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.
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