Paris proved to be an exciting and slightly exhausting way to spend our first long weekend holiday break. With Nana and Grandpa along for the adventure, we arrived via Eurostar into Gare du Nord on Saturday afternoon and, after successfully navigating the metro/RER train maze to our hotel in the Latin quarter (a car service actually quoted us 100 euros for a trip to our hotel which, we soon learned, was only a 10 minute train ride away). Actually, the train system is quite easy to navigate despite the intimidation from reading everything in French.
Michael and I love to stay in the St. Germain/Latin quarter area. The hotels are quaint, personal and full of character. The neighborhood is great to get lost in...the shopping is amazing, great pubs and restaurants are everywhere and, when in need of a rest, we're only a few blocks from the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens. We spent our first afternoon at a quick lunch (ok, truthfully, it was more like a 2 hour lunch as the only way to ensure a quick lunch is to find take away) followed by a walk over to Notre Dame.
Day 2 was a trip out the palace of Versailles, a first for all of us! I am convinced that nothing can prepare you for the immense size of this palace until you actually arrive. It's just unbelievable. We only had the time to tour the main palace and grounds, but laughed when we found out that a few past kings and queens (most notable Marie Antoinette) actually had additional "palaces on the side" built on the grounds. Be sure to get your tickets on-line if you ever visit Versailles. The lines to get in stretched forever and it was a snap to arrive and only visit the internet ticket booth.
Most of early Monday was spent at the Louvre...here's Evan and Michael trying to get close to the Mona Lisa despite all the cell phone cameras snapping away like crazy.
We picked up a great guide book for kids at one of the gift counters with easy to understand descriptions of the artists, artwork and general layout of the museum. Julianna decided to become the photographer for a while and snapped this photo of the Venus de Milo (her favorite part of the museum).
Monday late afternoon was the stairmaster challenge at the Eiffel Tower...700 stairs up followed by 700 down. The kids literally ran up all 700 while I held up the end asking about every 200 steps in anyone needed a break...I think they finally did stop for a few minutes around the 600 mark. Nana and Grandpa declined the mountain climb, so we had fun picking them out on the ground below from our bird's eye view.
my view from the end of the line in the stairwell...
