Last week Elisabeth had a four-day weekend at school for parent-teacher conferences. Her conference was the first of the day so we decided to take the train to Paris for the weekend.
FRIDAY
On Friday morning we took a taxi to the train station in Brussels, Gare du Midi. Our Thalys train left at 8:15am and arrived in Paris at 9:40 am at the Gare du Nord train station in Paris. We took a cab to our hotel, the Hotel Metrole Residence Opera, on the left bank. We left our bags and car seats at the hotel and then headed off on foot to explore the city.
Tulieres Garden
We did not bring a stroller to Europe so we walked with the girls on our shoulders to the Jardin de Tulieres. We enjoyed a pastry in the park and sat in the sculpture garden. At one end of the garden they were installing a new sculpture. The girls found it interesting to watch the forklift. We walked from one end of the garden to the Champs Elysees. Elisabeth noticed that the obelisk at the Place de la Concorde was smaller than the Washington Monument. They enjoyed seeing the Eiffel Tower from a distance.
Louvre
Next we visited the Louvre. First, we ate lunch. We had planned to eat lunch at the tea room, but opted for the cafeteria instead. After lunch we sought out Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. We spent a lot of time resting on the couches in the gallery. Rich and I took turns staying with the girls as the other walked through the galleries. We tried to find our favorite in each gallery or something funny in a painting.
The Seine
After the Louvre, we walked south along the Seine toward the Eiffel Tower. Our boat tour left at 2:30pm. It was just what we all needed after walking all morning. Elisabeth and Kate enjoyed taking pictures with my camera. Elisabeth also enjoyed having her picture taken with the Asian tourists on the boat. They were all in awe of Elisabeth (Kate did not want to have her picture taken!).
Eiffel Tower
After the boat tour we walked along the Seine to the Eiffel Tower. A bit of a drizzle during the walk. We ducked into a covered bus stop to avoid the rain. Luckily for us the line for the Eiffel Tower was relatively short after the rain. I quickly jumped in line while Rich took Elisabeth and Kate across the street to the carousel. The girls enjoyed a ride or two before joining me in line for the Eiffel Tower. We took the elevator to the second level and walked around and then proceeded to the top. What a breathtaking view of Paris! We opted not to spend 200 Euro each on dinner at the restaurant. We ate at the second floor cafeteria and the girls enjoyed Orangina soda, pizza and hot dogs.
SATURDAY
The girls woke up early Saturday morning (despite our best efforts to tire them out on Friday!). We checked out of our hotel and stored our bags in the lower level. Then we ventured out for breakfast. We were craving bacon and eggs (or at least I was!). Not many cafes open that early on a Saturday.
We found a lovely little café that was open and ate a big breakfast. The bacon and eggs were delicious – they were cooked together in a skillet and served on a plate intermingled with the bacon fried in the egg.
Notre Dame Cathedral
After breakfast we walked with the girls on our shoulders from our hotel to the Notre Dame Cathedral. We walked past the Louvre and the Jardin de Tulieres and along the Seine. Once at the cathedral the girls enjoyed the rose window, but what they most wanted to do was light candles for family and friends.
Once outside we enjoyed walking along the Seine outside of the church and played in the playground. The girls did not want to leave, but we were hungry for a snack and there were no cafes nearby.
Farmers Market in the Historic Neighborhood
We walked along the Seine and then crossed a bridge to the historic core of Paris on the right bank. We bought some pastries and fruit at a farmer’s market there. We had planned to do the Walking tour of Old Paris (Rick Steve’s Guide), but were tired.
Shakespeare & Company Bookstore
I am volunteering at the library at Elisabeth's school once a week. Regine at the library suggested that we visit the Shakespeare & Company Bookstore on the Right Bank. We stumbled upon it. Rich and Elisabeth enjoyed looking at books while I took Kate to the WC at the café next door. Elisabeth picked out a book about Matisse. Kate picked a book about Cezanne. We climbed the narrow staircase of the bookstore to see the alcoves where writers typed in the early 20th century: a cozy little children’s section in the bookstore on the second floor.
Luxembourg Gardens
We walked from the Seine inland to the Luxembourg Gardens. The girls enjoyed sailing miniature sailboats there. Kate’s was yellow with a clownfish on it. Elisabeth’s was pink. There was a café at the gardens, however the girls saw a McDonald’s so we went to McDonald’s for lunch.
After McDonald’s we bought some delicious chocolates from a local shop and munched on those while we walked to the Musee d’Orsay.
Musee d'Orsay
Elisabeth was very interested in Matisse and found several paintings in her new book that she wanted to find. Her favorite was Study of a Pine Tree (1904). We picked up a map of the museum and found the rooms where Matisse paintings were located. Kate wanted to see the Little Dancer by Degas so we found the Degas rooms as well and charted our course through the museum. I think they appreciated the paintings and sculptures, but again we took turns sitting with them on the couches while the other toured each gallery. Afterwards the girls enjoyed playing in the sculpture gallery in the Musee d’Orsay. Luckily, nothing broke.
We ate a snack at the café in the Musee d’Orsay. We sat and rested before the walk back to our hotel on the other side of the Seine…shoulder rides....what a great way to travel!
