Last Week in Paris

Our last week in Paris consisted of both making sure we were able to see and do things we hadn’t had the opportunity to do yet as well as doing what we really enjoyed one last time.   Some of the highlights include the following:

•           Eating a fresh, hot baguette from our local patisserie every evening with dinner.
•      Playing at the Science Museum and eating McDonald’s for lunch afterwards.
•      Going to the neighborhood market for fresh fruit & veggies.
•      Eating Lebanese Chawarma Poulet for lunch after the market.  We would eat these weekly.  The owner and his son would see Bobby and call out to him, “My Friend!"

•      Enjoying some alone time.  Bobby went to the Catacombs & walked around Paris at his leisure.  My day off was a rainy Monday (most libraries and museums are closed on Mondays) so I worked from home instead of getting out like I had planned.  I am more of a home-body than Bobby is. ;)
•     Bobby & Amelie’s daddy-daughter date in Paris which consisted of eating gelato.
•     Checking out a nearby fair and all of the crazy rides & games. 

•      Taking pictures of favorite buildings that we would pass on our walks to and from the metro.

One of the most important places we HAD to go to one last time was the Eiffel Tower, of course.  On Thursday May 9^th, we had our last full day out in Paris.  

Amelie really wanted to ride a bus so we got off the Metro to see the Paris Opera and then caught a bus to the Eiffel Tower.  This was an excellent choice as we had not seen much in this part of Paris. One of the more famous buildings we were able to see from the bus was La Madeleine.  Bobby and I also decided that if were to go back to Paris, we would do a better job of figuring out the bus routes as it was so fun to see the city instead of being underground (and it was easier with the stroller). 

It was a beautiful day so we were able to have a picnic under the Eiffel Tower.   Others who had the same idea surrounded us on the grass.  Liam was a social butterfly, and had to be swept away before helping himself to other’s picnics.   Amelie also was able to purchase two Eiffel Tower’s (one for her and one for Liam) that they will take as their souvenir’s of Paris.  She negotiated the price and paid all on her own. ;) 

Amelie holding up her purchases!

Afterward our time playing around the Eiffel Tower, we decided to take a trip down the Seine both by boat and by walking.   It was a lovely last full day in Paris.

Saturday, May 11^th, was another full day as we were trying to get everything ready to leave for Scotland!  Bobby and Amelie started the day trying to sell one of our strollers we had bought while here.  Traveling with all of our luggage AND two strollers was just not possible.  The Bugaboo stroller has a scooter that Amelie can ride on if she wants to so we have been only using that one anyways.   We tried selling it on Craigslist, but after a couple of attempts to meet up with people it never happened.  Bobby made a sign using Google Translate to say “stroller for sale along with children’s clothes.”  After some crazy looks, a couple of locals informed him that his sign said he was trying to sell Amelie and helped him fix it.  Amelie learned a lot about target groups and overall salesman skills during their outing.  Unfortunately, Bobby was not able to sell it. 

This is the picture of a market near our house where Bobby tried to sell the stroller.

After a day of cleaning and packing, we decided to go to Pont des Arts to clip on our love locks.  We couldn’t leave Paris without symbolizing our undying love for each other!  We chose to clip our love lock on the bridge that is for the committed love.  You clip on a lock with your names on it, and then throw the key into the Seine.  We ended our Paris trip with this romantic act.

The First Sunday of the Month = Free Museum Entry

As we were planning out our last couple of days in Paris, we saved a couple of specific museum's for May 5th (1st Sunday of the month).  We were able to explore the Cluny Museum (which means Museum of the Middle Ages) as well as Pompidou (Modern Art Museum) for free!  We had intended on seeing the Thinker at the Rodin Museum, but we spent our day playing on a playground near the Cluny Museum, eating a snack at the fountains outside of Pompidou, and playing in the children's area at Pompidou instead.  Museum going can be difficult for two little ones, but by taking these small breaks to ensure play/free time for them helped them make it through wonderfully.  The entire family had a lot of fun!

The Cluny Museum had been high on my list of museum's to visit after Morgan & I toured through St. Chapelle.  The tour guide at St. Chapelle talked about The Cluny and how some of the original stain glass as well as other original pieces from the Middle Ages were located in this smaller museum.  During the French Revolution, the heads of the 12 Kings of Judah outside of Notre Dame were cut off being mistaken for Kings of France.  A citizen saw this and buried all of the heads in his back yard for safe keeping.  In the 1970s, these heads were discovered.  You can see these original pieces of Notre Dame in the picture below:

Outside of the Museum there was a large chess board with pieces set up.  Amelie and Liam LOVED playing with the pieces.  Liam especially loved the horses as that is one of his favorite words.  Amelie had fun making patterns with the pieces.  The courtyard of the museum had beautiful architecture, and the sun was shining so Bobby and I enjoyed watching them play.

Amelie spent time lining the edge with the pieces, and then placing the horses in the middle.

Near the entrance of the Cluny Museum.

Amelie showcasing the Sundial carved on the wall of the Cluny.

Right outside of the Cluny Museum is a little playground.  We stopped for a picnic while playing on the playground with a family from California.  The family had a little boy near Amelie's age.  He was eating lunch when we first arrived and later his father told us how he hurried through his lunch because he was so excited to hear an English speaker and just HAD to play with her (Amelie).  It was really cute.  Amelie had a wonderful time playing tag and other games while being able to converse with her new friend.   We also had fun talking to the parents and exchanging stories of family life in Paris.

The Pompidou Museum was next on the list.  This museum was on the top of Bobby's list of wanting to visit. When we first arrived we went straight to the Children's Interactive Area.  Amelie and Liam had fun stacking cups, playing with colorful play dough, playing with washers and magnets, and more. Liam flirted with one of the workers by building towers with her while saying "boom" over and over, and then chasing her around if she were to stand up and try to walk away.  He blew her a kiss as we left the area.  There was so much fun modern art in forms of sculptures, paintings, objects, furniture, and more.  We had fun talking with Amelie about the different aspects of art while answering her many "Why" questions.  There were no barriers around the artwork at this museum, but just black lines on the floor instead to indicate where you should not cross to protect the art.  Liam stayed in his stroller for most of the time, but near the end he would not have it.  He was a wrecking ball waiting to happen so we left.

There was a giant ball of play dough in the center of a box.
Using the holes to reach in to grab what you would like. 

The large open rooms encouraged Amelie's artistic dance moves.

View of Sacre Couer from an open area with fountains.

The fountain area was a perfect place to stop and enjoy a snack.

One of the things we love seeing in Paris is the old neighboring the new. 

For some reason, museums exhaust me!  I was happy for what we were able to see and do, but I was relieved that we would not be going to another museum for a couple of weeks at least!

Canal Saint-Martin

In honor of my birthday, we walked along Canal Saint-Martin from Bastille to the Seine River.   This canal dates back to the early 1800s, and has many locks and bridges along the way.  I have been interested in this walk for a couple of weeks.  With the weather being nicer it turned out to be a perfect activity for the afternoon.  There is a portion of the canal that is underground, and a beautiful park runs above it with lots of different little playgrounds along the way.  In addition to playgrounds, there were many bocce ball games transpiring too.  We stopped and watched a couple of rounds.  The gamers were all older gentlemen.  They enjoyed having our kids watching them so intently.  We spent the afternoon walking the 4.5 km canal stopping to play as well as eat a picnic dinner.  Our routine picnics consist of stopping by the local grocery to pick up a tradition (baguette), turkey slices, cheese slices, sausage, cherry tomatoes, pears, and water.  We just construct a little sandwich and then relax while the kids play and eat.

Liam loves boats!!   So we made sure to walk along the Marina first.  We were able to see a boat progress along the canal, and learn about how the locks work.  Because the Seine is a different level than the Canal, there is an area the boat has to enter to allow the water to exit/fill up so that it becomes the same level as the River...very cool!

Enjoy some pictures below of our experience.

We love us some beautiful flowers!! ;)

You can see the Bastille Monument in the background.

Little fruit snack and conversation stop.

Jardin d'Acclimatation Take 2

On Thursday, April 25th, with upper 70 degrees weather the Walkers headed to Jardin d'Acclimatation for our second time since in Paris.  The first time we went to this park was for Amelie's birthday so she refers to this park as "The Birthday Park."  Since our first time to the park was in February with very cold weather, this second experience was totally different.  We were able to hit areas of the park we had not seen before.  The park is huge!!  We would frequent this park more if it weren't for two things:  1. being across town and 2. costs a couple Euros to enter.

Liam waking up from his nap while watching Amelie and Daddy swing before taking a turn swinging with Dad.  These comfortable chairs were all throughout the park making it perfect for the parents to relax while the kids play.  Our children are still a little small for this to last any length of time for us, but there were many parents reading books while the children were running around.

We started with swings and zipline, but then made our way to a large aviary.  Chickens were in abundance, but there were a couple of exotic birds too.  Either way both kids really enjoyed finding the birds as well as looking at the birds from close distances.

After visiting the aviary was a zoo area that consisted of mostly farm animals.  Each animal brought new delights and fun animal noises from the kids.  It seems that every where we go our kids are the loudest....... ;)

Amelie and Liam making oinking noises at the pigs.

You can see Liam, Bobby, and Amelie on the bridge above the cow.

Liam was initially interested in the donkey. Then he became apprehensive when the donkey came too close  for comfort. 

When Amelie was around Liam's current age and we went to the Atlanta zoo, she called all of the animals dogs.  Liam calls many of the animals horse or by the sound that they make but mostly just horse. We enjoyed leisurely strolling along the paths taking in the sunshine and the beautiful greenery.  

The next area we happened upon was Amelie's dream come true.  It was a water area in which sprinkler's were set up for children to run through.  All of the children were running through the sprinkler's in their underwear so our kids followed suit and stripped down to join the fun.  When in Rome....right?!  Amelie loves water and she loves running around in her undies so she was in heaven.  Liam on the other hand did not like the cold water all over his body.  He was okay to splash his feet in it, but not get completely drenched.  Recently, when it has rained on us while walking through the city he has also gone nuts in his stroller not liking the water on him so we don't know what that is about as he loved the ocean!  We had to stop because Amelie collided with another girl, both running full speed.  We were worried that the cut next to her eye would require stitches, but thankfully it did not.  She was a champ and after a couple of minutes wanted to get back in and run around again.  We moved on to a couple of other areas (clothed mind you), and then let take one more crack at the water area.  At this point it was cooling off so neither kid wanted to run through the water, but just walked around the edge.  Liam loves following his big sister around!  It was cute watching them play follow the leader around the edge of the water area.  A week later, her eye is now completely healed!!

The area was pretty packed.  Can you find Amelie?  The water would spurt on for a minute and then off for a minute.   It was fun watching the kids squeal when the water kicked back on...it was warm outside but the water was still freezing! 

Liam not happy when the water unexpectedly kicked back on.  You can see Bobby in the background under a flower umbrella watering area, playing with Amelie.  I love that he has to join in on the fun and can't resist missing out on any of the fun himself....don't worry, he remained clothed.

In case you were wondering, Liam still has his rolls!! 

Liam's favorite spot was playing at the drain on the edge of the water park area.

Amelie saying, "This is the best park in the entire world!"

Bobby caught the collision on camera.  Her eye looked really bad right away...very scary for us!

The next playground was a large maze for kids to crawl through, over, and under objects.  There were also lots of peacocks wandering around.  Liam continues his love for chasing birds as seen below.

He even fed a peacock a potato chip...probably will be his last time for a while though as it almost got his finger with the chip! ;) 

We had a fun day enjoying the hot weather.  This has been the only day that has been even close to hot enough to do the water park area so it worked out perfectly that we made it back!