We had a smooth train ride through the Chunnel to Paris. We had a delicious lunch at the train station. The train station! We had super delicious sandwiches on baguettes, eclairs, pain au chocolat. Then we took a cab to our Airbnb. It was fun to start hearing French everywhere. Our cab driver hardly spoke any English at all. We loved our apartment! It was in a great location--near Champs-Elysees--and roomy enough for us with a room for Joe and I and two fold out beds for the kids. It was on the 7th floor and the kids loved using the old elevator.
Here it is:
We took some time to drop off our stuff and get settled and then took off for the Eiffel Tower. One of my favorite memories from the trip was just walking around Paris together.
The lines at the Eiffel Tower were so long. They now have security gates all around it which weren't there 10 years ago. Those lines were long, and when we got in we still had to wait in a really long line to go up. Unfortunately, we needed advance tickets to go up to the very top so we settled on walking up to the 2nd level--less of a wait. I was worried about how Eli would do but he was such a champ! We were passing by tons of adults that were slower. He even counted all the steps--over 600!
The kids loved freaking me out by sticking their heads through the holes:
After that, we walked to a restaurant that had been recommended and it was delicious! We were packed in but it was worth it. We even ended up sitting next to a really nice Scottish family with two young kids and had a good conversation with them.
My super delicious scallops:
Eli's favorite part--the bread!
We got to catch the Eiffel Tower lighting up on our way home that night:
Tuesday, we opted to join an open-air bus tour to get around and see different sights. It was really interesting to learn more about different sights around Paris.
Paris is so beautiful:
My biggest regret from the trip is that we didn't get a chance to go into Notre Dame. At least we got to see it from the bus:
We hopped off the bus at the Musee d'Orsay to explore there for the day. The line was super long so Joe took one for the team and waited in line while the kids and I explored.
Loved this wall:
We found this fun park right before Joe called to say he was almost in and we were sad to leave it:
We joined up with Joe in line which unfortunately caused a French couple behind us to get very angry. I tried to explain in my limited French that we just didn't want to make the kids stand in line so long but I don't think they thought that was a good reason. At least we got in alright.
Joe took better pictures in the museum than I did since I was hanging by the younger, less enthusiastic kids. That's OK since I'd seen it before.
The boys were so thrilled to see a statue with clothes on! :)
I love all the beautiful impressionist paintings there. I hope the kids got a little taste of that.
We'd planned on doing a lot more after the museum but ended up in a downpour so we snuck into the first restaurant we could find. It wasn't the best food but it did give the kids the chance they'd been waiting for--they got to try escargots!
This was Natalie's dream, especially, so I love this series:
Not bad! Nobody wanted more, though, except Eli who ate Nate's for him. He said he liked them!
Testing out portrait mode:
The beautiful walk home:
We were all pretty beat after that and decided to just head back to the apartment and let the kids watch a movie. That was a wise move and the kids were glad for a break.
Joe and I snuck out later that night for a bit to explore Champs-Elysees and see the Arc de Troimphe.
I loved it.
I loved watching the Eiffel Tower light up there with him. On the way home, we stopped and got some more delicious bread and desserts for breakfast the next morning.
Our last day we headed to the Louvre early so we could be there when it opened. That helped and the line wasn't terribly long. But, when we got in and were heading into the different wings of the museum, they shut them down for a minute for a security reason. Luckily it was a short closure and we got in after that. We mostly just wanted to hit the highlights so we didn't overdo it the kids and I think we spent the right amount of time there.
The sheer scale of some of the paintings is so incredible.
The crush to see the Mona Lisa:
It's entertaining just to see that. We sent different kids in to get a picture and they had better luck. Lizzie got the best one.
The Winged Victory:
Venus de Milo:
After the Louvre, we went to a restaurant that had been recommended for some authentic buckwheat crepes. They were pretty tasty. Then, we waited for an Uber outside and snapped these pictures of the kids playing around:
I love the window balconies in Paris behind him. They are so beautiful!
We were running out of time and decided to go see Versailles. It was a good thing we did. It was nice to just get out of the city and let the kids run around in some space for a while.
The palace was beautiful:
I think we loved the grounds even more.
Unfortunately, both of our phones died soon after we got out of the palace and we couldn't find a single cab that would fit us. So, we decided to just try hopping on the bus towards Paris and see if we could figure it out. It was a bit of an adventure and sure enough it worked. We rode it to the end and then got on the metro and made it back to our neighborhood.
We tried going to a recommended restaurant for steak frites (Le Relais de L'Entrecote) but the line was SO long and it was already dark so we walked down Champs-Elysees and settled on Five Guys. Then, we got some ice cream cones at McDonalds :). Silly Americans.
One of the funniest things about staying near the Champs-Elysees was seeing all the crazy, over-priced clothing in the windows.
Here were some of our favorites:
Only 470 Euros!
A vest made of what looks like human hair!
Only 9700 Euros! What a steal! :)
The next morning, we just packed up and got ready to go and got a ride to the airport. We had some last delicious food that we took on the plane with us and said goodbye to Paris. We were really impressed with the airport there and that there were zero lines.
The flights back were on Icelandic Air and were much nicer. The kids each had their own ipad thing to watch movies and play games on and so they did fine. We stopped in Iceland again and had a crazy layover running here and there because of some luggage issues and going through customs but we made it. Then we flew to Seattle. That was just one stop too many. We ended up being delayed a few hours and went from thinking we'd be home by 10 to getting home at about 1am. I sat by the boys on the last leg and they were so tired and slept the whole way. Then, I almost couldn't get them off the plane they were so sleepy. We made it off and they all camped out sleeping on the ground of the baggage claim while Joe tried to find his bag. We hadn't checked anything on the way there but Joe's bag broke so he bought a new one in England and the new one didn't fit in the carry-on so they made him check it. Anyway, he made the lost baggage claim and we got an Uber for home. We all rolled into bed and slept and slept.
A lot of people have asked me how it went if it is really worth it to take kids as young as ours on a trip like this. I say--definitely! I loved our trip. Yeah, I wish we'd have been able to do more or see more but I think it was still worth the money. Our kids really had some great experiences and talk about it all the time. I especially loved just sharing the love of travel that Joe and I have with our kids and can't wait to do that more.
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