Counting down the minutes until we leave for Europe

After more than two years absent of international vacations due to the pandemic, we are finally just about ready to fly to Europe. 

In fact, exactly one month from today, I will be waking up in Paris for the first full day of our trip through Europe with my husband and two of our best friends. 

Although I have been to Paris twice, I haven't really spent any meaningful time there – just a total of three nights and only one full day during trips to Europe for the Terra Madre and Salone del Gusto in 2014 and 2016.

Despite almost six years having passed since my last trip there, I never actually posted pictures from my second, super brief visit to this beautiful city when I spent one night in an Airbnb in Montmartre with my family before taking a train to Germany.

Upon our arrival from Torino, we immediately walked to the Arc de Triomphe to do a little sightseeing before dinner.

Visiting the Arc de Triomphe is an obligatory stop during any trip to Paris, however brief.

During my first visit to Paris, I was shocked by how large the arch
is in real life, and by the fact that you can easily access the inside
by walking through a tunnel under the street.

A carving of an angel and cherubs above some of the inscriptions of names of generals from the
armies of Central Europe, Switzerland and Italy on the eastern pillar.

La Paix de 1815, a sculptural group by Antoine Étex
commemorating the Treaty of Paris, adornes one side of the
Arc de Triomphe. 

All photos by Lauren J. Mapp

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