We’ve been surprised that creperies aren’t on every corner
as we’d expected in Paris, and the ones that we have found, aren’t typically
open until afternoon! So our initial
plan of starting the morning with crepes, turned into a chore and we ultimately
ended up at The American Breakfast Café for American pancakes, which the kids
haven’t had for over 2 months, so it was still a treat!
Our first destination of the day was the Musee d’Orsay to
experience Monet’s water lilies sprawled out in two oval rooms dedicated to only
these magnificent canvases. Thankfully
the museum wasn’t very crowded and we were able to get up close and be amazed
at the brushstrokes and colors that Monet gifted the Parisians with for the
purpose of peace and tranquility amidst the hustle of the city life. We also explored the other works of art in
the basement of the museum before we strolled around the city a bit.
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| Mom & G in front of a sunset view of the water lilies |
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| Family shot in front of Claude Monet's water lilies |
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| G & SJ pretending they are at home under the willow tree |
One thing we observed is that there’s not much grass and the
kids were thrilled to find a patch at the city park; however it was just for
looks and not to be stepped on!
Thankfully as we walked along the Seine, there was a strip that they
were able to enjoy to the fullest as they kicked the soccer ball and picked
flowers.
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| Walking the streets of Paris |
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| Thrilled to find some grass to kick the soccer ball around on! |
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| Picking flowers along the Seine |
We left the much-longed-for sunshine and descended to the
odors underground of the Paris sewers.
Here we learned about the importance and history of water and sewage in
this massive system. Paris being such an old city has had to massively adapt its ever changing sewage system as the population and size has grown. The various techniques used to clean the huge pipes varied from large boulders (think Indian Jones), which create pressure to wash silt, to drudging sleds that literally push the junk further down stream. It was all very fascinating to consider as the importance cannot be emphasized enough- afterall, the Black Plague was started and spread due to poor sewage right here in Paris.
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| Having fun touring the Paris sewers |
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| There's an estimated 1 sewer rat for every Parisian above. SJ was so excited to see Ratatouille! |
We finally enjoyed our crepe for the day along with a glass
of wine as we sat on the Seine watching the activity before we headed to the
metro.
Here we learned that when the
buzzer signals that the metro doors are closing, they really aren’t joking
around and there’s no way to stop them.
Thankfully Dad had just taught Papa how to use Googlemaps to understand
the transportation system, so when our group was split up we were hopeful that
we’d reconnect at the next stop and thankful that there were adults in both
groups as our youngest panicked watching her parents taken away!
We were grateful to have purchased audio tours and tickets
to the catacombs ahead of time so that we could skip the massive line and head
underground again. 90 feet underground, is an area that was once
covered by the sea and is below the sewer system. In the past Paris' cemeteries were overflowing and the solution was to bring the bones underground where they've filled up 2 km of limestone tunnels, some stacked as high as 30 meters in places. It is estimated that about 6 million bodies are buried down here, and this is only the 3rd largest catacomb in Europe.
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| Listening to audioguides as to learn the history of the catacombs |
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| Fun with Nana, Papa and the bones of many others |
We wrapped up our day at a fondue restaurant recommended by
our food tour guide.
We weren’t sure
what to expect as we were initially the only customers and everything was in French, but
we were delighted with an amazing salad and spread to enjoy with cheese
fondues French style.
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| Unusual street we walked down on our way to dinner |
Great!
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