Paris - Day 1

We have been promising Paris to the kids since we moved here back in 2006.  This weekend we finally fulfilled that promise.  Mark and I went to Paris on our anniversary in 2007 and fell in love with it.  This time Mark asked me, "What is it about Paris?"  Of course he asked me at the end of the day when my feet hurt, my stomach was aching for anything French, and we had been hounded by beggars and souvenir salesmen all day. But this was my answer: watching all varieties of French people carrying a baguette in a bag like it was another appendage, it was women in heels, bikers, men in business suits, moms with their kids, old classy Parisian women.  Really, that was how you could tell locals apart from the tourists, they had a baguette in hand on the way to their next destination with a fierce look of determination. The tourists are walking around with big wide eyes, looking up and bumping into everyone . . . no baguette.  So, of course, we had to blend.  We bought baguettes whenever we felt like it.  Oh, your feet hurt? Let's get you a baguette.  We need to hop on the metro now, better get a baguette.  Oh you need to go to the bathroom, well we'll need a baguette after.  You'll also learn another reason I love Paris when you read about our second day, experiencing a beautiful sunny afternoon the way the French do . . . more on that later.

I must squeeze in a little bit of humor about how our trip started out . . . we were worried.  First, we got the car loaded, kids buckled in and the battery was dead.  Then 40 minutes down the road we realize we left McKenna's activity pack, we went back, we did not want to experience over 6 hours (THAT is Parisian traffic for you) without a DVD player, iPod, Leapster and everything else electronic that we own that will distract the child.  What should have taken 4 1/2 hours according to our Martha (GPS) took 6 1/2, 2 of which we were in Paris traffic.  Then we get there, park, unload the car and Mark and I go back for a few last things from the car and Mark gets pooped on by a pigeon.  Welcome to Paris Frandsen clan!  All I could think was, I'm so glad the bird wasn't just a smidge to the left or Mark would have gotten it in the eye.

We started where everyone should start in Paris, at the Eiffel Tower!  We were so lucky with the weather this weekend, clear and sunny, and all we needed was a light jacket.  I had booked a reservation ahead of time and we planned to get there early enough to eat lunch in the garden before we went up.  We bought baguette sandwiches and chocolate croissants and fed the birds with the crusts.  Here are more shots of the Eiffel:

At the very top of the Tower there are flags from all over the world showing the distance from the Tower to that point:

After the Eiffel Tower experience, we headed to the Arc de Triomphe and walked the entire Champs-Elysees. 

The girls enjoyed stopping in the Disney store on the Champs and getting a souvenir.  We decided to use the Metro for all our transportation while in Paris.  So glad we did, the Paris Metro is incredibly organized and easy to use.  We spent about 32 Euro for all four of us for 2 days, versus if we would have bought tickets for the bus tours we would have spent 120 euro plus would have still needed metro tickets to get back to our apartment.  Think of how many baguette's I would have been denied had we taken the bus!!  One thing is for sure, I'm down right frugal when it comes to traveling, but by doing this we spread our money out and get to do and see more things.  One thing that I have learned and that we do repeatedly while traveling, is finding a grocery store the minute we arrive.  That way we can buy picnic food for lunch. One night we bought milk, ham, cheese, brioche and salad for supper which came to a total of 10 euro.  One night we splurged for dinner and it ended up costing about 45 euro.  That is a huge difference and the kids were totally happy to eat and crawl into bed AND we were still eating the local fare.

We ended the day at the Sacre Couer (Sacred Heart) Basilica and walked around Montmarte.  Montmarte was great, just packed full of Parisian artists, painting scenes of Paris or portraits of tourists.  The streets are small, cobblestone and no cars are allowed, such a cool experience and a whole different side of Paris.  This is a picture of the "i love you" wall, where the sentiment is written in every language you can imagine and some languages you didn't even know existed.  It is located in a little fenced off park, made just for kids.

Stay tuned for Day 2!