I was ASTOUNDED, that everyone slept normally through the night. I think Lily is right when she suggested that staying the night in New York one night may have helped with jet lag. I grabbed everyone a quick breakfast before we all headed out for the day. The bakery was right next to us, and I took this video of their nifty orange-juice-making-maching. The juice was delicious, as were all the pastries (the raisin one was sooo good).
https://youtube.com/shorts/c9BpYvM41lQ
We then walked to the Louvre and saw some amazing things.
Ammon and Clarissa really perked up when we got to the fancy possessions of royalty.
My favorite part was Napoleon III’s apartment. He wasn’t exactly shy about creating nice surroundings for himself…..
After the museum we crossed the Seine river on our way to Notre Dame and San Chapel. Lily is reading a book about the Seine and she has told us all sorts of interesting things about it on this trip.
We then stopped for some macaroons. Each kids got to choose 4 flavors.
We were walking down a cute walking street with lots of shops and we were (to use Lily’s words) accosted by a restaurant owner who convinced us that we really wanted to eat at his Moroccan restaurant. We were all hungry and next thing we knew, we were in his restaurant. Lily was a bit bothered that he was pushy, and I felt admiration for his tenacity as a sales person trying to get his business to succeed, lol. I can definitely see both sides of the coin though. Fortunately the food was amazing. I loved the giant cooked vegetables and Lily said the lamb was maybe the best she’d had in her life. So I guess, thank you pushy shop owner, lol 🙂 You can see him in the window below.
Of course we had to take a picture of Mary next to this pig.
Next we went to San Chapel. Forgive me for the over-abundance of photos, but San Chapel is very special for me. I think it was originally recommended to me by my humanities teacher (and major inspiration to me in so many ways), Dan Campbell, and I saw it when I traveled with my brother and AXB friends almost 20 years ago. I was amazed by it then, and I continue to uphold it as the most magnificent stained glass I have ever seen.
Then we went to the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
While walking around, Clarissa walked over a vent that was blowing her hair all around. I thought it was hilarious:
Also, Lydia’s sandals were getting uncomfortable with all the walking, and we felt blessed to find some shoes that fit her perfectly.
I have been carrying Clarissa a lot so far on this vacation. She does her share of walking, but she poops out fairly quickly, and when I carry her she often falls asleep. This time when she fell asleep, we all stopped at a park while she finished her nap. Sweet thing. There was a small playground in eyeshot for the other kids to play at and Lydia had a quick face-time with Emerson. The weather was definitely warm, but it was gorgeous in the shade.
When Clarissa woke up, we went to the old French military hospital which has since been converted into the French army museum.
Within the complex there was a church and through the glass behind the altar you can see the tomb of Napoleon Boneparte. Certainly a noteworthy figure in French history, but also highly controversial.
We then walked to the Eiffel Tower and sat in the park near it, just taking it all in.
I should mention that Lydia and Mary have been nothing short of heroic. Clarissa is 4, which is very young to be doing all the things we are doing. Lily and I are getting our share of grey hairs, but we have been spared a lot of grief and tantrums because of all of the attention, guiding and entertaining that Lydia and Mary have done for Clarissa. Ammon also has been an incredible hero. He walked the entire day himself and overall had an incredible attitude. We was incredible.
We then went to the Arc de Triomphe. The arc was amazing to look at, but I was actually more memorized by how the traffic works around it. Take a look.
https://youtube.com/shorts/oQyzMfkXF6k
We then walked down the most famous street in Paris, the Champs-Élysées. I took a video to help capture the moment.
As we started making our way towards home, we found a replica of the torch of the statue of liberty that France gifted to the United States. It also (tragically), happened to be the place where Princess Diana died (she was hit in the tunnel right under the torch). Many people have showed their love for princess Dianna by putting locks on the chords around the torch. Locks are a sign of eternal love, and often lovers will show their love for each other by putting locks on chords on bridges, but they need to be removed because they weigh the bridges down. In this case people have used locks to show how much they love Princess Diana.
Before turning in for the night, we all got some ice cream at one of the thousands of out-door cafes around Paris (I love them so much).
we ate right across from the train station which we would use the next day for Versailles.
And yes, here is the proof that we walked almost 12 miles. Great job family!! I also have to give a major shout out to Lily who has build the most amazing itinerary and has planned and coordinated everything. This has been the most spectacular trip, and I have loved bonding with the family so much!!
