I woke up to discover that my dear hubby had already shopped at the local patisserie for croissants and pain au chocolate. I was feeling pretty rough and hadn't slept well the night before. He made a good cup of green tea and fed us pastries and fresh berries. We ate a yummy breakfast in our room and then we headed to the train station.
The train ride was pretty simple. Our plan was to spend the day on the Isle de Cite. We started at the Sainte Chappel. It takes your breath away. Really, it does. The stained glass windows are in order. They tell the story of the Bible from Genesis through Revelation. When my FIL came to this church, he actually tried to count them and estimates there are 300,000 stained glass windows. It is something to behold. They stone carvings also tell stories from the Bible. The children enjoyed naming the stories from the scenes depicted.
We walked through the courtyard of the Justice Department and had a picnic by the river. Then we went to the Concierge. The kids were disappointed. It may be the first palace, but there's not much in it. There was a very good video about the history of French politics, complete with graphic beheading scenes. I read that it was set up like it had been during Gothic times, but there really wasn't much in there.
We headed out to get a sweet treat before going to Notre Dame. This was our first repeat activity of the day. I can't imagine ever tiring of looking at Notre Dame. Even the front facade is mesmerizing enough to get lost in. The interior, even more so. The sheer number of prayer chapels, statues, paintings, and friezes, is overwhelming. It really is huge, even by cathedral standards. It's ginormous.
We were going to go to the top, but the line was incredibly long. Instead, we went to the park behind it (again) and had a great time remembering Leonardo on that silver spaceship spinning things. It's still there. The girl's both journaled about their trip there while Jasper spun in circles for about an hour. It's a beautiful place to soak up the sun and breathe while you take it all in.
After our leisurely pause, we headed to the crypts. This was a new one for us, and I LOVED it. It's an archaeological site that was discovered during the installation of a parking lot. They never put the parking lot there because the Roman ruins of the original city from two thousand years ago was found there. You get to look at about four city blocks of ancient Roman ruins. There's a plethora of ancient roman coins with roman artifacts. There's lots of interactive maps, 3D images of the city over the course of a millennium and parts of the original wall that fortified the city. It's a home schooler's dream come true for ancient studies! We stayed there until they closed.
Then we hopped back on the bus and cooked dinner in our room. My dear hubby had grabbed some yummy sweet sausage to go with our pasta. The plan was an early dinner and a prompt bedtime to help the kids shift their circadian rhythms. it worked for two out of three of them.
Two hours after bedtime, our youngest is still bouncing off the walls while everyone else sleeps. He can't help it. It's jet lag. The kids with the most predictable schedules at home are the ones who have the hardest time adjusting to the new time zone.
Sunday, April 2, 2017
We're baaaaaaack!
We made it back to Paris! Our family looks a little different. Leonardo isn't with us because he's in college. We have no kids in diapers! We have a fourteen year old, an eight years old, and a seven year old, so we are going to see things in Paris that we didn't even bother with last time.
We splurged on an Uber ride to get us from the airport to the hotel. We unpacked and promptly headed out to the Monoprix for a few things before going to dinner at a creperie around the corner. We were all miserably tired and jet lagged. It was a struggle to stay awake until 9 pm that night, and then we all got that crazy energy thing and the kids didn't sleep until 10 pm. The adults were closer to midnight. We all slept until 10 am the next day. So we felt human again when we got up.
Day One: We ate breakfast in our room. Then we went shopping for lunch goodies. We got bread, cheese, and sausage at the Fran Prix. Then we walked to the Champs de Mars for a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower. The kids are old enough to know what the Eiffel Tower is, and our youngest, in particular, is completely in love with the Eiffel Tower. We walked to the very back of it and got some great shots of the Military School. This was a part of Paris we didn't see last time. In fact, the rest of our day was all about new experiences.
We continued our walk out to Napoleon's Tomb. The gardens surrounding it are amazing. The old walls and moats that surround it are very cool too. There is grass growing in the moats, because they no longer hold water. They are just a decorative part of history now.
The shrine around Napoleon's tomb is absolutely mind blowing. I expected something a little more modest. I guess because I've seen Grant's tomb in the US. I did not expect the wow factor. It is a WOW! We spent a solid hour in the shrine.
Then we headed out back to the Cathedral. The Church attached to the shrine is so similar to St Louis Cathedral in New Orleans that my jaw dropped. The floors are different, but the shape of the church and the decorations are almost identical, right down to the light fixtures and the flags.
Then we headed to the Military Museum. I am not into the military at all, but this was really a very cool place. My husband loves to read historical fiction and he's read books about both the French and the English armies and navies from long ago. The uniform displays are a costume maker's dream. I took a ridiculous amount of pictures for my Elizabethan costume club. The weapons were really cool too, and they even have Napoleon's actual horse preserved through taxidermy.
We spent about two hours in the Military Museum before heading to our next stop. We grabbed a bus to the Arch de Triumph. We hiked up to the top. OMG. My legs burned. I also got dizzy from the narrow, spiral staircase. You can't beat the views from up there.
Then we walked about three blocks to St. Joseph's. It's a modern church, underground, that offers an English mass on Saturdays at 6:30. Everyone there was so friendly and welcoming. My children even got to help at mass!
We walked around about two blocks and had dinner at the first place we found. I think it was the Hotel Sophie. The food was excellent. Service was great. It worked perfectly for us. We tried to Uber back but our Uber had a fender bender, so we ended up walking along the Sienne to get back. The kids had a carousel ride in front of the Eiffel Tower. The Tower was lit and sparkling, and it was just good fun for us. We finished our walk home, and sent the kids straight to bed. It was 10:30 pm.
They had the decency to sleep until 9 am.
We splurged on an Uber ride to get us from the airport to the hotel. We unpacked and promptly headed out to the Monoprix for a few things before going to dinner at a creperie around the corner. We were all miserably tired and jet lagged. It was a struggle to stay awake until 9 pm that night, and then we all got that crazy energy thing and the kids didn't sleep until 10 pm. The adults were closer to midnight. We all slept until 10 am the next day. So we felt human again when we got up.
Day One: We ate breakfast in our room. Then we went shopping for lunch goodies. We got bread, cheese, and sausage at the Fran Prix. Then we walked to the Champs de Mars for a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower. The kids are old enough to know what the Eiffel Tower is, and our youngest, in particular, is completely in love with the Eiffel Tower. We walked to the very back of it and got some great shots of the Military School. This was a part of Paris we didn't see last time. In fact, the rest of our day was all about new experiences.
We continued our walk out to Napoleon's Tomb. The gardens surrounding it are amazing. The old walls and moats that surround it are very cool too. There is grass growing in the moats, because they no longer hold water. They are just a decorative part of history now.
The shrine around Napoleon's tomb is absolutely mind blowing. I expected something a little more modest. I guess because I've seen Grant's tomb in the US. I did not expect the wow factor. It is a WOW! We spent a solid hour in the shrine.
Then we headed out back to the Cathedral. The Church attached to the shrine is so similar to St Louis Cathedral in New Orleans that my jaw dropped. The floors are different, but the shape of the church and the decorations are almost identical, right down to the light fixtures and the flags.
Then we headed to the Military Museum. I am not into the military at all, but this was really a very cool place. My husband loves to read historical fiction and he's read books about both the French and the English armies and navies from long ago. The uniform displays are a costume maker's dream. I took a ridiculous amount of pictures for my Elizabethan costume club. The weapons were really cool too, and they even have Napoleon's actual horse preserved through taxidermy.
We spent about two hours in the Military Museum before heading to our next stop. We grabbed a bus to the Arch de Triumph. We hiked up to the top. OMG. My legs burned. I also got dizzy from the narrow, spiral staircase. You can't beat the views from up there.
Then we walked about three blocks to St. Joseph's. It's a modern church, underground, that offers an English mass on Saturdays at 6:30. Everyone there was so friendly and welcoming. My children even got to help at mass!
We walked around about two blocks and had dinner at the first place we found. I think it was the Hotel Sophie. The food was excellent. Service was great. It worked perfectly for us. We tried to Uber back but our Uber had a fender bender, so we ended up walking along the Sienne to get back. The kids had a carousel ride in front of the Eiffel Tower. The Tower was lit and sparkling, and it was just good fun for us. We finished our walk home, and sent the kids straight to bed. It was 10:30 pm.
They had the decency to sleep until 9 am.
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