During this trip, we stayed outside the city proper in a gorgeous townhouse and used the very handy RER, or what I would call a commuter rail at home, to get in and out of the city each day. Ideally we stay in the city but this was lovely, affordable and we enjoyed seeing the countryside. We also traveled in February - another way to stretch those euros and enjoy smaller crowds. Stay tuned for post about the benefits of off-season travel! In the meantime, here's a snapshot of a day in Paris with kids, ages 7 and 10.
We began with a walk through the lovely streets of la rive gauche after a little later start. We headed to sample the famous beef bourguignon at our daughter's friend's favorite restaurant (she was seven at the time:-) which is a teeny tiny place in the 6th arrondissement. Alas no famous bourguignon because we were there for lunch but still delicious and our girl was thrilled to be there. We had ordered what we thought was a charcuterie special but was actually choucroute, an Alsatian dish of sauerkraut with potatoes, sausages and thick bacon. Lost in translation but so good! In addition to boiled eggs with homemade mayo and 2 cottage pies, we were plenty sated to head out and explore the 1st arrondissement.
A march over Le Pont Royal, a grand tour of Les Tuileries, including a 30 minute stop at the playground where my son (age 10) could be heard tossing "au revoirs" casually over his shoulder to his new found friends, 2 stops at the pay-to-bounce trampolines and finally at Place de la Concorde - gorgeous and busy - like all of Paris. We hit the L'Orangerie, a perfect museum - 2 floors packed with treasures - Monets, Renoirs and even a few Picassos - check! But alas the Louvre was waiting. Well it could wait a bit longer...we walked along Rue de Rivoli and hit our old favorite petit dejeurner spot, Angelina. We wrapped up some pastries which we munched while watching the kids play with the boats in the ponds of the Tuileries. Time head to the pyramid with another bonus for traveling in February...no line. It also helped that it was 5:00 but it's the late night at the Louvre so all was well. A couple hour audio tour was perfect. Such a fascinating place, both the art and the palace itself, and we could have spent days there but we were starting to fade. We headed towards home to enjoy our collection of cheeses and pates that we had amassed in 3 arrondissements the day before. A good night sleep and more adventures tomorrow!
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