PS. I swear I tried to trim it down, but we're still left with more than 70 pictures in this post. It's a long one!
Poor Kate. Sometime around 2 in the morning I awoke to Kate groaning. This is usually a bad sign, so I jumped out of bed and ran over to grab her, but not before she started puking all over. She covered her pajamas and me as well as her bed (those poor maids). This necessitated a late-night bath. Poor Kate.
On the flip side, check out the glass on the side of the tub. There was a button to change the glass between frosted and clear. It was kind of cool.
We still got up and out on the street in time to find some breakfast. Look at these Parisian streets!
We found a crepe shop fairly near to our hotel. Kate just maybe didn't get enough sleep last night, so she had a bit of a meltdown. Her crepe was too hot to eat and her Nutella was inexplicably dripping from her crepe.
Lyla went for the donut.
The crepes were excellent.
Kate pulled through and still ate her handful of crepe.
What I don't have pictures of is the crazy homeless guy that was having a hard time staying on his feet before finally laying down in the middle of the street right next to us and right in front of a bus. The bus driver and another pedestrian helped carry the guy to a sidewalk near us. The girls weren't too phased by it.
As we usually do in our travels, we took the metro everywhere. Look at this station.
We first decided to make our way to Notre Dame. On the way we stopped by the Fontaine du Chatelet which honors some of the Napoleonic Victories.
At the fountain.
Our first view of the Seine. You can even see the Eiffel Tower peaking up in the background.
The golden gates of the Palais de Justice de Paris.
Our first Parisian Church was the beautiful Sainte-Chapelle.
Awesome stained glass windows. And to think this chapel opened in 1248!
Ada and Kate in Sainte-Chapelle.
From the outside.
The enormous Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris.
Cathedral selfie.
Inside.
We purchased the Paris Museum Pass which allowed us entry to climb the stairs to the top of the cathedral. We found the line and while we were waiting Lyla was begging for milk, so I went on a mission to find her some lait (milk).
One last view.
Taking a swig from the public fountain.
Paris is going for the 2024 Summer Olympics. They had some beach volleyball courts setup in the Courtyard of the Hotel de Ville.
We jumped on the metro and made our way to the Place de la Concorde with the ancient Obelisque de Louxor.
Lyla was a little whiny and just wanted to return to the hotel, so I had to be sneaky to get her in a picture.
The Fontaine des Fleuves.
At the bottom of the Av. des Champs-Elysees. You can just make out the Arc de Triomphe.
Looking the other direction (towards the Louvre and the Egyptian obelisk).
Lyla's a little happier now that she gets a shoulder ride.
Look at these girls. This is at the Bassin Octogonal in the Jardin des Tuileries.
Our next stop was the wonderful Musee de l'Orangerie. This museum has a large collection of Monet's works, including two large oval rooms with huge water lily paintings on all sides. The girls were a bit grumpy (except Kate, oddly enough), but the paintings were wonderful. I love Monet.
We found a spot of dirt outside the museum and let the girls play for a couple of minutes, I think it was the highlight of their day.
We crossed the Seine looking for lunch.
Amazing Parisian street.
We found a little cafe right across from the Musee d'Orsay. I believe we were all pleased with our meal. I had a burger, the kids had spaghetti. You'll have to ask Alison about her meal.
The Musee d'Orsay was open for extended hours on Thursday evenings, so it seemed like a good time to visit. The girls were excited to see a Statue of Liberty.
This model of the Palais Garnier opera house was amazing. This is the opera house that the Phantom of the Opera is written about. I would have liked to have taken a tour, or gone to a show there, but alas, it will remain on the list until our next visit.
The Musee d'Orsay is housed in an old train station. The building transformed into a museum is amazing!
Lyla was pretty well worn out.
One last look at the sculpture area of the museum.
There were sculptures of some animals outside the museum. Kate and Lyla both love elephants.
Everybody loves rhinos.
On the banks of the Seine, looking back towards the Musee d'Orsay.
We wanted to visit the Eiffel Tower, but there wasn't a convenient way to get there on public transportation. Instead, we bought boat passes that actually took us in the wrong direction, but would eventually get us to the Eiffel Tower. We gave up on the boat ride when we got close to Notre Dame Cathedral and decided to jump off.
Boat ride selfie.
Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Paris.
Funny faces. Kate didn't get the memo.
Rule #1 of this trip: Ice cream every day. (More on that later). We grabbed some ice cream near the cathedral and then made our way to the Paris Plage. For about a month each summer, the banks fo the Seine are transformer into a Parisian beach.
After running for a spell to catch the boat, we were back on our journey to the Eiffel Tower. This time in the correct direction.
There she is. The marvel of 19th century engineering, designed by Gustave Eiffel.
Lyla is super excited.
Hey look! Another Statue of Liberty!
While her sisters waited in line for the one public toilet, I took Lyla on the carousel near the Eiffel Tower.
She picked a horse on the 2nd level.
Ahh Paris.
While waiting in line for security the lights of the Eiffel Tower were turned on.
Looking straight up the gut.
At the Eiffel Tower.
Rather than wait in a long line for the elevator, we bought tickets to take the stairs to the first two levels. These girls climbed the 660 stairs like champs.
Taking a rest at the first level.
On the first level.
We grabbed some snacks (more pastries and donuts). We didn't really have dinner, except for the ice cream and other junk food.
Now we're ready to start climbing to the 2nd level of the tower. From there you can buy tickets for the elevator the rest of the way up. Bonus is that there really isn't a line.
At the top.
Looking out over Paris. I have a bunch of pictures of the city of Paris at night, but they're all a bit fuzzy as they were taken from my cell phone.
All lit up.
We waited on the stairs of the Palais de Chaillot to watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle (it sparkles for a few minutes every hour on the hour). It was midnight when we finally started making our way to the subway.
We had to take two trains to get back to the hotel.
Now she's happy!
On the street just outside our hotel there were 3 or 4 of these signs hanging in doorways. The girls LOVED them. This may have been the real highlight of the trip, as they still talk about them to this day!
Tomorrow: the Palace of Versailles.
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