Paris... Pourquois Pas? (Why not?)

Eli will tell you he knows three languages now, since he can say ' please' (s'il vous plait) and 'thank you' (merci) in French. He was pretty proud of that fact. Pictures are to the right and a quick rundown is below.

Day 0 (Wed): Bit of an ominous start... Kevin bumped into a car in the parking lot (no scratches) and then we realized we had missed the train due to faulty mommy-brain when reading European times printed on tickets (you'd think i'd know by now) and arrived in Paris at bedtime instead of dinnertime and 50 penalty Euros poorer. Thankfully the kids did great on the train, which had a dining car, and we found the apartment no problem.
Day 1 (Thur): Woke up in a very cool neighborhood - too cool for us but we stayed anyway - found our way to the Eiffel Tower, then the Arc du Triomphe, and down the infamous Champs Elysee boulevard. All pretty darned neat. Eli loved the massive traffic circle around the Arc. We ate at McDonalds. Took a nap. Went to Notre Dame but were too late to climb it so walked around inside and ate dinner nearby. Then we took an hour long boat ride along the river to see the sights.
Day 2 (Fri): Montmartre (Paris' hill) and Sacre Coeur church in the morning. Strange adult men, some drunk and dressed in suits, offering to draw our kids on sketch pads at the 'artist' colony. Back to Notre Dame and climbed up, up, up to the Gargoyles and a view. Naps. Then we played at the park in the Luxembourg Garden, ate sushi (yum) and walked through the Tuileries Garden to the Louvre, which was open late for cheap with no lines. Saw 'Mona' and 'Venus' then hightailed it home. Felt cool to be in a room with the most famous painting in the world, I must admit.
Day 3 (Sat): Musee D'Orsay for an hour with Monet, Manet, VanGogh and other greats. Sat on a bridge exhausted for awhile. Ate at McDonalds (don't laugh, we have kids). Went shopping at Gallery Lafayette (Paris invented the gigantic department store idea) and Eli got.... a toy car (shocker). Naps. Explored our neighborhood and then Les Halles - a magnificently large underground mall complex where most of Paris lives or hangs out (no tourists except for us) - and had ice cream (Ben & Jerry's!) before bed.
Day 4 (Sun): Saint Chapelle royal chapel with it's incredible 800 year old stained glass was our first stop. And there was a Sunday-only bird market nearby. Large guys bartering around a bird cage and huge sacks of birdseed. Not something one sees every day. Then we slipped into the Rodin Museum gardens to see his famous bronze works before we headed back to the apartment to pack, struggle our luggage to the train station, and go home. Kids were tired and Mary was impossible but we made it (whew!) home.... 4 weeks to the day until we fly for hours and hours and hours with a toddler on a small airplane to Phoenix. Can't wait!

Other Paris Notes: The Metro is a blessing and a curse. You can go anywhere BUT you're lugging your stroller and kids up and down thousands of stairs (and calling the stroller several kinds of names when it gets stuck in the entry/exit gates). The kids love it, the parents not so much. Naps are a must - at least for the adults. The stroller becomes an advantage at famous attractions because you're considered like the handicapped and get to take an elevator - when everyone else has to take the stairs. At the Rodin Museum we got to go past the entire looooong line of people directly to the front and right into the gardens because of the stroller. Mary would charm the guards and Eli would be cute so really, kids can be a plus. The negative is you don't get to stay very long at any one place. Eli walked and climbed and walked and climbed... he was terrific. Mary did really pretty well for a toddler. We had a great time. Come on over and we'll go with you, too.