Monday, January 19, 2009

Paris 7 - 11 January 2009

Our first view of the Eiffel driving in at 1.01 pm

Frozen water in the fountain

Frozen fountain again




Andrew and I at dinner


Ella with her chocolate glacé






Outside the buildings of the Louvre





Ice in the fountain




The kids were fascinated by the ice everywhere





Me at the famous pyramid at the Louvre





Samuel (and the top of Ella's head) in front of the Carousel

(we called it the "Paris eye")
Pigeons enjoying the frozen fountain



Ella enjoying the frozen fountain


Place de la Concorde



View from Paris Eye







Us with the sun in our eyes




Us on Irene's last day in Paris


Ella eating (again)


Irene on her last day in Paris


Outside Louvre


Arc de Triomphe


The kids in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe




So exciting!!! So much to do!!! So expensive!!!

It was snowing as we drove in to Paris. The whole city looked like it was covered in a big, white, furry blanket. It was very beautiful and very cold. Our first view of the Eiffel Tower was thrilling as we drove along the Seine River.

We found a great place to stay in the 1st Arrondissement (1er) near the Louvre which I would recommend. We booked 2 double rooms for Andrew and I and the kids (55€ each) and a single room €35 for Irene and value wise I thought it was great value considering Paris prices. (The name of the hotel is Hotel Tiquettone, if you’re interested). We parked the car in secure underground parking and received a discount through the hotel. Parking is at a premium in cities generally. I think the most we have paid was 35€ a day in Barcelona. After parking the car, we walked everywhere which was a big relief for me and our driver too (that’s Andrew).


We ate out every night at a different restaurant – it was great. Gee, it’s going to be a bore going home to cook dinner every night after 2 weeks of being waited on.

We walked for miles, well for as long as we could considering the cold and wearing out the kids’ legs. The snow and ice made Paris extra fun for the kids especially when the water in the fountains froze and Andrew let them walk on the ice in the fountain. I was freaking out as per normal because I thought they could fall through.

Paris was very beautiful in winter but it was a little limiting with the cold. While queuing for the Eiffel Tower my feet got so numb I could hardly walk without it hurting. I don’t want to be boring about how cold it was but it really was freezing and coming from Mount Isa we’ve never had that sort of cold before (and never want to again!) But at least it wasn’t raining! Andrew and I had been up the Eiffel Tower before but we wanted to take the kids up.

A lot of my photos look foggy and blurry. That’s because it was all foggy and blurry while we were there. We took quite a bit of video as well but I’m yet to work out how to put that on the blog.

The tourist things we did in Paris were fun but apart from the boat cruise down the Seine I thought they were overpriced especially the carousel. The Carousel on the Champs Elysees (the Paris eye we called it) turned 3 times and we were done and dusted. It cost 9€ per adult and 6€ per child. I was very irritable with that one.

One of the most enjoyable things was the boat cruise down the River Seine in a glass-enclosed boat (read warm) with a commentary in English and also a pamphlet to read describing everything along the way. It lasted about an hour and we could take lots of photos.





2 comments:

The Telfers at Warragal Park said...

Hello Anne,
I just noticed that you are a follower of our blog. I have had a bit of a look at yours, and it seems you have done quite a bit of travelling in France. Your experience of Paris was very different from our summer visit.
I will be glad to keep up with your adventures in France now that we are back in Australia.
Caroline Telfer.

Chez Speedies said...

Hi Caroline I wanted to ask you how your children coped with the french school system when you first came to France.