7:45pm. TIRED. Paris reached a new RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE today: 107.6 degrees Fahrenheit! I did not run this morning because it was 90 degrees by 9am and it didn't even cool off too much last night. I woke up sweaty and never really cooled off all day. We took it easy this morning after our late night at the Trocadero last night and didn't leave our apartment until after 10am. We headed to the Catacombs, but the line was wrapping around the block in the hot sun and we didn't even think twice about skipping that site. Last time Jeff and I wanted to see the Catacombs 2 years ago, they were closed due to flooding. This time, it was too crowded.
We walked the .9 mile from the Catacombs to the Jardin de Luxemborg in hopes of renting mini toy boats to sail on the pond, but the shop was closed up and hardly anyone was in the park at all-- we assumed it was due to the scary heat. So we rested in the shade yet again before heading to a metro stop and going to the swanky department stores at Gallerie de Lafayette. Hello, air conditioning! Overpriced designer clothes are so not my groove, but Leslie was having fun and that AC felt divine after the heat. Jeff sat with the kids on some stairs while Leslie and I wandered a bit.
After finding the rare public toilet in the Gallerie de Lafayette, we got on another metro train and rode homeward, taking a different stop than usual so we could stop at the BEST bakery of all time: Patisserie Artisanale La Baguette des Pyrenees at #36 Rue Simon Bolivar in the 19th Arondissment (our favorite Paris neighborhood, less than half a mile from our apartment). We hoofed it home after choosing out pastries from a gorgeous array of perfection at the patisserie. We may not have gotten into the Louvre, but we still found beautiful art in Paris--at the patisserie! The kids were wilting in the heat. When we got home around 4pm, Rose and Amber took a cold bath together for nearly an hour. Jeff and I slipped out to Franprix for a few supplemental groceries and we had leftover spaghetti for dinner (baked in the oven because there's no microwave). Tomorrow we leave for Brittany and 30 degrees cooler temperatures!
Paris summary:
Jet lag was tough in the big city. There was so much to do in Paris that we wanted to go go go, but jet lag plus kids plus summer heat was limiting, and we were quite tired. We decided that we didn't end up needing seven whole days in Paris because it was too crowded and hot and we didn't even get into some of the places we wanted to see, thanks to the crowds. Jeff and I are so totally off-season travelers! We had no clue about just how massive the crowds could be that accumulated at the Louvre, Versailles, etc. Wow. But we definitely still had an excellent time. I loved climbing the Arc de Triomphe-- it was a beautiful day with a beautiful view. I also loved seeing Notre Dame from afar. The most magical outing was nighttime at the Trocadero, when we got in the fountain and then waited for the Eiffel Tower to sparkle. That was the most carefree I felt the whole week.
The kids had a bit of a learning curve with big city etiquette, from public transit norms to ticket barriers to walking in crowds without smacking into people. They caught on after a couple of days and were doing impressively well navigating the city with us after the first four days. We learned or re-learned how much we dislike following masses of people around popular sights. We prefer quieter off season tourism.
One thing is for certain: we did have a memorable time together as a family in the City of Lights!
A fountain at Luxemborg Gardens.
We found a small playground at Luxemborg Gardens.
Those bright pink flowers charmed me again.
Resting my feet on a chair--these sandals have been excellent travel shoes! They are Xero Z-trail sandals, and their soles have a 5,000 mile warranty. They seemed like the right shoe for this trip, and they are so light and airy, my feet never get hot in them. And I love the zero drop platform.
Trying not to drip sweat on all of the finery at Gallerie de Lafayette. This place was beautiful and fancy!
This is what all department store should aspire to.
This weird silly poster made me laugh...strange way to advertise a fancy pants designer department store!
Another feet picture: they don't look nearly as dirty as they were. Walking around a dirty city like Paris got my feet filthy every day, but most of the mess came from my own children stepping on my feet, over and over and over all day long. It was maddening! At one point I had a big obvious black boot print on the top of one foot, but I was too hot and tired to take a picture of it.
Them: wilting in the 107 degree oven-like heat and sitting wherever they can. Me: cringing at the likelihood that a dog recently peed where my children are sitting.
ART.
Jay adores French pastries so much! Like father like son.
Our beautiful box of beautiful pastries.
Laaaaa! My lemon (citron) tart was SO TART! It was perfectly refreshing for an extra hot day.
All Amby really ever wants is strawberries.
Jay and his creamy dreamy Paris-brest
Rose had a lemon meringue.
Jeff had a mille feuilles (1000 layers)
Just keep sweating, just keep sweating...
..sweating...
...sweating...
No comments:
Post a Comment