Paris with Kids – Part II

In Part I, I wrote about the many joys of being in Paris with children.  While the Eiffel Tower and Louvre Museum were obvious highlights, the quiet strolls through the parks, sipping hot chocolate, and just relaxing in general weren’t bad either.

The thrill of Friday night was the Christmas Market along the Champs-Élysées.  This is a spectacular market that forms every year and a stroll along the stalls is somehow both exciting and relaxing at the same time.  This was followed by a couple spins around the famous Ferris Wheel of Paris, which gave us stunning views of the lights of Paris.

On Saturday, we were off to check out a kick-ass playground and the Guignol puppet show in the Luxemburg Gardens.  Sherry and I have always enjoyed watching children play here and were really looking forward to watching children we knew having a blast.  After paying a nominal fee, we spend the next 90 minutes with huge smiles on our faces because the kids had even bigger smiles on theirs.

At last, the bell announcing the start of the Guignol puppet show began to ring so it was off the theater.  Watching the kids watch the show, which was of course in French, convinced me of two things.  Certain things are funny, like being scared by a big hairy spider in an old château, in any language and that the true universal language has got be the laughter of children.

As the day winded down, we ate lunch in a Brasserie, shopped in the Latin Quarter, made the requisite stop at Shakespeare and Company, visited Notre Dame, and made a side trip to get the best ice cream in the world.  The day ended with a 2-hour dinner complete with view of the Eiffel Tower followed by watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle from the Trocadero, which is our favorite vantage point and where the whole adventure started.

The last part is traditional for Sherry and I and it’s how we end every trip to Paris.  What made this trip truly special was enjoying one of favorite places in the world with some of our favorite people in the world.

As for the kids, they never ceased to amaze us.  Their energy, wide-eyed bewilderment, and their laughter added a whole new dimension to this trip.  But mostly, they simply got it!  They understood what hanging out in Paris was all about and that was truly special for us.

À bientôt

Paris with Kids – Part 1

During our most recent trip to Paris, Sherry and I got to see the city from a whole new perspective.  We got the opportunity to explore the City of Lights with kids since our very good friends were joining us for a few days.  So, the stars of today’s post are Abby, who is 10, and 5-year old Graeme.

Let me just say right off that the kids were awesome!!!  They rode the Metro and buses.  They played in the parks.  The toured the Louvre Museum. They sat through 2-hour dinners. But mostly, they did what kids do best, which is live life on a whole different level and that made this trip very special for Sherry and I.

One of the first things we did was go to the Trocadero, which has the best views of the Eiffel Tower in the entire city.  After a few photos and lots of excited comments, we went down the the base.  As the adults were looking up and discussing the what it would be like to live in the area, the kids were trying to catch drops of water (condensation from fog) that were falling from the second level.  Leave it to kids to turn a 122-year old, 990 foot iron tower into a game.

Next up was Notre Dame, where there many more awestruck looks and comments.  On the way, we discovered the best way to get around with kids was by going through the parks.  This allowed the big kids (us adults) to stroll and chat while the real kids ran around, chased each other, and acted like, well, kids.

The next day, the family went to the Louvre Museum and we got to hear all about it at dinner.  Abby and Graeme were simply amazed.  You could tell they were truly soaking in that they were in Paris, in the Louvre and seeing such beautiful pieces of art.  They had also purchased pencils and sketch pads to start creating their own works of art.  At dinner, Abby asked why the Mona Lisa is the most popular painting in the world.  I just love that inquisitive side of kids.

The trip also included shopping at the Christmas markets, playing in Luxembourg Gardens, catching the Guignol puppet show, and going back to the Eiffel Tower at night, but I’ll save the rest of the tale for my next post. 

À bientôt