The first two posts are going to be just about our trip and what we did. My following post will be
about how to survive it with a 2 month old.
We left
Saudi for France at 12am and arrived in Amsterdam at 7:05 am. Our connecting flight to Paris was at
8:00am. Eek! Luckily Amsterdam has an expedited passport control line for those
traveling to Paris. When we walked up to get into that line the lady saw Jake
and moved us to an even more expedited line! Thus beginning the special
treatment you get when you travel with a cute baby. Needless to say we made it
to Paris and so did our luggage. Before I go on, let me just say that Jake did
amazing on both flights and through the airports. He got way more sleep on the
flight to Amsterdam than we did.
Upon
arrival in Paris we checked into our hotel, re-situated ourselves, and headed
back out. We took the subway up to the Champs-Élysées and started with the Arc de
Triumph. (I have a lot more to say on traveling the subways with a baby but
that will be in the baby post). The Arc de Triumph is bigger than I expected
and had great views of Paris. We used our trusty Rick Steve's book to give us
our tour and took turns going up to the very top to look out since there was no
easy way to get the stroller up.
After the Arc we started our walk down the Champs-Élysées. I'm not
sure what I expected but it's really just a large street area with lots of
sidewalk cafes and fancy shops. We were about half way down the street when it
started to rain. Ugh! So we stopped under a random canopy to discuss our new
plans and feed Jacob. We decided
to take the subway (out of the rain) to the Orsay museum.
When we entered the Orsay museum, we assumed they would
make us check the stroller but it
was just the opposite. We practically received special treatment with easier
time through lines and security and lifts instead of stairs. The Orsay museum
is in an old train station and the building itself is beautiful. It is the home
to lots of "great" art. I put great in parenthesis because I'll be
honest, I have no idea about great art. Honestly, I'm really not that
interested in art but it was one of those museums you MUST go see in Paris.
Well, about halfway through, jake decided he was done with the art scene and
started screaming. So Jacob and I made a quick exit while Micah continued on
just a little more. I will admit
that after all the traveling, not much sleep, and lots of walking, I was done
with the art scene as well. We were all actually so tired that we went back to
the hotel and Micah went to find us dinner to eat in our hotel room. We joked
about that being our first Paris meal- sandwich and chips in bed! But all 3 of
us needed the rest and good nights sleep.
The next
day we all woke up refreshed and in a much better mood. Once again we used our
Rick Steves' book to guide us on a historic Paris walk. It started at Notre Dame Cathedral. The cathedral is beautiful. The outside is interesting with the twin
towers, the buttresses, and the gargoyles. It doesn't take much to invision the
hunchback of Notre Dame. The
inside is filled with beautiful stained glass windows.
After
Notre Dame we walked through the city stopping at random places like the
Deportation Memorial. This is a memorial for the 200,000 Parisian Jews that
were deported during WWII. We walked through the Italian quarter, walked along
the river Seine, and through a cute little park.
Our next big stop was St
Chapelle. This old cathedral had a very low ceiling dark depressing entrance
but the upstairs opened up into a chapel with great stained glass windows and
a huge altar at the end. The altar used to hold the supposed Crown of Thorns that Jesus wore which is now held at Notre Dame but is not always on display.
From St. Chapelle we went to an old prison. The idea of it was cooler than the
building itself. It was where many people awaited their death by guillotine
including Queen Marie Antoinette.
At the
end of out historic walk we decided to tackle the Louvre. It is the largest
museum in the world and it's all art... The idea of it seemed daunting. When we
arrived the line to get in was long but once again we were able to skip it all
thanks to Jake! We used our book
to guide us through and get us to the important stuff like the Mona Lisa.
Which, as almost everyone says, is smaller than I thought. Micah and I both
agreed that the only reason we go to these museums is because we should and to
say that we have. Overall, the Louvre is huge and overwhelming.
 |
| This is what Jacob thought of the Louvre |
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| The Mona Lisa |
The next
morning we headed out to Versailles. I found the tour of the palace interesting
and it's extravagance mesmerizing.
King Louis XIV was a little over the top. No wonder the people were angry with his extravagance while they were starving.
The
palace grounds were incredible. Today the have 300 working fountains but they
used to have 1500!! It was so nice to get to stroll through the park with my
little family and enjoy a day of good weather, beautiful scenery, and freedom.
Upon
leaving Versailles we decided since it was such a beautiful day it was probably
our best bet for the Eiffel tower. So we rode the trains back and went straight
into the line for the Eiffel. The views were great!
We were
so worn out from all the walking at Versailles that I pretty much didn't want
to move anymore so we found ourselves a shady spot in the Champs de Mars park
with a view of the Eiffel and took a rest. Micah was such a great husband and
went and gathered up dinner for us including a bottle of wine. We sat in the
park on the ground and just waited for sunset with the most amazing view of the
Eiffel Tower.
Our last
day in Paris I hadn't planned anything just in case we needed some make-up time
because Jacob. We decided to
return to the Champs Élysées and finish our walk and then head out to the Montmartme
area where Moulin Rouge is located. This area of Paris is full of sketchy
people, adult entertainment, and just plain old dirty. We did our walking tour
and then made our way back to the prettier side of Paris. For our last night in Paris we ate at a
cute sidewalk cafe and people watched and then drank a bottle of wine in the
park looking at the Eiffel tower. Then it was time to pack and prepare for our
train trip to Normandy.
This took
some careful planning because we had to get through the subways to the train
station with all of our luggage and Jacob. We condensed down as much as we
could, I put Jake in the carrier and off we went. It was morning rush hour so
the trains were full and one time we split which car we got on to have enough
room, but in the end we made! I think Micah and I made a pretty spectacular
team to survive that as well as we did. Our train ride took us to Caen, Normandy
where we rented a car and headed to Bayeaux.
And Jacob really was with us the whole time :)
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