Paris, France Part II

We started the day with some breakfast at what we thought would be your typical croissant place, but little did we know we walked right into an Irish "diner" (though much nicer) where you could get a typical Irish/English breakfast. Which I guess was fine, but we can get a big breakfast any time.. we wanted chocolate pastries and crepes! Nevertheless, the eggs, sausage, sweet potato cakes, yogurt and granola, and hot chocolate were absolutely delicious and we left with full bellies ready to take on the day. Our hotel (which was more like a beautiful apartment) was walkable to Luxembourg Gardens and since Jon and I hadn't been to it before we went to take a stroll through it.

We continued to walk through the park on this beautiful day and came across a fantastic playground. We did have to pay to get in (3 euros per kid and 1 euro per adult), but it was worth it. There was a mini zipline, climbing structure with a slide, huge sandbox with digging tools, a small ropes area, swings, and many more super cool things to do. I so wish we had these types of playgrounds in the U.S! Our friends met us there and we stayed for about an hour. Afterwards, we started to make our way towards the Eiffel Tower where we had tickets to go up to the summit at 2:30.

Chatting on the metro

We've been to the top of the Eiffel Tower before and I can say with all certainty that I do not need to do it a third time. It was pretty crowded when we went and while it didn't take long to get to the halfway mark, we did have to stand in a pretty long line to get to the next elevator up to the top. There were way too many people to enjoy the view and with two little kids I felt like I had to keep my eyes on them a lot. And then it took forever to get back down since we took the elevator (we had the stroller with us). The experience was fine, and I think if we hadn't done it before we would have enjoyed it more. But the important thing was that we were all together!

We stopped at a macaron store to get some presents for people before going into a ridiculously touristy restaurant for dinner. Jon and I would never have picked this place to eat at simply because of its proximity to the tower, but our friends really wanted to eat there because the kids were all hungry and tired and the menu looked good. Plus, they said, the waiter had special drinks for us. Alllriggghhhtttt....

After getting harassed by the manager for going to the bathroom and not really being a customer (after which he was very apologetic and tried to explain his viewpoint), I sat down with our group outside under a heat lamp, excited to have my special drink (which ended up being 30 euros per person!!!) The kids were so cute under their blankets and they kept pretty occupied! The place ended up being meh in terms of food, but we had such a great time with our friends that in the end it didn't matter. In the end, that's what was most important!

We went to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle one more time since our friends hadn't seen it before at night. The kids danced and played and we marveled at the lights.

Unfortunately, our time had come to an end and we had to say goodbye. Our friends got on the metro and we popped in an uber. Our flight the next day was around 1:30 so we were able to sleep in, pack, and grab some croissants to go. The flight home was uneventful and the kids did great. We had such a wonderful trip!

The woman next to Jon had her leg (with no shoes on) resting on the seat in front of her

Reims & Epernay, France (with a little Paris in there)

Today was the day we got out of the city a little bit. Jon picked up our rental car which was walkable from where we were staying, we loaded in, and drove about 1.5 hours to Reims, France. Here, we were meeting our very good friends and their two kids who live in Germany. We met at the old cathedral in town and hung out in the gorgeous weather while the kids played tag. The two girls hadn't seen each other since they were 2.5 and they got along as well as ever!

The Reims Cathedral started construction in the 13th century. It is a pretty impressive structure and dominates the street it resides on. We gazed at the exterior for a bit before corralling everyone inside.  where a quiet and peaceful atmosphere awaited us. Most people were walking around looking at the statues and old and new stained glass windows, others were lighting candles, and some having a silent prayer.

After our visit there, we walked to a lunch spot that had room for all eight of us. Drinks and yummy French food was needed!

We then drove to Epernay where we had reservations at Champagne Mercier for 4pm. Unfortunately, the typical 25 minute drive from Reims took 45 minutes due to construction on the main road in, making us a little late. Our friends ended up taking a wrong turn and were 45 minutes late. Nonetheless, Mercier tried their best to wait as long as they could for them before they finally had to start since we were holding up other people. Just as that happened they walked in! Serious props to Mercier.. despite the extraordinary lateness they were very accommodating and nice about the whole thing.

We booked this tour with the kids because it seemed very kid friendly. The tour through the cellars was on a train, the elevator down to the cellar had glass windows that lit up with stars and videos, and the tour came with a headset that the kids were excited to listen to. It was interesting for all of us!

The last (and best) part of the tour was, of course the tasting. We tasted three champagnes, all which were very good. We bought six bottles to take back to the states with us.

This huge barrel holds 200,000 bottles of champagne!

On the train

We left Epernay and drove towards Paris. We had made reservations at a restaurant just outside of Paris where our friends were staying. Did you know that when you order a hamburger or cheeseburger in Paris that it doesn't come with a bun? Yeah, me either. That's probably because when you go to Paris you're not ordering hamburgers, haha. But J loves them and they happen to be on a lot of menus so here we are. The kids were so well behaved and the adults got to enjoy the meal!

We drove into Paris and made a last minute decision to go back to the Eiffel Tower since it was dark and we had never seen it shine before. We also didn't think we would get back there at night the next night (which we did). Lastly, it was about 9:50 when we got there and we'd get to witness the hourly sparkle show! We got an awesome parking spot and only had to step a few feet from the car to see the spectacle. This was one of the highlights for me this Paris trip. I had never seen it at night before, nor had I seen the sparkle show. It was truly beautiful and the kids LOVED it!

Sparkle show!

The Louve on the drive back

Next up, another day in Paris!

Paris, France, Part I

We arrived in Paris around 7:45pm and made our way over to the taxi line. However, we were quickly pulled out by someone who worked there and they moved us to the front! Thank you J and M. That would never happen in the U.S.! We then checked into our large two bedroom hotel suite and ordered some food to be delivered since it was getting to be that time when no one really wanted to go out again.

First thing on the agenda the next morning was to find a place with some chocolate croissants and hot chocolate for breakfast. Not too hard to do while in Paris. We walked to ___ which was just voted #1 something something. Next door we went to a cute little restaurant where we got some hot chocolate and a Croque Monsiuer (ham and cheese with a fried egg) to split. We ate up everything and the girls were happy!

Walking the streets

Maddie contemplating life over a hot chocolate

We then took the metro to Montpanarsee Tower, which is the tallest building in Paris at 59 stories. The tower has an observation deck and is touted as having one of the best views of Paris, namely because the Eiffel Tower is also in the shot which you don’t always get. We enjoyed the views inside for a while and then walked up the stairs to the observation deck. It was windy and a little chilly, but wow! What amazing views we had!

We then took the metro to the something stop for the Eiffel Tower. We already had plans to go here on Saturday, but I think all of us were itching at the chance to visit before then. A lot has changed since we visited 8 years ago! For one, in order to get up close to it you have to go through security (a bag check and metal detector). We previously were able to just wander at our leisure. Another thing that was different was that they had closed off the entire grass area leading up to the tower. When we went, people were having picnics and nice pictures taken so it was kind of a disappointment to see so many restrictions. But obviously if that’s what they feel they need to do to keep everyone safe then I’m all for it. The girls really enjoyed looking at the Eiffel Tower… it’s something that J had expressed interest in seeing and it’s pretty cool that our two year old kept saying, “Look, Eiffel Tower!”

We found a small creperie on a quiet street nearby and relaxed for a bit. Jon and I were in desperate need of an adult drink and the girls were looking forward to having some chocolate crepes and sitting down to play.

Send help!

Everyone was tired and done so we Ubered back to the hotel and rested for a bit. We went out to a restaurant nearby around 8pm and enjoyed some authentic French cuisine. The waiter even brought a huge sparkly candle out for J’s birthday which was happening the next week.

All in all, this was a great first full day in Paris! Next up, champagne country!