Paris

So, about a month and a half ago, we decided to go to Paris.  It's probably my favorite city in the world and I couldn't wait to show it to the kids.  I did learn, however, that Paris with kids is a whole other experience -- good, yes -- but different:  no walking for hours, soaking up the atmosphere; no lingering all afternoon over a cocktail or cup of coffee in cafes; no spending an entire day in the Louvre.  Instead, we did short bursts of walking, a max of two hours per museum, punctuated by frequent stops for crepes, ice cream, pastries or other snacks.  All in all, it was a good trip, but it was much better after I readjusted my expectations and realized it was unreasonable to expect a three- and five-year-old to spend six hours walking around, enjoying the "atmosphere."  They're not much into that.

Anyway, the kids were both impressed by Notre Dame:

But the Eiffel Tower really knocked their socks off:

Especially the view from the top:

We spent a few hours in the Luxembourg Gardens, and Will loved sailing boats in the basin:

Kate loved the carriage ride, pulled by the most adorable little ponies.  It didn't hurt that the driver insisted on calling her "Princess Kate":

By this point, though, the kids were cold, tired and grumpy.

And so were we.  But a trip to Shakespeare and Company for some English-language books cheered them right up.

This improved my mood considerably:

We did manage to squeeze in quite a few museums while we were there.  

The Rodin Museum (my favorite):

The Pompidou Center.  Kate, apparently, is a modern art fan.  She said she could stand in front of this one forever:

And she loved this because it had people hiding in it:

She made me take her photo with many paintings.  They won't all be posted here.  

The Louvre: 

Kate loved the Venus de Milo:

But she found the Mona Lisa disappointing:

Will wasn't impressed either.  He doesn't take great art very seriously:

Anything Egyptian, however, is another story.  Look at that face:

This is a boy who clearly knows he is in the presence of greatness.

He made me take his picture with EVERY object containing hieroglyphics.    His plan was to use the pictures later at home to decipher the writing.

Do you know how many items there are in the Louvre with hieroglyphics on them?

I don't either.  But there are a lot.  Once again, they won't all be posted here.

Right outside the Louvre, we found a guy blowing giant bubbles.  The kids loved this:

Until Will got soap in his eye. 

That hurt.  And then the fun was over.

After Roger and Will wore out each afternoon, about 3 p.m., I'd stick Kate in the stroller and walk around the city for a few hours.  She loved it, especially the shopping (we did LOTS of that) and all the Eiffel Tower sightings. Each time, she'd say, "So many Eiffel Towers, Mama.  There are so many Eiffel Towers in Paris!"  By the end of the day, though, I had one very tired little girl:

But it was nice to see the city with someone who clearly loved it as much as I do.  By the end of the trip, Kate said she wanted to live in Paris.  A girl after my own heart...