Sunday
Today was a planned down day — both to recover from spending all day at Versailles and in preparation for Disney Paris on Monday. Everyone slept in, we had a leisurely breakfast, I went shopping at the market and the grocery store, and then we headed to lunch near by. We ate at an authentic Chinese restaurant where we especially enjoyed the dumplings and pork buns. We struggled a bit with one of the chicken dishes — apparently it’s customary to serve chicken without deboning the breast meat first, so there were many many little bones and pieces of cartilage in the dish. We liked the overall flavor, but had a hard time getting past the bones.
Keller stopped at a local barbershop for a quick haircut and then we went to a small patisserie up the road that was recommended by our AirBNB host. The kids and I each had ice cream and Keller chose two pastries.
Otherwise the rest of the afternoon was spent resting, quiet time, screen time, and reading.
Monday
Disney Paris! The kids were very excited to go to Disney and see how it compared to Disneyland in California. The website said the parks opened at 10am, so we wanted to be there by 9:15. That meant we needed to walk out the door at 7:45. We grabbed some sandwiches and pastries from the boulangerie downstairs and caught the M11 subway and then the RER A subway out to Disney.
Timing was just about right! By the time we got there, went through security, and took care of the bathroom, we were standing at the gate at 9:20. As we guessed, the gates were open at 9:30 and we were off!
We started with the smaller park — Disney Studios. Since we only had one day to do the park, we were focused on hitting the highlights of the park and not every single little ride.
Our first stop was the Tower of Terror. Kamy rode it back in Disneyland, but Caden was too little last time. Both kids liked it!
Next we picked up Fast Passes for the Ratatouille dark ride and then crossed over to Rockin’ Roller Coaster. It’s essentially the same ride as XPress 13 at Walibi, so we knew it would be a hit. The lines were very short, so we waited for the front row and rode twice! That brought us to our FastPass admission time. Ratatouille is a trackless dark ride, with 3D glasses. I think we could have done without the 3D, but it was a cute ride and we liked it.
The performance, Micky and the Magician, was in thirty minutes, so we stood in line to access the theater and ate our sandwiches. The show was really cute! I was very impressed at how they used both French and English in the show — which made it easy to follow what was going on. My favorite part was the section about the Lion King with fantastic props like the Broadway musical.
Now we walked over to the main Disney Paris park! Fortunately the two entrances are next to each other and it wasn’t far. =) We walked down Main Street and to Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. There is a dragon’s lair below the castle, so we checked that out first! The animatronic dragon was really neat and believable. As Kamy said, “It is creeeeeepy!”
The castle had a beautiful walk through of Sleeping Beauty’s story, with stunning stained glass windows.
Keller then walked over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to pick up Fast Passes, while the kids and I did Alice’s Curious Labyrinth maze. It was a neat maze with blind corners and dead ends all over the place. It was kind of tricky to keep track of both kids though!
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves had a short line, so we went there next. It was pretty different from the ride at Disneyland because they had not taken out the “scary” forest scenes and creepy witch.
Now we walked over to Discoveryland to do some of the “space” themed rides. We did Star Tours first, followed by the Nautilus set walk through, and then HyperSpace Mountain. HyperSpace Mountain was VERY different from the one in California. The themeing was a bit confusing — a mismash of Star Wars universe with steampunk. The ride itself was very different as well. It had a powered launch, had side by side seating, and was very rough! It was a bit much for me, but Caden really liked it.
It’s A Small World had a short line, so we went there next. I thought it was in very good condition and was much more pristine than the older versions we’d seen. Kamy especially liked the room at the end with all the puppets in white costumes and bright lights.
We walked over to the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House from there. It was very cool! I have started reading Swiss Family Robinson to the kids, so they had a little context for the story and recreation of their home. I was particularly impressed with the water wheel and system for raising water to the living spaces in the tree.
We staked out a place in the Small World queue line for the parade. It was an excellent spot because it was not busy and we were elevated and could see easily. The floats were quite spectacular and I really liked the dragon! Everyone really liked the parade.
As soon as the parade ended we high tailed it across the park to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad with our FastPass tickets. Big Thunder was one of our favorite rides! It’s themeing was consistent with the one in California, but it was a totally different ride. It was awesome! We snagged another round of Fast Pass tickets before leaving.
Hunger was gnawing at Caden, so we grabbed a quick dinner at the Lucky Nugget. Two burgers with fries and one fish and chips, with plenty of water, reset everyone’s timers and we were off once again. The ambiance of the restaurant was neat, even though the food was mediocre.
Our FastPass tickets for Peter Pan weren’t quite up yet, so we headed to Pirates of the Caribbean next. It ended up being Caden’s favorite ride at the park and he was singing “Yo Ho Yo Ho” for quite a while after riding it!
The Fast Passes let us jump into the short queue line for Peter Pan. It was pretty similar to the one in California, but really really rough!
Buzz Light Year was next on the Fast Pass list. Kamy really liked the laser shooter at Europa Park, so we wanted to make sure to ride this one. Keller smoked us all with the highest score!
As we were leaving Buzz, the rain started. And not just a light drizzle, but a drenching rain! We ran to Small World because we knew it was covered and had a short line. Most other park guests were huddled under awnings and in gift shops, waiting for the storm to pass, so we walked right up to the boat. The rain was not just a small shower, so we rode Small World three times in a row, without getting out.
By then we were ready for something new and the rain was not quite so heavy. We fast walked across to Pirates of the Caribbean and rode it twice in a row too. No lines and enclosed rides meant we could avoid the downpours.
Caden discovered that there were souvenir medallions in the Pirates gift shop, so the kids were now on the look out for more of them. The rain had mostly stopped by now, so we wandered through Adventure Isle — down to Davy Jones’ locker and Skull Rock. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was still closed due to thunder in the area, so we walked through the Aladdin scenes.
From there we finally made it to the Carousel of Lancelot! The kids picked out which horses they wanted, so we waited for the beginning of the line for them to get first pick. The horses on the outer ring were massive! Kamy wanted a charger with red and gold livery, while Caden picked one with dark blue livery. It was a beautiful carousel and in excellent condition!
We stepped across to Pinocchio next door (and indoors) as it started raining once again. I think that chased most of the rest of the tourists out, but not us!
After Pinocchio, Keller and the kids went to ride HyperSpace Mountain again while I wandered Main Street on the hunt for more medallion options for the kids. We all met back up, the kids picked out two more medallions to add to their collection, and then we staked out a place for the Illuminations show.
We weren’t 100% sure if the Illuminations show would be going on, due to all the rain. In fact, it started late, but it did ultimately run. It was a really neat show, with projections on the castle, lighted water, and fireworks. It was a perfect end to our fun (and long) day.
We caught the 12:03 train back to Paris and made it home just after 1:15. We were all tired and were glad to go to bed! Both kids also fell asleep on the train but woke up enough to transfer to the metro and then walk up to the apartment. I also hit a new high for steps in one day! Including the journey back to the apartment, we walked 33,000 steps and more than 13 miles!
Tuesday
Understandably, we opted to make Tuesday a down day. We all slept in and recovered from Disney. For lunch we went to Mensae, just around the corner from our apartment. It was very tasty, and very French! We even had frog legs and escargot for appetizers. The frog legs were so tasty we may or may not have ordered a second dish. 😉 The chocolate mousse dessert was particularly memorable as well.
The afternoon was spent resting at home, and then after dinner I took the kids up to the playground at Buttes Chaumont again. A few of their recurring friends were there to play with, and they enjoyed running around.
Wednesday
Today was our day to finally venture over to the Eiffel Tower! We’d seen the top of it from afar, but we hand’t made it over to that part of town yet. The kids rode the little carousel near the base of the tower, and we walked past the tower and through the Champs de Mars. Overall we were underwhelmed. The space under the tower is all blocked off and there is ongoing construction, so it was kind of a mess.
Keller found a little Mediterranean restaurant called LIBRA for lunch. The dishes were all unique and very tasty.
From there Keller went back to the apartment for work while I took the kids to Poussin Vert playground again. It’s their favorite! They have no trouble finding English speaking friends and quickly paired up with 6 year old twins from Atlanta. I visited with their parents while the kids played together.
We also did the carousel again. Kamy and Caden both “caught” more rings than the previous attempt, so that was extra fun. =)
There were even Pony Rides available in the park! Both kids expressed an interest, so I told them they could do it once. We walked about a kilometer through the park and both kids enjoyed it.
We ate dinner at home and spent the evening taking it easy. I’d given the kids the option of Luxembourg Gardens in the afternoon OR the Buttes Chaumont playground in the evening, and they chose Luxembourg. Good choice!
Thursday
Today was our visit to The Louvre! I bought tickets in advance online and read up on the best entrance to avoid the worst of the lines. We were in fairly quickly and after picking up our audio guides, we were off. Our priority was seeing the European sculpture. Keller’s always been a fan of sculpture so it was a highlight for him. We particularly enjoyed the bronze statues representing four defeated nations (Prussia, Spain, Holland, and Rome).
We also walked through the armaments area and saw a spectacular helmet and shield.
Kamy expressed an interest in the Royal Gems, although I found the room they were in equally or even more impressive!
Both kids wanted to see the Mona Lisa because it was so famous. We’d always heard that the Mona Lisa was a bit disappointing and smaller than expected, so we definitely tempered our expectations. Surprisingly, we’d tempered them so far that it was bigger than we thought! =P
By now the museum was getting very crowded, so we headed to lunch at Hao Long. We’re trying to break out of the French / Italian / Thai food rut we’d settled in, so Chinese was a viable alternative. The dumplings and steam buns were particular favorites.
Same routine for the afternoon — Keller working, kids did quiet time and screen time, I made dinner, and then we walked up to the park for a bit. We had to hustle home just before the rain started, but it worked out!
Friday
Today was my cooking class! I signed up for a master sauce making class at La Cuisine Paris. I really enjoyed it! It was a small class with 8 students and we worked through a lot of different sauces and emulsions in the three hour class. Now I have more recipes to work on and new skills to perfect. Since we eat so much protein and vegetables with a sauce at home, I definitely want to integrate them into my cooking.
Meanwhile, Keller and the kids went up to the Jardin d’Acclimatation. It’s a public garden and small amusement park that was established in 1860! It had been closed for 6 months for renovations and today was the opening day. The park itself was beautiful and there was a whole army of employees. The kids were truly in the butter-zone for the rides. They could do pretty much everything, most without an adult, and there were so few people there they hardly had any lines. They had a fabulous time!
I came to meet them after my class and spend the afternoon with everyone. The weather was beautiful. Both kids loved Les Speed Racers coaster the best and rode it several times. Kamy was also very fond of the galloping horses and Caden liked the spinning house.
I took some inspiration from my cooking class to create a sauce for dinner. It wan’t perfect but it was very different than I typically create and was pretty good. =)
Saturday
After running around most of this week, we decided to go a bit slower this weekend. We decided to explore the Buttes Chaumont park — not just the little play ground in the middle. We walked from one side to the other, climbed up to the pavilion at the top of the rocks, crossed the bridge designed by Gustav Eiffel, and ended up on the north side of the park. We bought sandwiches from a bakery and brought them with us back to the park.
We followed our ears to a waterfall and then picked out a picnic spot in the shade near the water. After lunch the kids played in a landscaped water feature. They started with dry clothes, progressed to bare feet in the water, and ultimately were sitting IN the rushing water to create dams. They had a blast!
We hit the grocery store on the way home before getting cleaned up and resting. For dinner we went to Joeric, a French restaurant run by Joe and Eric. The dishes were all very different, including offal and cheese with spices and nuts. They were beautiful too!
