La Tour Eiffel ( or: Our last Day in Paris )

We planned our last day carefully as we wanted to keep the boys out late and not wear
them down running about the city and walking vast kilometers, as we are wont to do.

We carefully packed up our little apartment and the boys watched "Ratatouille" on DVD. 
We don't take restful holidays, so this felt a little odd.  But our eye was on the prize -
the afternoon and evening at the Eiffel Tower!





At last the hour did fall and we set off out into the late afternoon for our last walk
around the city.

We browsed street stalls and breathed in the atmosphere as we made our way to the
batobus ( rivertaxi ) to take us to our destination.





As to be expected, the lines were huge and one of the lifts was out of order.
We've been up before and to be honest, the boys didn't care .. after a quiet day,
they were content to run around on the grass underneath and play tiggy.

Neither AB or I wanted to contend with meltdowns or demands for piggybacks climbing a tower.
We try to keep our vacations full of good memories, not of tantrums.

See also: not silly :p





So we just chilled on the grass along with everybody else. 
People watching..

Enterprising young men would come by with cold champagne in their backpacks,
bought from some local boozer for €5 and would sell them for €20. 

To be honest, it was a good little earner, and although we declined, we wished them well :)

After the kids had got grass stains all over themselves and we got bored of sitting,
we moved on to the carousel.








The kids were having a blast :)





Eventually it started to get darker.  It was a beautiful balmy evening -
it really couldn't have been more perfect for our last night.





As it got darker, brides started arriving on the scene to be photographed with the
Eiffel backgroup, or to be photographed riding on the carousel.  Some had hired
professional photographers, but one couple I watched, although dressed beautifully,
seemed to be capturing their wedding day on his smartphone? 

Which of course meant he really wasn't in the pictures. 
They both seemed very happy though, and who knows, maybe it was a fashion/
photography assignment for Uni .. but still, it amused me a little :)








All good things must come to an end, however, and by now the boys were getting tired.

We started walking back to the train station and admired the moon and the tower
by night - so very gorgeous:





And then we went home to bed, full of mixed emotion.
We had the countryside ahead of us, but such an amazing time in the city we were leaving behind.
We'd done so much!  We'd done so little!





Goodnight Paris! x












More Paris/France posts from our holiday here:
i-phone montage
The Arts et Métiers Train Station
Les Marchés de la France
The Cafe de la Prominade
Our Paris Apartment
Amsterdam
Les Averries :: Our Country House in France
Paris Daily
I Heart Versailles

Similar, but Different...

• The Arts et Métiers Train Station
• This is Versailles
• Paris Daily
• Les Marches de la France

This is Versailles: 2012 Edition

It's true i've drip-fed a 2012 holiday over 2yrs now, but it's also true I write this blog primarily
for me, as a diary ( and there was a lot of stuff we did to sort through! :) )

It seems every school holidays I get a little chance to add to it further, and these school
holidays are no different.  It's just important for me to do it, and have it done :)

So this is Versailles.


I've been lucky enough to visit Paris once before, as a couple, but a jam-packed schedule
meant no time for leaving the city, and Versailles is a train ride out of town and takes up
a whole day easily.




Seeing as this was a "Paris with Kids" holiday and we'd spent all our time delighting them,
and trying not to drag them through too many castles and galleries, my only wish this time
was to see Versailles.

Plus I am a bit of a sucker for a trip on a train :)





There was an amazing art exhibition on at the time which I found fascinating as I
didn't expect it at all. 

I really liked how the artist's work both blended and complimented the opulence
and more traditional art on show.

















My favourite piece was the crocheted lions below.  I could have admired them for hours,
but the natives were restless.  Gone are the days of contemplative meditations in galleries,
soaking in the details .. hustle!  hustle!  hustle!

A few times I found myself alone in a room full of strangers.  My "seen it, next!" family
several rooms ahead, as I eavesdropped in on snippets of guided tours and soaked it all in.

 ( Still, I took the boys to the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition in Canberra last year and my
eldest held my hand and paused to ask questions about the works and the era as we
shared a headset.  It was a happy day :) )





These works/ installations were all by Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos
You can read more about her and this exhibition here:

http://www.designboom.com/art/joana-vasconcelos-at-versailles/






My boys and a selfie :p






After thoroughly discovering the Versailles interior, we headed outside and boarded a
trolley car to take us to Marie-Antoinette's Estate. 

We thought we were quite clever by avoiding the crowds, but alas, when we arrived,
we had like almost 2hours to kill before they opened the gates on the Petite Trianon. 

*Le Sigh*

The Petite Trianon was Marie's little house to escape court life, although when I say
"little", it's still quite the palace and would still be an impressive huge home if you
plonked it down in modern Toorak.

So we hung out nearby and drew with sticks in the dirt and played chasies for a while
and waited..





We also checked out Marie's little mill and little farm.

Much has been made of the fact the Queen liked to 'escape to the country' with
her children and pals.  They'd don peasant garb and milk goats and play at the simple life,
albeit, in a romanticised way.

The people of France, already not in love with the aristocracy, hated on her all the more.
They were living the peasant life, and there was no-one to pre-wash THEIR goat's teats or
groom them all pretty-like before they had to do the hard yards.





The truth is many wealthy French aristocrats built similar faux peasant estates on their properties.
It was a bit of a garden trend, the same as crazy paving and pink flamingos in the 50's.

Rustic life was very popular in paintings and plays/novels of the time, and of course must
have been a welcome relief from the stuffiness of court life at Versailles. 

I know if I worked in the Melbourne CBD all week, i'd be wishing I had a pad to retreat to
down the Peninsula. 

Plus, I love to hang out in the garden and pet animals.  Sounds ideal to me.





Everything was rather idyllic and painterly.

However, the fish in the pond grossed me out a LOT.  ugh.





Disgusting.


Finally, in the heat of the day, when everyone was tired and getting cranky,
we boarded the trolly car again and found even more painterly wonder.





Are you freaking KIDDING ME?
Awe-some.


Boat hire was quite reasonable, but to be honest, resistance would have been useless.





best put the kiddos to work then ....




^ I love this pic of AB ❤



Yeah, Versailles was pretty unimpressive.





I wouldn't recommend it AT ALL :p








P.S. : You can see other images from our holiday here:
i-phone montage
The Arts et Métiers Train Station
Les Marchés de la France
The Cafe de la Prominade
Our Paris Apartment
Amsterdam
Les Averries :: Our Country House in France
Paris Daily

Related articles

• Female artist's works fill Versailles palace
• La Tour Eiffel ( or: Our last Day in Paris )
• Paris Daily
• Holidays .. In No Particular Order ( This is Paris 2012 )

Paris Daily

We were lucky enough to go to Paris once before as a couple, and we did all the things
most people do when they go to Paris - 1000x museums, up the Tower, the Mona Lisa ..
all that good stuff.

I remember we took a moonlit ferry, and shopped and touristed.
Visited churches, looked at art.


This time, we did none of that.  Well, not really.
We got to see a different Paris .. one more suited to kids .. the low road I guess.

I actually think we had a better time.





The first thing we did when we got into town was take a bus tour.  We normally do ..
to get bearings and note things and places we might want to come back to later.

This time we also had the internet, which is fabulous if you don't like tightly planning
things ( we don't! ).  We basically planned each day the night before from our room.

Very civilised!








We arrived while the London Olympics were on. 
The town square had beanbags out and giant screens for people to enjoy.
The atmosphere was fantastic, but we moved on quickly .. things to do, places to see ..





Our day would normally start with a walk through our neighbourhood, eventually
descending into the Metro.  Paris has some amazing stations, like the amazing
Arts et Métiers Station that I only discovered after whizzing through one day and I was like
"Oh My God - I have to go back there" and led to a merry google that night to find other
interesting stations ...

But there are plenty of normal stations too.








Of course, the Eiffel Tower.  Deserving of its own post .. this is just a quick look!

I really wanted to get this pic, but the kids didn't.

I still like it anyway:





We also visited a lot of parks and gardens.  I don't think we visited any on our first trip
here sans kids?  I suppose gardens can be pretty boring..








( Jardin du Luxembourg .. gorgeous .. )








... and sometimes, you might be walking through and find an amazing playground ..
or trampolines .. or even, in warmer months, a fair!











Spoiled .. I tell ya... :)


We even found a Zoo...





Paris for children is fabulous, it really is.

And while all this jumping and swinging and squealing went on, AB and I were often
just kicking back on a park bench and enjoying the show.

Considering we dont get much
down/alone time as a couple, it was nice just to sit and be in each other's company. 


One day, we took the Metro to Père Lachaise Cemetery .. one of those must sees we
missed last time.


The cemetery itself is beautiful and my kids love looking at graves.




We just meandered around.  Jim Morrison's grave isn't anything exciting but I did love
Oscar Wilde's.  It's a bit odd with the perspex around it to protect it from lipstick and graffiti..








My kids taking Zombie pics of each other while a cemetery cat looks on:





And then after a day of full-on exploring and playing, we'd make our way back to our
apartment in the Marais district, close to Notre Dame and The Centre Pompidou.

Usually some crème glacée would be consumed, or maybe some other treat.
Who am I kidding?  It was always icecream :)








That little pillar-top pose on the right there was inspired after watching the breakdancers
perform.  Loves a bit of street, that one.  The other guy is just too cool to smile with his new specs.


Well, i'm doing pretty well to remember all this I think .. just two more posts to go -
the trip to Versailles .. and our last night in town at the Eiffel Tower.



Xx
Lea

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