We've already decided that we need to return to Paris, soon. Just to much to see, experience, and eat in one trip. We love that the city isn't overrun by tourists, but seems to be mostly Parisians living their lives. (Of course there are tourists in the touristy spots - but it doesn't take much to escape that). We spent 2 1/2 hours in the Orsay today enjoying every minute. We let the kids pick out a post card of their favorite picture before beginning and then promised them a macaron if they found it. Everyone found theirs except Eric, his was on loan to a museum in Japan. We learned another kid museum trick today - let them listen to their music while visiting. Everyone has their iPods/iPhones with audio guides of the museums, but sometimes you just need to listen to music to pass the time.
After the Orsay we headed to the Rodin gardens - we didn't bother with the museum as we were short on time and wanted to see Napoleon's tomb before heading to our 4:00 appointment to climb the Eiffel Tower. We had the kids pose in front of the Rodin statues, some were a bit tricky.
After a quick look at Napoleon's tomb - BIG tomb for such a little general - we were off to the Eiffel Tower. We were SO disappointed when we got there and learned that the Eiffel Tower workers, along with other workers around the city, were on strike today! No way - I was up until midnight exactly 90 days ago getting these tickets! What's with the French and their labor strikes. To pour salt into our wounds, the metro was also closed - gratefully we found one lone bus to take us the 3 miles back to our apartment, noone was in a mood to walk.
We needed something to lift our spirits, so we put together a picnic and grabbed our water coloring supplies and headed to the banks of the Seine River on our Isle St. Louis. We put down a nice table clothe (the one from our apartment) and had a lovely picnic like the Parisians on the banks of the river. Afterwards we practiced our best impressionist water color painting - an activity that the girls loved and Charlie hated. We finished off the evening with a crepe - mine was butter, sugar, and lemon - YUM! The kids want to see if we can climb the Eiffel Tower tomorrow without a reservation, it means an early start!
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| Eric read us Hemingway |
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| Napoleon's Tomb |
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| Rodin posses |
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| Orsay |
Too bad about the strike!!😔
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