Paris, France: Part 1

Posted on December 12, 2023  •  19 minutes  • 3910 words

There is so much to say about Paris, that I won’t dwell much on the trip there…nor how hard the goodbyes were or how much we will miss Turkey. Direct flight, too much turbulence but we made it. Quick taxi to the AirBnb, with the most elaborate check-in process…codes, 5 doors, ugh.

We basically dumped our bags into the smallest apartment (someone with serious skills took photos for the listing to make it look small/normal size) and walked to a supermarket for food for dinner. We got fresh squeezed orange juice, cucumbers, apples, cheese, salami, and baguettes, plus eggs for breakfast. Fast dinner and we ALL went to bed.

I felt we had slept in a bit, but it was still pitch black out when I went out when the kids woke up…news to us, but sunrise in Paris is 8:35am! So after shushing 2 kids until 7am, the 3rd woke up and we started our morning. We did eggs, baguette and cheese for breakfast, a bit of math after and we were out the door for our day at the Louvre. We headed out as the sun was just lighting up the sky…a little after 8am…to the metro station right across from our front door. I looked for ticket machines and they were all out of order! (Turns out the whole stop is out of commission for some reason, renovations?) Needing tickets, we walked back one stop, because if we walked forward one stop, we’d walk over the bridge and not get to take the train over it. Thinking we’d need them, and not wanting to buy tickets each time, I got us all a 10 pack of tickets. Turns out 4yo and up need tickets, although kids were half price. Still a bargain. Train came fast and such excitement to see the Eiffel Tower in full view as we crossed the bridge.

Easy transfer (I love metros/subways) and we were deposited a few blocks from the Louvre. Just on the street we popped up on, we saw some crazy intricate columns. Ben asked what the building was and I had no idea. So much cool stuff in old cities like this.

Not wanting to be hungry an hour in, we stopped for pain au chocolat and ate them in a courtyard near the Louvre, waiting for it to open.

It was about 9am and we walked to the entrance and…huge line! We got in and after 5 minutes we were at the front (okay so maybe not HUGE) only to find out it was for pre-purchased tickets. We went to the right line and I spoke with a woman about how long. My thinking was we could just come back another day when I had purchased them online. She though maybe 30 minutes and suggested we go to the downstairs entrance, probably shorter and not in the cold. Yes, it was cold…but the sky and the pyramids looked pretty cool.

We did that, but when we did, we found out that it was only for groups and pre-purchased tickets. The lady who told me this said “just you and your boys?” I said yes and she smiled and lifted up the rope to let us through. Security and buying tickets fast and we were in! I had bought a scavenger hunt PDF to do with the kids, but a few pages in, it was not fun with the kids. Better to just ramble about than try to find something. We found the Venus de Milo and a million other statues first.

We continued along with zero plan and found the Egyptian Wing. Sammy didn’t want to stop because he wanted to go straight to Hammurabi’s Code, which was on the opposite side…and I mean opposite! I finally convinced him and it may have been the biggest hit! Kids were fascinated by the sarcophaguses, the shear mass of them really, the hieroglyphics.

Ben found the opposite of a sphinx, or is it still a sphinx?

We somehow looped out of that and into a lower area that had the old walls from when it was a fortress. So cool to have a new building built around all that.

We followed the map to room 227 (Hammurabi’s Code) stopping constantly with a kid pointing out some cool thing to see. It really is so over the top…so much to see, but we found walking through with no plan and just seeing what we saw was the only way it could work for us.

We did have 3 things on the must see list though. Hammurabi’s Code (clearly!), the Mona Lisa and Winged Victory…which always makes me think of my parents as they had a statue of it when I was growing up. It got broken (probably by one of my sisters or myself when we were kids) and when I went to Paris in 2023, I bought them the current one they have. Needless to say, I wanted to see the real thing again.

So on our way to 227 we passed a giant double headed thing, that Max loved and was so proud that he found. ‘Look guys! Look what I found!!’

We were close but were struggling to get into room 227. I finally asked a guy and he said “here,” as he pointed to the closed doors behind him. “It’s closed.” NOOOOO!!!!! He must have sensed my panic and told us to come back in 2 hours. I sort of blurted out that we were basically here for that one thing between a few ‘thank gods’.

We walked out and into a giant atrium with more sculptures than you could count. I thought it would be a good time for some sitting and relaxing, so the kids got out there field notes and did some drawing.

Sam was in his element and staring (maybe too close) over some women’s shoulders that were sketching too. He came over to tell me that you only need one color to make a beautiful drawing. He was sketching and sketching and I realized I had dug myself into a hole. He wasn’t going to want to leave and he was hungry. Finally convinced him to leave, with the promise we could come back

Needing food fast and not having my minutia guy there for these little things, we just did the fastest thing I could find. Which was Starbucks. A bit embarrassed to admit it, but it happened. During my decompression call with Dan that night, I told him how I felt a bit off that day with it all. I felt I was making wrong turns, not picking top notch places to eat, etc. In our travels, I have really taken over the big planning…where to go, how to get there, where to stay, what tickets do you have to book ahead of time…and doing all the bookings. Dan was the day to day, or really hour to hour planner. He would figure out intracity transportation, restaurants, walking routes…and the more you have someone to do this, the less out of practice you get. And I felt it this day. Right when we finished eating and walking back in (after using the cloakroom this time) we walked past amazing cafes with yummier looking sandwiches. This would NEVER have happened if we had Dan with us. He was definitely missed…for his planning, but we also just missed him being there :)

Wanting to get our other 2 must sees (actually all 3 still at this point 3 hours in!), we headed towards the Mona Lisa…luckily passing by The Winged Victory of Samothrace. It’s quite impressive, even more so being situated at the top of a giant staircase. You see come into view and get bigger as you ascend the stairs.

Didn’t stay long with a grumpy Sam who felt was missing out on drawing time. He didn’t like my suggestion of drawing what was in front of him, he needed to go back to the other sculptures. We continued to the Mona Lisa as I kept reminding the kids how small it is and don’t be disappointed. Well, they weren’t. They loved it and loved how it was all protected. I’m probably not the biggest fan, but when was this trip about me at all? :)

To be totally honest, I know the comment of ‘why take the kids when they won’t remember…why spend the money?’ Sure Max won’t remember 90%+ of this trip, but I WILL! I will remember his joy when he finally saw the Eiffel Tower or his intentness of drawing a ’the giantest statue ever’. I joke that this trip isn’t about me, but really it’s ALL about me. The joy I get seeing them experience every moment. Sure, a trip to Paris without kids would be lovely too, but nothing can replace the joy I get from being there with them and experiencing their joy…whether they will remember it or not.

We were not in the paintings wing and really we hadn’t seen any up until now. We didn’t stop at many, but mainly me pointing out how massive some of them were and asking how long that would have taken to paint. Seriously, massive! Also in this area were very cool ceilings with paintings and sculptures incorporated in. Ben decided it’s a museum that holds art, but also the museum is a museum. So true.

Finally got out of the art and headed back to, you guessed it, room 227. I wished I could have captured the excitement and pure glee of Ben and Sam when they walked in the room and saw it. I can replay it pretty well in my mind, the silent screams, the hands to the mouth, then the pointing and jumping. It was magical really. And every stressful moment of that morning was washed away. Did I mentioned how many times I said ‘don’t touch that’? They actually never did (that I saw), but the worry of them knocking over a priceless piece of art was real. This photo does the worst job of capturing the current state of all of our happiness.

We stared, we talked about it, we pointed, we loved it. All because Dan had the idea to study Mesopotamia, since we were kind of close to it. I went back and found a page from Ben’s journal from October about it. They still talk about things they learned from that week.

Feeling good we had the 3 must sees checked off, so we went back to the atrium for sketching…not before seeing more random cool things though!

With too many things to sketch, Sam never wanted to leave, but after 30 minutes he was okay with taking pictures of all the ones he didn’t get to draw so he could draw them later at home. They wll were so impressive…the bronze ones, the marble ones, all of them.

Exhausted, I was ready to head straight back to the apartment, but kids saw a ferris wheel as we walked out. Ben asked if we could ride the Parris Wheel (Dan will be proud to hear that) and I needed to award the clever pun. And this way, we could walk through the park in front of the Louvre. Not he same in winter as in summer, but still brought back good memories of eating crepes with Becky and Felix 4.5 years ago.

The Parris Wheel was so over priced, I just couldn’t. And it turned out it was at one end of a Christmas Market so we decided to walk through and I told them they could pick one small thing to do, if the could agree. Much to my dismay, they picked the fun house…and kids under 6 needed an adult. Of course they loved it. Lots of walking and giant German sausage later and we were done. Ketchup side for the kids, mustard for me (and Sam a bit).

We headed out, found the metro and headed home. I let the kids watch their new favorite show “How Stuff is Made” while I suffered through a bit of work, when what I really wanted to do was sleep.

Dinner was the same as the night before and we had bought plenty.

Nothing too exciting after dinner…just some reading and put the kids to bed so I could have a work meeting, that I had to do sitting on the floor of the kitchen. I guess it was obvious as my partner asked if I was sitting in a shed. Pretty close.

Today was a very exciting day. From the moment we got up, kids were already talking about the Eiffel Tower. Not knowing 60 days in advance we were even going to be in Paris, I couldn’t get the elevator to the top tickets. And for some lucky reason, the stairs to the 2nd level + elevator to the top tickets went on sale 14 days in advance, so we got those for 10am. They say to get there 20 minutes early and due to excitement and worry of long lines, we left the house at 9am for the 8 minute walk to the base. We walked along the river with the tower in view the whole time.

Kids (and I) were super giddy, taking photos ever 3 seconds.

We got there and there was a short line that wasn’t even moving yet as we were all too early. Super cold waiting, but only waited about 10 minutes before we started moving to go through security. The lady in front of us had her bag checked to the extreme. We walked up, I opened my backpack and the security lady barely looked inside. Bonus to traveling with kids.

We got in and kids ran around a bit, just too thrilled to be standing UNDER the Eiffel tower. It really is so fascinating, seeing the structure up close. So many members, that even with all the technology we have today, I don’t know how I could even begin to calc them all. I’m always telling the kids that triangles are the strongest shape, and the Eiffel Tower takes this to the extreme. Really, it’s just a geometric beauty. I could have stared at it forever…well, if it weren’t so cold. We did our favorite photo as we froze with the wind whipping through.

Quick trip to the bathroom before heading up and we were climbing by 9:35am. Max started out like a winning horse out of the gate and to my surprise, never stopped! We were climbing by the elevator and were able to wave to the wimps inside. :) Pretty easily, we made it to the 1st level…about 300 steps up. We looked at the view a bit, but really wanted to keep moving up. Not cold when moving and protected on the stairs, but out in the open, the wind really smacks you in the face.

Up to the second level was just as easy as the first. I loved this climb so much; you were completely encased by the structure and could see all the rivets and bolts holding it together.

I really love the idea of rivets. I don’t know how much they are used nowadays, but what a clever concept to insert super-hot steel, to have it expand as it cools and lock the members together. It reminded me of when we climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge and learned how it was held together by millions (I don’t know the exact number) of rivets and they would throw them to where they were needed to be inserted (burning hot!) and catch them in baseball mitts. According to our tour guide, and maybe clouded by my memory) there are millions more in the harbor that didn’t get caught. Note: This was info from my tour 20 years ago and take no liability in the information being correct. Anyways, I think the cold just kept us going and the 600+ steps were done! We again took in the view a little, but then headed to the elevator for the rest of the way. A bit dizzying going up and I don’t think Ben loved it, but we shot all the way to the top. We were all so excited to be up there and were loving the views. Clearly, not the picturesque blue-sky views, but we loved it just the same.

We walked around, figuring out one side was a bit sheltered from the wind and one side was NOT.

Kinda fun being blown like crazy, but it didn’t last long. We headed one level below (that was enclosed) and looked around a bit more. Right before finding the elevator to take us down, we celebrated with my favorite French cookies.

2 elevator trips down and we were back on solid ground. Ben made a comment that it felt good to be back down and seeing him not want to try to look down as the elevator was going up, I think there is a little fear of heights. Clearly not big enough to not want to go up, but there’s something there.

We were doing well, but I felt getting some food in us was not a bad idea. We walked to a bakery and got a mixture of things. The struggle was real for some of the kids to decide what they wanted!

Myself a croissant, Ben a cinnamon roll, Sam a pan au chocolat and Max a bread with chocolate chips. Surprising, it was warm enough for us to sit outside at the tables (none inside) to eat for about 10 minutes.

It was looking like the weather was going to hold, so we found the metro and headed to Notre Dame. How else would a child sit in a seat waiting for the Metro?

Closed from the fire, but the outside is still a sight to see…and then being by the river, I thought we could walk along it for a bit. Really getting the hang of the Metro, or it’s just that easy, and we were deposited a few blocks from our destination. I even have the kids looking at the maps and telling me which trains (or colored lines) we need to take.

Even without the center spire, it is still so impressive. The statues, the gargoyles, the giant circular stained glass. Sam and Max found sticks and thought that was cooler than Notre Dame. I wasn’t going to push it and focused more on talking to Ben about it. It was a bit windy, so we didn’t stay long.

We started heading away and Sam got a sudden urge to do some drawing. He was cool with the stick as we were gazing up at Notre Dame, but walk 2 blocks away and he HAD to draw the bridge he saw. The rest of us waited patiently as he went about his art.

We continued on, only to be stopped a block later by Max who wanted to look for his birthday present. Grandma and Grandpa Hohenshelt had told him to pick out something and they would get it for him. I already talked him out of the 40€ baguette stuffie that he found at the top of the Eiffel tower. He wanted a giant snow globe (might break in your suitcase), a very tall Eiffel tower (won’t fit in your suitcase), a lighter, etc. In this shop he found a winner! A purple sparkly Eiffel tower that is about 6in tall. He was SO in love with it and carried it the whole way home.

We continued walking along the river, which would have been awesome to actually walk the rest of the way back, but Sam wanted to go home to do art. So very quickly I was dealing with one kid that never wanted to go back, Ben, one kid that wanted to go back immediately, and one kid that wanted to stay out, but wanted to be carried “just a little bit”. I picked the compromise…we’ll walk for another 20-30 minutes and then we’ll take the train back. I think the only thing that saved us was numerous police cars were zooming past…about 1 ever 2-3 minutes…and of all shapes and sizes. So the conversation turned really quickly to ‘what was happening?’ We came to a pedestrian bridge that was super cool looking…the depth of it was so thin, such a contrast to many of the thick arched bridges. As we came upon a huge building with a giant clock, I recognized it immediately, but knew better than to attempt it. The Museum d’Orsay left such a strong impression on me from 20+ years ago. An old train station, converted to a museum, with such a range of art…and giant clocks. Zero chance to go in, but it was cool just to see it from the outside.

As we finished walking past it, we found out train stop. I say train because is was the RER, not the metro and we got to, to the kids full delight, take double decker train. And if that weren’t cool enough, the ceiling of it was decorated in murals. My guess is from Versailles, but I don’t know.

Two stops and we were there. We needed food, but the bakery I planned to go to, had no sandwiches or similar…just bread and dessert. Sam was beside himself, but on the next block we found a small Asian place and got dumplings, a version of Orange Chicken (it wasn’t, but Sam thought it was), egg rolls and rice. Ben, my little optimist, said to me “Mom, one thing didn’t work out, but then a better thing did!” Three blocks to the apartment, straight in the door, washed hands doubly and devoured the food. And I mean devoured the food…all of us.

Some down time before we had plans to go to my friend Angelique’s house for dinner. I had said we’d go to a park on our way, basically to burn off energy, but when we got there it was closed. Devastated kids, as I had promised a park. I need to work on my terminology a bit. Luckily, we found some odd stairs leading up that took us into a sort of fake wooded area and then even to a ‘waterfall’ down below a bridge. This sufficed for sure. Watched the water, dropped in leaves to watch them go over and then continued on.

Traveling can be hard and there is nothing like being in friend’s home. I had adults to talk to, someone to drink wine with and the kids had new friends and TOYS! They were running around like a dog that needs to pee on everything. Kids played, adults chatted, we all ate.

It was lovely. We convinced the kids to clean up the tornado they created with some dessert and headed home, knowing we would have more time with our friends. Super easy walk home…straight down, across the bridge and we were there in about 12 minutes, even with a stop for a photo of the Eiffel Tower at night.

Max all ready for bed and still clinging to his present.

I ended up on the floor of the kitchen again for work and when I finally made it to bed, I had to pick Max up off the floor, who seemed to think that was an okay place to sleep.