A week in Paris with my mom

Pictures for this post: http://flickr.com/gp/76555621@N02/Lc6s77/

Sunday morning, we went off to the markets nearby, wandering, admiring, and picking up supplies for the week.  In the afternoon, we went to lunch at Zangos and then went for a walk that took us through the Luxembourg gardens.

Monday we headed off to Chartres to see the Cathedral there.  It was cool to learn that I have visited all 5 major gothic cathedrals in France (Paris, Chartres, Reims, Amiens, and Strasbourg).  We went on a French crypt tour beneath the cathedral (they only had French tours).  It was really nice and I translated the important parts for Mom.  Then we tried to visit the Chateau de Maintenon, but half of it was closed so we decided to head back to Paris and call it a day.

Tuesday we went to a park on the outskirts of Paris called le bois de Vincennes.  We walked around a small fraction of it - but it was lovely.  In the afternoon, I worked on a paper in a cafe while Mom packed some and relaxed in a nearby park.

Wednesday was, once again, a holiday.  It was Victory Day.  We went to the Arc de Triomphe to see the celebration ceremonies but quickly learned that we couldn't get very close.  Everything was blocked off as the president was coming to the ceremony.  We got a few interesting pictures and I even got a snap of M. le President Holland's hand... lol.  We wandered over the eiffel tour after lunch to snap a few shots of the iconic monument to prove that we were really here in Paris.  We finished the day off relaxing.

Thursday was my mom's last day here and we spent a lot of it getting ready for her departure.  We went to one of the markets and worked on packing/cleaning/thesis writing.  We had a nice dinner near my place before going to bed a little early.

Friday - Got my Mom to the airport just before 8am... and she whizzed through check-in.

It was wonderful having her here...  I have 3 weeks left before I'm back in the states.  I'll have to see what I'm going to do with the time I have left!