Wednesday was cloudy, but the temperatures were much warmer than the previous day, thank goodness. However, I was much more prepared and we left the apartment with many layers on our backs after we froze on Tuesday.
The nearest Metro stop was just a short 2-minute walk from our apartment, so we walked over and boarded a train to head for the Sacre-Coeur Basilica.
You can either walk up the stairs or take the funicular from the bottom of the hill. On any normal day I would take the stairs, but we had just carried the stroller up thousands of stairs to get to and from the Metro (underground), so I was feeling less than sprightly and the kids were excited about taking the funicular. Let me tell you, they could have done this all day long! It was really fun to see them so excited.
Once at the top we had to carry the stroller up a few more stairs, so I definitely had a bit of a work out! We arrived on the earlier side (about 10am) and there were not many people there.
It is free to walk around the basilica, so we took Aurelia in for a quick tour before I went back inside with Eston to explore a bit more. What a beautiful place! Aurelia enjoyed walking around outside while we were checking things out inside.
I had not spent much time in the Montmarte neighborhood and I was so glad we spend the morning walking around. What a great neighborhood! I want to stay here next time we visit. It was full of cool shops, cafes, book stores, etc.
Rory was keen to visit Le Cimetiere du Calvaire, so we walked there and let the kids explore a bit. Is this morbid? I don't know. We explained the need to be respectful and quiet. We found a grave that had two spooky figures painted on a window and Eston proclaimed it to be his favorite and asked me to take a photo:
We took the Metro to the Latin Quarter and let the kids walk around and explore a bit. They loved finding the love locks on the bridges.
Eston and I were excited to visit the iconic Shakespeare and Company, though for different reasons. He wanted to go because Julia Child once shopped there regularly and I wanted to go because this is where so many of my favorite writers once worked and/or lived. You can go in and see the beds that were once reserved for aspiring writers (you can lay down with your favorite book) and the entire shop is just my type of scene. The entire upstairs is just for reading. That's right, not a single book (except for the children's section) on the second floor is for sale. It is just a place to grab a book and plop down for some reading time. My kind of place. I bought a couple of books and a couple of Christmas presents for the kids before Eston and Rory dragged me out of the shop, but I could have stayed there for days!
We had lunch in the Latin Quarter at a great little brasserie where I had the most delicious roast chicken. Eston enjoyed the gambas and Rory had the duck. Aurelia, poor thing, was fast asleep in her stroller and had our remnants when she awoke at the end of our meal.
We felt the need to work off our lunch, so we walked to the Luxembourg park and were delighted to find the sailboat pond nearly empty! We rented a lovely boat, which was just 3 euros for 30 minutes. Quite the deal and I highly recommend this activity. Our kids loved pushing the boat with the large stick they give you.
After our 30 minutes were up we wandered over to the actual playground. Now, this is a fee playground, which we knew. The lines were super long over the weekend, so we waited for a mid-week visit. It wasn't too crowded and it cost just over 7 euros for our family to go inside. This wasn't outrageous, as the park is fun for all ages, but I don't know that I would do it again. There is a lot to do outside the playground for free, so I might just stick with that next time.
At about 2:30 we noticed a long line outside of the building next to the park. I went to investigate and discovered the famous puppet theater of the park! Pinocchio was the story of the day, so we decided it would be fun to see the show. It was 4.80 euro per person, but we felt it was worth it for an hour show.
The first four rows are reserved for the children and Eston plopped himself down next to the local kids. We told him the puppet show would be in French, but he is familiar with the story, so we knew he would follow along. Many Catalan words bear a strong resemblance to French, so he was just fine. Aurelia made it through half the show and then Rory took her out to play. This was really well done and Eston just loved it, so make sure to see a show if you are in Paris! The shows and times are listed outside the theater.
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