Exploring the world with two kids...: Paris

July 2014

Paris is one of my favorite places to visit. The beauty of the city is hard to describe and every time we go I love it even more. We decided to rent a little (very little) apartment in the 11th arrondissement and it was quite an experience. We also happened to be there during one of the hottest weeks of the year and we had no A/C. So, this gave us a great excuse to explore the city as much as possible.

Here is our youngest in our tiny little kitchen.

We ate at every little cafe we came across and the food was quite extraordinary. I have always found most of the people to be rather sweet and wanting to help you with the language as long as you show a little humility. We had one man stop us on the street when we were trying to figure out the subway system and after a lot of hand gestures and laughing, he just gave us four tickets to use (from his wallet). So sweet!
We also had one of the most entertaining cab rides I have ever had from the train station when we met a hilarious Parisian who is an aspiring rapper. We couldn't have asked for a better experience and loved every minute of it.

We decided we wanted to visit Claude Monet's home in Giverny and found this great bike tour through a company we have used before called Viator. We rode through town and stopped to pick up all of our picnic supplies. We followed a couple who spoke French fluently and basically just copied everything they bought. I think one of the girls thought of that and it was brilliant.

We found Monet's house and the water lillies!!

It was a little warm, so we took a lot of breaks in the shade.

It was a long bike ride, but every turn was prettier than the last.

I love this little French boy blowing bubbles who was walking slowly in front of us enjoying every last bubble.

When we were back in Paris, we decided to seek out a book store that I have always wanted to visit, Shakespeare & Company. Shakespeare and Company is an English-language bookshop in the heart of Paris, on the banks of the Seine, opposite Notre-Dame. If you like bookstores, you must stop here. I could have spent all day there.