What week so far...with only one day left in Paris (Friday), we have pretty much covered most of what we wanted to see. On Sunday (1st August), we decided to visit the Eiffel Tower. It was a great day to go. . .much cooler than Saturday was. Though it seemed like every tourist had the same idea. The queues were extraordinarily long and it took us the best part of one and a half hours to get to the top from the time we joined the queue. The kids were unbelievably patient as we snaked our way through the maze of barriers to the ticket booth.
Given my recent experience with altitude sickness in Chamonix, I decided that I didn't want to go to the very top of the Tower - so Steven took the boys up while I stayed on the middle level with Zoe. Steven filmed the ride to the top and the boys loved it! After our visit, we descended to the Champs de Mars underneath the Tower and had an impromptu picnic (baguettes, apple tarts and rich chcolate brownies) on the grass while we watched the lifts go up and down and all the tourists strolling around the area. We then decided to take a cruise down the Seine on a Paris Vedette -which took about an hour after which we took the metro to visit Notre Dame and the Latin Quarter.
We arrived at the Notre Dame just as Sunday evening mass began and as it was quite crowded it was difficult to see all that we wanted to see. Of course, we lit some more candles and enjoyed part of the mass and the angelic choir singing. After Notre Dame, we headed into the narrow streets of St Germain with its cosmopolitan crowds and numerous restaurants (lots of Greek ones!) and indulged in some yummy crepes - which were so filling we didn't need any dinner!
The one thing that has amazed (and frustrated!) us on this trip to Paris - is the number of hawkers selling trashy souvenirs and big-name rip-offs (like Chanel, Louis Vuitton etc) at every tourist spot. This in itself is not a problem, if it wasn't for the fact that they are quite tenacious and hassle tourists for the sale. Combine this with the number of beggars and pickpockets who also operate in these areas. . .we've had to keep our wits about us and the kids have quickly learned the benefit of staying very close to Mum and Dad!!!
Monday we decided to give the kids a break from pounding the city pavements and we took them to Disneyland Paris. 10 am start; lots of queuing (a national pastime here); toffee apples; fairy floss; hot dogs; parades; shows; a storm; and really bad coffee. A great day was had by all! Home after midnight. . .
Tuesday was a shopping day of sorts. We got lost trying to find an underground shopping mall close to the Georges Pompidou Centre and managed to find it only around the corner from where we had started looking an hour before!!!Yikes! A walk along the Quai de Louvre, through the Square leading to the Louvre, into the Jardin de Tuileries, Rue Royale (a Chanel stop), to the Champs Elysees to stop at Laduree for some macarons (another queue!), Cafe Kleber for a quick dinner so we can see the Eiffel Tower at night. Another day gone.
We enjoyed a lazy morning on Wednesday and after some Skype calls to home decided to head out to the Louvre and Napoleon's tomb. Both great stops. Thursday was another driving day as we headed slightly out of the city to the Palace of Versailles. We enjoyed a fantastic day there exploring the amazing gardens and the grand palace. No major queuing at Versailles(even though there were literally thousands of people in attendance)as we had the foresight to order tickets over the internet the night before. . .phewww!
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