Friday April 3 – Monday April 6, 2015
We took a trip to Paris to take advantage of the 3 day
Easter weekend. We rented an apartment we found on Airbnb. It was on the 24th
floor of a tower in Montparnasse with a view of the Eiffel Tower.
We dropped Chance off Thursday afternoon at a dog kennel
that was recommended to us by some friends. It’s 30 minutes away near the
Belgian border, but the dogs don’t stay in chainlink cages with a shared dog
yard where they go out twice a day. Here the dogs stay in communal living
spaces to sleep and has a great play yard where the dogs spend most of the day.
They post on Facebook daily a video of the dogs playing in the yard.
Friday 3 April
We made it out to door just before 9am to begin our drive
to Paris. We were in Belgium within 30 minutes.
Even at a pitstop cafeteria along the highway, Brooklyn
found a way to put her foot up in the high chair.
We walked to the Plaisance metro stop. We bought carnet
of 10 metro tickets. We intended to take the 13 blue line to the 4 purple line to
the Cite stop but once we got to Gare Montparnasse to transfer lines, we
discovered this line was under construction and the central city stations were
closed. Instead we transferred to the 6 green line to Charles de Gaulle Etolle
stop.
We immediately viewed the Arc de Triomphe upon exiting the metro into the rainy
weather. Jackie and Brooklyn in the
stroller at the Arc de Triomphe
Napoleon
commissioned the Arc de Triomphe to commemorate victory at Austerlitz. It is a big
at 165' high & 130' wide with 12 converging boulevards at the traffic
circle.
Next
we strolled down Avenue des Champs-Elysées, the famous boulevard/backbone of
Paris. I love the scale of Parisian buildings, a clear solid base, middle and
top with repetitive ornamentation indicative of the Art Nouveau period.
We
saw the showrooms for Peugeot, Citroen and Mercedes-Benz.
We gawked over
the Mercedes Benz car on display.
Jackie wanted to go in
Citroen for the interesting looking building and it had a massive slide!
We
passed the original Louis Vuitton
More
beautiful Parisian buildings
Quintessential
Paris: Art Nouveau metro sign & Eiffel Tower
We
continued walking toward the Seine River & the Eiffel Tower
We
made it to the Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel), the most visited monument in
the world which was built in 1889 for the World's Fair.
The
Eiffel Tower stands 1063' tall with observation platforms at around 200, 400,
& 900'. Jackie made plans to pay €5 and climb the 360 stairs to the first
level & possibly 360 more to second level where there are the best views on
a later day when the weather was better.
The
remodeled glass floor on the first level
The
beautiful ironwork of the Eiffel Tower
The
Eiffel Tower from Champ de Mars grassy park
Joe is back here after 12 years.
One quick wet rainy selfie at the Eiffel Tower (Brooklyn was napping in the stroller)
We
had an early dinner at Le Campanella. We ate foie gras, duck confit, pork
knuckle with an éclair for dessert. Brooklyn was an angel, an object of
attention for the male waitstaff.
Jackie
and Brooklyn enjoying our balcony view of the Eiffel Tower
Back
at the apartment we took nighttime photos of the Eiffel Tower from our bedroom
balcony
At
the top of the hour there is a 5 minute display that features thousands of
sparkling lights on the Eiffel Tower. We had the perfect view as we went to
bed.
Saturday 4 April
Today
we drove 35 minutes to Versailles, the palace chateau for the French royal
monarchy. It is one of the largest palaces in the world, one that many other
European palaces were built and modeled after. Once a small hunting lodge
expanded by Louis XIII and then expanded by his successor Louis XIV.
The
crowds in front of the Versailles Chateau in the Courtyard of Honour with the
left wing under renovation and the royal chapel to the right
Jackie
knew the lines would be long so she ordered tickets ahead of time online. Still
it took 1 hour and 45 minutes to get and we got there only 15 minutes after it
opened at 9am.
My
loves waiting in line to enter the Chateau
The
beautiful golden entrance gate
Brooklyn
and Joe at the Chateau
At
security Jackie knew she had read that no strollers were allowed, but they
would not allow us to bring our Deuter backpack because it had a metal frame.
We should have used the baby bjorn front pack for this location.
The
Chateau exterior from the Royal Courtyard
It
was very windy inside the courtyard and once you exited the temporary entrance
during the wing renovation, there wasn’t clear signage about where to go next.
The
golden gates from within the Chateau
Joe
and Brooklyn at the Versailles Chateau
Happy
Family at the Chateau
Versailles
Chateau Marble Courtyard
We
went and got a cappuccino and hot chocolate so Jackie could nurse Brooklyn for
her 11am feeding. Jackie loves these cuties!
Gorgeous
corridor
Joe
and Brooklyn admiring the view of the gardens while the fountains blasted high
in the sky
First
we toured through the mesdames’ apartments and Louis XV’s daughters. We saw
salon after salon, all intricately detailed and decorated.
The
crown moulding and ceiling details were amazing
The
old wooden floors throughout the Chateau
Beautiful
salon
Library
Sitting
room
Beautiful
staircase
Architect
Jules Hardouin-Mansart designed the Hall of Mirrors in the late 17th
century. At the turn of the century, the royal chapel was constructed.
Royal
Chapel from ground level
Another
gorgeous statue corridor
An
architect always loves intricate models
There
were great 3D animation videos showing the evolution of Versailles. Many can be
watched here:
Grand
stair
Brooklyn
fell asleep in her daddy’s arms.
Joe
offering up his first born to whomever this French guy is
Poor
kid getting posed by the statues
Upper
level hall outside the Royal Chapel
The
gold gilded doors to the Royal Chapel
Royal
Chapel from upper level
Gorgeous
hall
The
painted ceilings of every room in the kings chambers were astounding! With the
curved ceilings, the corners had to be extremely difficult.
Hall
outside the Hall of Mirrors
Those
cuties checking out the gardens for the Chateau windows
Hall
of Mirrors
Joe
and Brooklyn in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles
Jackie
and Brooklyn in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles
Arched
window wall of the Hall of Mirrors looking out onto the gardens
Matching
arched mirror wall in the Hall of Mirrors
Hall
of Mirrors
Yet
another grand room
Kings
chambers
Intricate
gold candelabra light fixture
Another
gorgeous ceiling
Queens
chambers
More
painted mural ceilings with gold
Daddy
posin’ with his sweet girl
Intricate
coffered ceiling
Finally
we walked through the Gallery of Battles, which is a museum of the history of
France.
Joe
tried to return our ‘audioguide’ as we waited to retrieve our backpack
Jackie
had said that the gardens were free, but we learned that today and on a few other
days that when they had the fountain show, the entrance fee was €9. After
Jackie explained how she studied these manicured gardens dotted with statues
& fountains in architecture school, we decided to pay the fee to see them.
They were laid out by Andre Le Notre. They were the model of the formal French garden.
Cuties
in the Versailles gardens
Versailles
Chateau, with the Hall of Mirrors on the middle columned floor
Versailles
gardens
Joe says: “This crazy woman kept following Brooklyn and me. Then photo bombs all of our selfies.”
Colonnade Grove, a curved colonnade of water fountains
Fountain of Apollo’s Chariot
The Grand Canal, Versailles Little Venice
We debated for awhile where to sit and possibly have a
coffee while Jackie nursed Brooklyn. By the time we decided, we discovered
Brooklyn was asleep in the backpack.
Versailles Chateau and gardens from Royal walk
We had been
worried if she was going to be able nap in the backpack. Guess we aren't going
to have that problem during our long 2 week vacation in Switzerland and
Northern Italy.
Dad being goofy
We decided to walk more of the gardens while Brooklyn
slept
We saw the Ballroom which probably looked amazing with
the water cascading down the stepped fountains.
There was such intricate detailing in the symmetrical
planting beds, topiaries and flower arrangements in the South Parterre.
Brooklyn was still passed out in the Versailles gardens.
We saw the Orangerie from the South Parterre.
The North Parterre
Joe and Brooklyn in the backpack walking in the
Versailles gardens
The Pyramid Fountain
The Dragon Fountain
Three Fountains Grove
The wind was starting to feel rather cold and we still
needed to wait an hour for the next 3pm water fountain show. We decided to head
back to our Paris apartment and take it easy the rest of the night.
Brooklyn trying on mom’s hat back at the apartment
Our view of the Eiffel Tower from our apartment
Sunday 5 April
We had dinner at a restaurant near the apartment, Le Café
Chineur.
Our view of the Eiffel Tower now lit up as the sun sets from
our apartment 
Sunday 5 April
Today we planned to attend the International Mass with
parts in English at the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Brooklyn got dressed in her Easter Sunday’s best
We got to Notre Dame around 10am and took a walk around
the exterior.
We love the 50ft
flying buttresses and the gargoyle rainspouts which
represent souls caught between heaven & earth.
Joe and Brooklyn at Notre Dame
Pont
de l'Archevêché, love padlocks on bridge
Family
selfie outside of Notre Dame
While
we waited for the 11:30 international mass at Notre Dame, we checked out around
the edges of the cathedral interior while there was a French mass going on.
Notre
Dame nave
Notre
Dame side aisle
Notre
Dame nave from the side aisle
Notre
Dame south transept rose window
Notre
Dame Cathedral holds 10,000 people. It felt pretty close to that Easter
morning.
Notre
Dame Cathedral model
The
stain glass windows in the choir side chapels
Notre
Dame north transept rose window
The
Eucharistic consecration at the ongoing mass
Notre
Dame choir
Notre
Dame organ
Rose
window above the Notre Dame organ
Notre
Dame candelabra
The
waiting area for those attending the next mass was the right in the middle of
the nave by the doors where everyone needed to exit. We took our chances and
snuck in through some side aisle barriers to get a good seat/pew once the other
mass let out.
Happy
girls at mass at Notre Dame
Brooklyn
had gotten real fussy during mass so Joe took her to rock her to sleep in the
side aisles. Too many people found her too cute and she was completely
distracted. He was finally successful but that didn’t stop people from wanting
to take her picture.
After
mass we walked across the pedestrian bridge Pont St Louis and down Rue St.
Louis-en-l'Ile. We ate a crepe lunch at Le Sarrasin Et Le Froment. We had one
sweet and one savory crepe.
Jackie
couldn’t resist stopping right afterward at the famous family owned Berthillon
ice cream parlor, even though we just ate and it was cold out.
Next
we walked over to the famous Cite Metro Stop sign from around 1900 with its
curvy plantlike ironwork iconic of the Art Nouveau period.
Jackie
beneath the Art Nouveau Cite Metro sign
Happy
girl cruising the Parisian streets with her parents on Easter
The
Seine River and the Eiffel Tower in the distance
We
made it to the Louvre
Part of the U-shaped 16th century palace,
Europe’s greatest museum, the Louvre
Louvre pyramid cloud reflections
Water reflections on the Louvre
The
Louvre pyramid from inside
The
Louvre entry
The
Louvre from beneath the pyramid
Joe
and Brooklyn at the Louvre
Spiral
stair at the Louvre entry
We
had to check the baby carrier backpack before entering the museum wings and
pickup a loaner museum stroller. Once we finally found the hidden elevator and got
over to the Denon wing entrance we discovered we needed entrance tickets. So Joe
went to go inquire where to get them which we thought should be free since it
was the first Sunday of the month. Jackie nursed Brooklyn in the meantime. Turns
out there was an entrance fee on Easter Sunday. We decided to not go and see
more of Paris rather than be inside on this beautiful day.
Brooklyn
and Jackie at the Louvre 
We
walked through the Louvre Passage Richelieu
Peak
into the Louvre Cour Puget and Cour Marly from the Passage Richelieu
Hotel
du Louvre
Another
original Art Nouveau metro sign
Jackie
with the metro sign
Love
all the detailing of buildings in Paris
Saint-Jacques
Tower, only the Gothic tower remains
We
walked over to Centre Pompidou, which has a modern art museum for free the
first Sunday of the month as well. This is another building Jackie studied in
architecture school. It was designed by Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano for a large
international design competition in 1971 with building completion in 1977. This
building is the height of high-tech architecture and the beginning of the movement
to expose the “guts” of buildings. It’s common today to see buildings with
exposed structure and mechanical ducts. Here is the precedent for this
expression. Centre Pompidou has an exposed skeleton of brightly colored tubes
for each mechanical system. Green pipes are plumbing. Blue ducts are climate
control. Electrical wires are encased in yellow tubes. Circulation elements and
fire safety devices are red.
Centre Pompidou
There was free admission into this one today but neither
of us felt like waiting in the long line. No special treatment for families
with babies here. Only for VIP members.
There was a man feeding these crazy pigeons
Old Art Nouveau metro post sign
Hotel de Ville
Jackie had wanted to go climb the Eiffel Tower at this
point but Joe was pretty tired and Brooklyn has getting fussier and fussier.
Jackie didn’t feel right climbing the 720 stairs and leaving Joe with a
screaming baby with no boob to sooth her. Instead we decided to save that for
one last thing to do Monday morning before leaving Paris.
We walked along the Latin Quarter, which was once the haunts of great poets
& philosophers.
We
had an early dinner here at St Stervin.
Brooklyn
enjoyed eating the bread, but this photo makes it looks like her daddy’s
sweater tastes pretty good.
Jackie
and Brooklyn at dinner in the Latin Quarter
Sunset
view of the Eiffel Tower from our apartment
Monday 6 April
We
had a rough night with Brooklyn. She was up about every 2 hours needing to be
rocked to sleep or fed to sleep. We think all the time in the cold wind was too
much for her. She was coming down with a cold. Jackie was also not feeling well
and knew she wouldn’t have had the energy to climb the Eiffel Tower even though
she really really wanted to. We decided to pack up early and make the 5 hour
drive back to Eindhoven.
We
passed Palais Garnier, the famous opera on our drive out of Paris. It was named
after its architect Charles Garnier for its opulence.
During
this trip Brooklyn has begun to really hate riding in her carseat. She will
just scream bloodly murder for 15 minute straight until we pull over and take
her out of the carseat. Carrides with her have become pretty awful. This is one
part of our trip back to the US in a week that we are not looking forward to: all
the time we spend in the car to get to everywhere.
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