Hours at the Louvre

The first Sunday of every month is free admissions at most museums in Paris.  We chose to spend today at the Louvre.  After going to the Louvre with Bobby 5 years earlier, I knew that I needed to come equipped with a way to occupy Amelie and Liam for this excursion.  As a history major and social studies teacher, he enjoys slowly perusing through the galleries.  In preparation for our day, I searched on the internet for advice and ways to make it fun for a 4 year old.  After digging and digging for something, I realized that this would be a challenging feat and we would just have to keep it short.  I also found a couple of apps for my phone that were interactive games of artwork at the Louvre to help occupy her time. 

She is SO excited to see the Mona Lisa in person, can you tell?!

We arrived at the Louvre around an hour after they opened.  We went immediately to the Mona Lisa since Amelie was familiar with this piece of art.  We meandered through the Denon Wing with both kids in strollers.  Bobby had found another stroller on Craigslist yesterday that we purchased since we are walking so much.   This came at a perfect time as Amelie would have really been in rough shape after all the walking today!  Bobby and I had fun playing “what should the title of that painting be?”   He, of course, had funny and clever titles.  

 After a couple of hours we had to find our way out of the maze and to the food area.  After securing food, we were hopeful that both children would sleep and we would be able to enjoy more of the Louvre.  From here on out it was a downward spiral.  Liam refused to sit is his stroller.  And by the way, he had been out a bunch before lunch walking around: patting people as he walked passed them, running into glass walls, stomping on the vents in the floor, etc.  Amelie didn’t know why she was upset, but she was not consolable.  After trying for around an hour to make it work, we gave up and went home. Well, we went to two different parks on the way home to allow Amelie to play.  As soon as we were on the Metro, Liam fell asleep…little booger! :)  We also didn't take very many pictures today as all of our energies were going into appeasing the kiddos. 

This is the Park that is a block away from our apartment.  I was able to talk to a Parisian mom who knew English while Amelie played with her son.  We both needed this social interaction! :)

So, what did I learn today? When we go back in the future, Bobby and I are going to map out our plan a little bit better and just go to one area of the museum.  I think we were disappointed by not being able to see more but that was just unrealistic expectations on our part.  I had brought a sketch pad and crayons for Amelie to be able to draw and replicate what she sees in a painting but she was not in a mood to do that today.  I would love to give her the another opportunity to do this.  I might also get a kid leash for Liam as he has fun when he is free to run!  From what I've read, this was a pretty normal day at the Louvre with a 4 and 1 year old.