Paris! August

After being back from the USA for a few days we headed off to Paris!  It was quite the trip!  So amazing to see all the sights, but a lot of work with the kids in a big city!  I think they enjoyed it though making it well worth it.  And I of course loved Paris!

We took the train.  When Alex was a little kid he had a book about trains.  It talked about the TGV train.  It was fast (320 km/h) and fun!

Allison and Clara watching a movie on the Ipad while George and I talked.

Sammy being good and reading for a while.

Alex was on his Itouch as much as he could be.  I of course was always interrupting to try to get him to look out his window at the beautiful French countryside.

The Metro.  

Our first time on a subway.  We had to take the Metro everywhere since our hotel was a little ways off the beaten path.  We got really use to it!  It was smelly, lots of stairs, subway tiles every where & we even saw some rats.

Allison was so tired after the long train ride.  

After a quick dinner at McDonald's we went to sleep in our not so great hotel excited about the next day adventures!

Day 1

Pont-Neuf.  Oldest bridge in the city with amazing views.  Overlooking the Seine River.

We got a day pass for the double-decker tour buses and hoped on and off for the rest of the day exploring the city.

As you can see Allison just floated from person to person.

After getting a pretty good tour of the center of Paris we got off the bus at the Invalides.  Built by King Louis XIV for disabled soldiers.  

Statue of Napoleon.

Napoleon's tomb.  The kids loved hearing about France's history.

We hoped back on the bus and headed to the Place de la Concorde.  This is where Kind Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were be-headed.  We had a quick lunch in a park near by.   

Looking down Champs-Elysees.

The Obelisk of Luxor.

We walked down the Champs-Elysees eating ice cream and window shopping until we reached the Arc de Triomphe de I'Etoile.  It was built to celebrate the victories of Napoleon's soldiers.

We hopped back on the bus and headed to the Eiffel Tower!  We found a nice grassy spot on the lawn and relaxed near the tower while the kids ran around and climbed trees.

George and I laid on our backs and just looked up at this amazing sight!

Trying to get a picture of the whole family and the tower was very difficult!  Don't mind the other family walking through the picture:).

We got our fast pass tickets and took an elevator to the 1st floor where we ate a delicious dinner.  The kids loved it!  Especially the Eiffel Tower shaped chocolate cake.  Actually, Sammy didn't like hers so we switched.  A true sacrifice:).

After dinner we climbed the stairs to the second floor and walked around.  It was quite busy, so we had a great look of the city and then headed back down.

My favorite part...the Eiffel Tower at night.  I could have looked at it all night!

In love!

We got back to our hotel quite late and the kids slept soundly!

Day 2

We slept in and then took a train to Palace of Versailles.  It seems that every tourist had the same idea and the place was packed.  We ate a quick lunch and then stood in a long line to enter.  The place was amazing!  Couldn't believe someone would need such a ornate place to live!

The golden gates.

King Louis XIV and all is glory.

How we waited in the long line.  Getting creative with the stroller meant for 1!

The Hall of Mirrors!  WOW!  We were so crammed into the palace and I was carrying a sleeping Allison and the windows were closed in most rooms to protect them so it was hot.  I was so excited to get out! But is was amazing to see!

 By the time we got through there wasn't enough time or patience to see the gardens.  So we will have to come back because they looked amazing!

That night we headed back to Paris and ate at a nice restaurant off one of the squares.  It was a great, relaxing ending to a busy day.

Day 3

We started early with meeting our tour guide outside the Louvre under the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel.  We spent a wonderful morning touring the Louver with our tour guide Filip.  It was a tour especially designed for kids under 12.  They had to locate clues to help solve the mystery and get their prize at the end.  They loved it.

In front of the Louvre.

It is a really big place!

The kids starting with a few pictures that are on loan to another museum.

The ancient pieces were very interesting.

The Nike.

The Mona Lisa.  Amazing and much smaller than I thought it would be.

Inverted pyramid.  George and I definitely want to go back.  We only scratched the surface of what lies in this place, but it was a great way to do a museum with kids.

After a quick lunch at a cafe we did some souvenir shopping and then relaxing at the Jardin de Luxembourg.   

We headed over to the Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Waiting in the line to get in.

The kids had a fun time pointing out all the gargoyles.

We read in one of our books that inside the cock that stands on the top of the weather-vane is a holy relic, parts of the original crown of thorns.  The kids couldn't wait to see it!

We found a park just outside the cathedral where the children could play for a bit and have a snack.  While George and I took in the beautiful scenery!

After the kids were rested we walked along some streets doing some shopping and ice cream eating.  We ended up at the Square of the Bastille for dinner at a place called Hippopotamus.

Allison really loved her ice cream.

After dinner we headed back to our hotel to pack and get ready for our finally day.

Day 4

We started off storing our luggage at the main station and then heading to Jardin d'Acclimatation where the kids could play and ride some rides.  We didn't realize how far out of the central city it was, but the kids had fun.

Playing at the park there.

 Time for some rides.

 

After grabbing a quick bit to eat we left with what we thought was enough time to make it back to the train in time.  Well, we were wrong.  We ended up sprinting to catch the train in time!  George and Sammy went to fetch the luggage and I headed to the train with the rest of the kids.  George and Sammy got there with only a few minutes to spare:).  We had a great vacation, but it was hard with little kids in a big city.  We decided London will be done with just George and I so we can enjoy it a little more.  But I think the kids appreciated seeing Paris and will never forget it!