Trip Report: Christmas in Paris with 9- and 10-year-old kids
Feb 3rd, 2016, 03:15 AM
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thanks so much for such a wonderful report. I am amazed at your memory (did you keep notes of all of this or are you just recollecting?) We have 7 year old twin granddaughters whom we just took on their first European trip to Germany. Hope to take the to Paris some future year so this is very helpful to us.
Feb 3rd, 2016, 05:31 PM
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I would love if you would teach other parents to teach their kids not stop in the middle of crowded, trafficky places...We saw a literal pile up on an escalator in Paris a few years ago because of stopping in traffic. It sounds you you did a great job managing and navigating with two pretty young travelers!
Feb 3rd, 2016, 07:17 PM
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brubenow, we were in Paris over Christmas, and visited Notre Dame (the first time) on Christmas Eve. So the level of security given the recent attacks and the holiday wasn’t…shocking, I guess. But it was still surprising. I mean, we saw a lot of security before heading to Notre Dame, but it was just so overwhelming there. Also, it was very uncoordinated, which led Mr TigerMac to think they were responding to some kind of ‘credible threat’. I figured the kind of haphazard organization meant they were taking larger-than-normal precautions post-attacks over Christmas Eve and Christmas. I’ll get into this later in our trip, but, sure enough, after Christmas Day, the big fence surrounding Notre Dame (and the larger number of soldiers/police) were gone.
JulieVikmanis, as I mentioned in the first post, I’ve been writing this report in my head since Paris! I think that helped me retain certain experiences I thought were worthy of reporting on. But we took a ton of pictures, and I posted regularly on facebook, so I’ve been using that day-to-day history as a guide. Looking at a picture from a specific day really does bring things back for me!
And…onward!
TRIP REPORT, Day 2 in Paris, part 3:
Once escaping the security around Notre Dame, we find ourselves on Rue du Cloitre Notre-Dame, the street that passes along the north side of the church. There are places to eat here, and souvenir shops here…we skip the food, but Nine is drawn into the shops.
Hint traveling with older kids (and husbands): I warned the boys and reminded Mr TigerMac that in shops in Paris, you look with your eyes, not your hands. I talked to the boys about this more than once, simply because there are so many stores in our area where touching and using and playing with items for sale is encouraged. They did a really good job remembering this, after the first shop
.
Relatives from both sides of the family sent Ten and Nine Euros to spend in Paris; Ten is a careful shopper and saver. Nine can feel the money burning a hole in his pocket (even though I’m carrying it).
So we enter the first store, and both boys are mesmerized by the cheap, shiny, glittering wall-to-wall plethora of ‘cashnear’ scarves, Eiffel Tower soaps, and Arch de Triumph coasters. Seriously, though, there are some funs things to be had, so fun that Nine forgets himself and grabs at a pink plastic thing (I think it was a gargoyle) to show his brother. The lady behind the center counter snaps her fingers and reprimands him (in English and then in French) for touching; she’s sharp, but not mean…I get the impression that she has to do this many times a day.
We visit three shops and Nine eventually buys a little cat stuffy (stuffed animal, but they don’t call them that these days). Note, he can buy this stuffy anywhere in the world, but, hey, he bought it in Paris. I don’t remember which shop he bought it in, I just remember that every shop pretty much had the same things in them.
As Nine is going from shop-to-shop, but he and Ten ask me if I could buy a few surprises for them to have the next day (which, remember, is Christmas).
Now, leading up to the trip to Paris, I told both boys they’d get Christmas from ‘Santa’ (they each get three Santa presents a year, and they know it’s from me and their dad) but that Santa’s presents wouldn’t be as large as normal nor would they get those presents on Christmas Day...they’d have to wait until we got home. They were both ok with that, especially since I assured them they’d still have a little something in a stocking on Christmas Day.
So I agree to buy a few fun things from Paris to include in their stocking just about the time they spot the park behind Notre Dame (which I think is called Square Jean XXIII via a google map). I send them off with Mr TM to the park and proceed to buy: a tiny Notre Dame and Arch de Triumph, leather coin purses (so they can keep some Euros on them the rest of the trip), two bags of chocolate Euros, Eiffel Tower themed picture frames (to hold a photo from our trip once we’re back home), and two black berets.
Purchases made, I head over to the park, which has a play area that includes a big swing and this round, elevated, rotating platform that kids can jump on and spin around and around and around on. The boys are spinning on the platform when I arrive, and then Notre Dame’s bells start ringing…I take a quick video so that the moment is preserved.
It’s about 4 at this point, and the boys/hobbits say they’re hungry again. Ile Saint-Louis is just over the bridge behind the park, so off we go in search of sustenance. I know that Berthillon is somewhere on Ile Saint-Louis, but am not exactly sure where it is. So we wander down the island’s center street (Rue Saint-Louis en Ile). We pass a rock/mineral shop that Mr TM remembers visiting during that Thanksgiving week trip years before; I’d totally forgotten about that shop, but once he mentions it, I remember us spending a while there and eventually purchasing a nice garnet sample (Mr TM is a collector! It’s called Gallerie Kara, and it’s amazing its still open and in the same place 10 plus years later…a theme we’d encounter more than once).
A few doors down from the rock shop is a little place that has Berthillon glaces. It’s not THE Berthillon, but it’s got a nice selection and is empty, and as Ten and Nine are impatient, we head inside. A very patient lady behind the counter explains the different flavors for us. I select a coffee-flavored glace, Mr TM and Nine select chocolate, and Ten selects vanilla. Yes, I am the only adventurous one in the group! We exit and walk along, heading back toward the left bank while eating. Mr TM asks to sample my cone. I pass it over, and he proceeds to take most of it with one bite without realizing how much he was taking (note: the scoops on the cones here are not large. Mr TM feels bad. I take a large bite of his chocolate as payback, and it’s very very very good chocolate).
Dusk is upon us, but it’s still too early to head to the Eiffel Tower. So we head across a bridge and onto the Left Bank, where we wander around for a bit and end up on Blvd Saint-Germaine (in the 5th, south of Ile Saint-Louis). The area is lively, especially the closer we get to the 6th Arrondissement.
We find a health food store, which I duck into because I see a wall of produce…and I forgot a few things for Christmas dinner. I scoop up garlic and a few lemons. And some wine. We have some red at the apartment, but the store has some nice-looking 5 Euro bottles of white and rose. And I get the boys a variety of cookies for desert. I also look for a razor for Mr Tiger Mac (who forgot his), but the store doesn’t carry these kinds of times.
We walk a bit further and find a little FranPrix. Mr TM goes inside in search of a razor. The boys and I wait outside. Ten decides he needs to rest, so he finds a quiet space next to the grocery store. This space is the threshold of huge double door…you know, the kind that lead into an apartment/residential space. So I ask Ten to scoot over to the corner of the threshold and then try to calm Nine down (who is running back and forth along the sidewalk).
About a minute after Ten sits down in the corner of the threshold, the door that he’s not leaning against opens…and out prances a teeny dog, who turns and looks at Ten (and I swear, the dog looked surprised to see him). 30 seconds later, out comes a little older lady in a long coat who…turns and looks at Ten, and she IS surprised to see this young person lounging along the door leading to her residence. Ten gives her the sweetest smile and says, “Bonjour.” After about a second (she’s still surprised to see this kid in her doorway), she gives him an equally sweet smile and says, “Bonjour!”
Now…I am trying to reign in Nine at this point (because he just wants to RUN), and Mr TM is still in the FranPrix, which means Ten is on his own. The nice older lady and he have a very short conversation where he remembers some of his French (he remembered ‘je suis’ when she asked his name). She wishes him a good Christmas (in French, but Ten understood and said “Merry Christmas” back in English). It was very, very sweet. I don’t know if Ten will remember this little moment in Paris, but I think I’ll remember it forever. He was just so earnest in trying to communicate with her, and she seemed to get a real kick out of finding this English-speaking kid who was taking a break on her doorstep and who was more than happy to muddle his way through his limited French in order to have a conversation.
The teeny dog, by the way, stood in one place without moving the entire time…with a very bored look on his face, lol.
Once Mr TM was out of FranPrix with his razors and a few other items, it was most definitely dark enough to head over to the Eiffel Tower.
That’s up in the next part, along with my favorite Santa ever.
JulieVikmanis, as I mentioned in the first post, I’ve been writing this report in my head since Paris! I think that helped me retain certain experiences I thought were worthy of reporting on. But we took a ton of pictures, and I posted regularly on facebook, so I’ve been using that day-to-day history as a guide. Looking at a picture from a specific day really does bring things back for me!
And…onward!
TRIP REPORT, Day 2 in Paris, part 3:
Once escaping the security around Notre Dame, we find ourselves on Rue du Cloitre Notre-Dame, the street that passes along the north side of the church. There are places to eat here, and souvenir shops here…we skip the food, but Nine is drawn into the shops.
Hint traveling with older kids (and husbands): I warned the boys and reminded Mr TigerMac that in shops in Paris, you look with your eyes, not your hands. I talked to the boys about this more than once, simply because there are so many stores in our area where touching and using and playing with items for sale is encouraged. They did a really good job remembering this, after the first shop
.Relatives from both sides of the family sent Ten and Nine Euros to spend in Paris; Ten is a careful shopper and saver. Nine can feel the money burning a hole in his pocket (even though I’m carrying it).
So we enter the first store, and both boys are mesmerized by the cheap, shiny, glittering wall-to-wall plethora of ‘cashnear’ scarves, Eiffel Tower soaps, and Arch de Triumph coasters. Seriously, though, there are some funs things to be had, so fun that Nine forgets himself and grabs at a pink plastic thing (I think it was a gargoyle) to show his brother. The lady behind the center counter snaps her fingers and reprimands him (in English and then in French) for touching; she’s sharp, but not mean…I get the impression that she has to do this many times a day.
We visit three shops and Nine eventually buys a little cat stuffy (stuffed animal, but they don’t call them that these days). Note, he can buy this stuffy anywhere in the world, but, hey, he bought it in Paris. I don’t remember which shop he bought it in, I just remember that every shop pretty much had the same things in them.
As Nine is going from shop-to-shop, but he and Ten ask me if I could buy a few surprises for them to have the next day (which, remember, is Christmas).
Now, leading up to the trip to Paris, I told both boys they’d get Christmas from ‘Santa’ (they each get three Santa presents a year, and they know it’s from me and their dad) but that Santa’s presents wouldn’t be as large as normal nor would they get those presents on Christmas Day...they’d have to wait until we got home. They were both ok with that, especially since I assured them they’d still have a little something in a stocking on Christmas Day.
So I agree to buy a few fun things from Paris to include in their stocking just about the time they spot the park behind Notre Dame (which I think is called Square Jean XXIII via a google map). I send them off with Mr TM to the park and proceed to buy: a tiny Notre Dame and Arch de Triumph, leather coin purses (so they can keep some Euros on them the rest of the trip), two bags of chocolate Euros, Eiffel Tower themed picture frames (to hold a photo from our trip once we’re back home), and two black berets.
Purchases made, I head over to the park, which has a play area that includes a big swing and this round, elevated, rotating platform that kids can jump on and spin around and around and around on. The boys are spinning on the platform when I arrive, and then Notre Dame’s bells start ringing…I take a quick video so that the moment is preserved.
It’s about 4 at this point, and the boys/hobbits say they’re hungry again. Ile Saint-Louis is just over the bridge behind the park, so off we go in search of sustenance. I know that Berthillon is somewhere on Ile Saint-Louis, but am not exactly sure where it is. So we wander down the island’s center street (Rue Saint-Louis en Ile). We pass a rock/mineral shop that Mr TM remembers visiting during that Thanksgiving week trip years before; I’d totally forgotten about that shop, but once he mentions it, I remember us spending a while there and eventually purchasing a nice garnet sample (Mr TM is a collector! It’s called Gallerie Kara, and it’s amazing its still open and in the same place 10 plus years later…a theme we’d encounter more than once).
A few doors down from the rock shop is a little place that has Berthillon glaces. It’s not THE Berthillon, but it’s got a nice selection and is empty, and as Ten and Nine are impatient, we head inside. A very patient lady behind the counter explains the different flavors for us. I select a coffee-flavored glace, Mr TM and Nine select chocolate, and Ten selects vanilla. Yes, I am the only adventurous one in the group! We exit and walk along, heading back toward the left bank while eating. Mr TM asks to sample my cone. I pass it over, and he proceeds to take most of it with one bite without realizing how much he was taking (note: the scoops on the cones here are not large. Mr TM feels bad. I take a large bite of his chocolate as payback, and it’s very very very good chocolate).
Dusk is upon us, but it’s still too early to head to the Eiffel Tower. So we head across a bridge and onto the Left Bank, where we wander around for a bit and end up on Blvd Saint-Germaine (in the 5th, south of Ile Saint-Louis). The area is lively, especially the closer we get to the 6th Arrondissement.
We find a health food store, which I duck into because I see a wall of produce…and I forgot a few things for Christmas dinner. I scoop up garlic and a few lemons. And some wine. We have some red at the apartment, but the store has some nice-looking 5 Euro bottles of white and rose. And I get the boys a variety of cookies for desert. I also look for a razor for Mr Tiger Mac (who forgot his), but the store doesn’t carry these kinds of times.
We walk a bit further and find a little FranPrix. Mr TM goes inside in search of a razor. The boys and I wait outside. Ten decides he needs to rest, so he finds a quiet space next to the grocery store. This space is the threshold of huge double door…you know, the kind that lead into an apartment/residential space. So I ask Ten to scoot over to the corner of the threshold and then try to calm Nine down (who is running back and forth along the sidewalk).
About a minute after Ten sits down in the corner of the threshold, the door that he’s not leaning against opens…and out prances a teeny dog, who turns and looks at Ten (and I swear, the dog looked surprised to see him). 30 seconds later, out comes a little older lady in a long coat who…turns and looks at Ten, and she IS surprised to see this young person lounging along the door leading to her residence. Ten gives her the sweetest smile and says, “Bonjour.” After about a second (she’s still surprised to see this kid in her doorway), she gives him an equally sweet smile and says, “Bonjour!”
Now…I am trying to reign in Nine at this point (because he just wants to RUN), and Mr TM is still in the FranPrix, which means Ten is on his own. The nice older lady and he have a very short conversation where he remembers some of his French (he remembered ‘je suis’ when she asked his name). She wishes him a good Christmas (in French, but Ten understood and said “Merry Christmas” back in English). It was very, very sweet. I don’t know if Ten will remember this little moment in Paris, but I think I’ll remember it forever. He was just so earnest in trying to communicate with her, and she seemed to get a real kick out of finding this English-speaking kid who was taking a break on her doorstep and who was more than happy to muddle his way through his limited French in order to have a conversation.
The teeny dog, by the way, stood in one place without moving the entire time…with a very bored look on his face, lol.
Once Mr TM was out of FranPrix with his razors and a few other items, it was most definitely dark enough to head over to the Eiffel Tower.
That’s up in the next part, along with my favorite Santa ever.
Feb 3rd, 2016, 07:33 PM
#47
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My apologies, TigerMcQueen- the title of your post does say "Christmas", but for some reason I was thinking you had written September somewhere. Thus, the reason for my mistaken question about security in September at Notre Dame. It makes more sense to have the increased security over the holidays. Sorry for the confusion!
Really enjoying your trip report... keep it coming!
Really enjoying your trip report... keep it coming!
Feb 8th, 2016, 06:43 PM
#51
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So it's been a crazy week at work, with a deadline looming. And we might get more snow tomorrow (anywhere form 4 or so to 9 inches). I'm allowing myself to stay up a little later than normal to work this next update...and here's hoping for a snow day or at least a delayed start to the day!
TRIP REPORT, Day 2 in Paris, part 4:
Eiffel Tower and santa.
After hitting the health food store for a few groceries and the FranPrix for razors, it's time to head over to the Eiffel Tower, something Ten has been looking forward to since he was a toddler (seriously).
We have walked a huge loop through the 5th, just south of the islands in the Seine and make our way back to where we started...the St Michel metro stop. I pass out carnets, and as we board the train to head toward the Eiffel Tower, I tell Mr TigerMac that our stop is Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel. Nine hands me his ticket, Ten hangs onto his.
Mr TigerMac, who wears a hearing aid at work, does not hear me about the stop we were supposed to take (he did not take the hearing aid on vacation). As we approach the stop La Tour Maubourg, he insists that this is our stop. I assume that he has studied a map and that the stop is close to the tower. I am wrong.
But, it turns out that it's not that far to walk. We exit the station with some confusion...the exit/ticket gates are wide open, so we don't need to use our tickets. I collect everyone's half-used tickets and put them in a third vest pocket and hope I remember that they are still able to be used.
We exit La Tour Maubourg, and while it's not next to the Eiffel Tower, it's a somewhat short walk along the Seine to the tower. There's a wide park along this stretch, with a wide path, so the boys run ahead. The tower itself looms above us in all her glory. The weather is still mild, the sky is clear, and we were thrilled.
As we approach Pont d'Lena (the bridge that connects the right bank across from the tower with the left), we find a handful of booths...selling food, vin chaud, etc. There are more booths on the other side of the tower, at its foot and stretching along Champ de Mars, but we are not interested in shopping just now. We want to climb the tower.
The line to go up is *short* compared to what we saw on our earlier trip and later this trip. The one we approach is inside the metal gates and a sign indicated that it was a short 20 minute wait to get an elevator to go up. We get in line...and notice a sign saying no glass bottles are allowed on the tower. Mr TM has a backpack with wine in it...so...
So he offers to hang out at the Christmas market while we go up (Mr TM was humoring us about the tower; three trips to Paris, and he's never been tempted to go up the before). We agree to meet by the river in an hour; Ten, Nine, and I stay in line, and in about 15 more minutes, we are buying our tickets.
We had a short debate about how high to go up. Ten wanted to go to the top, Nine HATES heights but was humoring his brother and said he'd go to the second level. I was ok with either. Ten agrees that the second level is fine, so we purchase the cheaper tickets and head to the elevators.
Not much to report here. There was more security before getting to the elevators (bag check only), and the ride up to the second level was an elevator ride. It was packed, so we couldn't see too much.
But once we got out (on the upper deck of the Eiffel Tower's second level), Ten was in HEAVEN. He wanted to stay up there forever (Nine, poor thing, was clinging to an interior wall). I took a few photos of Ten enjoying the view (he is so happy in these pics)...and we went along all four sides (Nine hugging the wall the whole way). The wind really kicked up at this point, so much that even Ten wanted to head down a level. So we went down a set of stairs, where we found food and shops on the base of the second level.
The hobbits suddenly want more food, so we stand in line to buy sandwiches and Kinder eggs (wine for me). We eat quickly and head to the shop on that level, where I find Eiffel Tower shaped pasta for gifts.
After eating, Nine is brave again and agrees to head back up to the top of the second level, and we find one of those scope/binocular things to put a few Euros in. We're on the Champs-Elysées side of the tower, so the boys find the Arch de Triumph and the market and the Big Ferris Wheel before time runs out on their scope. The wind is even stronger, and Nine is getting nervous, so we decide it's time to go meet Mr TM.
Unlike the trip up, the trip down has very few people in the elevator. We're out quickly and walking toward the river and the first booths we ran into earlier that evening.
As we approach, there's a HUGE blast of sirens...sirens that just go on and on and ON, and they are by the river, in the direction we're heading. To be honest, I got a bit nervous. Mr TM was meeting us in a somewhat crowded spot, and I cannot help but wonder if something is wrong.
But the sirens fade away, and after five minutes, Mr TM is spotted.
It's funny...as soon as we approach, he asks is we heard the sirens and explains that he watched a huge motorcade of cops on motorbikes cross the Pont d'Lena...and one of the bikes had a sidecar with SANTA riding along. He said it was fun to see and hoped we'd seen a bit of it. We did not. I do not tell him I was worried when I heard the sirens
.
Because there I was, quietly but sincerely worried, and it was the Parisian version of Santa riding through a neighborhood...only instead of riding on a fire truck (as he does in our town), he was in a motorbike sidecar and had a huge escort of bikes with him.
I was sad that the boys and I missed it all, but as everyone was hungry again, we shrugged off our disappointment and headed back toward the Maubourg metro stop (because we knew where it was and did not run across the one closer to the Eiffel Tower).
We got lucky...as we were walking along the park that lines the Seine on the way to Maubourg, we heard sirens again. So we stopped to look and...the tower started twinkling...and we could see the motorcade of bikes heading back across the Pont d'Lena, and they turned and headed in our direction! So we stopped and watched as HUGE continent of bikes with sirens blaring drove past us. And there was Santa in a motorbike side car, waving and laughing. It was just amazing, because it turns out that unlike home (where Santa makes one trip on the truck and heads back to the fire station), this group was going around and around and around in a big loop, giving people lots of chances to see Santa on Christmas Eve. I like to think that whoever played Santa that night had lots of good wine and fun stories to tell his kids when he got home from work that night!
Seeing Santa with the Eiffel Tower twinkling in the background was probably one of our favorite parts of Paris. I managed to get a quick video of the tower all lit up and sparkly to send to my mom (who went to Paris once recently and said that was her favorite part).
It was still 'early' when we got back to our apartment, maybe 7 pm. I whipped up a meal of sauteed onions and ham with pasta and eggs, and we toasted a baguette that we getting stale with cheese to have with it. It was a fun Christmas Eve dinner. We found a French version of a Christmas Carol on the TV while we ate.
Note: we mostly ate in our apartment at night with only a few meals outside. However, I saw lots of places that had kids of all ages eating in them (usually early in the evening), so there are definitely kid-friendly eating out options in Paris. It just worked better for our family to eat in our rental. I'll go into the pros and cons of this a bit more in another update.
By 9, the boys were showered and on the sofa bed (they agreed to sleep downstairs). Mr TM and I had a bit of wine on our balcony, before he headed up for bed. I made the kid's stockings (I used the berets I bought earlier for the actual stockings), set them up by the side of the sofa bed, and headed up to bed myself.
Next up: Christmas Day, the Arch de Triumph, and Star Wars everywhere.
TRIP REPORT, Day 2 in Paris, part 4:
Eiffel Tower and santa.
After hitting the health food store for a few groceries and the FranPrix for razors, it's time to head over to the Eiffel Tower, something Ten has been looking forward to since he was a toddler (seriously).
We have walked a huge loop through the 5th, just south of the islands in the Seine and make our way back to where we started...the St Michel metro stop. I pass out carnets, and as we board the train to head toward the Eiffel Tower, I tell Mr TigerMac that our stop is Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel. Nine hands me his ticket, Ten hangs onto his.
Mr TigerMac, who wears a hearing aid at work, does not hear me about the stop we were supposed to take (he did not take the hearing aid on vacation). As we approach the stop La Tour Maubourg, he insists that this is our stop. I assume that he has studied a map and that the stop is close to the tower. I am wrong.
But, it turns out that it's not that far to walk. We exit the station with some confusion...the exit/ticket gates are wide open, so we don't need to use our tickets. I collect everyone's half-used tickets and put them in a third vest pocket and hope I remember that they are still able to be used.
We exit La Tour Maubourg, and while it's not next to the Eiffel Tower, it's a somewhat short walk along the Seine to the tower. There's a wide park along this stretch, with a wide path, so the boys run ahead. The tower itself looms above us in all her glory. The weather is still mild, the sky is clear, and we were thrilled.
As we approach Pont d'Lena (the bridge that connects the right bank across from the tower with the left), we find a handful of booths...selling food, vin chaud, etc. There are more booths on the other side of the tower, at its foot and stretching along Champ de Mars, but we are not interested in shopping just now. We want to climb the tower.
The line to go up is *short* compared to what we saw on our earlier trip and later this trip. The one we approach is inside the metal gates and a sign indicated that it was a short 20 minute wait to get an elevator to go up. We get in line...and notice a sign saying no glass bottles are allowed on the tower. Mr TM has a backpack with wine in it...so...
So he offers to hang out at the Christmas market while we go up (Mr TM was humoring us about the tower; three trips to Paris, and he's never been tempted to go up the before). We agree to meet by the river in an hour; Ten, Nine, and I stay in line, and in about 15 more minutes, we are buying our tickets.
We had a short debate about how high to go up. Ten wanted to go to the top, Nine HATES heights but was humoring his brother and said he'd go to the second level. I was ok with either. Ten agrees that the second level is fine, so we purchase the cheaper tickets and head to the elevators.
Not much to report here. There was more security before getting to the elevators (bag check only), and the ride up to the second level was an elevator ride. It was packed, so we couldn't see too much.
But once we got out (on the upper deck of the Eiffel Tower's second level), Ten was in HEAVEN. He wanted to stay up there forever (Nine, poor thing, was clinging to an interior wall). I took a few photos of Ten enjoying the view (he is so happy in these pics)...and we went along all four sides (Nine hugging the wall the whole way). The wind really kicked up at this point, so much that even Ten wanted to head down a level. So we went down a set of stairs, where we found food and shops on the base of the second level.
The hobbits suddenly want more food, so we stand in line to buy sandwiches and Kinder eggs (wine for me). We eat quickly and head to the shop on that level, where I find Eiffel Tower shaped pasta for gifts.
After eating, Nine is brave again and agrees to head back up to the top of the second level, and we find one of those scope/binocular things to put a few Euros in. We're on the Champs-Elysées side of the tower, so the boys find the Arch de Triumph and the market and the Big Ferris Wheel before time runs out on their scope. The wind is even stronger, and Nine is getting nervous, so we decide it's time to go meet Mr TM.
Unlike the trip up, the trip down has very few people in the elevator. We're out quickly and walking toward the river and the first booths we ran into earlier that evening.
As we approach, there's a HUGE blast of sirens...sirens that just go on and on and ON, and they are by the river, in the direction we're heading. To be honest, I got a bit nervous. Mr TM was meeting us in a somewhat crowded spot, and I cannot help but wonder if something is wrong.
But the sirens fade away, and after five minutes, Mr TM is spotted.
It's funny...as soon as we approach, he asks is we heard the sirens and explains that he watched a huge motorcade of cops on motorbikes cross the Pont d'Lena...and one of the bikes had a sidecar with SANTA riding along. He said it was fun to see and hoped we'd seen a bit of it. We did not. I do not tell him I was worried when I heard the sirens
.Because there I was, quietly but sincerely worried, and it was the Parisian version of Santa riding through a neighborhood...only instead of riding on a fire truck (as he does in our town), he was in a motorbike sidecar and had a huge escort of bikes with him.
I was sad that the boys and I missed it all, but as everyone was hungry again, we shrugged off our disappointment and headed back toward the Maubourg metro stop (because we knew where it was and did not run across the one closer to the Eiffel Tower).
We got lucky...as we were walking along the park that lines the Seine on the way to Maubourg, we heard sirens again. So we stopped to look and...the tower started twinkling...and we could see the motorcade of bikes heading back across the Pont d'Lena, and they turned and headed in our direction! So we stopped and watched as HUGE continent of bikes with sirens blaring drove past us. And there was Santa in a motorbike side car, waving and laughing. It was just amazing, because it turns out that unlike home (where Santa makes one trip on the truck and heads back to the fire station), this group was going around and around and around in a big loop, giving people lots of chances to see Santa on Christmas Eve. I like to think that whoever played Santa that night had lots of good wine and fun stories to tell his kids when he got home from work that night!
Seeing Santa with the Eiffel Tower twinkling in the background was probably one of our favorite parts of Paris. I managed to get a quick video of the tower all lit up and sparkly to send to my mom (who went to Paris once recently and said that was her favorite part).
It was still 'early' when we got back to our apartment, maybe 7 pm. I whipped up a meal of sauteed onions and ham with pasta and eggs, and we toasted a baguette that we getting stale with cheese to have with it. It was a fun Christmas Eve dinner. We found a French version of a Christmas Carol on the TV while we ate.
Note: we mostly ate in our apartment at night with only a few meals outside. However, I saw lots of places that had kids of all ages eating in them (usually early in the evening), so there are definitely kid-friendly eating out options in Paris. It just worked better for our family to eat in our rental. I'll go into the pros and cons of this a bit more in another update.
By 9, the boys were showered and on the sofa bed (they agreed to sleep downstairs). Mr TM and I had a bit of wine on our balcony, before he headed up for bed. I made the kid's stockings (I used the berets I bought earlier for the actual stockings), set them up by the side of the sofa bed, and headed up to bed myself.
Next up: Christmas Day, the Arch de Triumph, and Star Wars everywhere.
Feb 8th, 2016, 07:40 PM
#52
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Nice that you had good weather for the ET! Are there any security restrictions on backpacks there? Or was it just no glass?
Do you remember the names of any of the kid friendly restaurants you passed?
Looking forward to more of your report
Do you remember the names of any of the kid friendly restaurants you passed?
Looking forward to more of your report
Feb 15th, 2016, 03:17 PM
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Hi everyone! Yes, I'll be back. I'm working on the next update in Word and hope to post late tonight my time. It was a nutty week at work...I work at a college, and it is admissions time, which means that this time of year is very busy. Plus, an out-of-the-blue issue with the state legislature popped up, and I had to pitch in to help (actually had to guide the whole thing).
And on top of that, we are all (with the exception of Mr. TM) fighting colds and/or viruses with fever. And the prospect of a a layer of ice over the snow we got today means that I might have time for *two* updates! Everything was closed today, so I had time to sleep sleep sleep (which I didn't have time to do this weekend thanks to middle-school testing for Ten and a totally unscheduled doctor's appointment). I am feeling much better after so much rest, and it looks like we are on the mend.
Back to dinner and writer shortly thereafter.
And on top of that, we are all (with the exception of Mr. TM) fighting colds and/or viruses with fever. And the prospect of a a layer of ice over the snow we got today means that I might have time for *two* updates! Everything was closed today, so I had time to sleep sleep sleep (which I didn't have time to do this weekend thanks to middle-school testing for Ten and a totally unscheduled doctor's appointment). I am feeling much better after so much rest, and it looks like we are on the mend.
Back to dinner and writer shortly thereafter.
Feb 15th, 2016, 05:35 PM
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TRIP REPORT, Day 3 in Paris, part 1:
Christmas Day!
We slept in on Christmas morning until about 9:30. Mr TigerMac woke first, woke me up, and the two of us went downstairs to find Ten and Nine totally still sound asleep.
Coffee was made in the two-cut French press that came with the apartment. Coffee from a beautiful red and gold Maxim’s de Paris tin that we bought at Le Bon Marche, and it what amazing coffee it was.
We woke the boys up once we had a bit of caffeine in us and…after a great first few days, had our first run-in with moody children. Rather, our first run in with a moody child.
See, as much as I talked to Ten and Nine ahead of time about us not having usual Christmas gifts on Christmas morning, Nine thought I’d have at least ONE of his gifts waiting in Paris. Now…I’d not even bought some of his Christmas gifts before the actual day because he couldn’t make up his mind what he wanted. But when we were in Toronto visiting relatives before flying to Paris, I bought him a video-game accessory per his request that it be one of his official ‘santa’ gifts. When I agreed to buy it, I said, “You realize that you will not get this until we get home from Paris? I don’t have room in our luggage to take something like this with us just for you to see on Christmas day.” To which he said, “Yes, you’ve been saying that for months.”
But for some reason, he thought I’d bring it for him to find in his stocking.
I don’t know what I could have done differently. Maybe it was delayed tiredness/jet lag, don’t know. I just know he wasn’t happy at first.
So he pouted for a bit, though he did put on his stocking/beret as we made Christmas breakfast (the sugary cereal and almond and chocolate croissants we’d bought the day before from Le Bon Marche).
After breakfast, we had a bit of a lazy morning. We made the sofa bed back into a sofa, and Mr TM and I sat there with more coffee and our laptops to browse news sites. Ten and Nine went upstairs to play on their electronics. Around 11ish, we headed out for a walk, heading toward ‘our’ Christmas market, which I knew was open on Christmas day.
We stopped at one of the booths around the Roue de Paris (the big ferris wheel) so that Nine could buy a stuffed Eiffel Tower. Yes, you read that right. They were selling stuffed Eiffel Towers everywhere, and Nine really wanted one. He waited to buy one because he had a debate with himself if he wanted a small one, medium, or large. He eventually decided on medium in gray, and so, once the item was bought, a very much happier Nine trooped along with us across the street to the Place du Concorde, where he posed with his brother along the fountaines du Concorde (no water going, but the fountains were still lovely).
After pictures were taken, we headed back toward the big Christmas market. It wasn’t as crowded as it was the night before, but traffic (car traffic crossing over to it and foot traffic to and from) was still at a healthy flow. We again avoided the first booths upon entering the market near Place du Concorde, heading more toward to middle before stopping for a snack. This time, the boys wanted to try churros, which can be found EVERYWHERE (at least, in what seems like every other booth in Christmas markets).
The churros were a hit, and were to become almost a daily staple the rest of our time in Paris. The boys took another ride on the big slide in the middle of the market, and after, we bought roasted chestnuts to eat as we made out way to the end of the market, exiting out where the Champs-Elysees appears so much broader and magnificent and is lined with huge name brand stores (there might have been some of these stores near the area of the Champs-Elysees Christmas market, but they we didn’t notice them).
We were close enough to the Arch de Triumph that we decided to walk in that direction. Mr TM and I enjoyed the sight of the people, and stores (which were closed) and restaurants (many of which were opened…pizza places and a huge McDonald’s). The boys enjoyed the shop windows, quite a few of which were decorated with Star Wars themes, thanks to the new movie released days before. There really was a big flow of people along this stretch of the Champs-Elysees, but most were French-speaking tourists. I heard very little English in Paris our first few days there.
Nine complained a bit about the length of the walk, but it really wasn’t that bad getting there. The top of the Arch was closed, so no climbing up for the view, and the traffic around it was slightly less insane that in past visits.
Once we were through the tunnel under traffic and into the circle where the Arch de Triumph is located, Ten took Nine on piggyback rides while I took pictures and Mr TM took in the sights. The view back up the Champs-Elysees toward the Roue de Paris (the Big Ferris Wheel) was quite amazing. Ten borrowed my phone and took pictures of the different avenues spreading out from the Arch, many of which turned out quite nice.
After 40 minutes or so, we walked back to the Champs-Elysees in search of a metro stop. When we were almost to the station we were going to take back to our D’Orsay stop, we saw some armed police lining a large group of what I suspect where pick pockets along a storefront and asking to see passports. This was the only such activity we witnessed during the trip.
Again, gates to get into the station were working, but the gates leaving D’Orsay were wide open…so we had four more tickets that were only half used. I put them in my third ‘half used ticket’ vest pocket, but knew that things would get less organized later in the trip (and they did!).
The boys were tired and ready for a break, so we headed back to our apartment for a nap.
More in Part 2. Mostly part 2 is about our wonderful and simple Christmas meal and out bird who ‘lived free’ per his packaging (until we ate him).
Christmas Day!
We slept in on Christmas morning until about 9:30. Mr TigerMac woke first, woke me up, and the two of us went downstairs to find Ten and Nine totally still sound asleep.
Coffee was made in the two-cut French press that came with the apartment. Coffee from a beautiful red and gold Maxim’s de Paris tin that we bought at Le Bon Marche, and it what amazing coffee it was.
We woke the boys up once we had a bit of caffeine in us and…after a great first few days, had our first run-in with moody children. Rather, our first run in with a moody child.
See, as much as I talked to Ten and Nine ahead of time about us not having usual Christmas gifts on Christmas morning, Nine thought I’d have at least ONE of his gifts waiting in Paris. Now…I’d not even bought some of his Christmas gifts before the actual day because he couldn’t make up his mind what he wanted. But when we were in Toronto visiting relatives before flying to Paris, I bought him a video-game accessory per his request that it be one of his official ‘santa’ gifts. When I agreed to buy it, I said, “You realize that you will not get this until we get home from Paris? I don’t have room in our luggage to take something like this with us just for you to see on Christmas day.” To which he said, “Yes, you’ve been saying that for months.”
But for some reason, he thought I’d bring it for him to find in his stocking.
I don’t know what I could have done differently. Maybe it was delayed tiredness/jet lag, don’t know. I just know he wasn’t happy at first.
So he pouted for a bit, though he did put on his stocking/beret as we made Christmas breakfast (the sugary cereal and almond and chocolate croissants we’d bought the day before from Le Bon Marche).
After breakfast, we had a bit of a lazy morning. We made the sofa bed back into a sofa, and Mr TM and I sat there with more coffee and our laptops to browse news sites. Ten and Nine went upstairs to play on their electronics. Around 11ish, we headed out for a walk, heading toward ‘our’ Christmas market, which I knew was open on Christmas day.
We stopped at one of the booths around the Roue de Paris (the big ferris wheel) so that Nine could buy a stuffed Eiffel Tower. Yes, you read that right. They were selling stuffed Eiffel Towers everywhere, and Nine really wanted one. He waited to buy one because he had a debate with himself if he wanted a small one, medium, or large. He eventually decided on medium in gray, and so, once the item was bought, a very much happier Nine trooped along with us across the street to the Place du Concorde, where he posed with his brother along the fountaines du Concorde (no water going, but the fountains were still lovely).
After pictures were taken, we headed back toward the big Christmas market. It wasn’t as crowded as it was the night before, but traffic (car traffic crossing over to it and foot traffic to and from) was still at a healthy flow. We again avoided the first booths upon entering the market near Place du Concorde, heading more toward to middle before stopping for a snack. This time, the boys wanted to try churros, which can be found EVERYWHERE (at least, in what seems like every other booth in Christmas markets).
The churros were a hit, and were to become almost a daily staple the rest of our time in Paris. The boys took another ride on the big slide in the middle of the market, and after, we bought roasted chestnuts to eat as we made out way to the end of the market, exiting out where the Champs-Elysees appears so much broader and magnificent and is lined with huge name brand stores (there might have been some of these stores near the area of the Champs-Elysees Christmas market, but they we didn’t notice them).
We were close enough to the Arch de Triumph that we decided to walk in that direction. Mr TM and I enjoyed the sight of the people, and stores (which were closed) and restaurants (many of which were opened…pizza places and a huge McDonald’s). The boys enjoyed the shop windows, quite a few of which were decorated with Star Wars themes, thanks to the new movie released days before. There really was a big flow of people along this stretch of the Champs-Elysees, but most were French-speaking tourists. I heard very little English in Paris our first few days there.
Nine complained a bit about the length of the walk, but it really wasn’t that bad getting there. The top of the Arch was closed, so no climbing up for the view, and the traffic around it was slightly less insane that in past visits.
Once we were through the tunnel under traffic and into the circle where the Arch de Triumph is located, Ten took Nine on piggyback rides while I took pictures and Mr TM took in the sights. The view back up the Champs-Elysees toward the Roue de Paris (the Big Ferris Wheel) was quite amazing. Ten borrowed my phone and took pictures of the different avenues spreading out from the Arch, many of which turned out quite nice.
After 40 minutes or so, we walked back to the Champs-Elysees in search of a metro stop. When we were almost to the station we were going to take back to our D’Orsay stop, we saw some armed police lining a large group of what I suspect where pick pockets along a storefront and asking to see passports. This was the only such activity we witnessed during the trip.
Again, gates to get into the station were working, but the gates leaving D’Orsay were wide open…so we had four more tickets that were only half used. I put them in my third ‘half used ticket’ vest pocket, but knew that things would get less organized later in the trip (and they did!).
The boys were tired and ready for a break, so we headed back to our apartment for a nap.
More in Part 2. Mostly part 2 is about our wonderful and simple Christmas meal and out bird who ‘lived free’ per his packaging (until we ate him).
Feb 15th, 2016, 06:15 PM
#60
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Tiger...you couldn't have done anything differently re: the Christmas present. The Christmas Day expectations are always high. I think kids that age get it when you have the chat but when it is real, can't quite reconcile it. Sounds like everyone recovered (churros do help).
