Paris ... An Adult's Point of View

Last week we took a four day trip to Paris. We had a fantastic time. I thought I would break the recap into two postings - one from the point of view of the adults on the trip and the other on the children's impressions.

Despite my apprehension about traveling "internationally" from Italy, this was a very easy trip. We flew in and out of Rome's Fiumincino airport (the main Rome airport) to Charles De Gaul in Paris. From our apartment we were able to catch a train to the airport and got there with plenty of time to spare. We were traveling light - only one hiking backpack with clothes for all four of us (aren't you impressed Mom!) - so with just that and the stroller, going through security and check-in was a piece of cake. Our flight was on time and even included a meal. So we arrived rested and happy into Paris two hours later. Our departure from the airport was just as easy as our arrival had been. And because both Italy and France are EU countries, we didn't even have to go through immigration. We just grabbed our luggage and hopped on the train to Paris.

I had arranged for us to stay in a triple room in a hotel just south of the Luxembourg Gardens (the Montparnasse district). I had been a bit concerned about the size of the accommodations given all I've heard about tiny Paris hotels, but this was perfect. There were three twin bed (with 2 pushed together) and an additional stowaway bed. So no kids were crowded together and we all had plenty of space. Plus, the hotel was within walking distance of the enter city so with the exception of the one day when it poured, we walked everywhere.

Here's a quick summary of the highlights:

Day 1: (arrived mid-afternoon, travel into Paris, hotel check-in) Luxembourg Gardens, Notre Dame, dinner in the Latin Quarter, evening river walk past Musee D'Orsay, Invalides, and Eiffel Tower (from a distance), stroll back to hotel.

Day 2: Tuileries Garden, Place de la Concorde, walk the Champs d'Elysees, Arc De Triomphe, walk to Palais de Chaillot, Eiffel Tower, Invalides (visit inside of church and museum - featuring various military exhibits), river walk, dinner in the Latin Quarter, back to the hotel tired and full.

Day 3: Metro to Louvre, See as much of the Louvre as the kids could take (about 4 hrs), since rain has ended walk along Rue de Rivoli past the Place du Chatelet, enter the Place des Vosges, visit the Place de la Bastille, back to Notre Dame, walk through the Latin Quarter and get dinner here again (are you noticing a pattern?), return to hotel.

Day 4: Walk past Musee D'Orsey, Tuileries Gardens, Place Vendome, tour Opera Garnier, see Sacre Coeur from afar, walk to Gare du Nord, train to CDG airport, back to Rome.

All in all, we exhausted ourselves with walking and sight seeing each day, and rewarded that hard work with very good meals each evening. The weather helped us out by being clear (though a bit chilly) and only raining on the one day we went to the Louvre. This was a great relief as we've done our fair share of sight seeing in the rain and it isn't so fun.

My initial impressions of Paris (CJ's been here a few times before) were very positive:

- Getting around with the kids was very easy. Paris' streets (and sidewalks) are much wider and more spacious than Rome's. So we were jostling on the sidewalk to get through crowds or push the stroller around slow moving smokers. Plus, the sidewalks and streets have smooth pavement or at least large smooth cut stone pavers, so none of the cobbles that make pushing the stroller so hard in Rome.

- Friendly Parisians. With the exception of the folks we encountered our last day in the Place Vendome area - who all acted as if they owned the sidewalks, most Parisians were very friendly toward us (despite the face that we were clearly American). One restaurant server even chanted President Obama's "Yes we can" when he heard we were from the States.

- Lots of Park Space: We loved that almost every major site had a large public/park space associated with it. Between the Luxembourg Gardens, Tuileries, Parc du Champ de Mars (at the Eiffel Tower) and the other playgrounds we happened upon all over the city, the kids had lots of opportunities to run around and burn off energy. Plus, mom and dad were happy that they were able to play away from the dangers of cars.

- Food: While I love Italian food (who could hate pizza and pasta?), it was great to get a break from that food for a while and dine on other foods we love. We enjoyed more than our share of french onion soup and escargots (both were consumed by me or CJ every day), we had both meat and cheese fondue, lots of red meat/steak, french fries, crepes, and various tasty pastries. We also enjoyed our cafe creme to go - an option not available in Italian cafes. (We did spot our first Starbucks - we didn't go in - since we've been in Europe.)

All in all, we had a great time. We saw a lot of sights, ate great food, and didn't have any major incidents! And the fact that the kids had a great time (see the next post) made it all the more fun.

[Pictures are (top to bottom): (1) View of Pantheon from Luxembourg Gardens, (2) 2nd shot from Luxembourg Gardens, (3) Invalides at night, (4) Place de la Bastille, (5) Notre Dame at sunset, (6) Notre Dame up-close, (7) Notre Dame from Pont de Archeveche, (8) Pantheon at night, (9) Opera, (10) Outdoor front balcony of Opera.]