Notre Dame and The Eiffel Tower

It's hard to beleive we hit only two landmarks on a day that was so full.


We started the day with pastries and Pellegrino from the little bakery down the street. I'm pretty sure I'll never have another croissant back home. I would just be disappointed. The croissant from this bakery is probably the best thing I've ever put in my mouth.


After waiting for rush hour to clear, we met the Fromily and began our public transit adventure at about 9 a.m. I have to say we did a really great job of navigating the system today, although the credit really has to go to the other 3 adults...I pretty much just walked along and let them tell me where to go.


We began our day at Notre Dame. Not sure I can count how many times we collectively said "WOW!". It was absolutely amazing! I know our pictures will not do it justice, but I also know it is a sight our mind's eye will never forget. There is soooooo much detail in everything. Walking up to the cathedral, it looks elaborate, but you have absolutely NO idea how intricate the carvings are until you get up close...and the stained glass, oh my! As it is Holy Week, every crucifix was shrouded in purple cloth; it was truly moving. You would think with three small children that touring a holy place where you are asked to remain quiet would be difficult, but not with Cricket, Sprout and Boo. They were phenomenal the entire time!

Upon leaving Notre Dame we grabbed some lunch and headed back to the RER to our second destination, Tour de Eiffel. We decided to walk through the park on our way to the tower. The park was beautiful and the kids got a special treat, ducklings. There were about six ducks and two dozen ducklings in the pond. It was so neat to just stand and watch them...the girls were mesmerized.

Soon we left the ducks and headed to the line to go up the Eiffel Tower...and boy was it a line. We took TONS of pictures before we even went up. The Eiffel Tower is so much more impressive in person, Matt was in engineer heaven! After about 2 hours we made it to the second level, a spectacular view of Paris. We had originally intended to go all the way to the top, but after realizing it would be at least another hour in line, we opted for a snack and a trip on the "miracle round" for the kids (that's a merry-go-round for those of you who don't speak 3 and 5- year-old).

Next, we headed back for another seemless transit adventure. That night Matt and I decided to try the creperie near the hotel and the Fromily opted for pizza. Our food was fantastic, although we admittedly had no idea what we were ordering. I have learned that moving your hands parallel to the table while keeping a big smile on your face is the universal sign for, "our food is wonderful, but we don't need anything else, thank you."

After dinner, the women and children gave in to exhaustion and the men headed down to a nearby pub for a beer. All in all a fantastic day!