Four Americans in Paris

We are back!

Paris was amazing, overwhelming, exhausting, difficult, and gorgeous all at once.

We were complete and utter tourists in Paris.

I had never laid eyes on the Eiffel Tower and didn't expect to be overwhelmed by its beauty and sheer structure. But I was.

On our friend Joe's recommendation, we stayed near the Eiffel Tower (hereafter ET) and originally worried that that might feel a little like staying in Times Square in New York City, but like staying in Times Square, it was convenient and offered a bit of something every time we walked by even to just catch a bus.

Plus, we got to see its tip from our hotel room!

On one occasion while Johnny and I waited for Sheila and Maggie to get ready for the day, we walked over and sat in the park and sketched, and read. It was lovely.

Staying next to the ET also allowed us to see it at night and the surprise it offers on the hour! (Note, there will be a video inserted here. For some reason our internet is not letting me upload it at the moment).

We learned a lot about traveling together this weekend. . . Lessons we will take with us in our future travels.

The biggest lesson is that all have different energy levels and stamina. Maggie is sort of our bellwether, letting us know when we are about to have gone too far, done too much, or added too many things on our "to do" list. Paris is huge and sprawling and, particularly on Saturday, we took too big of a bite. We didn't realize how much time it would take to get between each place and just how much energy that would take. By the end of the evening, Sheila and I were bringing a pizza back to our hotel room and we were watching "White Fang" on tv in French.

On the day that did us in (Saturday) we headed up to Sacre Coeur and the Montmartre neighborhood where Sheila promised us that in exchange for checking out a cool old church (I jest--about the church, not about the crepes) we could get some tasty crepes in a cool medieval neighborhood and then check out a crazy graveyard. Sheila found a great "hop-on-hop-off" tourbus that we relied on for both Saturday and Sunday.

She was right. 

We tried quick stops at the Republic neighborhood and Notre Dame but most of us (and by that I mean all but my energizer-bunny, Sheila) were worn out and ready for a cat-nap.

On Sunday we were much less ambitious, rising later (all but Maggie who I think finished all four Twilight books in the hotel lobby waiting for us to rouse in the morning) and enjoying a leisurely breakfast.

We headed to the Musee D'Orsay where kids get in free (!) to get a good look at some impressionism.

Clock in the M'O

It was a blast listening to the audio tour with Johnny. He'd rush ahead and find the paintings with numbers and we'd listen and talk about what we were seeing. One of the joys of traveling with kids is that you just can't take anything too seriously or focus on the more academic stuff too much. It was enough to notice that the impressionists focused on the outdoors and that they were, somehow, capturing movement with their quick brushstrokes and the way that images would dissolve into each other. 

They also had awesome espresso there. You're noticing the theme of the second day: slow down and rejuvenate more.

Sheila and I stole quick trips to other floors (some of Van Gogh and Gaugan's work is at the museum as well) as Maggie read and Johnny played on his DS.


Then it was back on the bus where Maggie and I headed up to the Arc de Triomphe while Johnny and Sheila headed back (we had learned our lesson from the day before that rest and a little split-up-time really helps matters).

Sheila, Johnny and I on the "ho-ho" bus!

 

Maggie at Arc de Triomphe (prior picture was completely photo bombed by unwitting tourists!)

More Arc!

 That night we headed up to the top of the ET. It was thrilling and scary.

The Seine from the top of the ET, its strobe light showing.

 Today was our last day. Maggie worked a bit more on the Twilight series while Johnny, Sheila and I navigated the Metro for one quick glimpse of Notre Dame (another espresso) and the feel of the sun and crowds at the square in front. Johnny and I stayed on the stairs and sketched a bit while Sheila took a walk to see the "flying buttresses" (I don't think Johnny ever heard us talking about them or he'd still be laughing... Boy humor.).

Loved Paris, the size and crowds and sun, but heading "home" felt great.

S'long Paris -- we will be back! We learned a lot about traveling together and I'm sure that our memory of events will ultimately feel very different from some of the hard parts of our lived experience.*

 *Daniel Kahneman has a great Ted Talk about this. It's worth your listen!