What a great city!
When I got up with Julia and Sara the apartment was dark but the sky was pink. Getting up early (6:30) is made a bit better when waking up in *Paris* and you can open your kitchen window and see 10 shades of pink surrounded by clouds that look like they are relaxing in lounge chairs.
Dan slept 'till a bit after 8:00. Soon we were on our way to a cafe for breakfast. The owner of this apartment recommended the cafe for breakfast, which was nice since since we walked directly there instead of wandering around trying to figure out where to eat -- which would be fun -- but there are so many cafes to choose from it may have taken a while. And with two hungry kids going straight to a recommended place was much appreciated.
It was a tiny cafe. The walk was quick - probably 4 minutes. Unlike the outdoor cafe tables we are used to in the smaller villages, this one had one "outdoor" table in the doorway (a large doorway/threshold) and the other tables were inside. It was as if were outside though, the windows were up front were nearly as wide as the front wall. Great for ventilation and people watching. But who needs to people watch the people going by on the street? There was so much to look at and enjoy in the cafe. Including the other people who were there. They were all French. Not a tourist insight. The other people in the cafe didn't even notice us. (And we are noticeable ) They were so deeply in conversation with each other - that they were even barely touching their coffee, which was quickly cooling in the tiny white ceramic cups. No one had food. The other cafe-goers only had coffees. I can see why there are 10 different types of coffee on the menu (of various strength and with and with out various kinds of milk - frothed, steamed, etc).
We ordered two espressos. Then we ordered food. I ordered us 1 breakfast "formula" and 1 pancake type thing. My ordering procedure was to point and also try the French. The server repeated my order (it sounded nothing like my attempt) and then she walked swiftly away - she wasn't being rude - she was being swift at her job - and she was busy!
When the food came I realized I made a good choice. The breakfast "formula" came with fresh squeezed OJ, a hot beverage of your choice, and 3 bakery items. The "pancakes" were not crepes, they were actually pancakes. Delicious ones! Thick and also light - which was amazing. They had some fresh butter (in a huge shapely glob on the side, with some sort of seed implanted within it), and they had 3 different fruits on them. Lovely. The four of us shared everything. We ate every last speck of those 2 breakfasts. (Only the 2nd time we've had breakfast 'out' on the whole trip.) It cost 22 Euro, including a 4 Euro latte "to go" which is the first time we've encountered coffee "to go" on the whole trip! It was worth every penny.
After a trip to the bathroom at the cafe (which was way in the back near the coffee roaster!) we headed out.
Paris is made for strolling. Even with out an agenda, you can just walk around Paris and have fun. A lot of fun! The neighborhoods are just plain gorgeous - like you are walking around in a movie - but it is real! You can look all around - or just straight ahead, and just see so much stuff it is hard not to smile. Pinch me I'm in Paris! We are staying in the 7th area near "Invalides." I'll write more about our location on some other night.
We made our way to the "Champ de Mars" the park that surrounds (leads up to) the Eiffel Tower. Sara said, "wow" when she saw the Eiffel Tour in all its glory. It stands tall - rising to the sky - on its four stout legs - welcoming people to admire it.
We walked over to the Eiffel Tower - then under it. There were long lines - especially to take the elevator up. There weren't as long lines for the stairs. We didn't go up it today, but we may some other time. Right nearby there was a carousel, so we plunked down 10Euro for 4 rides. Sara skipped onto it so happy, and Julia nearly rocketed out of the stroller with her hands flung up to the sky - to ensure she would get to go on it also - Dan took Julia onto the ride, and Sara is old enough to go on alone. They were the only ones on the ride (which was so neat!) and I watched as they went around and around. I took pictures - a bit surreal to get the Eiffel Tower in the same picture as Sara/Julia/Dan on a Carousel! Such fun! And the music was great - I'd buy the sound track if I could. It was so delightful - and was the perfect accompaniment to the merry ride.
The weather was perfect. Sunny and warm. I can't imagine it being better. It was made for making smiles.
We crossed the river to get the "best" view of the tower according to our guide book. It is the Place du Trocadero a 10 minute walk across the river. On our way there, we stopped at a park bench. How could we not? It was a park, lined with trees, and benches - they just beckoned us to stop. We all fit on one bench. It was wooden. It was green. It had some dried bird poop on it. That was okay, it looked like a thousand other people had used the bench and there was no actual poop left - it was dried and flat. Anyway, we sat there just taking it all in. Sara on the end, then Dan, then Julia, then me. Just sitting on a bench in Paris. I'll remember that moment. We ate some stuff from the bakery. But mainly we just sat there. You can sit in Paris and it stimulates the senses, the eyes for all the people and monumental buildings; the ears for the sounds of the city - the cars, the bells, the bicycles rolling by, the people laughing; -- everything -- it was just fun to be on that bench and soak up Paris. We had the Eiffel tower to our left, fountains straight ahead, and a huge set of stairs up to the view to our right.
Soon we went up those stairs. The view of the tower was nice. We got some pictures - though it was hard to get decent pictures in the morning light.
After that we decided to do the "Champs-Elysees" walk described in our book. It starts at the 'Arc de Triomphe' (french spelling). For the walk, the author describes what to look for and we got to know the area by reading the descriptions. Though about mid-way through the walk we stopped reading and just enjoyed ourselves -- skimming the words in the book while we took-in the sights all around us. We had Sara/Julia in the double stroller for most of it, but Sara asked to get out and walk - so she walked for a long time also. My pedometer says I took 20,501 steps today and I didn't even wear it all day! That is 8.96 miles. All in Paris!
For lunch we ate at the Petit Palais. (Site of the 1900 World's Fair) It has a gorgeous interior, and is free. It is an art museum. We went inside looked around a bit, used the bathrooms (I think that is the first time I've changed Julia's diaper on pure marble) and then we had lunch in the peaceful cafe. It is in the garden area of the Petit Palais and we had pasta with goo on it, and a club sandwich. The "club" sandwich was cut into 4 diamond pieces and had chicken, greens, and hard boiled egg slices on it. It also had some sort of dressing (aka: goo) on it - and was good. I ate it all up. Dan and the girls ate all the pasta up. Then I enjoyed the garden (that was adjacent to the seating area) with the girls. Julia walked for a bit on the pebbly path, then she sat down on the granite steps and took off her shoes. She put them together in one hand, walked over to me and handed me her shoes as if to say "here Mom, I want you to hold my shoes now, I'm going to walk in this garden barefoot." I let her. She had fun - chasing Sara, and she also is getting so fast that sometimes Sara chases Julia! They giggle and laugh and stop their play only periodically to hug each other.
After that we walked back across the river on the 'Pont Alexandre III' (bridge) that is "spiked with golden statues and ironwork lamps" -- it was neat --- and lead us back along a park to get to our apartment.
Back here I gave Julia a bath while Sara played on the iPad, and Dan started work. Then a while later I made my first trip out into Paris alone with Sara/Julia. Not to worry about getting lost. I had 2 maps, and one GPS style app on my iPhone.
My goal was to get to "La Grande Epicerie du Bon Marche" which is the best grocery store in the city according to our apartment owner. It is a 10 minute walk away. I was very careful to learn the turns to get there - so I didn't get lost! It was a perfect walk - such wonderful hustle bustle of the Parisians going about their day. I passed cute Cafes (and I mean really cute), shops, businesses, bakeries, -- and I just marveled at how awesome this city is.
When I got to the store I realized I had 5 Euros. That got us a box of pretzels and 6 bananas. Wow. I'm almost glad I didn't have more money. We came back here and Dan dropped 70 Euros down to us (from the 5th floor) and we went back out and stopped at a different grocery store - bought some food to make for dinner -- and made dinner.
I picked up the apartment while Dan cooked. After our arrival yesterday we didn't take time to get organized - so I did it this evening. I put all the packing cubes in a neat stack, and now this place looks much better! We ate together, and then Dan put Julia into her crib and I stayed up with Sara for a while. She ate to much "bed time bite" which was bread with peanut butter. She said her tummy hurt. After a while it was better.
It was a great day. When I looked at our paris map I couldn't believe how much we really did today! And so much more left to do.
Quotes of the day:
Sara: "Lets sit here and have a picnic."
Me: "How about we take Sara's idea and sit on that bench."
Sara: "But you can't take my idea, I want to keep it!"
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Scenario: Each night Sara gets "bedtime bite" a bedtime snack. Tonight she asked for yogurt.
Sara: "I have to made sure it is not fromage blanc!"
[Wow. Good memory Sara. Back in Viason La Romaine we bought fromage blanc (white cheese) instead of yogurt - and she remembered the words "fromage blanc" and remembered the joke, and repeated it all this time later!
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Side Note: Sara also ordered a baguette all in French from a bakery! When we were there we could see the baker put the bread in the oven - and he smiled at us so nicely -- making our first experience in a Paris bakery so nice!
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