In our plans for my parents' visit to Europe, we had talked about going to Paris together.
So here we are back in Paris! (You may remember we were here during Christmastime.)
We loved this snail advertising escargot at a restaurant.
We stayed in a wonderful apartment together, and 30 steps away was an amazing restaurant, where we promptly ate lunch. What a find!
On our first afternoon in Paris, we took a bike tour to some key sights, as well to some less touristy neighborhood streets where we learned some fun and lesser known facts about the city. The tour started out at Notre Dame on a typical springtime day in Paris...chilly and rainy. We had fun anyway!
We rode by some out-of-the-way gardens.
We hopped off our bikes to take a quick photo with massive homes in the background, owned by the wealthiest of the wealthy. :)
We rode by the Seine River, appreciating the various pieces of art, some of which was risqué. (Not surprising for France, right?)
We could see the backside of Notre Dame with buttresses that had to be added to support the original structure as they were building. They were an embarrassment for the French for quite a while.
Another family photo, this time along the river.
There are many bridges in Paris with locks, where, as you probably know, people lock on their hearts and/or secrets. We were told that one bridge was damaged by the weight of the locks, and now many locks are cut off so for prevention purposes.
We biked into the center of the Louvre property.
Still within the Louvre grounds
Love this photo of Dad and Jacob
Inside the Louvre
We had to see the Mona Lisa!
So many paintings becomes a little overwhelming.
We decided we liked statues a lot.
The boys after spending a bit too much time in the Louvre...
We told them they had to pose in front of at least one painting. They got up and stood in front of the same painting...they really just wanted to get it over with, I think. :)
We appreciated the amazing detail on these French marble statues.
The skies cleared up a bit, and we went on a river cruise.
Many bridges have unique details.
An interesting random...piece of art?
Can you spot the narrowest house in Paris?
We liked these coins on the ceiling of a metro station.
When we were in Paris for Christmas, it took several hours to stand in line and go halfway up the Eiffel Tower. In spite of Jacob's hard sell attempt at going to the top (another couple hours for the next line), the rest of us decided to spend the last couple hours of daylight doing other things in Paris. So, we promised we would go to the top with Gramma and Papa. Here is a photo at half way up.
And at the top!
Love this photo!
Paris from top of the Eiffel Tower. We also watched the sunset from the top!
Zooming in to the Arc de Triomphe.
Once we got to the bottom of the Eiffel Tower, the sun had gone down. It was beautiful lit up!
The next day was Jacob's birthday, and we went to the Palace of Versailles (20-30 minute train ride from Paris). This château and its gardens are massive and was a home and/or getaway for royalty. This is a view walking up to the chateau. Even though the château was closed (Mondays) so that we could not see the inside, we decided to explore and enjoy the gardens.
Hopping from pillar to pillar near the gates of the château
We rented a golf cart and explored the gardens.
Jacob and Nicholas had a fabulous time running between and jumping off and on each cart as we tooled steadily along. Very entertaining for the adults to watch such jolly and lively activity!
Vibrant springtime colors
View of this fountain from the lower level...
...and upper level
Looking over the Orangerie Gardens
After the weather again became rainy, we made our way back to Paris and decided to go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. It was built between 1806 and 1836 in honor of those who fought for France, particularly those who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. Here is are a couple views from the top.
The boys spent a long while at the top of the Arc searching the streets below for awesome sports cars. They mostly saw Porsches.
Oh, if these brothers could always act like pals! :)
Walking along the wet streets to our apartment
We found candles for Jacob's birthday cake in the apartment, but no matches.
Ray burned a napkin in the broiler and lit the candle. Perfect idea!
Happy Birthday, Jacob!
Oh, I mistakenly left the presents in Barcelona, so Jacob had to wait a day to get them. :(
Ray found a couple cool gifts in Paris, and my parents remembered their gifts,
so he did have a few things to open!
Can't beat Paris bakeries. I wanted to stay longer just to try everything in them.
Our last morning in Paris we went back to our favorite little restaurant near our apartment. They had so many flavors of jams and nut/chocolate/cookie spreads to slather on all the homemade breads.
Hot chocolate is a must for the boys.
The next post...dance competitions and visiting friends.
