Paris

We started our Journey to Paris by making our way to St. Pancras station in London. In case you didn't know, London will be hosting the summer Olympic games in 2012 and the city is busy with preparations. The kids were excited about taking the "chunnel" to Paris (our train is pictured under the Olympic rings), but were a little bummed that the tunnel was not made of glass, so that you could see all the sea life in the English Channel. Turns out the train is a good distance under the sea bed and a scenic underwater tour was not in the cards.

Upon arriving in Paris we made our way to the Eiffel Tower. Will and Ainsley were most excited to see the tower, and I had to redeem myself for not going to the very top 16 years ago. Side story: Christa and I, with our friends Bear and Leslie, had traveled to France in 1996 during a record-setting cold spell (worst since WWII the papers had said). We went to the tower one night and I decided that half-way up in the freezing wind was high enough (plus I'm not thrilled with heights anyway) for me. Little did I know the teasing that would ensue over the years for not going all the way to the top. This trip was my chance for redemption.

I asked Will what he was thinking when they walked towards the Eiffel Tower and he said- "Wow!"

The view from the very top. 1063 feet at the tip of the tower!

The scarf that Will has on is from Bosnia-Herzegovina, which was playing a football (soccer) match against France later that night. There were hundreds of fans, decked out in B-H jerseys, hats, scarves, and even face-paint, who had traveled to Paris for the game and were visiting the tower prior to kick-off. Throughout the day you would hear songs, chants and cheers as the visitors moved around the grounds. I struck up a conversation with a group of them and traded one of my scarves (my Wilco scarf) for a B-H one. I have quite a few scarves from around the world up in my classroom, and couldn't resist the chance to score a Bosnia one. The group of men I spoke to predicted a 3-1 victory for Bosnia-Herzegovina, but they ended up tying 1-1 later that night.

Looking up the Champs-Elysee towards the Arc de Triomphe

Each day veterans come to replace the flowers at the tomb of the unknown soldier at the Arc.

Another one of our stops was to the Luxembourg Gardens, a beautiful park (the second-largest in Paris) in near the Sorbone in Paris. The gardens are home to the Palais de Luxembourg, fountains, sculptures, and a great playground with a marionette theater. Ainsley took some time to feed the birds, and the kids had a great time racing around the playground, which was quite impressive with climbing structures, zip-lines, and all kinds of things that could spin.

The marionette show was very fun, especially because it was in French. We all just sat back and tried to follow along with the story (The Three Little Pigs) as the children shouted warnings and encouragement to the pigs. At least I think that's what they were shouting.

Ainsley making friends with the pigeons at the Luxembourg Gardens.

Riding the zip-line at the Luxembourg Gardens.

Always the monkey

This is the marionette show we saw at the Luxembourg Gardens. 

Will wanted a hot dog for lunch. He didn't really care for it, but we figured dinner would be more interesting....

What visit to France is complete without trying some escargot, or snails? We told him it was like butter and garlic flavored gummy bears, but I was still impressed that he was willing to give them a try. He at half of them and seemed to like them just fine, although I don't think he would go out of his way to order them again.

Stylish as ever in their berets!

Ainsley liked the rental bikes that people use to travel around Paris, but was a little too small to ride them. She at least wanted her picture taken on one though.

The bells of Notre Dame.

We've had our share of climbing towers and cathedrals during our time in Europe, but we all enjoyed the trek up Notre Dame quite a bit. The stairs were manageable, only 387 of them, and the view with the gargoyles was terrific. You just don't get tired of the gazing at the Paris cityscape, no matter where you are.

The kids have spent some time in school talking about Claude Monet, so a visit to the Musee de l'Orangere was also a must. This museum is the home for eight Water Lilies murals as well as other impressionist and post-impressionist paintings. We didn't have much time here, but these giant paintings sure leave an impression, get it, impression? Impressionism? never mind.

Thankfully the Tuileries Gardens outside the Louve and Orangerie Museum have another great playground. This was another good way to burn off energy between museum visits.

Ainsley met a little girl from Illinois between spins.

Public trampolines- such a great idea. I'm guessing this would never happen back home because of the inevitable lawsuit when somebody gets hurt.

We took the kids to the Louve, which was packed. Ainsley and Will each took some time to sketch some things they saw (as well as draw comics that nothing to do with fancy art), and here is Ainsley sketching next to The Coronation of Napoleon, one of our favorite paintings. 

We asked the kids what they wanted to see on our last night, and they wanted to go back to the Eiffel Tower. There was a Patisserie with a macaroon Eiffel Tower that we all thought was pretty cute. After sampling the cookies, we spent sunset hanging out underneath the tower.

We stopped for one more picture on the way back to the hotel. Seeing the tower lit up was a nice final memory of our stay in Paris. I really like being on the ground as opposed to the top.

On our way back to the hotel, line 4 of the metro stops at Reaumur-Sebastopol. This was definitely a photo op that could not be missed for the family from Sebastopol. We tried to blend in with the artsy facade, aren't we funny?