Paris

(Side note – this was written before the election – when we felt so young and carefree!)

We were hungry and happy when we landed at our hotel in the Montparnesse neighborhood of Paris. Luckily, there was a nice cafe with baguettes and croissants right on the corner – yum!  We wasted no time after our quick snack to walk to the Luxembourg Garden – which had just closed. But it was wonderful to take in the Paris evening strolling in the park around the garden, playing with dogs, racing to statues, and challenging each other on the public exercise machines.

One of Dev’s big requests for the trip is to go to amusement parks so we made sure to hit Jardin d’Acclimatation, France’s first leisure park founded in 1860 by Napoleon III.  After that we were off to Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Élysées where we had fun comparing them to our neighborhood in Brooklyn.  Based on wise advice from Grandma Martha, we made a stop for dinner and dessert at Laduree, famous for its macaroons.  

The next day we walked around and marveled at the outside of the Louvre – but did not go in – and followed Mira’s suggestion to go on the nearby ferris wheel.  We got an incredible view of the city!  We meandered around the gardens and then spent the afternoon at the Musée d’Orsay.  We loved the recent installation of modern sculptures, the clocktower, and especially seeing Van Gogh’s self portrait.  We finished the night having a picnic at the base of the Eiffel Tower.    

The next day we made a mandatory stop at Dennis’s metro stop (Saint-Denis) en route to the Marais district where we had afternoon tea, wandered a bit to do some shopping, and then finished the day at the historic Jewish area of Rue de Rosiers. The kids were excited to have dinner at a family yiddish bakery where they all shared a pot of matzoh ball soup and we bought a challah for shabbat.

On our final day in Paris, we went to the very top of the Eiffel Tower.  It was high, it was fun, and it was a lot of waiting in lines.  We still had a blast and Johanna only had to close her eyes once!

Next stop – Italy!

(Click on the photo for the full size slideshow)