A week of pastries, baguettes, and culture
I adored Paris more than I expected to. On the day we arrived, we were able to get early check in and explore. We went to the playground in the park behind our place. From there, we headed to a larger playground at Parc de Belleville. On our walk, we went past many more playgrounds, each different and we stopped for some quality coffee and cake at Othman Café. A certain three-year old had an accident while playing at the park and we didn’t have backup clothes with us. Luckily, I was able to run to a nearby children’s clothing store for some new clothes (this was unthinkable in Aguda, Portugal). I passed multiple schools letting out for the day on my short walk. It was exciting to be in an area with so many children and playgrounds. After checking out the view of the Eiffel Tower from Parc de Belleville, we played at another nearby playground before grabbing dinner and riding the metro back home.
The people! During our time in Portugal, we typically saw no people or many tourists. It was a different experience seeing so many locals going from here to there. I also discovered Parisians love the outdoors and greenery. There were many people lounging and socializing in parks and outdoor cafes. And the balconies were so covered with plants they could create a small park.
Our time in Paris was short and largely focused on sites to see. I look forward to visiting again one day to stroll around more leisurely and grab food at brasseries. Our first full day was focus on Le Louvre. We had 12:30pm tickets so we were able to first do learning and explore Tuileries Garden. We did not ride the carousel but we did see Concorde Plaza, excitement at the Dior building, and various sculptures giving a sneak peak to inside the Louvre. We also played on the playground where the children enjoyed spotting rats. We ate a packed lunch near a fountain with sculptures of Roman gods from a myth, which A8 explained to the family. Her deep knowledge on mythology was very useful throughout the day. Inside the Louvre, we put our backpack in a free locker and snagged two strollers for the littlest to make it through a very full museum afternoon. Our self guided tour took us through medieval times to ancient Egypt and into the Roman empire. We saw parts of Napoleon’s apartments, glimpsed the Mona Lisa, stared up at the Venus de Milo, enjoyed snacks in Le Cafe Mollien, gawked at the crown jewels, rode many elevators, and attempted to play in The Studio. Our youngest spent a decent amount of the day sleeping but he enjoyed eating flan and seeing representations of babies getting milkies.
Our second day in Paris was a full day at Disneyland Paris, a very happy place for our kids who enjoyed riding rides, exploring sites, and eating at Captain Jack’s for dinner. The two oldest kicked off the visit with Thunder Mountain and Phantom Manor while the younger two rode the Disneyland Railroad. We managed more rides and sites than expected, including a parade and Halloween Celebration. We cheated a little by purchasing premier access for the Peter Pan ride and saving an hour of waiting in line. We ended the day with a second time on It’s a Small World and one short round on the carousel.
Our third day in Paris was focused on the Eiffel Tower. We arrived at Place du Trocadero and walked towards the tower that grew as we approached. We missed our guided tour because I mixed up our tour time, but we were still able to go to the second floor on the elevator and then up to the top. The youngest two were not fans of the second level at the top, as it was a bit cold and windy and really high. By the time we explored the top floor and the second floor and walked to the first floor to enjoyed our packed lunch, we had spent hours in the Eiffel Tower. With rain clouds looming, we headed back without exploring the Eiffel Tower gardens, meaning the kids had to skip Fuente de San Miguel in the scavenger hunt.
Saturday was meant to be a low key day. We relaxed and did some home schooling as it rained outside. We made it outside and down the street for lunch. We ate what was potentially the best pizza in my life at La Pizzadia. Afterwards, we headed over to see and explore the Notre Dame. While trekking to Notre Dame, we bought berets for the three older kiddos and were overwhelmed with the cuteness the rest of the day. In the area, we managed to walk along the Seine and check out a small flea market and book stalls. Inside the Notre Dame, we were at awe at the size and beauty. the kids were most excited to get a statue of saint holding his head for their scavenger hunt.
Sunday we visited the Arc de Triomphe. We didn’t know until researching the day before that we could go inside. We managed to get tickets and found ourselves observing outside, inside, and on top. When we initially arrived, we enjoyed watching the individuals who seem to not know about the tunnel and run for it. Luckily we didn’t see anyone hit but it felt close at times. We made our way under and over while discussing with the kids how their daddy’s own journey to the Arc de Triomphe in a pram many years ago. We did a full walk around outside and visited the flame before going in and up the many spiraling steps. Inside was interesting and informative and the views on top were breathtaking. After, we ate on pack lunch and walked along Champs-Élysées. We stopped for coffee, our souvenir Starbucks mugs, and some light shopping. We saw a few more sites before ending the outing and heading home. For dinner, we went to the restaurant next to our place. After eating our meal without couscous, we found out they had literally won an award for the best couscous in town. This was the reason for the giant trophy and the libations we heard the night before.
Leaving Paris was a bit of a blur with packing and getting to the train station to depart for Germany. It was only one week but left an impression on our family. We long to return for the parks, food, and music in the streets.
