anyway. We climbed the stairs there were hundreds of people milling around admiring Sacre Couer. It is truly breathtaking. Judson was ready to go walk around and I was so nervous but once we turned the corner I got over it. This may be my favorite little part of the city. It’s like a little hidden gem up on top of the hill. Unfortunately, it is pretty touristy but I did truly love it. This is the most adorable little town with perfect cobble stone streets and cafes lining them. We had some coffee and walked around and looked at the street art. We took the steps down and walked around a little more. I have no clue what the metro stop was that we used to leave but it was one more stop past Montmartre and a whole lot less creepy. This was a beautiful part of the city and I am so glad we made the time to go.After we left Place de Vosges we grabbed a baguette sandwich at the little patisserie from the day before and then took the metro to Montmartre. My initial reaction after getting off of the metro was scared. I was so scared. I didn’t know what this place was but I didn’t like it. There were people rummaging through enormous piles of clothes over flowing out of bins. I don’t remember the smell but I remember being surprised that it did not smell bad. So far, I did not like Montmartre—at least not the metro stop anyway. We climbed the stairs there were hundreds of people milling around admiring Sacre Couer. It is truly breathtaking. Judson was ready to go walk around and I was so nervous but once we turned the corner I got over it. This may be my favorite little part of the city. It’s like a little hidden gem up on top of the hill. Unfortunately, it is pretty touristy but I did truly love it. This is the most adorable little town with perfect cobble stone streets and cafes lining them. We had some coffee and walked around and looked at the street art. We took the steps down and walked around a little more. I have no clue what the metro stop was that we used to leave but it was one more stop past Montmartre and a whole lot less creepy. This was a beautiful part of the city and I am so glad we made the time to go.

When we made it back to the Marais we did a little shopping. Judson bought some cigars and I bought some sneakers. We had dinner at the corner by our hotel at Pic Clops. This place was packed! The sweet waitress offered us English menus which made ordering much easier. We both went for burgers that we had seen served the night before. We enjoyed WAY too much wine and beer while we sat crunched at the tiny French table. Even though it was so crowded and loud, I mostly just remember being in love (cheesy, i know) and planning a wedding and a life together. Thank goodness after all of that wine and beer we were close to the hotel. We went back and packed and ate macarons for dessert. I don't think I will ever forget the view from that window and I hope I never forget how much more I fell in love with Judson in Paris. I'm so grateful for such a wonderful trip and experience. Paris was everything I have ever dreamed it would be.

Paris: Day 2-January 30, 2015

We woke up around 8:30am. Later than what we had agreed the night before but I was so so sleepy. Luckily, I had showered and washed all of the city grime off the night before so I was almost ready to go. Judson couldn’t believe that I was going to only take a bath and have dirty hair but it looked good and I cannot imagine how long it would have taken to dry with the dryer in our room. I told him “besides I am going to wear a hat anyway.” He responded “a hat?!” I explained that I didn’t want to be soaked like I had been the day before. I thought he was just irritated because I didn’t wake up early. He shaved which I thought was odd but what do I know of his shaving habits. He was also so concerned about his scarf and I thought he was crazy for not wanting to wear one because it was freezing out! We popped around the corner for a quick breakfast at a little patisserie, Au Petit Versailles du Marais, we found the night before across the street from where we had dinner. We sat on the sidewalk and had a croissant and café au lait under the heaters. Then we headed to the metro for our first stop of the day, Musée de l’Orangerie.

On our walk through the Tuileries from the metro to the museum a couple stopped us and asked for directions to the US Embassy. I didn’t know if we should be flattered or sad. Did we just look like American tourist or did we look like we knew where we were going? (Haha) This museum was recommended to us by a friend. We had to go through security when we went inside and take everything out of our pockets. I had never been in a museum where this occurred. We got split up when coming through the door by a group of tourist so I went ahead and paid for the tickets.  I waited for him to get through the line and then we went downstairs and saw Monet’s water lilies displayed in huge oval rooms. They are truly breathtaking. It was so enjoyable to just sit and look at each mural. The coloring varies throughout all of the separate pieces but they flow so well at the same time. I couldn’t choose a favorite section. It was truly amazing that he created such a masterpiece being almost completely blind. Although this is the main attraction for this museum there are so many other wonderful paintings that are below the water lilies. We spent quite a bit of time wondering through all of the paintings. We both really enjoyed this museum.

Next up, Musée de l’Armée, this is also the home to Napoleon’s tomb. I was not super excited about this stop but Judson insisted that it was worth seeing. On our walk from the Invalides metro stop to the front of the museum it started snowing. This was the first snow that Paris had seen this winter. I loved it. It was so cold but it was snowing in Paris and I was standing in it. This was the reason I picked January for us to go. I really wanted to see Paris in the snow. We spent quite a bit of time walking through the exhibits of different wars. Although I wasn’t excited about it, I did enjoy getting to see a lot of different uniforms and learned some things about war that I did not already know. It was a good break from the heavily falling snow/sleet outside and a good chance to warm back up. After we made our way through all of the exhibits we went to the café for some lunch. I was a skeptic about having lunch at a museum café but it was actually really great! We sat and chatted for quite a while. I can remember thinking that he seemed to be in such a foul mood when I would ask about the rest of the day’s itinerary. He would always answer, “You told me to plan this.” This was true, I did say that but I was so worried I had made him mad. After lunch we walked around to the entrance of Napoleon’s tomb. This golden dome is truly a sight to see.  The dome mural is beautiful and the altar in the front is incredible and oh so very gold! We went downstairs and walked around the sarcophagus of Napoleon. Judson shared some Napoleon facts with me and we walked around a little longer admiring the architecture.

The Musée Rodin was right around the corner so we stopped in for just a minute to go out into the gardens to see the statue of The Thinker. Compared to the Musée de l’Armée this museum was packed. We basically had the other all to ourselves. At the Rodin Museum we had to go through security again and they checked all of our pockets and my purse. We had to pay one euro to enter the garden and see the statue. The gardens here were so beautiful. We didn’t spend much time here before we started to make our way to Trocadero. Although it wasn’t my first look at the Eiffel tower it was my first full view. She is so grand standing right in front of you with the gardens all around and the road running past, so much grander than I ever imagined. I think you know that the Eiffel Tower is enormous in your head but it is truly something to see it in person. We took a couple of selfies and admired from afar but I was ready to make the trek down to stand underneath. As we were crossing the Seine, Judson pointed out a bridge that he wanted to go see; we discussed it and then went to stand under the tower. There is so much detail and it is so massive. We stood there staring up for quite a while and I remember saying “I don’t mean to be unappreciative of what we are doing right this moment but let’s keep walking.” So, he decided that we could walk down to the bridge.

The view of the Eiffel Tower from the Pont de Bir-Hakeim is breathtaking. We stood out in the middle for quite a while just taking it all in. We discussed getting a cup of coffee. I kept suggesting that we go back to Le Marais and hangout at a café but Judson insisted we hangout close by, so we walked to the corner and sat with our café au lait under the heaters. Every time I got to sit under a heater with a cup of coffee I truly needed to pinch myself because I could hardly believe I was in Paris! We were almost finished with our first cup and I wanted to order another. Judson told me no and that he was ready to go. He got a text message from a European number and I asked who it was and he was on the defense about it.  I kept thinking he was being so weird and that I must really be getting on his nerves. I was getting pretty upset about it. We paid the waiter and walked out to the street corner and he said he wanted to go back out on the bridge; I said “okay” and here we went back out on the bridge.

There was a person taking pictures and a couple kissing. I asked him why he didn’t make out with me when were out there and he responded “do you want me to?” I responded “not now” and he laughed. The couple left and we started walking back out to the center and he asked “are you having a great time?” I looked at him funny and said “why are you going to break up with me?” He was really starting to get to me. Then he looked at me really funny and said “no, I was kinda thinking the opposite.” I stared at him for what felt like an eternity trying to figure out what on earth that meant and then he dropped to his knee and said “well, will you?” I don’t know how long I stared at him—long enough for him to ask me a second time. Even thinking back I still don’t know how long I stood staring. I remember my feet weren’t hurting and I wasn’t feeling cold anymore. I finally said “yes!” or “of course!” I don’t really remember exactly. He kissed me and asked if I wanted to put the ring on. I remember being so blown away by what was in the jewelry box. The most stunning engagement ring I have ever laid eyes on. I may be a bit partial but I couldn’t have picked out anything I would love more.

He then filled me in on another small surprise that there was a hidden photographer that I had passed earlier capturing all of this wonderful moment for me. He is truly the best. I was so overwhelmed and shocked and so in love all at once. I kept thinking this is not happening right now. It may not be every girl’s dream to be proposed to in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France—I can truly say that I never told him of any dream like that. But when that happens, oh man! There hasn’t been anything in my life like that moment.  The shock of that moment took weeks to wear off. I’m so grateful that God gave me him. He is so sweet to have planned such an incredible moment like this for us for so many months. I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

We took a few more posed shots and then hopped on the metro to head back to our hotel. I was trying so hard not to gawk at the diamonds on my hand but it was so hard! Once, we made it back we called my parents and texted our closest friends to share the news even though I think everyone knew except me! I sat and stared back and forth between him and my hand. We sat and talked about how crazy he was being. I kept asking questions like “This is why you were so upset about my hat?” and “That’s why you shaved?” He told me he thought I was going to figure it out when we were going through security all day. We laughed so hard at what I had been thinking all weekend about how strange he was acting. It finally all made sense. We sat talking to each other for a couple of hours but it didn’t seem like that long.

Dinner was a Le Reminet. It is over between St. Germain and Notre Dame. Judson had made reservations months before but wouldn’t tell me where because I’m a menu examiner. They weren’t open yet so we took a walk around the neighborhood on the wet streets under street lights. It was a really gorgeous night. Not too cold and it had finally stopped raining/sleeting for a little while.  Le Reminet doesn’t look like much from the outside but they sat us down in the basement and it was just so cool. For quite a while we were the only ones down there. We ordered a couple of glasses of champagne and a bottle of le Parallel (Cahors). We ordered a first course and then perused the menu a little while longer for our main courses. We enjoyed this dinner so much. We were there for a few hours chatting and talking about the day we just had. We loved all of our food at Le Reminet.

 

Judson didn’t feel great right after we ate so we went back to the room for a while. After a short rest he decided that he wanted a night cap so we walked to the corner and had a beer and glass of wine at Pic Clops. This was a loud happening hangout and we really enjoyed it. This was quite a day so many great sights and great food and great memories. It was a perfect proposal and all in all a perfect day in Paris. I was still in shock over a picture perfect engagement and the thought of the rest of my life with this boy of mine.