Kids in Paris--Day Three

Eston has been interested in Julia Child for a few months and was really excited at the prospect of seeing where she once lived in Paris. We were awake earlier than usual, so we began walking towards Rue de l'Universite rather early in the morning and the cold temperatures caught us by surprise. Number 81 is a lovely building and Eston was really excited. He knew which floors Julia and Paul had lived in and even stood for a photo, which he never likes to do.

 We were at the Child residence by 8am and our reservations for the Eiffel Tower were not until 11am, so we had a lot of time to kill. The Eiffel Tower has changed in past years and now one needs a reservation as they only allow a certain number of visitors to the second and third vista areas. You can chance it and wait in a 2+ hour line, but we did not want to take that chance, so we made reservations.

The Rue Cler markets are one of my favorite to visit, so we left the Child residence and walked towards the Rue Cler. It was just over 4 degrees (celsius) at this point. Not warm, but we pressed on. The kids were delighted with the market, even though we were there very early and most were still getting set up for the day. The Rue Cler is not open to through traffic, so it was a good place for Aurelia to run around a bit as well.

 It may have been just after 8am, but the kids were keen to try some delicious French cheeses! 

We found a warm cafe on the Rue Cler and sat down for some hot chocolate and tea. It felt good to warm up a bit and take a break, as we had walked a fair amount that morning.

Aurelia loved the hot chocolate!

 After leaving the Rue Cler we walked over to the park in Champ de Mars. This is a wonderful park full of open spaces for kids to run and it also included two great playgrounds. One of the playgrounds was well suited for younger children:

 The opposite playground was for older kids, but it also had a few things for the younger ones. Both kids loved this park and I wish it had been warmer! We only played here once as we did not spend a ton of time in this neighborhood, but I highly recommend it if you are visiting the Eiffel Tower or nearby neighborhood.

You know those horrible tourists stands outside the Eiffel Tower that sell hats, scarves, gloves, etc? And you wonder who in their right mind would ever buy such junk? Well, we were those people on Tuesday. It was so cold that we were desperate for warmth and we bought several hats and scarves. Thankfully everything was just a couple of euros!

I had read a lot about warnings of pick pocketers and such in the Eiffel Tower area. We did see the teenagers trying to get you to sign whatever "petition" they have while they rob you, but the local police patrol the area on bikes, which made the scammer people run for the bushes. Literally. They ran out of the area and into the bushes. Just don't stop for anyone and you will be fine. 

Also, there is a clean bathroom with changing facilities near the North elevators.

We headed up in the elevators at 11am and were a bit disappointed on the 3rd floor because it was completely fogged in! We quickly went back down to the 2nd floor and though it was cloudy, the kids could see a bit and they enjoyed the views.

Eston took this photo of the boat we took on the Seine River cruise:

 We headed back to the apartment after our Eiffel Tower excursion. We were freezing and needed to take a little siesta (and add more layers of clothing).

Later that afternoon, we headed out to the Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe. Now, you can climb the stairs to the top of the Arc. Years ago it was free and there was never a line and we assumed the same would be true this time as well, but we should have done our research on this one. The line was hours long and you had to purchase a ticket, so we just walked around the area.

 The Champs Elysees has a really wide sidewalk, so we did a little window shopping and let the kids run on the sidewalk to warm up a bit. 

 

 The Champs Elysees is a touristy area as well, so we headed to the 15th district and found a little brasserie for dinner. Eston entertained himself with his notebook while he waited for his fish dinner.