We got on a tourist boats near the Notre Dame and went upstream. Past the end of the Ile Saint Louis where men sunned their buttocks in the tiniest of swim trunks. And past the crowds at the Jardin des Plantes. And then we made a u-turn and headed back upstream along the right bank. We hopped off at the Louvre.
We turned away from the Seine and walked southwards towards the lovely Luxembourg Gardens. Along the way we enjoyed the quiet small streets of the left bank and came to the realization that this is the Paris we were looking for. Not the big city experience. Not the glitter and glitz of the monuments and buildings. Not even the beauty of the Seine.
Another thing I need to get off my chest. Door knobs. In Paris they are in the middle of each door. Which makes open and closing them more difficult because the lever arm is smaller while the typical door is bigger and heavier than it's American cousin. Curiously, every once a while you can find a thin plain narrow painted steel handle carefully set next the leading edge of the door where it would actually be used. But it is painted the same color as the door to remain hidden. Here is a study of door knobs from a section of Rue de Seine.
At the Luxembourg Gardens Jo and I were slightly put off by the nickel and dime-ing. You have to pay for everything - even swings. One and a half euro for 5 minutes per child after which a lady comes along and bumps the kid off the swing very politely but firmly. By the time we went to the ponies for rides, they were closed and Vivian had to console herself by petting a pony that took to her. The grounds of the park are beautiful. Vivian collected leaves and left a small arrangement for future visitors while Evan ambled along the fountains and pools and huge sycamores.
By this time we had been going for many hours. and the troops were getting restless. We stopped for a great dinner on a quiet cobble-stoned alley off Boulevard Saint-Germain. Evan fell asleep as soon as we set him down on a seat. We ordered and drank and ate and left. And then Evan woke up and indignantly asked why we left the restaurant without ordering any food. I'll choose your garden variety irrational Evan any day over the indignant Evan who has just awoken from slumber armed with wrong but deeply held thoughts.
We finally cheered him up and walked back to Pont des Arts just in time to catch the very last boat that would take us to the Eiffel Tower. It was about 11pm when we arrived at the tower, having sailed past many a quai with lively parties and hundreds of people. The area around the Eiffel Tower was still packed with crowds and every eye was on the golden tower. Evan suggested we climb up the stairs again. We quickly took a cab home before the kids got particularly attached to this idea and stumbled into our beds for the last night of this short trip to Paris.
Vivian and Evan had fun with the giant iron rings that are attached to the stone blocks on the walls of the quai. Then we headed up to street level and asked them if they wanted to see the Mona Lisa. Vivian had expressed interest in her the day before, but now as the Louvre came into view, so did a fair that was in progress along the side of the Jardin des Tuileries. Bye bye Mona Lisa.
We paid good money instead to put the kids in harnesses attached to giant rubber bands so they could bounce on trampolines. And to ride up on a ferris wheel (from where Jo and I looked back wistfully at the Louvre). From there we went on to a playground in the Tuileries Gardens. And by way of the Place de la Concorde with a glance down the Champs Elysées to the Arc de Triomphe and the "new" Arche at La Défense we returned to board a boat again and continue our trip down the Seine.
We stayed on the boat while she made another u-turn at the Eiffel and took us to the Pont des Arts. This is an all-metal pedestrian-only bridge across the Seine and it glitters during the day as if it is made of shimmering gold leaf. On closer inspection, it's brass locks - hundreds of thousands of them inscribed (or sharpie-ed) with names of lovers who locked them to the bridge then threw the keys into the Seine. These "love-locks" are a fairly new meme and are causing problems at bridges all over Europe (a few panels at this bridge looked new and it turned out they were replacements for ones that had collapsed under the weight of the locks a couple of months ago). The thought of all these lovers made Vivian very excited and she did many a happy dance while she carefully perused the locks. Evan - not so much.
We turned away from the Seine and walked southwards towards the lovely Luxembourg Gardens. Along the way we enjoyed the quiet small streets of the left bank and came to the realization that this is the Paris we were looking for. Not the big city experience. Not the glitter and glitz of the monuments and buildings. Not even the beauty of the Seine.
Another thing I need to get off my chest. Door knobs. In Paris they are in the middle of each door. Which makes open and closing them more difficult because the lever arm is smaller while the typical door is bigger and heavier than it's American cousin. Curiously, every once a while you can find a thin plain narrow painted steel handle carefully set next the leading edge of the door where it would actually be used. But it is painted the same color as the door to remain hidden. Here is a study of door knobs from a section of Rue de Seine.
At the Luxembourg Gardens Jo and I were slightly put off by the nickel and dime-ing. You have to pay for everything - even swings. One and a half euro for 5 minutes per child after which a lady comes along and bumps the kid off the swing very politely but firmly. By the time we went to the ponies for rides, they were closed and Vivian had to console herself by petting a pony that took to her. The grounds of the park are beautiful. Vivian collected leaves and left a small arrangement for future visitors while Evan ambled along the fountains and pools and huge sycamores.
By this time we had been going for many hours. and the troops were getting restless. We stopped for a great dinner on a quiet cobble-stoned alley off Boulevard Saint-Germain. Evan fell asleep as soon as we set him down on a seat. We ordered and drank and ate and left. And then Evan woke up and indignantly asked why we left the restaurant without ordering any food. I'll choose your garden variety irrational Evan any day over the indignant Evan who has just awoken from slumber armed with wrong but deeply held thoughts.
We finally cheered him up and walked back to Pont des Arts just in time to catch the very last boat that would take us to the Eiffel Tower. It was about 11pm when we arrived at the tower, having sailed past many a quai with lively parties and hundreds of people. The area around the Eiffel Tower was still packed with crowds and every eye was on the golden tower. Evan suggested we climb up the stairs again. We quickly took a cab home before the kids got particularly attached to this idea and stumbled into our beds for the last night of this short trip to Paris.
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