Big Sky Montana, Helena to Great Falls

We love Montana and its endless big sky. Our Dad was born and raised in Great Falls and every year we visit our Grandpa who still lives there, and unwind in our family cabin in Wolf Creek. For the past several years we have been spending Thanksgiving at the cabin, and although this holiday we could not make the trip all together, Ivy and our Dad went for a long weekend trip.  Ivy visited Great Falls and Helena (Montana's Capitol) but she spent most of her time at our cabin hiking with our dad and enjoying some time off. Lucky Her!

Adventure is Calling!  & Bobble Hat similar

Big Sky coffee in the morning frost.

Dad hiking & hunting 

Here are some of our recommendations for things to do and places to eat & drink.

xxx Ivy & Eve

Bites & Sips:

$ The Sip 'n Dip Lounge Great Falls, MT. This place is a serious MUST see. It's inside the O'Haire Motor Inn, walk right in and head up the stairs to the Lounge. It's essentially a Tiki Lounge with ocean themed decor and the focal point being a huge glass 'Mermaid' tank behind the bar with real mermaids swimming around! Be sure to check out the schedule so you are there when they are swimming behind the glass. They also have a killer $2 well drink/domestic beer happy hour Monday-Friday 6-7pm and again from 10pm -12am.  We recommend trying their fishbowl (with some friends) and their signature blue mimosa!

Photo from http://ohairemotorinn.com/sip-n-dip/

$$ The Celtic Cowboy Great Falls, MT. Ivy stumbled upon this place when looking for places to eat in Great Falls. This place definitely has an Irish pub atmosphere including their menu and decor. They have everything from fish and chips to bangers and mash to fill your Irish heart (and stomach) with joy. We tried the Irish nachos that include house made potato chips topped with an assortment of goodies on top including dubliner cheese and corned beef. It was tasty but we warn you the portions are HUGE! 

$$$ The Hawthorn Helena, MT. We wish they had a sister store here in CA because this place was amazing! The Hawthorn is a wine bottle shop and tasting room. Wine bottles with individually hand written tags line the shelves on either side of the entrance. A long wooden bar made from reclaimed pine bark beetle wood (the pine bark beetle leaves a blue ting to the wood) welcomes you.  They have an extensive wine list and wine on tap! You can even fill growlers of wine for the road as well. Our favorite item on the menu this trip was the chardonnay slushie. This is the perfect place to meet friends!  Grab a drink and meat and cheese platter for an afternoon snack or a drink before dinner. 

$$ The Parrot Confectionery Helena, MT.  Although this place is locally known for their chocolate shop don't overlook the diner! The Parrot has been open in downtown Helena since 1922, and makes 130 different types of candies. We have been going here for as long as we can remember and ALWAYS order the same thing. A small bowl of chili. We wouldn't say its the best chili in the world but it always tastes the same, and always tastes good. (Try it with a side of vinegar and Saltine crackers.) Also on the menu is a large selection of flavored sodas, milkshakes, malted milkshakes, and phosphates (a tart twist to a regular soda). Ivy always orders a huckleberry milkshake, Eve usually tries something different each time but the malted milkshakes are her favorites. After a bowl of chili you can't pass up the sweets!

$$$ Izaaks Restaurant Craig, MT. Craig is one of the most popular fly-fishing areas in Montana - located in the middle of nowhere - between Great Falls and Helena. The town sits on the banks of the Missouri river. Izaaks Restaurant was born out of a need to feed the hungry anglers after a long day on the river. If you're in the area we highly recommend this place - great steaks! Bad news for anyone visiting in the fall-winter they are only open during the fishing season (around April-September). 

Photo from http://www.izaaks.com/

Play:

$ C.M. Russell Museum Great Falls, MT. If you are a fan of western art and history this museum is for you. A treasure trove of C.M. Russell's art and life, the museum also features other Western artists. The museum includes C.M. Russell's original artist's studio and cabin.

 Free Giant Springs State Park Great Falls, MT. This park set on the scenic Missouri River is steeped in history. Recorded as the largest freshwater spring in the country by Lewis and Clark in 1805, it is the perfect place to picnic, walk along the trails, feed fish in the hatchery, or visit the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. There is plenty to do for adults and children.

Free Gates of the Mountains Helena, MT. If you like hiking, this is the place for you! A wilderness area made up of 28,000+ acres and 53 miles of trails. 

Free-$ Holter Lake Helena, MT.  Holter lake is located in the Gates of the Mountains. The lake offers swimming, boating, and camping. Try a Ferry Tour which runs from May-September. Adults are $16 and children $10. Book a tour here!

$$ Spokane Bar Sapphire Mine & Gold Fever Rock Shop Helena, MT. This mining shop is really fun to visit. You can buy a bag of sapphire gravel at the store and sift through it outside looking for a variety of stones including diamonds, rubies, and of course sapphires.   

Parisian Adventure: Part 3

Catacombs of Paris

On the third day we slept in a bit and then headed to our local bakery to pick out some pastries. Secco is located at 54 Rue de Sévres and had pretty tarts and yummy pain au chocolat. We had such a hard time choosing what we wanted!

Ivy's breakfast espresso and berry tart...yummy!

After breakfast, we got dressed and headed to the Catacombs for a day of spook! We had visited the Catacombs on our first ever trip to Paris but P-man had never visited so we decided to have another go. Since we did not plan ahead, we ended up sitting in line for 3+ hours!!!! We highly recommend BOOKING AHEAD. On our first visit with our family, we booked ahead and had NO wait time which left us more time to enjoy other places in Paris. Waiting in line that long was a real  bummer, but we think it was worth it. There is a small park that the line forms around and the line is great for people watching so all in all, it wasn't so bad.

Once we got into the Catacombs we were so glad we had waited in line. The tunnels below the city were originally made by the Romans quarrying stone for roads and buildings. In the 1700's The Cemetery of the Innocents in Les Halles became too full and was a source of disease for the surrounding neighborhood. In 1786, the city decided to transfer the bones from the cemetery to the abandoned tunnels. Nightly, the priests would cart bones from the city's cemeteries covered with a heavy black cloth and place them in these tunnels. The city continued to place bones in the Catacombs until 1814. When the bones were placed in the tunnels, they were piled up on either side of the tunnel, leaving a path in the center to walk. You can find designs made in the piles such as hearts made of skulls, crosses, and other interesting and certainly spooky patterns. 

After the Catacombs, we were caught in a torrential downpour and decided to head back to the 6th Arrondissement to have some lunch and change our now soaking clothes. We had noticed a small wine and tapas bar near our house so we decided to check it out for lunch. Osaba specializes in Spanish cheeses, meats, and wines. The restaurant itself is very small with a few tables upstairs and a few outside on the street. Since the rain seemed to have stopped for a while, we took a chance and sat outside because when in Paris, live as the Parisians! Between the three of us we split a bottle of rosé and the large cheese and meat board with a never ending basket of sliced baguette. The rosé was wonderful, fruity, and dry (we liked it so much we we bought a bottle to go!) and the sliced meats were delicious. There were 6 different types served and each were unique and tasty! Our favorite part of the lunch was probably the spiced honey served with the cheese. We ended up fighting over who got the last bit of honey! We love this little place so much that we went back here again!

After lunch, we decided to take a bit of a break from running around and we relaxed at home. We think it is really important to take time to relax during vacation. When you visit such an exciting place like Paris it is easy to spend your whole time racing from place to place and its easy to get run down. We took this afternoon to read a bit, nap, and look at maps to plan the days ahead!

For dinner, P-man was feeling a little under the weather so he decided to take advantage of the enormous tub at our house and read. We decided to venture into the Saint Germain des Prés. We were in the mood for something off the beaten path and found just that at Au Pied de Fouet. Au Pied de Fouet is located two blocks north of Boulevard Saint Germain, where the wonderful yet touristy Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots are located. Au Pied de Fouet is a tiny restaurant which serves up classic country style French cooking. Ivy had fish in a basil cream sauce while Eve had the classic duck confit. We washed down our wonderful meal with a carafe of the house white wine which was really yummy, light, minerally, and dry. We had a chocolate cake with creme anglaise and the chestnut mouse for dessert. Both were so tasty that we forgot to photograph them! Both dishes were delicious and the atmosphere made the meal even more enjoyable! We both can't wait to come back here with our parents who would have loved this tiny gem. 

Versailles Palace & Gardens

The next day, we rose bright and early and headed to Versailles! We had never been to Versailles because we thought it would be a long trip and hard to get to. Wow were we wrong! From Paris, the easiest way to get to Versialles is by the RER C train. We took the Metro from our house and transferred to the RER C at Saint Michel- Notre Dame Metro stop. Then you board the next RER C train to Versailles Rive Gauche. The train took about 30 minutes and then the walk to the palace was another 5-10 minutes. 

Already at 9am the palace had a long winding line to get inside the doors. Since P-man has an EU passport and is under 26 years old, he could get into the palace for FREE! We still had to buy tickets so we had P-man stand in line while we went inside to buy tickets. Inside there was a long line for tickets. DO NOT stand in that line! On the far back of the building there is a small room with ticket machines, there was absolutely no lines. Maybe in the afternoon it would get busy but for some odd reason no one was in line at the machines. We bought "Passport" tickets for 25 euros which gained us access to the palace, the grounds, and Marie-Antoinette Estate. P-man being from England only needed his passport to get into the palace, however he did have to pay for the grounds ticket which was around 7 euros. 

The palace was very beautiful and extravagant. The detail from the stone floors to the tapestries was perfection. The only downside was all the people! It was almost impossible to stand in one room more then a minute without being pushed out by the people trying to get inside. We agreed that we would be willing to pay more to be able to enjoy it with less people. The experience was not like most museums, where people are quiet, view things respectfully and take turns viewing the art.  It was more like the Mona Lisa, where you have to literally fight your way to the front. Many people were completely oblivious to the other visitors and many people walked right in front of us with their cameras above their heads trying to take a photo. Despite this, it was still a great experience and the palace was worth the wait and crowds. Maybe in the winter it is less busy?

Not surprisingly, the grounds were Ivy's favorite part. They were HUGE! There is over 800 hectors of land surrounding the palace, all of which was designed and planted perfectly. We expected it to be big - but not THAT big. We walked for 20 minutes and were not even halfway through. The grounds are made up of manicured lawns, parterres of flowers, fountains, sculptures, wooded areas, and ponds.  The areas by the ponds are perfect for summer picnics. And most of the grounds are free to visitors (if you use the garden entrances which are separate from the palace). 

After we strolled the grounds and visited a few of the Estates, we headed back to the train station. On our way back to the train station, we stopped at the Grand Écurie (Royal Stables) since Eve couldn't bear to not see the pretty horses.

Once we were back in Paris we headed to Angelina, famous for their thick and creamy hot chocolate and pretty pastries. Eve picked out a tasty éclair while Ivy picked some macarons to nibble on. We then strolled around the local shops before heading home for a little rest. We sat in the garden having lattes and our sweet treats.

They sell their hot chocolate in powder and liquid form so you can bring it home.

Eve having a hard time choosing!

Ivy in our garden enjoying the pastries. 

Ivy's Earl grey, chocolate, pistachio, and espresso macarons and Eve's caramel éclair!

Once our legs recovered some from all the walking, we headed out for a evening drink at Les Deux Magots. This café is world famous and one of the oldest in Paris! It also has had numerous famed visitors over the years such as Ernest Hemingway, Elsa Triolet, Luis Aragon, and many others over the years. We each had a glass of rosé and it was accompanied by some olives and an assorted snack mix. We were delighted by the view of the Église Saint-Germain des Prés (one of the oldest churches in Paris) and by the Parisian man and his old dog enjoying an evening brew beside us. 

Cheers!

After drinks we walked over to Le Marais for dinner. We picked to go to Restaurant L'Alivi because this was the restaurant we had stumbled upon with our Mom and Dad two years ago during Christmas. The restaurant is in a charming old building which looks like the rest of the neighborhood was built up around. We LOVE this place for its atmosphere and its food! Eve started with a lovely Corsican eggplant salad (hidden under a pretty sheet of pastry) and P-man had stuffed sardines and salad. Ivy ordered some steak she had been craving and it was seasoned and cooked perfectly. Eve had a pasta dish with slow roasted veal for the main course and P-man pork and grilled eggplant. For desert we ordered the Corsican cheesecake served with a shot of limoncello, the chocolate lava cake, and the strawberry tart with cream. Everything was delicious and exactly as we remembered. 

 After dinner, we strolled along the Seine enjoying the Paris evening and headed home for a good nights rest.

xxx Ivy & Eve