Walking, a tower and Monet

That is what we are doing.  I am hoping that it will paseason and I will suddenly look good in shorts!

We began our day riding the subway to the Eiffel Tower.  I have ridden may different subways in different countries but this was the first time that I have ever seen a double decker subway.  Thatmade it kind of interesting.

What is there to say about the Eiffel Tower?  It is tall, brown and every bit as cool as in the photos we have all seen.  Oneneat thing which we had Katrine do was mail her postcards there.  They will bear the Eiffel Tower stamp cancel.  Small but different.  We walked along the Champs de Mers a bit to get a better view and found a small playground.  The girls ran off some steam while wewere able to admire the tower from an angle where the crowds were blocked by trees.  The steelwork was not as there but it was actually prettier.

Then we crossed the Seine and headed to the Champs Elysses.  We were suppose to hit L’Arc de Triomph first but I made a slight planning error with maps and we ended up about halfway along.  We still saw the arch just not up close.  However, we found a great crepe stall and Glenn and the girls enjoyed a nice lunch.  Elspeth also enjoyed watching the sparrows searching forcrumbs while Katrine watched the crepes being made.

We enjoyed aleisurely walk through Tullieries Gardens with a stop at L’Orangerie to see Monet’s paintings.  Inever knew that Waterlilles could be seen in surround.  I have only ever seen a framed print.  It was WOW to walk into a room and be surrounded by his painting.  Took my breath away.  A highlight of the gardens for the girls were the carousel and playground.  All of that smiling and laughing left them in need of ice cream (did I mention that balanced diets have gone out the window?)

Then the Louvre.  There are pluses and minuses to visiting the Louvre with a stroller.  Plus, get in right away!  Minus, the stairs, and there are A LOT of them.  We saw the main highlights that we had picked before leaving but it was difficult to do the museum proper justice as  neither girl was terribly interested most of the time.  That said, Elspeth liked the mummy section while Katrenjoy referred the Mona Lisa and spyhix.  If we were redoing today I would do it in reverse order so as not to have as much disconnected for the children at the Louvre.

Right now we arerelaxing in the hotel before heading out for dinner.