Day 19: Paris

Day 19, our last day in Paris and for this trip. We are tired and already thinking about the comforts of home, plus seeing our cat, Zaboo.

Because we came to Paris by train, we have not yet had to deal with traveling to/from the airport, Charles de Gaulle. So, before we did any sight-seeing today, we did a dry run of how we'll get to the airport. You cannot take the metro to the airport, which would be very convenient. Instead, you either take the RER commuter train, an airport-dedicated bus (RoissyBus) or a taxi (very expensive). We opted for the train, so we traced our steps from our nearest metro stop to the RER station and we bought our train tickets for tomorrow. Hopefully everything will go smoothly.

After that, we had to choose between two activities. One, we could return to Roland Garros in the sunshine for the tour, or we could visit the Paris catacombs, where centuries of Parisians are buried in 40 miles of underground caverns. The kids opted for the catacombs, so we headed off for the Denfert Rochereau metro stop.

We thought this is an out-of-the-way experience that would interest few, but we were wrong. The line for the catacombs stretched around a block. So, we got a beer instead.

While we were out, we decided to return to that English-speaking bookstore near The Sorbonne. To our amazement, it was open and we were able to find some books for the boys to read on the plane tomorrow.

Our metro stop for this excursion was Saint Michel. There was a beautiful fountain at street level.
St. Michel Square

By this point, we decided to return to the hotel and have a lazy afternoon. Everyone is tired and run down after this long trip. So, we napped and the kids played video games. Everyone won.
Relaxing.

At dinnertime, we opted for one final site. We visited the home of legendary alchemist Nicholaus Flamel. He lived in this particular house in the year 1407. The kids were excited because it is Flamel who is the character in the first Harry Potter book who makes the "Sorcerer's Stone." The Flamel house is now a trendy restaurant, with an aging, crooked floor. There was an inscription in the stone above the door that was pretty cool.
Nicholaus Flamel's house.

The house was near the Pompidou Centre, so we found a market and had a picnic lunch in the square outside the museum. Without realizing it, we stayed at the square until 10 pm, when there was still plenty of light.

Pompidou Centre, modern art museum.

Well, this is our last day of touring and the last blog entry. Tomorrow morning, we fly from Paris to London and then on to San Francisco. It has been a terrific trip and we hope the kids will remember this for the rest of their lives. We look forward to our next trip, but right now, nothing sounds better than our comfortable bed at home, the convenience of a car and cheap supermarkets and being able to watch TV in English.

Thanks for joining us on this trip!

Day 18: Paris

On Day 18, we woke up and made a bee line for the Eiffel Tower opening at 9:30 am. Evening getting there early, it was 45 minutes to buy tickets and then probably another hour of lines to get to the top. Midway up the Eiffel Tower, it started to rain. Level 2, where you catch a separate elevator to the summit, is not well covered, so we got wet. Big raindrops.
View from Level 2 of the Eiffel Tower

Once we were to the top, it was beautiful. The rain had stopped. While overcast, the views of Paris were terrific.
The same photo I took at age 15 in Paris with French class.
At the top of the Eiffel tower.

After the Eiffel Tower, we got some lunch. Prices are very expensive in the city, so we bought some simple baguettes with ham from a takeaway shop and some fruit from a stand. Good lunch.

We found the nearest Metro line near the Paris military college and went to the suburbs for the guided tour we had reserved at Roland Garros, the site of the French Open.
To Roland Garros.

Unfortunately, the rain flooded the facility and all tours were cancelled. It was a long train trip and we would have appreciated them sending us an email telling us not to come. Oh well. We found a place for coffee in the area and planned the next part of our day.
In the Roland Garros gift shop.

A security guard was nice enough to let us pose in front of a tennis court, even though the facilities were closed. It was surprising how small the facility was, particularly compared to Wimbeldon -- which is enormous.

Court #2 at Roland Garros.

We saw a poster on a light pole with directions to an English language bookstore, so we decided to try to find it. It was near the Latin Quarter, location of the Pantheon and the Sorbonne. We found the bookstore but, because it was Bastille Day, July 14, it was closed. A day of bad luck.

So, we thought we'd tour the area to see the Sorbonne and inspire the kids. The Sorbonne is not like a normal university. Instead of picturesque quads with lots of shade trees, it is a giant granite structure with no public access. We walked around the entire fortress and eventually settled for a picture of the outside. The kids were not impressed.

The Sorbonne.

At this point, visiting the Pantheon was out of the question. So, after grabbing some dinner, we decided to go back for more Berthillon ice cream at Ile St. Louis...

Berthillon...

We then tried to find a good location to watch the July 14 fireworks over the Eiffel Tower. We wanted to avoid the throngs near the tower, so we walked up the Seine until we found a bridge with a view of the tower. We found a nice cove on Pont Neuf with a view of the Eiffel Tower and waited for the show. And waited. The fireworks didn't start until 10:45 pm, which is when it was finally dark.

Pont Neuf, looking towards Eiffel Tower.

Waiting for the fireworks.

A shaky-handed view of the fireworks.

It was a long day, with a few disappointments, but it ended in a pretty special fashion, watching fireworks over the Eiffel Tower from the oldest bridge in Paris with your family.

Day 17: Paris

Day 17 was a tourist day. We got up early to make the trek to Versailles. You cannot get to Versailles by the Metro, so you can use either the regional commuter train or a bus. We went to the train station information desk and bought train tickets and Versailles passes. The regional commuter train, RER, is a bit more complicated than the Metro, but we finally figured things out with a little help from a local.

When we made our way to Versailles, we realized the luck of having purchased our Versailles passes in advance. The ticket line was unreal. Not only were the lines long, the day was one of the hottest of the trip and there was little shade. We found a bit of shade between two buildings, ate our packed lunch and then made our way into the palace. You cannot bring food into Versailles, so it was good to eat outside the palace and then go in.

Versailles is a tribute to excess. Both outside and inside, it was opulent.
Versailles

Your Versailles ticket includes an audio tour device, so you can type in a number to hear a description of a particular display.

The art galleries in the Versailles have several paintings you would have seen before.
Louis XIV (or one of the Louis)
Napoleon crowning himself.
The king's private entrance to the Versailles chapel.
Beautiful ceiling of a room.

Hall of Mirrors
The gardens out back.

The walking tour of Versailles was long and hot. Afterwards, the boys got a well-deserved chocolate ice cream break:

Napkin, anyone?

After Versailles, we took the commuter train to the Eiffel Tower stop. The lines were amazing and, with the heat, we moved on. We walked down to the Seine and took a boat ride. It was nice to sit down, relax and see the sights.

The Louvre.

Notre Dame.

A cool house on the Seine. High rent district.

Conciergerie, prison of Marie Antoinette.

Cool building on the Seine.

Looking back at the Seine.

La Tour Eiffel

After the boat trip, we grabbed a bit to eat, with a nice cold beer, and then returned home. Our Metro stop, Bastille, was the site of a large, public concert. It was great to hear the music out our hotel window.

Concert in Bastille square.

Only a few days left... Still need to see the Louvre, Roland Garros and the Eiffel Tower.

Day 16: Paris

Day 16 was a nice day. It thunderstormed the night before and it was cool most of the day. After breakfast, we made our way to Montmartre to see Sacre Coeur. Walking from the Metro stop up to Sacre Coeur is not a pretty sight. You feel like the pick pocket buzzards are circling, awaiting a sign of weakness. April had "my six."

We opted not to take the funicular up to Sacre Coeur so we could get some morning exercise.

Sacre Coeur

We could not take pictures inside Sacre Coeur, but it is beautiful. Definitely worth the trip. We wanted to hike up to the top to get the view of Paris, but it was very high-priced. So, we decided to look at Sacre Coeur's free "crypt" later in the day.

We had packed a lunch, so we found some park space for a nice break.
Garrett, with bread, causing a "pigeon frenzy."

The streets of Montmartre are narrow and hilly. Street artists and cafes are everywhere, like in the movies.

Streets of Montmartre.

On Eric's recommendation, we visited Place du Tetre. It was a fun square with a lot of street artists and places to shop and stop. We stopped for some "Cafe Americain" before returning to the Sacre Coeur crypt. If you just order "cafe" or "coffee," you will receive an espresso.

Place du Tetre.

Next to Place du Tetre was a non-descript church, St. Pierre of Montmartre. It was hundreds of years old, and beautiful inside.

St. Pierre of Montmartre.

We finished looking around at St. Pierre and returned to Sacre Coeur, to see the crypt. We were expecting to see tombs, etc., but it was really just a basement with various statues of saints where you could pray.
Sacre Coeur crypt.
St. Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits.

We walked down Montmartre to look for "The Charcuterie," a place recommended by our friend, Anne. Unbelievably, we found it!

The Charcuterie, on Montmartre.

After walking quite a bit, we opted for some relaxation. We took the Metro to Place de la Villette -- a huge public park in the northeast section of Paris. This place is a great destination for kids. They have various mini-parks within the park. The kids played and ran for hours, and Garrett tried speaking French with some of the kids.

Inflated runways, at Place de la Villette.

Spinning around -- wipeout.

Spinning around some more.

After a very long day of climbing hills and running around the park, we took the Metro home. An accordion player joined us for park of the trip:

Rockin' it old-school French style.

Instead of heading home, we took a detour to Ile St. Louis to try the local favorite ice cream, Berthillon. The lines were long, but it was worth it.

It was a terrific day.