Wednesday 24 April 2013

Spring Break -- Trip to Paris

We just got home after spending 5 days in Paris, France!  This is our last big trip before we head back to the states in less than 7 weeks.  The kids really wanted to see the Eiffel tower the Mona Lisa so that was on our agenda.  Daddy wanted to visit the Museum of the Middle ages, while I wanted to see the d'Orsay, Claude Monet's water lilies at the de' Orangerie and the Palace of Versailles.  We had a packed schedule and I can't wait to share with you what we saw and did:)  We decided to take the Euro star people train across the channel instead of flying as we haven't done that with the kids before

It took 2 hours by train to reach Paris and the kids occupied themselves with electronics and card games 

Princess was able to capture Daddy's undivided attention to play a game of chess.  Since this was very early Tuesday morning, she had Daddy on the run for most of this game but in the end he finally won.  It won't be too long before she is beating him;)

After checking into our hotel we made our first stop to see Notre Dame Cathedral!  I didn't realize that this year.  the Cathedral is celebrating 850 years!

there was a huge crowd and line to get in.  In fact every where we went in Paris there were huge crowds!

Beautiful Stain glass windows

beautiful wall decor

statues


This was one of the Chandeliers that was brought down for cleaning I think



During our tour,  a service began so the kids heard a little bit of the service and the singing

I am trying to be artistic with this photo:)

The Cathedral's baptismal

Outside the the church by the front doors.  My only thought with this tour was we were really rushed through so we didn't get to spend as much time seeing the Cathedral as I would have like...

After the Cathedral we decided to take a city Bus tour to get the lay of the land

Driving by Arch of De Triumph 

Our first sighting of the Eiffel Tower!
We saw many street art and this picture appealed to me:)

It was a great first day and we packed as much in to every day as we could:)  Hope you enjoy this mini tour of Paris.

8 comments:

  1. WOW Just beautiful! So glad you got to go before you head back to the US! Safe travels! Blessings!

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  2. Unbelievable shots...first of all two hours to Paris? WOw....the train is remarkable!!
    The pictures are just beautiful....what a grand time you had!
    My huby and I were in Europe only once and that was summer of '96 a few yrs before the kids were born....ND was shut down for renovation/cleaning. We couldn't even get near it! Eventually we'll go back with the boys to see it all again. We're thinking in 3-4 summers...
    Thx for sharing!

    xoxo
    Chris

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  3. Wow!!! I can't wait to see more !!!

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  4. Jetting off to Paris for spring break! You are so cosmopolitan! Was the service in Latin? The church is gorgeous! Those sketches are cool! I know I use too many "!'s", but your travel experiences warrant them. Hopefully I'm not blasting your virtual ears out.

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  5. I like your cathedral pictures. We did almost the exact same things as you in Paris. I have a friend there right now and I hope she has a wonderful time too.

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  6. Paris on Eurostar is such fun. Looking forward to the next few posts.

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  7. I loved the mini tour of Paris. I actually took French in High School and loved the language. I hope someday to visit there. I have ancestors from France. The pictures of the adventure were awesome and so I hope there is more.
    Blessings!

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  8. This is bringing back memories of mine and Gary's weekend in Paris over Christmas. It's such a special place to visit, so pleased you managed to go before heading back home!

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