merci, vayable

"Mommy and Deanna are here!" I thought as I jumped out of bed on Friday morning... late. Oops. I showered, ate breakfast, and got ready as quickly as I could, and by 10:20am, I was out the door, running down 6 flights of stairs (carefully, kind of) to meet them at my metro station. 

They hadn't gotten all the way there on their own though. Anne, a designer, Vayable guide, and blogger at Prêt à Voyager had met them at their hotel. For the next three hours she introduced my mom and little sister to, in essence, what Paris really is. And to the concept that it is indeed "most beautiful in the rain."

We stumbled upon a brocante in the Northermost Marais,

took a stroll through le Marché des Enfants Rouge,

came across a familiar face,

  and explored more of Galerie Perrotin,

being sure to amuse ourselves with quite a few photos.

 Then we ventured to merci for shopping and design inspiration...

I truly could've moved in.

But for the sake of my lovely guests, we continued on

first to BONTON for laughs in its photobooth, next to Chocolaterie Joséphine Vannier.

From there we headed to Place des Vosges and caught the bus to the Left Bank.

Anne pointed out more than a couple of sites along the way, of course.

But once we'd made it to the Latin Quarter, we wandered by foot once more,

past Shakespeare and Company and into Notre-Dame.

By the time the clock struck one, I was so beyond impressed with Anne and her "Navigate Paris" tour. And then she dropped us off at Crêperie des Pêcheurs to enjoy the ideal rainy day lunch I'd previously only had the chance to tell my mom and sister about. I don't believe any of us could've loved Paris more.

Thank you, Anne for helping me make it so sweetly so at the weekend's beginning... to be continued...