Bonjour Paris!

I was so excited to finally make it to Paris, not only has this country been in my dreams forever, but Jesse was coming to meet us and after 6 months, I couldn't wait to see him.

whole lot going on here, that bearded lad in the back that looks like hes photo bombing is Jess!

Me and my babies!

We found a place just on the outskirts of downtown Paris, close to the stadium, not the greatest area, but we had the best apartment and we were a 2 minute walk to the metro, (after living in Toronto my whole life, a little sketchy doesn't bother me in the least).

We only had 3 days here and wanted to get as much out of Paris as we could, the Eiffel tower was what everyone wanted to see first. Unknown to me you have to pre-book tickets to go up the tower and the tickets were completely sold out (unless you wanted to wait in a 2-3 hour line for those with no tickets!)...needless to say we had some very disappointed kids on our hands. Thank goodness you could still get up close and personal

We spent the next day doing all that you would expect, people watching in the Champ de Mars, (the big green space by the Eiffle tower), and then visiting Luxembourg Gardens, (the kids favourite), where you can sail 100 year old wooden boats in the pond. 

Champs De Mars

These wooden boats are the same ones they sailed 100 years ago...just wind a stick, and a LOT of running

Luxembourg Gardens

The palace and pond in Luxembourg gardens

We walked around the neighbourhoods of Montmartre, Le Marais and the Latin Quarter (my fave) and of course visited the Cathedral of Nortre Dame, which was quite underwhelming after being in Barcelona...(I know, I sound like a church snob, but we have seen some pretty spectacular churches)....

Notre Dame Cathedral

The back side of Nortre Dame

in the Latin Quarter

The Latin Quarter

Luckily Paris has some pretty amazing parks- with all the walking we had to stop a few times so the girls didn't lose their minds

Over the next couple of days we saw walked the Champs Elysees, visited the Petite and Grand palaces, the Pont Alexandre bridge, the Arc de Triomphe and of course the Louvre!

Champs Elysse

Champs Elysse

The Arc de Triomphe

The Seine and Grande Palaise

The Petite Palace

The Grand Palaise

City Hall

Alexander Bridge

Monument of Caspard de Colgny of Chatillon

After the kids and I spent about an hour at the Louvre, I could see we were losing them, (after the Mona Lisa they were ready to go, and we saw her in the first 5 minutes!). I made them stay 1 more hour then I took them to a park while Johnny spent the next few hours exploring the museum himself. 

there she is in all her glory

This beautiful building was in the park we went to, not sure the name but just another incredible church

As it was Jesse's last night with us, we decided to celebrate Anneka's birthday 2 days early and actually splurge to go to a nice restaurant. I wanted something authentic and French (and not crazy expensive)...The Bouillon Chartier Brasserie was PERFECT! Reasonable prices and over 100 years old. The food was awesome and they even brought a festive, delicious cream puff, singing Bon anniversaire.  

Very sadly we had to say goodbye to Jesse the next day, he was heading on his own adventure meeting friends in Spain then off to Thailand...I wasn't nearly as sad as last time as I knew I would see him in 1 month, (I still shed a tear or two:).

We left Paris heading to the outskirts where we would be surprising Anneka with a visit to Disneyland Paris. She was absolutely thrilled....we all agreed (behind Anneka's back) that after Universal Studios the park was kind of crappy, needless to say, our job as amazing parents is complete- we have now visited Disney with each child and will never go again.... 

we waited in line for over an hour to see a mysterious princess- we were all joking what if it was Snow White as she is the WORST! of course that was who was waiting for us...oh well...

Despite the park itself (and the look on Anneka's face), we all had the best day

Saying good bye to Paris I left with mixed emotions. It was every bit as beautiful as I expected, as Johnny pointed out, there literally was a photo op around every corner. The buildings were incredible and the history was mind blowing, but I felt the city too touristy. Even though Paris is full of people who live there, I felt like every where we went was all fabricated, everything for show...and the people we encountered did not seem to be the friendliest...I have heard from so many people that Paris was their favourite city, I just felt like it lacked soul...(BTW-Johnny disagrees and still loves it)

Moving on-were very excited for the next part of our journey...off to Normandy to visit new friends and some very sad places....