Paris Day Three

Day three was for our visit inside the Louvre.  First, we went inside to buy tickets and to take Collin to see the pyramid from the inside.

Then we went back outside to eat lunch and to wait for Ethan to take his nap.

As soon as Ethan fell asleep it was time to go inside.  Ethan slept through the whole thing.  We were so happy.  We were dreading the idea of chasing him around the museum and telling him not to touch things.

Me and Collin with- Venus de Milo.  He liked that the arms were missing. He thought someone cut them off with a sword.

The ceilings are so amazing

We stopped for a bit so I could put a cartoon on the I-pod for Collin.  A lot of people chuckled when they saw him watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while we looked at the art.

Everyone should have a room like this in their house :)

Johnny viewing- The wedding feast at Cana.  It is hard to see him because the painting is so massive, but you can see his black hair there on the left.  It almost looks like he is in the painting.

 posing with- The Winged Victory of Samothrace

Johnny reading his tour guide while viewing- The coronation of Napoleon

In front of- The raft of the Medusa

Paris Day Two

Our sightseeing for the day began at Notre Dame.

Then we took a walk through the city on our way to Luxembourg Gardens.  Collin liked this fountain with the "spitting dragons", so we stopped for awhile.

Next stop was Luxembourg Gardens

I stopped in to a pastry shop along the way.  I can't pronounce the name of what I chose, but it was layers of pastry with vanilla cream and chocolate.  It really was delicious.

mmmm...  you can practically see me salivating

We stayed at this little play area for a few hours.  There were a lot of tourists there, but also a lot of local children.  It was fun to hear them all trying to speak to each other in different languages.  I think I heard French, English, Italian and Dutch.

After a rest at the gardens, we were ready to walk again.  Saint Chapelle cathedral is in the background.

Then it was another stop off at the Louvre.  Our feet were aching and it felt sooooo good to put our feet in the water

Next stop was a stroll up the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe.  We don't have many pics, because we only made it about half way.  Our feet couldn't take it anymore.  So, we just admired the Arc from afar.

So, we started to make our way back to the boat to catch a ride back to the hotel.  We stopped here at the steps of the Grand Palais for another rest.  As you can see Ethan was ready for a break.

 The Petit Palais

Paris Day One

My birthday celebration continued with a trip to Paris.  We had such a great time.  Paris with our two young children was an amazing adventure.  We felt very fortunate to be there together.  

our hotel

view from the balcony

walking to the Eiffel tower

we found it.  it was about a 10 minute walk from our hotel.  very convenient.

stopping for a quick snack

then we boarded our taxi boat for some more sightseeing along the Seine  

crossing a bridge on the Seine

stopped at the Louvre to play in the fountains

and on the ground

Collin loved it here.  His first impression:  "Look mama a big triangle"

It was really magical as the sun started setting.

then back to the boat for a ride back to the Eiffel Tower and the hotel

It was so fun to see the tower lit up at night from the boat.

The first part of every hour the twinkly lights turn on.  It was so pretty.  We had to walk backwards part of the way home, so Collin could still see the lights.  He loved it. He said "it's shining, the tower is shining"  the whole way home.

twinkly video

Birthday Cake

I had such a great 30th birthday.  I was so busy having fun, I barely had time to dwell on the fact that I am no longer in my twenties.  My very thoughtful friends baked a cake and brought it to me.   

It has a frosting brain on top  :)

The bakers- Melissa and Cat

New wheels

Watching Collin ride this bike puts such a smile on my face.  It has only been three days and he is already getting really good at it.  We are so grateful to his therapists for getting it for us.  Physical therapy and fun rolled into one, you cant beat that.