Journal of Paris vacation: 1

I am finally on holiday!! Two weeks of Europe with the family; with the 1st week in Paris. The next couple of posts will be a journal of our trip...vive la France!

Day 1: Walking through the scenes of Paris

La Duree Breakfast on Quartorze Juillet...
Who knew that on the morning we had breakfast reservations at the famous La Duree on the Champs Elysee--we would be unable to savor the lovely desserts since the entire Champs Elysee was crowded and full of parade watchers for the Quartorze Juillet Parade... So we bought some crosissants, yogurt and pain chocolat at a nearby bakery and ate on the street while watching the military planes ahead fly by...what an experience. I heard later that there were about 1 Million people watching with us.

Tour Eiffel
Following our breakfast, we decided to check out the Tour Eiffel at the Trocadero. Although a great view, the vendors are everywhere selling tour eiffel trinkets by the dozen (1 euro for 3 towers etc.) I didnt mind this until someone placed 3 mini eiffel towers in Alec's little hand. Bad sales behavior in my book. No sale. Anyway, we moved on to get some drinks and rest our tired feet (we already walked at least 2 hours already the 1st morning.) We then took a Bateau Bus which is a tour bus on the water where you can hop on and hop off at various attractions along the Seine. It was nice, but kids can only take about the 1st 10 minutes, at the 40th it was more like (are we there yet????) We hopped off and walked the rest of the way to our hotel.

Dinner was at the Creperie and was very nice (tasted not as good as Pieter's pancakes but very tasty and nice atmosphere, and the best part it is 90 seconds away from our hotel) We savored the crepes avec sucre, et framboise... yum.

Jardin du Luxembourg
After dinner, we went through the Metro to a well reviewed park in one of the many 'kid-guide' books I bought on Paris. So this garden supposedly has a great playground and perfect spot for kids. Upon getting to the garden, after trekking through the ponds, forest and paths, we found an enclosed playground hideaway.

It was lovely, full of slides, rides, rope climbing and cool stuff, but but NOOOO!!! It was closed! It was only 8:45 PM so it was not dark, but apparently at 7 PM, this little play haven is locked up. (there is also a 3Euro charge to get in for adults and kids so they officially lock it up with gates.

Ah, tant pis. But heaven awaits, since on the way out of the park, we bumped into Amore one of the best gelato places in Paris, where their scoops are designed in a shape of a flower, so yummy and so pretty at the same time (a metaphor for the city i think). Anyway, we were happily digesting our cornets (cone in francais) when we stopped for tea before the big firework display.

Tea at Cafe Dauphine.
To prep for our firework viewing (at 11 PM at night) we decided to pass some time drinking tea and juices at Cafe Dauphine (never mind the 6.50 a cup for tea) This was a better place than we thought since we were able to wind down, drink tea, and prep the kids for a little wait before we actually see the big splash in the sky. (Mommy note: I bumped into a nice American in the bathroom who was also breast-pumping at the same time. I had to empathize with her, since that was me only 5 years ago. and how I can recall the days of inconvenient but worthwhile sacrifices we continue to go through for our kids.)

Fireworks!!!
Wow, we got a seat on the bridge next to the Place de la Concorde and sat among Japoneese, German, Dutch, French and more, all waiting for the celebration to begin. It took about 35 minutes before we saw the lights in the sky... The Tour Eiffel was basking in the light and we enjoyed every boom, splash, and glitter across the horizon. Alec got the best view on top of Pieter's shoulders and Bella and I tried to get a view through the street between the people. We decided about 20 minutes into the celebration to walk to the Metro to go home. The kids were absolutely tired. The coolest thing? While we walking, since the fireworks were just about getting done, but not yet completely finished, everyone, the cars, the people, the streets were FROZEN watching it all. While we walked back it was surreal, the Ruiters walking through Paris frozen in time on Bastille Day. A perfect way to end our 1st day...