Paris Is Always A Good Idea...

4 Years ago we spent Spring Break in Paris...we saw:

The Eiffel Tower

The Louvre

Musee d'Orsay

Notre Dame

The Jardins du Luxembourg

Day trip to Giverny

The Arc de Triomphe

Versailles

This trip was full of "firsts". Those top tier sites to see that you just can't miss.  We spent time in lines but saw truly amazing things.  I had one of my best days ever on that trip taking the train to Giverny, riding bikes, watercoloring Monet's gardens and ending at the Musee D'Orsay.

  The children loved the puppet shows at Jardin du Luxembourg.  We ate beautiful desserts and Angeline in the Tuileries and crepes on the Rue Cler for breakfast. 

2 summers ago, Camille, Kelly and I spent the last 4 days of a trip in Paris.  We saw:

Musee d'Art Moderne

Musee Quai Branly

The Marais- Place des Vosges

American Church in Paris

Saint Chapelle-Notre Dame

Though much shorter, this trip was slower.  We passed the lines at the Eiffel tower, enjoying the view from the Champs de Mars.  We ate lunch in the Trocadero and strolled to the Musee d'Art Moderne which turned out to be almost free and one of the true gems of Paris.  This museum is full of impressionist art that no one talks about!  We had another lunch on a rainy day in the Place des Vosges after wandering through the old streets of the Marais, a district that seemed to get overlooked by Haussmann's renovation.  We took a Skip the Line tour of Saint Chapelle which is another one of those hidden surprises Paris seems to be full of.  We went to Sunday worship services at the American Church of Paris and were impressed by the expat group there and a church that was alive and functioning(they had VBS!) not just a tourist sight.  We took two Metro lines to Montmartre to have dinner at Caillebotte- one of Paris' top 5 bistros according to the NYTimes.

Just recounting these trips makes me thankful all over again for the memories that our family shares from traveling together.  This week, we are traveling to Paris for a 3rd time(if you don't count Kelly's multiple visits to the airport) for Camille and Wilson to take the AP US History exam at the American School of Paris.  We have apartments, we have dinner reservations, we have another set of plans to see another layer of this elegant city- 

it's like eating a croissant, every bite is different and always delicious.

 Older Blog links from the first Paris trip.

http://provenanceal.blogspot.fr/2015/09/from-giverny-to-musee-d-day-that-leaves.html

http://provenanceal.blogspot.fr/2015/09/rue-cler-quintessential-parisian-market.html