Tour of the Seine

We decided to do the boat tour of the river before we leave. Luc was very excited. Of course, it was because it was a boat ride. It had nothing to do with being able to see all the attractions of Paris.

 Evan was not as excited as Luc

 But he was very good the whole time

 Notre Dame

 To me, this looks like Luc just did a magic trick and made the Eiffel Tower appear from nowhere.

 All of a sudden, it started sparkling. It was awesome. Later we learned it does this every hour.

Tour de Seine from Noelle McNeil on Vimeo.

Eiffel Tower sparkling from Noelle McNeil on Vimeo.

 Not a very flattering picture of any of us but there we are all together

We did this the night before the big bomb threat. They had to evacuate last night because of a possible terrorist attack attempt. The news has me a little paranoid of traveling around Europe now.

Luc's favorite thing

riding the carousal tractor from Noelle McNeil on Vimeo.



Luc riding the space ship from Noelle McNeil on Vimeo.

E-man

Evan stays very busy these days. He is much too busy to look at a camera.

Evan in excersaucer from Noelle McNeil on Vimeo.


He does love attention though.

Evan talking from Noelle McNeil on Vimeo.

Unwell

That's how the doctor refered to me. I gave in and called a doctor yesterday. I was actually feeling better today but I had an appointment this morning so I went. I do have another sinus infection and an ear infection. Here you have to have a prescription from a doctor to even buy cold medications. Brian tried to buy me something from the pharmacy the other day but they told him I had to see a doctor. Anyway, the doctor gave me a prescription for something similar to Mucinex and an antibiotic. Hopefully it will knock it out and I can enjoy my time more.

I think I should make a post about important information for Americans visiting Paris. If you are ever in Paris and need a doctor, go see Dr Julia Bache. She is from the UK. She was very nice and helpful and cost half the price of seeing a doctor at the American hospital. We found out that we could have taken Evan to see her for his shots for half the price. Brian says, you live and you learn.

Jardin de Luxembourg

Jardin de Luxembourg is known for all the statues around the park 

We even found the Statue of Liberty

Luxembourg was the first palace for one of the Kings. Very good artistic shot Brian!

We passed a big fun looking playground at the Jardin de Luxembourg but when we got to the entrance we realized you had to pay per child AND per adult to enter. Crazy! We weren't about to pay to play at a playground when we have two right beside our apartment that are super nice and free. So Luc settled for a space ship ride instead...which was cheaper than playing on the playground.

We didn't do much more than that on Sunday. We just walked around the garden and the 4th district, ate a falafel, and came home. I have been fighting another sinus infection which may have contributed to throwing up the other day. All this drainage makes me sick to my stomach not to mention I am always dizzy and tired. I felt like crap all day Sunday so we headed home early. I am most definitely considering the sinus surgery that Dr Zapalac has talked to me about. I am so sick of being sick every month or two.

Fun in the cold with Daddy

Sunday we went back to a park, Jardin de Luxembourg, that the boys and I strolled through one day. It was cold and rainy but we tried to make the most of it. They had sailboats for rent that you could sail in the pond. Luc loved it.

Our "lift"

Mama, here is the elevator for our apartment that I told you about. We can't all ride on it. Brian is always a gentleman and takes the 5 flights of stairs so that the boys and I can ride. Thank you Brian!

Tourists

We were quite the tourists today. I had mapped out a walk around the 1st arrondisement of some things I wanted to see. So our first stop was the Opera house. It was so beautiful. This is the Opera house that Phantom of the Opera is based on.

This was not on my list but YUM! No, we did not buy any chocolate here. If you notice, the chocolate shops look like jewelry stores. The prices are similar too. 

Brian and the boys walking down Rue Royal

Then we got to Jardin de Tuileries, the oldest and most visited garden in Paris. The reason I wanted to go was that supposedly there are little model sailboats in the pond...we didn't see any.

Picnic in the park

While we were sitting in the park, a girl came up and gave us an invite to a Pampers promo thing. We thought we'd check it out...and hoped there were bathrooms in there. It was really nice. They had really nice changing stations for babies. They were promoting Pampers cruisers. They have a big room of toys and games separated by age. Evan got to have tummy time on a fun mat and play with lots of baby toys. Luc crawled through tunnels, built towers with huge blocks, played with toys, and ran around. Afterwards, they gave us diapers, a toy, and some other random stuff. It was really nice.

At Jardin de Tuileries

The Louvre

I think Brian and I agreed that we aren't really sure what the big deal about the Mona Lisa is. It isn't even big. I was much more impressed with the building.

Luc was very interested in the fact that none of the statues had clothes on. Lots of people heard him pointing out certain body parts to us. It was quite funny.

We tried to take some self-photos in front of the Louvre. It was pretty bright though.

We found a nice shady spot.

In front of the Louvre

The boys all bundled up

Like I've said before, who cares what we see as long as we get to ride a train or bus to get there

Jardin de Plantes

Since I was feeling tons better Friday, I took Luc and Evan to another garden that I wanted to visit. I had seen that this was another good one for kids because it had a zoo and a labyrinthe. The zoo wasn't very big but it was fun. Our favorites were the chimps, the leopards, and a camel that was making a really funny face. Luc and I just stood and laughed at the camel for a good minute.

As for the labyrinthe, I didn't let Luc go through. You were supposed to crawl underneath a bunch of bushes. I was alone and couldn't crawl on my hands and knees with Evan to follow him. I don't think he really knew what it was anyway.

This garden had huge trees that were planted in the late 1800s. There were also several different gardens within the garden. There was a rose garden, a rock and peony garden, an ecology garden, a tropical garden, and a "kitchen" garden, where they grow fruits and vegetables (but of course, you couldn't pick anything). There were also several museums within the gardens. There was also the Museum of Natural History, the Gallery of Geology and Mineralolgy, and a Gallery of Palaentology and Comparative Anatomy. I would have loved to go in all of these museums but I didn't think it would be wise to go with Luc. I will mark it on our list of things to do when we come back without kids in 20 years.

Oh yeah, the bus stop was a good 10 minute walk from our apartment. It started pouring rain on the way home. I put my rain jacket over Evan and started running. Luc slept through the whole run in the rain home too. It was probably best because it was freezing! Luc and I were soaked when we got home. Seeing that park was worth it though.

The not so fun part of being in a foreign country...

...BEING SICK.

This is a pretty gross blog post so don't read it unless you want to know gross stuff.

I didn't feel great last night when I went to bed. I got up this morning still feeling pretty crummy. About 30 minutes after Brian left, I started throwing up. I was thinking "how in the world am I going to take care of the boys when I can't leave the bathroom for 2 seconds". I started praying "Dear God, please heal me now". That wasn't working. I was thinking about ways that maybe Luc could feed Evan his first bowl of rice cereal but I couldn't figure out how to prepare it. That idea was becoming a picture of disaster anyway. Then I started praying "Dear God, please just give me the strength and help me stop puking long enough to feed Evan and please keep Luc away from me". That worked. I stopped throwing up and was able to feed Evan. Luc was so sweet too. At one point, he was on the toilet and I was throwing up in the garbage can. He was saying "Mama, are you okay in there? You need some water? It's going to be okay Mama." I guess God knows my limit because Luc was sweeter and played alone this morning better than ever.

To make matters worse, I have NO WAY of getting in touch with Brian during the day. I was dreading having to deal with this until about 6 this evening. I guess God was looking out for me again. Brian came walking in before noon. The archives he visited today would not let him look at anything and there was a major strike with metro workers.

Well, I'm feeling better now, just weak and my stomach is 100%. I am so thankful God deided to answer my prayers and I'm so glad Brian came home early.

Here's to a better tomorrow!

The French Daninino

Does anyone else buy Daninino yogurt? It is Luc's favorite yogurt. Well, they have awesome flavors here. The best is apricot...others that I have never seen at home are peach and a red berry mix. Oh and you can buy it in large cups. We still get the small cups because it's the perfect size for Luc.

Cat-walking

So here she is...my friend, Manens, who walks her cat everyday. I wish I had gotten a better picture of the cat. His name is Domino..very fitting.

Back to the doctor and the city bus tour

We were able to pick up Evan's immunizations from the pharamcist yesterday afternoon and head back to the doctor today. I had been somewhat nervous about taking the metro with the boys by myself since I would have had to carry the stroller up and down flights of stairs. I was advised (by the lady who lives here) to take the bus instead. It was so easy. It is my new favorite means of transportation. It was a long ride but it was worth it. We got to see lots of beautiful buildings, the Eiffel Tower, the Rodin museum, the Arc of Triumph, and a few parks. If you ever find yourself in Paris debating on which "tour bus" to pay lots of money to sightsee, just spend about 2 Euros and take bus #82 through the city.

Luc LOVED riding the "school bus" too. He's top priorities when coming to Paris where to ride on an airplane, train, boat, and bus. That is seriously all that he ever talks about. He was so excited about the "school bus" ride and that he didn't have to ride in a carseat. He would introduce himself to people as they got on too. He would say "my name is wut". It was very cute.

Evan did great with his shots. He got one in each thigh and the rotovirus drops. He did cry for a couple of minutes but was fine before I even got his pants back on.

Tomorrow, I plan to take the bus again to some of the places we saw today.

In tow with a toddler and a baby

Kristen, this post is mostly for you. Yes, we are getting to see and do so many cool things and it really is awesome and I wouldn't trade it and I'm glad I came along with Brian...BUT there are consequences.

We are on the constant go on the weekends. We leave the apartment in the morning and don't get home until late afternoon or evening. Luc gets up early, MIGHT have a short nap in the stroller, then goes to bed late. This does make for a bad Monday though. One second Luc is running around like a little tasmanian devil. The next second he is crying because his shirt is dirty or some other random reason. He also becomes very clumsy when he is hyper-tired (a word I use to describe Luc in his super tired state). Today he dropped a metal bar on his finger and a glass cup on his toe. I'm sure the neighbors thought he was dying.

We were supposed to go back to the doctor today. When I went to pick up the prescription that was supposed to be ready at 9am, it wasn't ready. I had to reschedule with the doctor for tomorrow. I'm kind of glad it turned out this way though. I think I will make sure to start scheduling Mondays for resting days. The boys and I need to recharge.

Oh and for the first time Luc told me "Mama, you are stupid". In fact, I think he said it while I was videoing him. I'll have to look back. When I asked him where he heard that word, he said "Daddy says it". BRIAN!!! I kind of think he heard it on Toy Story though.

Sacre Coeur

After the flea market, we went to the highest point in the city. It was a hike uphill.

Here we visited the Sacre Coeur. It is a very old Roman Catholic church. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside but it was so beautiful. We were there on Sunday. Lots of people were praying. Nuns were playing organs and singing. Of course we couldn't understand anything but it was very moving. There were huge murals of Jesus on the ceiling and walls.

Here is the outside....

We decided to go for it and climb up the 300 stairs, carrying the boys, to see the view that the top of the dome is known for. It was a haul and extremely tiring but it was worth it. You can see the entire city from the top of the dome.

Going back down

Montmartre flea market

On Sunday we went to an area called Montmartre. Here there is a huge flea market. I read that it is the largest in the world. I'm not sure if that is accurate but it is really really big.

First we walked through the "lower-end" stuff. We did grab a couple of cool things there though.

Then we found the beautiful antique market. We did not get anything here. These things were beautiful but very pricey. Oh and I am a bit hungry anf irritated in the picture.

Chateau de Versailles

Waiting patiently for the train to Versailles. I asked him to look at the camera so he cut his eyes over. He did not want to miss that train. Who cares about some Eiffel Tower or Arc of Triumph or Palaca of Versailes? This boy is just thrilled about all these train rides.

Evan was being really silly too. He will squeal to get my attention then give me a hug smile. He's so cute.

Here is the Palace of Versailles. We didn't take too many pictures because a) they will probably be kind of boring and b) we had a somewhat impatient 2 year old. FYI it's probably much more interesting to visit a place like this without children. If you must take your kids, don't plan on listening to the audiotours. We did get to see the entire palace. We just did it quickly. It was amazing though.

L'arc du Triomphe

On top of the Arc of Triumph with the Sacre Coeur in the background

My attempts to "hold" the Eiffel Tower didn't work so well with an impatient photographer

The buildings are so pretty