I think everyone slept well in our very comfortable rooms and we got up feeling refreshed and ready for another day of adventure. A quick look out the window, however, revealed black storm clouds in the distance. As we got dressed and ready to go downstairs for breakfast, it began to rain –hard! Well, maybe we could find something to do indoors today.
After breakfast, we met up with the rest of the family in the lobby and discussed options: A walking tour, hop-on/hop-off bus tour, or a visit the science museum were the prime candidates. The thunderstorm had passed, but the skies still look threatening. After spending yesterday afternoon & evening in the room relaxing, what I really wanted to do now was get out and walk around Paris.
We came back to the room to the room for a few minutes and our guide, Sylvie, called to firm up our dinner plans and see how we were getting along. She was nearby and offered to accompany us on our little walking tour. We happily accepted. When we got back downstairs, the sun was starting to come out.
We really enjoyed our walking tour! We left the Ritz / Vendome area and walked a few blocks south where we arrived at a park . We paused for a few minutes while the kids rode the carousel, and then began walking west through the park toward Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe. With the wide, gravel paths and green lawn, the park reminded me of the mall in Washington, DC. Justin & Sandy were having some trouble with their feet hurting, so they turned back to the hotel to relax while the rest of us continued. The kids had a great time running & playing as we walked.
At 1pm, as we were approaching the Arch, we decided to stop for lunch at a sidewalk café on Camps Elysees. The food wasn’t bad, but the service was terrible! Some people got their food, while others waited. After 90 minutes, some still did not have their “express lunch” entrees! Sylvie had another appointment and had to leave us as we were finishing up. They apologized and offered us free desserts & coffee, but we were ready to get walking again, so we declined.
We finally reached our goal for the day, the Arc de Triomphe, and it was magnificent to behold. The arch is enormous and sits in the center of a busy traffic circle. After taking a few photos, we noticed there were many people under the arch and on top of it. How could we get there? Cross the road frogger-style? Certainly not with the kids. We thought perhaps there was a crosswalk on the other side that we couldn’t see, so we began to walk around. Then, someone noticed a sign indicating that there was a tunnel under the road. Much better idea!
We found the tunnel, got out to the middle of the arch, and also bought tickets to go all the way to the top. Several hundred spiral stairs later, we were standing on top of Paris. The view was incredible. All the major roads seemed to lead to the Arch from all directions. We also had a nice view of the Eiffel Tower, where we would be eating dinner later.
After our visit to the Arch, we hailed a few cabs and went back to the hotel to relax and get cleaned up for dinner. We were to eat at the Jules Verne restaurant in the Eiffel Tower. We hired babysitters to watch all the kids except Brandon & Bailey who joined us for dinner.
The bus picked us up around 6:45pm for the short ride to the tower. The area was packed with tourists, of course, but we soon found the restaurant entrance & elevator. Everyone stumbled a bit when the elevator began moving diagonally up the tower instead of straight up as we normally expect.
The view from the top was outstanding, but… It is their custom to put large parties such as ours in the furthest room and unfortunately for us, that room faces West. The sun was blazing in the windows on us for the entire meal. It was already warm to begin with, but as the room filled up with people and the angle of the sun became even more direct, it became almost unbearable. Most men shed their jackets. Even though they lowered some translucent blinds, the sun was beaming right in our faces. It was a shame. I certainly did not enjoy the first 80% of the evening. I would rather have gone to MacDonalds and had some shade and air conditioning!
Finally, around 10pm, the sun sank below the horizon and we got some blessed relief from the heat & rays. But, it was too late to salvage the evening for me. I nibbled some dessert and waited impatiently for everyone to finish so I could get back to the hotel and take off my sweaty clothes. Roland went out for a smoke and I joined him outside to get some fresh air and enjoy the view. By the time we came back, it was time to go. As we were riding back to the hotel, the tower light up and began pulsing with thousands of strobe lights. Beautiful!
Tomorrow, we are scheduled to do a city tour & the Louvre.
After breakfast, we met up with the rest of the family in the lobby and discussed options: A walking tour, hop-on/hop-off bus tour, or a visit the science museum were the prime candidates. The thunderstorm had passed, but the skies still look threatening. After spending yesterday afternoon & evening in the room relaxing, what I really wanted to do now was get out and walk around Paris.
We came back to the room to the room for a few minutes and our guide, Sylvie, called to firm up our dinner plans and see how we were getting along. She was nearby and offered to accompany us on our little walking tour. We happily accepted. When we got back downstairs, the sun was starting to come out.
We really enjoyed our walking tour! We left the Ritz / Vendome area and walked a few blocks south where we arrived at a park . We paused for a few minutes while the kids rode the carousel, and then began walking west through the park toward Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe. With the wide, gravel paths and green lawn, the park reminded me of the mall in Washington, DC. Justin & Sandy were having some trouble with their feet hurting, so they turned back to the hotel to relax while the rest of us continued. The kids had a great time running & playing as we walked.
At 1pm, as we were approaching the Arch, we decided to stop for lunch at a sidewalk café on Camps Elysees. The food wasn’t bad, but the service was terrible! Some people got their food, while others waited. After 90 minutes, some still did not have their “express lunch” entrees! Sylvie had another appointment and had to leave us as we were finishing up. They apologized and offered us free desserts & coffee, but we were ready to get walking again, so we declined.
We finally reached our goal for the day, the Arc de Triomphe, and it was magnificent to behold. The arch is enormous and sits in the center of a busy traffic circle. After taking a few photos, we noticed there were many people under the arch and on top of it. How could we get there? Cross the road frogger-style? Certainly not with the kids. We thought perhaps there was a crosswalk on the other side that we couldn’t see, so we began to walk around. Then, someone noticed a sign indicating that there was a tunnel under the road. Much better idea!
We found the tunnel, got out to the middle of the arch, and also bought tickets to go all the way to the top. Several hundred spiral stairs later, we were standing on top of Paris. The view was incredible. All the major roads seemed to lead to the Arch from all directions. We also had a nice view of the Eiffel Tower, where we would be eating dinner later.
After our visit to the Arch, we hailed a few cabs and went back to the hotel to relax and get cleaned up for dinner. We were to eat at the Jules Verne restaurant in the Eiffel Tower. We hired babysitters to watch all the kids except Brandon & Bailey who joined us for dinner.
The bus picked us up around 6:45pm for the short ride to the tower. The area was packed with tourists, of course, but we soon found the restaurant entrance & elevator. Everyone stumbled a bit when the elevator began moving diagonally up the tower instead of straight up as we normally expect.
The view from the top was outstanding, but… It is their custom to put large parties such as ours in the furthest room and unfortunately for us, that room faces West. The sun was blazing in the windows on us for the entire meal. It was already warm to begin with, but as the room filled up with people and the angle of the sun became even more direct, it became almost unbearable. Most men shed their jackets. Even though they lowered some translucent blinds, the sun was beaming right in our faces. It was a shame. I certainly did not enjoy the first 80% of the evening. I would rather have gone to MacDonalds and had some shade and air conditioning!
Finally, around 10pm, the sun sank below the horizon and we got some blessed relief from the heat & rays. But, it was too late to salvage the evening for me. I nibbled some dessert and waited impatiently for everyone to finish so I could get back to the hotel and take off my sweaty clothes. Roland went out for a smoke and I joined him outside to get some fresh air and enjoy the view. By the time we came back, it was time to go. As we were riding back to the hotel, the tower light up and began pulsing with thousands of strobe lights. Beautiful!
Tomorrow, we are scheduled to do a city tour & the Louvre.
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