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| Sante! |
We arrived in Paris by train! (I love that I can write that sentence.) The ride from Amsterdam was relaxing and fun - especially with a bit of wine and cheese! - and we were excited to enjoy this wonderful city with Aunt Kimmy. However, arriving in Paris at rush hour at Gar du Nord train station was a bit crazy. Kim captured a funny series of us (once again) trying to pose for a family picture beneath the train schedule board, and then we had a scary moment where we got separated at the insanely busy taxi queue. But soon we were driving through the City of Light and arriving at our flat just blocks from the Eiffel Tower. Definitely magical.
This visit to Paris would be unlike others that Kim, Sam or I had done before, for several reasons. First, poor Kim got very very sick after we arrived and was miserable in bed most of the time. She bravely rallied on several jaunts throughout the city and was so worried about getting the girls sick (it was a miracle they didn't get sick since they were sharing a room!). And second, we decided to focus on a "Playgrounds of Paris" tour, instead of the incredible museums and long, lovely walks across the city that we had done before. And practically in our back yard was a playground for all ages: the
Champs du Mars. Not only was the Eiffel Tower just a few blocks from our lovely flat, but the Champs du Mars Park was full of fun diversions for the kids and so easily accessible. We had never stayed in this part of Paris before, usually preferring the Latin Quarter, but with the girls along it was perfect, and not as touristy and cheesy as I thought. Champs du Mars has at least three playgrounds, a marionette theater, a carousel, go-carts, pony rides, lots of car-free room for running... all with an incredible view of the Eiffel Tower.
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| Nighttime magic in Paris |
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| Best sandbox in the world! |
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| A day in the life of Sasha |
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| Watching the crazy French marionette show |
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| Possibly the best carousel in the world |
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| Sasha loved riding in the carriage |
Of course we took a trip up the
Eiffel Tower, which was a must-do on Morgan's list. Sasha was not very interested, but at the last minute decided to go, so we got to experience it as a family. After not too long of a line (complete with some pushy Asian line-cutters and deaf Germans that were signing with Sam!) we made it to the first level. Morgan was anxious to head to the very top with Sam, while Sasha (and I, frankly) were content to stay where we were and meet up with them later. My little one was a bit reluctant, refusing to pose for a family picture, but I have a very sweet memory of her and I atop the Eiffel Tower. I was getting better at going with the flow, trying to take it all in, and enjoying a fleeting moment of travel and of childhood. So we stood there, eating delicious croissants together, looking out over an amazing city, with Sasha's little fists held up to her eyes for "binoculars." A little piece of time that will stay with me for a long, long time. But one that also reminds me of Aunt Kimmy's "Croissant Rule!" It states that every day you are in Paris, you get to have a croissant! The girls loved that (and I was absolutely in favor as well), and Morgan made it official by putting it in writing!
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| Atop Le Tour Eiffel together! |
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| My sweet baby girl in a magical moment... |
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| "Binoculars" looking out on Paris |
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| LOVE this photo - such a happy explorer! |
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| Aunt Kimmy makes Paris so much fun! |
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| Just in case we might forget.... |
While we spent a lot of time in Champs du Mars, that was certainly not the only playground in Paris! The mother of all playgrounds happened to be at Sam's and my favorite park in Paris:
Luxembourg Gardens. Of course we had never seen it or ventured to that part of the park before kids, but boy was it worth it. We were a bit surprised you had to
pay to get into this playground, but it was a fantastic place for the girls. Multiple climbing structures with tree houses, a toy train, huge sand area, benches for the parents to watch (and enjoy wine and cheese on), and an awesome zipline that Morgan loved! It took her a while to get strong enough to grab on and ride it, but she must have gone on that ten times, along with all the other big kids. I was surprised at how many people we heard speaking American English there. It seemed to be the place to go if you're vacationing with your kids in Paris.
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| My favorite people in my favorite park |
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| Post-run stretch |
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| Notre Dame: Morgan liked the gargoyles and flying BUTTresses |
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| Cheers to lunch in Monmartre! |
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| Holding hands in Paris |
One day we also made a trek up to Monmartre, which turned out to be a slog with grumpy kids, but we did it! It was followed by the biggest meltdown (all of us really, not just the kids) while on the streets of Paris when we were momentarily lost and unable to find our connection to the RER train. Fortunately, Kim had stocked us with Dutch carmel waffle cookies so the crisis could have been much worse! We learned that we pushed our activity boundaries a bit too far, but if we hadn't we wouldn't have seen much at all. The kids were fine and we moved on, just like when we have meltdowns at home!
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| One of Aunt Kimmy's favorite places and favorite people |
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| Glace! ...at 11 in the morning! |
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| Someday we will come back and browse all day... |
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| The love bridge and all the locks |
Paris is different every time I'm there. The first time was a chilly New Year's with Sam, the second was in the heat of summer with Sam's parents, and this time it was with my two kids. No matter the season or age or stage of life, Paris is always a good idea. And this time around, thanks to my girls, I definitely got to play a lot more!
