Giverny to Normandy

Dad got our rental car and he maneuvered our family through the tunnels of Paris towards the country with only a few minor mishaps. Driving in Paris is not for the faint of heart.  We stopped in Giverny, the home of Claude Monet and his famous gardens that inspired so much of his work.  We enjoyed exploring his gardens and seeing the way that the reflections in his man-made-ponds truly are as much of the beauty as the nature itself.  Something that was interesting to contemplate was the concept that he created twice - once in his garden as he planned his subjects, and again in his painting of them.  It was insightful to tour his home and see his study where he entertained and displayed many paintings.

View across Claude Monet's water garden

Capturing the colors and reflections so common in Monet's paintings

Monet's famous Japanese bridge with hanging wisterias

Dad & kids on Monet's bridge

G in Monet's Clos Normand garden next to his house

Monet's incredible study with artwork and natural light

We enjoyed the change of scenery in the country with the fields of wildflowers and the little villages with castles and beautiful stone buildings.  We arrived at our cottage and the kids were thrilled to see that we had a yard for the next week while we stayed in the Normandy area.  The cottage was fun as it had a thatched roof and was built 200 years ago.  We were also pampered with a fireplace, blankets, washer and dryer, and a grill!  Our vision is that the remainder of our time in France is a bit slower paced and that we can begin to process all that we’ve experienced these last 10 months in a deeper way.  We laughed hard as when we got there SJ saw a plate of what looked like cookies and immediately went to take a bite only to find out they were fake plastic! (In her defense they did look very real). 

We then went to the local supermarket and in addition to buying some comfort foods purchased a couple of candles, puzzles and PlayDoh, which were all luxuries that would be easy to transport as we don't fly for a couple of more weeks.

Typical street in the French countryside on our way to Normandy

Thatched cottage that's our 'home' for the week in Normandy.
The plants at the peak of the roof use their roots to hold all of the thatched reeds together!

Wrapping Up Paris at The Louvre

The Louvre is massive and one could easily spend several days there.  We decided to go with a local organization who offered scavenger hunts to make it a fun experience for the kids and keep it from being too overwhelming.  We met our guide who explained the set up and then left us on our own to divide and conquer.  We gave ourselves 2 and a half hours to find the different items and take selfies while looking for the extra-credit aspects.  We divided into groups of two and found this friendly competition to be a great way to see and learn about some of the great works as well as help us understand the layout of this large museum.  We reconvened for lunch and to tally our points and share our experiences.  In the end, Mom & G were the victors which earned them dessert choice for dinner! We all agreed this was so much fun that after lunch split up into groups of 4 to locate some of the pieces that we hadn’t found or that we wanted to study more. Again, our youngest son was probably the most enthusiastic to be seeing so many historical items that he’s learned about over the years and it was fun to watch him take it all in.  He even encouraged mom to sketch again as he really wanted to stop and draw a piece, dreaming what it would be like to be a great artist.

Posing like the 2 dogs at the bottom of the painting

Looking all academic studying art at the Louvre

Look who found the Mona Lisa!

G posing with Michelangelo's 'The Dying Slave'

G was SO excited to find The Code of Hammurabi & recited some of the laws he knew from memory

In front of the largest painting in The Louvre

Mom & G sharing a special moment sketching

Afterwards we returned to the apartment for some wine and cheese and swapping of pictures and technology items before we headed down the street for a farewell dinner as it was our last night with Nana and Papa. 

Sunday in Paris

Our morning started at the local boulangerie where we loaded up on chouquettes, baguettes, and amazing chocolate almond filled croissants before heading to Hillsong Paris.  The people here were very friendly and we were treated to have a gentleman from England giving the message, so it was easy for us to follow along!  However, we all agreed that of all the languages we’ve worshiped in these past 10 months, French was definitely the most complicated! 

Hillsong Paris - singing along in French was a challenge!

It was another overcast day with rain on and off, but after church it seemed to have let up a bit, so we took advantage of it and headed to climb the Eiffel Tower.  We climbed the ten flights to the second floor and then took an elevator to the top where we enjoyed views over the city and places we’d visited.  We also learned that Gustave Eiffel had a secret apartment up at the top of the tower that was the envy of Parisian elite. He used the apartment to "get away" but also for science experiments and dining with some prestigious guests such as Thomas Edison, who gave him a phonograph machine as a gift. It is said he received insane offers from the rich to spend just one night in the apartment, but he refused them all.  Unfortunately this apartment was closed at the time of our visit.

At the base of the Eiffel Tower!

Can't believe I'm here!

Climbing up the Eiffel Tower

We made it to the top!

We headed to the Notre Dame area and ducked into a creperie for lunch as we waited for the pouring rain to ease up a bit.  We then explored the interior of Notre Dame and opted to skip climbing the bell towers and looking for the Hunchback, much to our daughter and youngest son’s disappointment.

Chapel at Notre Dame

Beautiful stained glass windows

The crew in front of Notre Dame

At this point everyone was cold, wet, and getting tired but we had time to kill before dinner so we decided to walk to the Louvre.  Unfortunately by the time we arrived it had closed, so we stood in the rain deciding what to do next.  We finally took the metro back to the Notre Dame area where dinner was scheduled and had a make shift happy hour as we waited for the restaurant to open.  Thankfully we had a sweet waitress and great food to make the wait worth it!

Rain, rain , rain.... arriving at the Louvre after it closed.

From Water Lilies to the Underbelly of Paris

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. 

Mom & G in front of a sunset view of the water lilies

Family shot in front of Claude Monet's water lilies

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.

Walking the streets of Paris

Thrilled to find some grass to kick the soccer ball around on!

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. 

Having fun touring the Paris sewers

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.

Listening to audioguides as to learn the history of the catacombs

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. 

Unusual street we walked down on our way to dinner

Experiencing Parisian Culture

We began our morning in the Montmarte area where we had scheduled a food tour as a late Mothers/Fathers Day gift.  Our guide was brilliant in starting us at a chocolatier to win our hearts and sweet tooth!  We learned what to look for when desiring traditional French food, how to properly hold a baguette under our arm, and many details of what the French look for in everything from cheeses to meats.  We had no idea that in France, which is slightly smaller than the size of Texas, there are so many different regions that specialize in their own homeade delicacies, that wrapping our minds around the uniqueness of just several of these specialties was a chore.  However, the best part of the tour was the sampling!  While we walked around visiting the individual specialized stores, we sampled chocolates, macarons, chouquettes, and pork products.  We wrapped up our tour in a dining area where we sipped on French wines as our guide explained the history and differences in the baguettes, cheeses, meats and eclairs that she purchased along our walk.  We were amazed at the French salted butter which was outstanding, and learned of brilliant savorin a la truffe, a truffled goat cheese which we would hunt down throughout the rest of our stay in France.

Look for these words above this blue, white and red line to symbolize that the store is top notch.

We walked by The Sacre Cour Basilica 

Selecting beautiful sweet & chewy French macarons

There are many kinds of baguettes - just be careful to place them the proper way on the
table or you might be next in line for the guilatoine! 

Look at the many locally made selections at the fromagerie

Eagerly anticipating our scrumptious French delicacies!

Papa wasn't so excited about the gelled fruit, pickles, pork tongue,
pork cheeks & pig keratin that were combined in that bite!  But it still might have
been better than the pork intestine some of us sampled earlier!

With full stomachs we headed for an afternoon at Musee d'Orsay.  Here there are many famous works of art housed inside an old train station, so the building itself was amazing to explore.  Nana even remembered having her photo her many years ago with her dad when it was a working train station.  We enjoyed viewing the impressionist paintings and wandering around.  The city of Paris has many museums, and we we've tried to mix up our days to involve fun alongside museums to keep the kids engaged.  An insightful impression of Monet viewed through the eyes of a 10 year old, "I'm not even sure how I know that's a reflection on the water, it's like he's communicating with my brain but not my eyes," has Mom excited about what kids of this age are taking away from this experience.

G in front of Monet's painting of waterlilies and bridge, similar to the one
he created several years back in our home art class.

Practicing her ballet stance along with Degas' dancer!

Boys in front Starry Night, Van Gogh's original Starry Night painting before his more famous one housed in New York

The beautiful architecture of this train station turned museum lends to the experience

Afterwards we needed some fresh air, so headed across one of the bridges with zillions of "love" padlocks to the ferris wheel.  Our daughter has talked about riding on a ferris wheel our whole trip, so she was thrilled to get to experience this.  Meanwhile, G spotted the obelisk that we'd learned about in Luxor, Egypt that had been sent to France!

Padlocks of love locked to a bridge crossing the Seine River

View from the ferris wheel with the Eiffel Tower in the background

The massive Louvre complex viewed from the ferris wheel.

G excited to find the Egyptian obelisk of Ramses II brought to Paris in 1833

We had a bit of time to kill before our evening boat ride on the Seine River, so we walked around a bit.  As we walked, our youngest excitedly exclaimed, "There it is - the statue from the movie 'Home' that tilts when they are in Paris."  Sure enough, we all learned that this was Joan of Arc from one of our daughter's favorite movies on this trip.  Love when history mixes with modern day kid's movies so that our kids can teach us!

G in front of the Joan of Arc statue from the movies 'Home'

We stopped for dinner and our oldest continued his card trick fascination and even won himself a free dessert from our waiter!  Then we stopped for the famous rose shaped gelato at Amarino, across from the Pompidou Center, which is a building with many of the typical interior aspects on the exterior - such as the electrical works, plumbing, and escalators.

We wrapped up our day of experiencing the "city of love" with a sunset boat ride along the Seine River.  Our ride began with us having to cross the locks into the Seine, which was a fascinating education observing all that happens to make this activity work.  As the sun set, we watched Paris come alive on the banks of the river, learned the history of places we passed, with the highlight being that we arrived at the Eiffel Tower right as the lights began sparkling!

The Eiffel Tower with Nana & Papa

G loves the Statue of Liberty - whether in Paris or NYC!

Notre Dame lit up at night!

In the City of Love in front of the Eiffel Tower all lit up while cruising the Seine