The City of Lights

Kyle and I escaped from work and responsibility to spend a blissful (but busy) weekend in Paris from October 23-25th. We left the kids with our regular sitter and they had a fabulous time making crafts, playing outside and probably watching a lot of TV. Sa la vi (“that’s life”)!

We began our trip by visiting the Louvre, the most visited museum in the world, and seeing many works of art and sculpture including The Mona Lisa. Mona is actually a lot smaller than you would imagine – the entire painting is probably only 3ft in length and 2ft in width. We were a little like Japanese tourists running all over the museum snapping photos of everything. It was pretty neat to see all the works of art in person you usually only see in books – but there was A LOT of it!

The Louvre Museum & Palace

The Mona Lisa (behind lots of protective glass!)

Venus De Milo (one of the most ancient Greek sculptures - they never found her arms)

After our museum tour, we strolled through the Tuileries Garden, which was originally laid out in 1664. The view from the gardens leads directly down Avenue des Champs- Elysees, one of the most expensive strips of real estate in Europe, and eventually to the Arc de Triomphe.

In the garden...Can you see the Arc in the distance?

Our stroll from the garden on the way to The Eiffel Tower took us by the National Assembly, The Grand Palace, The Hotel de Invalides (where Napoleon’s tomb is), and various historical churches. We arrived at the Tower just in time for sunset and the closing of the stairs, so our only option for going up was the elevator (thank goodness)! After a brief wait, we ascended the tower to enjoy some beautiful views of the city at night. Visiting the iconic landmark was my favorite part of our visit to Paris.

View of The Trocadéro, site of the Palais de Chaillot

We stayed at a beautiful hotel – The Hilton Arc de Triomphe. It was a great location and a really nice, big room – which is rare for Paris. We started our next day from there by visiting the Arc monument, which stands 162ft tall and 150ft wide. We were impressed by its size. It is so big; in 1919 a man flew his biplane through it!

From there we searched for Starbucks and successfully visited two different ones. I really do miss my Tazo Chi tea lattes! We did a little souvenir shopping on our way to Museum d’Orsay, which houses an impressive collection of French impressionist art. The museum is housed in a former railway station that is a work of art in itself. It is a beautiful building which was once going to be demolished after years of neglect but was saved in 1977 and restored beginning in 1980.

For all you toddler parents, as we walked through the museum, we were greeted by works we have seen many times while watching Disney’s Little Einstein’s and Classical Baby with Caden & Reese! Van Gogh’s Starry Night Over the Rhone, Renoir’s Le moulin de la Galette, and Monet’s Water Lilies. I took lots of pictures so they would be impressed some day. We definitely agreed that Caden & Reese were better off at home on this particular trip. The museums were not kid or stroller friendly, especially for our spirited little ones!

Van Gogh’s Starry Night and a self portrait

Degas's Small Dancer Aged 14

Inside Museum d'Orsay

We ended the day light hours with a visit to Notre-Dame, one of the first Gothic cathedrals built. Construction began in 1163 but was not totally completed until 1345. The cathedral is impressive and beautiful, especially the rose stain-glass windows. It is much more stone and statue and much less gold and marble than other cathedrals we have visited throughout Europe.

Because this was a trip sans kids, we livened up our nightlife on Saturday with a Champagne Revue at The Lido, one of the most popular cabaret shows in Paris. The Lido opened in 1946 and has hosted performances by Shirley MacLaine and Elton John. It was a fabulous show and a fun experience.

We had a wonderful weekend in Paris and could not have chosen a better city for a romantic get-a-way. The city was everything I thought it would be and although I’m sure we missed some things along the way, we felt like we saw and experienced a lot. Another wonderful memory to add to the book! All our trip pictures are in our Shutterfly albums.