Paris Part 4

I'm wrapping up my Paris trip recap today, thanks for sticking with me.  I'm picking this up midway through our day on Thursday. 

We took a Metro from the Arc de Triomph to the Eiffel Tower for our 1:30 reservations.  We passed a little market on the way and found some pastries to snack on.

There it is!

We had reservations to the top so we queued at Pilier Est (the East Pillar).

Dave and I have a fear of heights but it manifests differently in each of us.  I do not like going up high where a mechanical failure or a trip and fall could result in death.  So I did not like the elevator to the top, it's so old, anything could happen!!  But once we got up to the top, I was a bit better since we were caged in. That said, it was windy and I felt like the tower was swaying and I didn't like that. I do like a view, so it was worth it!

Not entirely comfortable!

There was a Flash Invader at the top

We took the lift down to the second floor and then walked down to the first floor. 

It was raining so we didn't stick around long. 

Posing over the glass floor.

When we were walking down, Q said he saw "Tom Cruise" hanging off the side of the elevator, we had no idea what he was talking about, was this a Mission Impossible promotion?  Then we saw this mannequin which we assumed represented how they used to operate the elevator.

We took the elevator down to the ground level and then walked to find something for a late lunch/early dinner. 

We ate at an Italian restaurant nearby and it was okay but not our best meal.  We caught the Metro home at that point since the rain had picked up.  We settled into our cozy apartment for naps, movies, Angry Birds, and chips and wine. 

There was a small oyster shop by our apartment and Dave and I thought we could go there, but the owner said he didn't have any oysters left so that didn't work out.  We went at 7:45 and they opened at 7:00 and it looked like he had served two tables only, so not sure what sort of business model that is.  Instead we picked up McDonalds for the boys and bought some groceries to make some pasta for Dave and I to eat. Everyone was tired so this easy night in worked well, a plus of the AirBnb!

The rain was gone the next day and we were up bright and early to catch the train for a day trip. Good work everyone!

We took the bus to Gare de Lyon and had some time to spare to get some gum and a coffee.

There are a number of great day trips from Paris, but we settled on Fontainebleau. It was a 45 minute train ride for the same price as the Metro ticket (2.50 Euros).  

We took a quick Uber to the Chateau de Fontainebleau. Since there was an art festival, access to the Chateau was free.

This is like Versailles but less busy.

We toured through the building admiring the details in each room.

Napolean Playmobil.

I grabbed a quick coffee at the cafe.

And we watched these birds.  The mom was swimming around working on the nest and fighting off the fish.  

It was a beautiful day to wander through the grounds.  E was trying to locate a geocache.

I believe these art installations were because of the festival, since they didn't seem to match the rest of the grounds.  That's me, sitting for a bit while the boys looked for the geocache.

There is a train that can take you through the extensive grounds, but it didn't start running until noon and we were ready to start walking around at 10:30 so we didn't wait for it.

A canal like at Versailles but no boats to rent.

Haha

We were laughing at our little joke of how this place was designed "okay, we want a fountain surrounded by beautiful white marble statues of women in various poses, but then we want a black horse being eaten by a cougar", "Got it!"

After a walk and one unsuccessful search for a geocache, we were hungry and went in search of lunch in the village.  

We had the best lunch at the restaurant we found - Au Bellifontain on Rue Grande.  I had a purple risotto with roasted vegetables, Dave and a chicken Caesar salad, E had a burger, and Q had fish and chips. And we ordered dessert and the creme brule was so good!

We got back to the train station and back to Paris.  We decided to walk home from Gare de Lyon so the kids could find more Flash Invaders. 

There's one!

This was the sidewalk on the way home, full of grasses and flowers.

When it was time to find some dinner, we found the most adorable area, just a couple of blocks away.  We wish we had found it earlier.

Rue Mouffetard

Full of cute shops, markets, and places to eat.

We walked a bit farther so I could see some more scenes from Emily in Paris. 

The courtyard where they had the dinner party.

And Gabriel's restaurant, it is just there in the same courtyard.

And the Pantheon was around the corner so we went there too.

We made our way back to Rue Mouffetard.  We chose Restaurant Les 5. 

Our last full day in Paris started out with another run.  This time we ran down to and around Jardin du Luxembourg.

Dave had located some cool Flash Invaders so our morning was spent finding those, like this Super Mario one!  Our route took us into Le Marais and over to Les Halles. I should note it was chilly on this day and we were not dressed appropriately!

Lego Store at Les Halles

There was a half court basketball tournament set up and we watched for a few minutes.

We needed something to eat and settled on an Italian coffee shop for a hot drink and pizzas/sandwiches - Costodoro Social Coffee.

Then we continued on to find more Flash Invaders.

And then we headed back home in the early afternoon so we could change into some warmer clothes, rest, and head back out later.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that part of a holiday is taking it easy, it's not necessary to fill every minute of everyday.  Some iPad time was just fine with everyone.

Including me!  It was warmer at our apartment so I was able to sit outside for a bit before it rained again.

With just a few hours left in the day, we rallied and got ourselves to the Seine for a boat cruise.  We love seeing the city from a new perspective.  We took lots of pictures but I won't share them all.

Pont Alexandre III, the Russian bridge (awkward).

For dinner I wanted a traditional French meal so I took us back to a place I had enjoyed with the girls earlier in the trip - Le Pre Aux Clercs.  We got a table right away.  We shared some French onion soup and tomato burrata salad. 

And I had the best chicken ever! It had so much flavour, and the fries were delicious too dipped in the sauce.  We ordered dessert too, chocolate mousse and creme brule. A fabulous meal to cap off our travels.

We checked out of our AirBnb the next morning and got ourselves to the airport.  We had some lounge passes which was great since we had a few hours to kill. 

Then home to Canada.  What an amazing trip! Sometimes people wonder if their kids will like this sort of vacation, but ours certainly did, just like when we went to New York in the fall.  They don't always need a beach holiday or Disney, kids just want to be with their parents no matter what the activity.  When we are at home, we are always busy with work, school, chores, friends, hobbies, etc. but on holiday we all have the same plans for the day and we're together.  Q loved holding our hand walking down the street, E loved finding the geocaches and Flash Invaders and talking our ear off about various things, both boys liked playing Angry Birds with Dave on their iPads, and we liked exploring new places together.  

Check out my post on our accommodations here 

Part 1 here

Part 2 here

Part 3 here