To begin, we headed off to the Luxembourg Gardens. They've been a part of Paris for some time and hugely influenced by the Medici's. It also houses the French Senate as well. A great review of the gardens can be found here:
http://www.parisdigest.com/takingarest/jardindu.htm
We brought some sandwiches with us (from the bakery that also provided us with many, many delicious pastries) and walked through the park where we passed by the famed Medici Fountain
And a sculpture embodying the art of theater
until we finally reached a picturesque pond amidst an immaculately maintained garden surrounded by large green lounge chairs.
We settled into the chairs and enjoyed the warm October afternoon with a pond side picnic. On the pond there were several miniature sailboats criss-crossing the waters with joyfully expectant children running around the pond chasing the boats.
This was one of the main reasons we came to the gardens, for Joey and Sammy to become young sailors!
The system was a good one. They had large model sailboats (about a foot and a half long, maybe 10 pounds) with colored sails corresponding with a country. Joey had been eyeing the crimson and gold of Spain while Sammy enjoyed the green and white of Ireland.
We went over and they got their boats (the United States had just been selected) and they were both pleased. Joey was Spain and Sammy was Ireland (which I enjoyed as well, with Spain being the first country of our trip and Ireland to be the last).
They also needed special sticks to launch the boats. We talked about boating (and stick) etiquette and then we prepared for launch!
The sticks were not only used as pretend swords, they also helped launch the boats after they sailed across the pond. Quickly Joey and Sammy became adept at repositioning their boats and sending them off for another run.
At one point there was a nice time with Spain and Ireland sailing side by side.
The views of the gardens were amazing as we walked through the park.
We have seen many playgrounds throughout our travels thus far. I personally did not think we would find a more impressive playground than the one in Belgium's Savage World, complete with ship while surrounded by wild animals.
Well, this playground was complete pandemonium and even more impressive. Also, we had to pay to get in. It was that good.
The area was HUGE. There were all kinds of things to do and for all ages.
(which is one of these things:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundabout_(play)
There I saw a group of kids riding the roundabout with one being dragged underneath. All of them were having a blast and the kid being dragged eventually got up smiling and laughing with leaves in his hair and on his sweater. He then ran off in search of adventure. I missed getting his picture as he was so quick.
Watching him being dragged around immediately made me think of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coSUDPuNP98
Joey and Sammy took a good look and took off running! Lanna kicked her zombie walk into high gear and toddled off after them.
They had a really, really good time. Sammy found a slide he loved. To get there he had to cross a rope lattice, and he had really honed his rope lattice skills the prior day.
Joey was everywhere - riding the train models, climbing the jungle gyms, and he even went for a spin on the roundabout. He also discovered zip lines! He came back and played a bit with Sammy.
Lanna loved the train model and spent some time there.
They all three got together as well shortly before we had to leave.
When we told the kids we had to go, Joey burst into tears. He was not ready to leave this glorious playground. With tears in his eyes, we had him take some parting pictures of the playground.
The reason we had to leave this epic place is that we had our tickets for the Louvre. It was a small hike to get there and we needed to be on time (especially since the museum would be closing about an hour after our entry time).
They all recovered from the sadness of parting from the playground and did great on the walk to the Louvre. They did enjoy running through the fall leaves.
We arrived on time. The lines were pretty nonexistent compared to what we had seen the day before so our online ticket purchase didn't seem to make any huge difference. At least we were in! Before we went in another nice couple offered to take our picture (because they saw me struggling to do a selfie).
The energy in the Louvre really made me smile. There were so many bustling people and tour groups scattered about the huge entry underneath the glass pyramid. It was incredible just being there! I loved looking up at the glass pyramid from below.
We picked up a stroller for Sammy since he was recovering from all the walking he had already done. We put our bags in a locker and started off.
Here's a few tips for those of you who will be visiting the Louvre with children:
1) Acquaint yourself with the layout before getting there
2) Never, EVER GET A STROLLER
3) In all honesty, just don't go to any museum with children
The Louvre is certainly one of the most astounding museums in all the world. It is also, arguably, one of the worst places to go with a stroller or wheelchair.
We could not figure out where to go with the stroller and this cost us about 15 minutes to finally get to the galleries.
Given the fact Sammy seemed seconds away from a meltdown and time was so short, we made a beeline for the Mona Lisa.
You'll notice poor Sammy was not pictured.
About five minutes after this, he was lying on a gallery floor pretty unhappy with the world. Fortunately he was able to be redirected and sit quietly back in the stroller.
Lanna, however, was excited to show off her beautiful form and porcelain white skin.
She then came back to spend some time with Alisa.
We did see the Winged Victory of Samothrace as well.
And that was about it. Between the kids being on the razor's edge due to starvation and the late booking time, it was time to leave the Louvre. Alisa and I plan to go back in about 18 years.
I had looked for good restaurants that were very close to the Louvre knowing we'd need some dinner as soon as possible after our long afternoon.
We found a great place called Louise.
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g187147-d1076810-Reviews-Louise_Cafe-Paris_Ile_de_France.html
For the past few weeks, we've been working on the trend of going to restaurants pretty early. This strategy has been working really well as the kids get space to play and nobody else is there to be bothered.
A few people were in the restaurant with us, one of them being a nice older woman sitting a table over from us.
Alisa was hoping to meet up with a Drexel colleague for dinner, but she was unable to make it having taken a delayed overnight train the night before, so we ordered some dinner for our famished children.
The food was excellent and the kids enjoyed it. They did talk more with the lady next to us who spoke English and asked about our travels. She also told us about her five children and many grandchildren.
She asked Joey and Sammy their names. They provided names and ages for our entire family. The lady next to us smiled. Joey asked her name.
It was Louise, the owner and for whom the restaurant is named.
We thanked her for a wonderful dinner and bid adieu.
The sun was setting and we returned to the Louvre for some excellent pictures of the sunset.
We walked back to our Metro stop along the Seine, savoring our last night in Paris.
Joey and Sammy excitedly started shouting, telling us to look at the Eiffel Tower. It was sparkling with light!
We looked back and saw this beautiful show. Neither Alisa nor I had any idea this happened, but it apparently had been a tradition since 1985!
http://www.toureiffel.paris/en/everything-about-the-tower/the-illuminations.html
It was a wonderful show and we thoroughly enjoyed the walk along the Seine. Several pictures were taken but pretty much all of them failed to capture the luminous beauty of Paris at night, although this one shot comes close:
We eventually reached the Metro and boarded the train.
We did make one last stop for Joey. One of the Metro stations looked like a submarine and we had promised to stop there. This was our last chance to do so, so we did.
Joey and Sammy really enjoyed the "submarine stop" and did some good fish impressions.
We caught the next train. Lanna and Sammy passed out. Joey nearly did but held on.
They all slept deeply and soundly that night after such a long day starting at Luxembourg Gardens, then an epic playground, followed by the Louvre and finally a nice dinner at Louise's.
It would be a big day tomorrow as we headed off to the Palace of Versailles and then north near Calais, our last stop in continental Europe.
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