To Paris and back

Six months ago, sitting in our kitchen in Raleigh, NC, I could never have imagined that we would be scaling the Eiffel Tower with all three children in tow!  But that's just what we did last weekend.  Jason and I had often talked about our desire to take the children abroad, but determined that it would be best to wait until they were older and would "appreciate" the experience.  We thought that would most likely be middle or high school.  We are thrilled to be traveling with them to so many places that we enjoyed during our previous trips to Europe!

When we planned the trip to Disneyland, we had been forewarned that the crowds were very large on the weekends and holidays so we decided to head into Paris for Saturday and Sunday. 

Here we are on the metro at 7:15 am.  Our first stop was the Eiffel Tower.  Lines to ride "the lift" or elevator up to the top can be atrocious, especially on the weekends so we knew if we were to make it to the top with Jenna, Ethan and Drew we would have to be there as early as possible.  Jason chose a specific metro stop once we were in Paris, so this would be the children's first real view of the city.

 

This is the view of the Eiffel Tower from the Palais de Chaillot.  Jason and I have been to Paris twice before and every time this specific view had been obstructed with construction.  We were thrilled to see it the way it was designed!

We made it in line by 8:45 and the ticket booth did not open until 9:30.  We were approximately 15 people back in the line.  By 9:30, this is what the line looked like behind us!  Praise God that we have early risers in our family and we were able to beat the crowd.

Here are a few shots from the top of the tower.

I never usually let my children put money into these telescopes.  However, I thought if there is ever a place to put money into something like that, I'd say the top of the Eiffel Tower would be it!

View of the River Seine and the Arc de Triumphe just to the left of the middle. 

Family photo at the top of the tower. 

Jason captured this beautiful shot while we were leaving the Tower and headed for a little rest on the Champ de Mars, which is a large grassy area between the Eiffel Tower and the Ecole Militaire.

Enjoying a mid-morning snack after the summit of the Eiffel Tower.

 By this point, everyone was dragging a bit after such an early start to the day and waiting at the Eiffel Tower.  Jason snapped this picture while he and the kids waited for me to pick up sandwiches at a local shop.

Sandwiches in hand, we made our way to Les Invalides.  This is a large building commissioned by Louis XIV in 1670 to be the first military hospital and home for French war veterans and disabled soldiers who had previously been disregarded.  It is an immense structure with a large cobblestone courtyard and gilded domed church at the back side.  Napoleon's coffin is located in this domed church. 

This photo is taken from inside the courtyard and the dome in the back is the church where Napoleon's coffin is located.

Apparently, Napoleon's remains were brought back to Paris as an act of reconiliation in the mid-1800's between two political parties.  His body was encased in 6 coffins and placed in the crypt in 1861.  There are 5 or 6 other people laid to rest in this church as well.  I think several are war heros from other battles and also Napoleon's brother.

Here, Jenna and Ethan are pictured with the interior of the dome above them.

The children enjoyed touring a bit of the Musee de l'Armee (Army Museum) at Les Invalides.  They especially enjoyed climbing on the cannons and seeing armor, bows and swords from centuries past.

 

After Les Invalides, we began making our way to the Tuileries Gardens.  We had plans to meet up with my cousin, Jon, who is now living in Paris!  I only have three first cousins and have not been able to see Jon in almost 10 years!  It was such a treat to see him in Paris.  Jenna and I are pictured above just in front of Pont Alexandre III.  It is one of the most famously decorated bridges over the Seine.

Jason and the kids on the bridge.  Drew is obviously enjoying his time in the city!

After quite a bit of walking, and a quick break for ice cream to help the kids make it to our meeting place in front of the Louvre, we met up with Jon and his girlfriend Laure.

We spent quite a while in the shade letting the kids run around and catching up on happenings and life in Europe.  Neither of them were even a bit bothered by our rambunctious boys, or at least they didn't show it!

Jenna and Ethan with me in front of the Louvre.  After all the walking we put them through that day, we opted not to tour the museum this trip.  We hope to have a few lessons about some of the artists and pieces kept in the museum and then return for a visit. 

Here we are strolling along the Seine on our way to Notre Dame.  Jenna and Ethan had been requesting a minature Eiffel Tower all day.  We found a booth with good prices and they were thrilled!  Ethan picked out a shiney silver Eiffel Tower key chain and Jenna chose a larger statue that she said she would "keep forever"!

Our last stop for the day was Notre Dame.  Which is a large, well photographed church located on Ile de la Cite, which is a small island on the Seine in the middle of Paris. 

Entry to the church was free, but the line to get in was quite long.  We will put this on our list of places to return when we visit Paris again.  I would love for the children to see the inside of the Cathedral.  That concluded our first day in the city.  We made our way back to the Metro and headed back to our hotel near Disney. 

Thankfully, our start to day two was much more relaxed.  After a later breakfast at the hotel, we hopped on the RER into Paris around 10 a.m.  Our first stop was the Arc de Triumphe.  I had grand notions of all of us tromping up all 284 steps to get to the top.  However, after a long day of walking and the long line at the Arc, we decided to just snap a few pictures and head to our second destination.  Maybe next time!

Our next stop was the Luxembourg Gardens.  This is a huge garden adjacent to the Luxembourg Palace that has something for everyone.  The sun was bright and warm so the Parisians were out in full force.

We were told about a park for children here, so after a little help from a palace guard we found a great, shaded play area for the kids. 

All three were thrilled to have a break from walking, standing in line and looking at old buildings!

After an hour at the park we left to explore an area of Paris called St.-Germain-des-Pres.  This is the area of Paris where Jason and I stayed in 2001.  It is a beautiful part of the city full or typical French architecture and crowded cafes.  This is the area where Hemmingway and many other writers would visit the cafe Les Deux Magot pondering life and all sorts of philosophical issues!

It's a bit dark, but this is the street where our hotel was located when we stayed in 2001.

Here we are buying crepes and ice cream from a vendor who is located in the exact spot where I purchased a Nutella crepe almost 10 years ago!  Things stay the same even in Paris, I guess.

Our final stop for this trip to Paris was the Montparnasse Tower.  This is a 59 story skyscraper, which is honestly a bit of an eye sore on the Parisian skyline.  However, it offers some of the best views because you actually see the Eiffel Tower from the top.  For some reason it is often overlooked by tourists, so there are usually short lines.

This is a view of the St.-Germain-des-Pres area we had just walked through. 

This is a view of the Luxembourg Gardens where we spent the afternoon.

Jenna and Drew taking a break on the helicopter pad at the top of Montparnasse.

Finally, a picture of the family with the Eiffel Tower!  It is hard to believe that the Eiffel Tower was only completed in 1889 and was supposed to be a temporary structure built for the Universal Exhibition.  It is such an icon of the city.

Overall, we had a wonderful time in the city.  Honestly, learning to manage our expectations traveling with 3 children was a bit of a challenge.  However, I think we made wonderful memories and it was exciting to be back in the city.  I cannot stress enough how amazed and thankful we are for the opportunity that we have to live in Europe for these couple of years.  What an unexpected blessing!  My prayer is that we will make the most of time we have here and enjoy being a family!