Invaded

A few friends and I escaped to Paris last weekend. I was on the look out for Space Invaders. Thanks to Jennifer's eagle eyes we spotted quite a few. Have a look ~

Apparently the invasion in Paris is still in progress. Read more here.

Kids in Paris (part deux)

Kids in Paris.

Kids in the Tuileries

Kids in the Trocadero.

Kids in the Metro.

Kid on a carousel in the Tuileries

Kids thinking.

Kids on the tour bus.

Kids in front of a street performer in front of Notre Dame.

Kid over the Seine.

Kids on a statue in the Tuileries.

Kids eating at the Palais de Chaillot.

Kids in a museum.

Kids in Paris.

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For those of you who are preparing for Thanksgiving, here is a link to the Thanksgiving printables I shared last year.

Kids in Paris

You don't need to guess what 3 girls ages 4, 5, and 6 wanted to do in Paris, do you? Go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, of course! We tried to book tickets online, but found they were all sold out. Instead we decided to take Rick Steves' advice and get there first thing in the morning. Worked like a charm! There was a small line and we were through it in no time.

We were sadden to see that the tip top was closed that day. But it's hard to be sad standing in front of the Eiffel Tower so up we went to the 2nd floor. Pictures were taken, views were enjoyed. See for yourself ~

Buying tickets

Looking up.

Looking from the elevator.

Taking in the view (or trying to fit face in metal circle)

Ah, Paris!

Mama and daughter.

Tower shadow.

Time to go down.

Reading about Paris

I've had Paris on the brain again lately. I think it is reading these posts that are doing it to me. Must figure out when we can go again! Until then I'll enjoy the day dreaming. Here is a list of children's books about Paris, France, and works of art that can been seen in Paris that have been recommended. Books are truly a great way to get your kids excited about travel. Thanks to Lucia and Christina for sharing their kiddos favs.

Adele and Simon by Barbara McClintock

La La Rose by Satomi Ichikawa

Degas and the Little Dancer by Laurence Anholt

This is Paris by Miroslav Sasek

Eloise in Paris by Kay Thompson

The Magical Garden of Claude Monet by Laurence Anholt

Katie meets the Impressionists by James Mayhew

Linnea in Monet's Garden by Christina Bjork

Leave a comment to share additional books. I'll add them to the list.

**Picture is from our trip to Paris after Christmas. Audrey was holding on for dear life in the Metro. Once she got the hang of it she refused to sit down, wanting only to stand and hold onto a pole.

{Paris}

Bound and determined to see Degas' Little Fourteen Year Old Dancer, we headed to The Musee d'Orsay they next day. Eva became interested in this statue after she brought home this book from her school library. The book tells the story of Marie Van Goethem, a ballet student at École de Danse in Paris in the late 1800s. Marie began to pose for Degas to earn money to pay for her dance lessons. The result of all those hours of posing was the statue. Degas dressed his statue of Marie in her ballet uniform, including the peach ribbon she had tied in her hair. This was the detail that most intrigued Eva - her ribbon, her "real" clothes. It was interesting to watch Eva try and make that connection between the book, a young girl she could relate to, history, something famous, and something she could actually see. Yes, we saw the real ribbon that was really hers*.

Audrey got caught up in the excitement too. Although she listened to the book too she didn't really get it. She just had fun going around the sculpture saying, Degas?!?! Where's Degas? This Degas? Mom, look it's Degas!!

The book said that the statue was housed in the Louvre. But as we discovered, it's NOT!! As the Louvre guard told me, "All impressionist work is in the Orsay. " Now you know too. BTW, books are a great way to get kids excited about traveling. This book is wonderful too. We got Eva this one for her birthday as well as her own copy of Degas and the Little Dancer.

What are your favorite books about art/travel for kids?
I'd love to compile and share a list.

*There were 7-8 Marie statues cast. I don't know where the real, real, real one is housed with her real uniform and bow. But this detail didn't seem important to share with Eva.

The 2 pictures in this post were taken by our friend Jenn. Most of mine were blurry or strange. I think I was over excited too. Ha!

{Paris}

~The Louvre~

Normally we wouldn't have attempted the Louvre with the kids or without, honestly. It was just so incredibly crowded it didn't seem like the right time. But, we were searching for a specific work of art. According to our information (which was wrong) it was housed in the Louvre. So, off to the Louvre it was for us.

After about 5 minutes of standing in line a fairy godmother dressed in a museum uniform approached and directed us to the entrance. We guessed it was due to the age of the girls and the stroller. Another reason we don't want them to grow up - line cutting at museums. Note to self: even if the children do indeed grow up, still force them into a stroller when standing in line at famous sites. Once in our plan was simple, find the statue, look at it and leave. Not so easy.

Since everyone in the world was at the Louvre that day the coat check was full, that meant we got to haul a stroller, 4 winter coats, 4 scarves, 2 hats and 4 pairs of gloves through the bursting at the seams museum. ugg. It had stairs too, did I mention that? We piled all the gear into the stroller and set off.

After reading the museum map I was pretty sure the statue that we wanted to see was not housed there. I tried standing in the information line, but it never moved. So ,we decided to see the Mona Lisa and go from there. We made it to the room where she was housed only to see people at least 5 deep surrounding her. See for your self:

Bryce put Eva on his shoulders so she could see. Can you find her?
This was a great solution. However, the security guards didn't agree.
Bryce held my point and click over his head and snapped a picture. I'm not sure why I wanted one. Everyone else was doing it, I started feeling like maybe we should too. It's smaller than you'd think, no?

We're at the Mona Lisa. Let's take a picture. Never mind that she's not in the picture.

After the Mona Lisa we headed for the Venus de Milo. There I asked a security guard about the statue we wanted to see. He told me all Impressionist work is housed in the Musee d' Orsay. Doh! All in all we managed to see 3 things in the Louvre - the Mona Lisa, Venus de milo and Nike of Samothrace. Not bad for a museum trip with 2 little kids. We'd try our luck again the next day at the Musee d'Orsay.

{Paris}

We also really enjoyed our stroll through the Tuileries. It was just what we needed after braving the crowds in the Louvre.

{Paris}

Our post Christmas trip to Paris seems so long ago, but it hasn't even been a month. It was a short visit, but was packed full of wonderful experiences. One of the highlights was a Ferris Wheel ride at the Place de la Concorde. It was pricey, but worth every penny. It went around 4 times. We could see all of Paris.
View of the Champs-Elysees. Can you see the Arc de Triomphe at the end? Squint. They were excited too. Notice La Madeleine in between the girls. Sacre Coeur on the hill in the distance. Notice the "old lady" in the background, not the one in the foreground.

Greetings

In the Louvre. Nike of Samothrace in the distance

We hemmed and hawed and couldn't figure out where to go after Christmas. Too burned out on airplane travel. Too tired to drive very far. Ah! Paris! Only a 3.5 hour drive. Perfect. We had a busy 3 days - battling through the crowds to show the girls the highlights of Paris! They were incredible troopers! Now we're back in Luxembourg in time to ring in the New Year.

Here's wishing you the Happiest New Year!

Odd Ball Paris

Some things that caught my eye . . .

This was the controller to the audio guide on our Seine Cruise. I think it's obvious why this caught my eye .

Saw this super hero in the park next to the Eiffel Tower. Apparently Lois Lane was danging from the top of the tower and I failed to notice.

Wondering if they have an office in Lux.

Tourists on Segways. Really? Have they not seen Arrested Development? Do Segways not conjure up the image of GOB scooting around for them? I just cannot take this seriously. Too geeky even for this nerd. (masks have been added to protect the identity of the segwayers.) Any segway enthusiasts out there?

One of the coolest street signs I've seen.