That bed is so comfortable! Téa and Maylin sleep well in the big master bed, and so Joe and I have a peaceful and long sleep. Well, long for my brain seems to mean waking up at 6.30am, no matter what. Long meaning uninterrupted!
We bought breakfast stuffs yesterday because restaurants open around 8am, and we knew we would be up earlier than that. However, once Maylin comes to say good morning, I join the girls in their big bed, and Joe sleeps until 8am! Still, we grab our sandwiches and yogurts out of the fridge, and eat breakfast at the tall bar table in the living room. We have a whole exciting city to explore!
I have a plan for the day, and it involves a lot of walking… The last time Joe and I did Paris, we did 20,000 steps and most sights in just one day (we only had one and a half day here last time, this time at least we have two and a half…), but with kids I’m not sure how much we’ll be able to cover. Good thing we have two full days left!
We walk over to the subway and make our way to Ecole Militaire, and I guide the others along a block until… suddenly, the Eiffel Tower is right there. I don’t care who you are or what you think of this tower, seeing it in real life is impressive. I may just turn today’s entire blog post into an Eiffel Tower appreciation post! But not really. There’s more to Paris than just this one tower.
We’re at the beginning of the park, behind us is a busy road and the military academy. Walking along the park makes the Eiffel Tower grow bigger and bigger for each step. We try to decide whether or not we want to go up, which we really should, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, even if it would be my third or fourth time…
When we get closer, Téa decides she is too nervous, and Maylin takes one look at the crowds and practically runs in the opposite direction. I guess the Eiffel Tower will have to wait for another day. But we do get some selfies instead!
Walking beyond the tower, across the bridge between the Trocadero and the tower, we find the Olympic rings, and the big queue to take the perfect picture with the tower in the background. We take a sideways picture from the other side instead, as the sun is now directly behind the tower and would make for a very backlit photo anyways.
Eventually, we drag ourselves away from the impressive tower… Because we have lunch on the schedule between here and the Arc de Triomphe! We find a bistro on a corner, and Joe and I decide to have breakfast! It’s only 11am, so why not?
After lunch, we didn’t have many blocks to go to find the Arc de Triomphe. I don’t know why, but this monument is one of my absolute favourites in Paris! The last time Joe and I were here, it was being renovated, and so it was covered in tarp. This time, it’s just simply spectacular. We don’t line up to climb the stairs to the floor here either.
The only avenue out of the 12 surrounding the Arc de Triomphe worth strolling along (not really, but when pressed for time) is the Champs Elysées, and we admire the sights as we walk along. Like Dior’s shiny shop:
We do make one stop, and no, it’s not for fashion! LaDurée, the famous macaron maker, has a café, a to-go coffee shop, and a macaron shop. We aim right for the back and the macaron counter.
We walk and walk and walk and walk, point, look, exclaim and walk some more. I tell stories from my previous visits, and we walk even more. Then we find a bench to stop and have a macaron break.
Our legs fortified with some sweet treats, we continue on our walk. We’re well beyond the 10,000 step mark by now, so we can only keep going to beat last time’s record!
At the end of the walk, all the way at the opposite end from the Arc de Triomphe, we finally found the Louvre! By now, our feet have walked many thousands of steps, and a total of over 7 kilometers. That’s a lot for tinier feet, as they generally don’t just walk in a straight line, and rarely just once!
After having completed the long walk I planned, we headed back home to relax for a bit. The girls had treats from yesterday to enjoy, so we couldn’t skip that!
After we relaxed for a while, blogged and played video games, it was time to head out for dinner. We had waited a long time for this restaurant even to open for dinner service at 6.30pm. We still left the AirBnb and arrived ten minutes before they opened. There were a few people waiting for them to open, so we lined up and scored a table outside.
After dessert, we walked back home to the AirBnb. We’ve had a full day, and got into bed, wondering what tomorrow will bring.
Aah, Paris….. and croissants. Your breakfast looked scrumptious, even without the egg.
Yup, I rarely meet a croissant I tolerate, but these are good!