I swear I wasn’t being coy with the continued unfulfilled promises of pictures. Thing is, when I loaded them onto Shutterfly, I didn't pass go. Meaning, I went straight from the memory card to the internets – I didn't first dump them on a hard drive. (You would understand why if you knew anything about Guy’s history with laptops.) So, whenever I came here with the intention of loading a few on the site (for you lazy ones who don’t have the energy to click a link) – I didn't have them to do so! But enough apologies. For two reasons. Here I am to make good. And! The pictures have actually been a click (or two or three) away this whole time! It's true! See that link that looks like this Click here to go to our photo albums on Shutterfly! up there in the right-hand corner. Ahem. Yup. Are you feeling sheepish now?
Anyway, here is a little narrative I had been composing to go along with the pictures ... but I only got as far as Day 2, then it devolved into bullet points. As part of my new year's resolution to sometimes be ok with the quick-and-dirty I am posting it anyway. Here you go.
Kid and I arrived at St Michael metro station on the RER train from Charles De Gaulle in the pouring rain. I went a driot when probably I should have gone a gauche in looking for the sortie when we got off the train way down underground – so, when we popped up to street level (that sounds much more, um … nimble that it actually was – as I was dragging a giant size LL Bean rolling duffle and clutching Kid who was dragging her own suitcase) we were on the opposite corner from where we were supposed to meet Guy (which you should imagine is pronounced “ghee” for this entry – also picture him wearing a beret). We started walking. In the rain. Dragging our bags. Merde! Why didn’t he come to the airport in a taxi! He would have if he really loved us! (I was a bit grumpy.) We finally found him, found a taxi, found our apartment and I found the couch. (Click here to see where our apartment was.)
That evening we had drinks at what we decided was “our” café (in Place La Contrescarpe) – always good to establish oneself as a “regular” someplace – and then dinner at a Moroccan place in the Latin Quarter.
Next day: walked from our apartment to Jardin du Luxembourg passing the Pantheon and Eglise St-Etienne-du-Mont along the way. At Jardin du Luxembourg, Kid sampled all the requisite children’s experiences: the pay-to-enter playground (worth it!); the carousal; rented a boat to sail in the pond; a pony ride.
From there we went to a café on Boulevard St Germain. Grand total for a salad, two toasted cheese sandwiches, a beer, a hot chocolate and a café au lait was … $80. Welcome to Pari$!
Next up, rode a city bus to the Eifel Tower. Walked though / under, oohed, aahed, took some pictures and kept going. (Lines to go up stretched out from each giant steel leg. We decided to try to come back early in the morning on another day – which we never got around to. Oh well. Next time.) Check this view from the top.
From there we walked over the Pont d'lena. Want to hear my favorite joke from French 1 in high school? No? Sorry, I’m going to tell you anyway. What happened when the three cats tried to cross the Seine? Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq! Get it “sank” har har. Anyway. We were more successful. Wandered around a bit along the Seine. We finally decided to do a boat tour.
We took the Metro back to our neighborhood. We stopped in at the grocery store, bought dinner fixings, went home, ate and went to bed. It was a big day!
It continued like that: walking, monuments, museums, walking, parks, churches, walking. To whit:
• Notre Dame
• Rue Mouffetard
• Louvre – kid was wowed by Napoleon's Apartments; she started lobbying for a gilded ceiling in her bedroom
• Muse d'Orsay – ballerinas!
• Bon Marche Toy Department
• Bon Marche Grand Epicerie
• Marionettes des Champs-Elysées (by the Rond Point)
• Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes (a.k.a. the zoo)
Playgrounds we visited:
• Jardin du Luxembourg
• Jardin des Tuileries (trampolines!)
• Just around the corner from our apartment, adjacent to the Arènes de Lutèce
• Down the street from our apartment at Square Paul Langevin, rue Monge & rue des Ecoles
• In Square Boucicaut (near the Bon Marche)
• On Quai Saint-Bernard at Musée de la Sculpture en Plein Air
• At the entrance to the zoo in the Jardin du Plantes
Carousals Zoe rode on:
• Jardin du Luxembourg
• Jardin du Plantes (the most beautiful carousal I have ever seen – all the animals were hand-carved – exquisite!)
• Jardin des Champs-Elysées by the Rond Point
There are carousals everywhere! They became such a common site that Z seemed to not even notice them sometimes. We walked right by one in the Champ de Mars and she didn't even comment.
Bottom line: Paris is indeed a great destination for families / kids. Or, at least for 5-year-old girl kids. There are a ton of playground, carousals and other attractions that appeal. It is super easy to get around. (I actually recommend busses over Metro where you have a choice. Sometimes Metro looks easy and accessible ... then you get down underground and find yourself walking for blocks and blocks to transfer, etc. On a bus you can see where you are and the system is great – there is a computer reader-board at each stop telling you when the next one is coming.) Food is very kid-friendly – croissants, bread, crepes, waffles, frites, fondue, chocolate chaud … She’s probably sorry we left. Yes, it is very very expensive with the dollar so miserable. We rented an apartment with probably saved us hundreds of dollars since we didn’t have to eat out for three meals a day. If you want the agency we used, email me.
A bientôt!
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