Paris, 2
We all slept late. The girls slept the latest. It was a rough night. For some reason both kids get horrendous nightmares when they're overtired, and that did not change despite being in an entirely different country. Sigh. Sigh.
BUT we got up and out the door at lunchtime, but we of course needed breakfast, and though it wasn't easy to find someplace still serving breakfast, we did, at a cute place called L'Annexe, across from Ste. Chapelle. After we ate, we walked to the Place Louis Lepine to see the bird market, which did not disappoint. Most exciting for Greta was a guy with a table of birds and a rabbit, free for the handling by any interested children (by "free" I mean there was a bowl for a few expected coins from the parents). Greta, of course, went right for the rabbit. It made her day.
In the plaza was a guy with a giant bubble-blowing contraption made of two sticks and a long rope, and he was creating enormous bubbles that a crowd of French children were trying to pop. Of course L&G joined in. It was pretty magical.
We visited two churches that morning: Notre Dame and Sainte Chappelle. Unfortunately, Notre Dame changed the way you can access the towers, and we weren't able to go up. I did so much research for this trip and nowhere, nowhere, did anyone mention a new app you have to use to reserve a place in the tower line. You cannot go into the towers without using this app. Of course the app does not work very well. We were defeated, but promised the girls we'll succeed another day this week.
Next we crossed Pont Saint-Louis to Ile Saint Louis and got ice cream from Berthillion. The girls desperately wanted to go down to the walkway by the river, so we did, and they had a lot of hilarious moments of pretending to jump/run/fall into the Seine. (There's no barrier, of course, so their joking could easily have turned at any second.) No one fell in the Seine. Victory.
Fortified with the snack, we walked across the Pont de l'Archeveche to go through the Latin Quarter en route to the Luxembourg Gardens. This is one of my favorite spots in Paris, and we loved being there. We rented sailboats for L&G to sail in the fountain along with all the other French children. They enjoyed it, but they were also very worried that their boats would become marooned in the middle of the pond/fountain. Then we got a snack of crepes from a little cafe in the park, a revelation--crepes with Nutella for the girls.
It was time for a rest after that, so we started for home and found a grocery store on the way, where we got some bread and cheese and fruit and sausages for dinner. It was a much-needed break, because we decided to pack one more thing into our day and run to make a nighttime Seine cruise. This was a highlight of the day. We sat on top of one of the two-tiered boats, and since it was dark by then we got the true Paris-at-night experience. L&G had brought their AG dolls with them, along with little doll cameras, and they had fun pretending to take pictures etc. We floated past the Eiffel Tower right on the hour and got to be right next to it as it sparkled.
And that was the day. Very full. Lots of fun.
BUT we got up and out the door at lunchtime, but we of course needed breakfast, and though it wasn't easy to find someplace still serving breakfast, we did, at a cute place called L'Annexe, across from Ste. Chapelle. After we ate, we walked to the Place Louis Lepine to see the bird market, which did not disappoint. Most exciting for Greta was a guy with a table of birds and a rabbit, free for the handling by any interested children (by "free" I mean there was a bowl for a few expected coins from the parents). Greta, of course, went right for the rabbit. It made her day.
In the plaza was a guy with a giant bubble-blowing contraption made of two sticks and a long rope, and he was creating enormous bubbles that a crowd of French children were trying to pop. Of course L&G joined in. It was pretty magical.
We visited two churches that morning: Notre Dame and Sainte Chappelle. Unfortunately, Notre Dame changed the way you can access the towers, and we weren't able to go up. I did so much research for this trip and nowhere, nowhere, did anyone mention a new app you have to use to reserve a place in the tower line. You cannot go into the towers without using this app. Of course the app does not work very well. We were defeated, but promised the girls we'll succeed another day this week.
Next we crossed Pont Saint-Louis to Ile Saint Louis and got ice cream from Berthillion. The girls desperately wanted to go down to the walkway by the river, so we did, and they had a lot of hilarious moments of pretending to jump/run/fall into the Seine. (There's no barrier, of course, so their joking could easily have turned at any second.) No one fell in the Seine. Victory.
Fortified with the snack, we walked across the Pont de l'Archeveche to go through the Latin Quarter en route to the Luxembourg Gardens. This is one of my favorite spots in Paris, and we loved being there. We rented sailboats for L&G to sail in the fountain along with all the other French children. They enjoyed it, but they were also very worried that their boats would become marooned in the middle of the pond/fountain. Then we got a snack of crepes from a little cafe in the park, a revelation--crepes with Nutella for the girls.
It was time for a rest after that, so we started for home and found a grocery store on the way, where we got some bread and cheese and fruit and sausages for dinner. It was a much-needed break, because we decided to pack one more thing into our day and run to make a nighttime Seine cruise. This was a highlight of the day. We sat on top of one of the two-tiered boats, and since it was dark by then we got the true Paris-at-night experience. L&G had brought their AG dolls with them, along with little doll cameras, and they had fun pretending to take pictures etc. We floated past the Eiffel Tower right on the hour and got to be right next to it as it sparkled.
And that was the day. Very full. Lots of fun.
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