Paris

Day 13

We arrived in to Paris mid-afternoon, which enabled us to check in to our hotel and then head to explore some the streets of this beautiful city. We immediately noticed a difference to Italy, as the streets are wider and often tree-lined. The last time I was in Paris was in 2005 with a large school group, so I didn't get a chnace to really discover this city. 

We ended up walking down the Champs-Élysées, where we resisted the urge to stop into nearly every shop, however Ella found a large Sephora store and the boys the Paris Saint-Germain F.C store, where they purchased some merchandise. We marvelled at the grandeur of the Arc de Triomphe.

As it started to rain we continued walking to the Eiffel Tower and had to take cover as a spring shower came across. We then went and enjoyed a 1-hour cruise down the Seine. We were amazed at how fast flowing it is and how much power the boats needed to get upstream. Unfortunately, due to the high water level we couldn't get under the bridge to Notre Dame.

The weather in France is significantly cooler than Italy has been, so out came the puffer jacket! We then stumbled across a market, so we had a look and enjoyed some different food. We have committed to trying escargot (snails) and frogs legs before we leave Paris.

Day 14

Today, we arose early to tackle Disneyland Paris! We caught the train from near our hotel straight to Disneyland and arrived just after opening. It was a good time as the crowds weren't too large and we managed to get on a few of the popular rides without waiting. It was a great, fun-filled day and 8 hours later we were a bit knackered!

We caught the train back to the Champs-Élysées, so Ella could purchase a pair of shoes she had her eye on. Getting things tax free makes it a bit more palatable! We then found a nice restaurant not far from our hotel where we tried escargot (snails) and they were actually OK.

Day 15

Today, we enjoyed a sleep in and the  planned a walking route for the attractions we wanted to see. Google Maps is so handy, being able to add in all the stops we needed to. I can't imagine how we survived using paper maps before!

First stop was Foucault's pendulum which demonstrates the Earth's rotation by a long and heavy pendulum suspended from the high roof above a circular area showing that its plane of oscillation rotated and knocking over some weights. Anyway, I found it interesting!

Second stop was Notre Dame. Although it was disappointing that we couldn't go in due to the closure since the fire of April 2019 (hard to believe it was 5 years ago), it was interesting to see the restoration works happening. The Cathedral is set to be reopened in December this year. Who can forgot the images of it burning and the spire collapsing. The new spire is now in place and much of the roof structure.

Next stop was the Louvre to finally see the Mona Lisa. In 2005, I was last here on a school trip and of course we tried to enter on a Tuesday, the only day it was closed. However, today we succeeded. We, along with thousands of others managed our few minutes to take a snap and a selfie before escaping the madness! I won't mention the next 90 minutes I endured, having to use the Lourve wifi in order to get our data topped up with the service provider, so we could continue to use Google Maps and other useful apps.

After that we walked to the Eiffel Tower to have a look around the base. We didn't do this on the first night we were here, as it was raining. We couldnt get tickets online as they'd all sold out but we read we could line up and try the ticket booth in person. We were pleasantly surprised to see that there weren't as many tourists here and we could walk up and get tickets, so we decided to go right to the summit, at dusk which was perfect. The Eiffel Tower, now standing for nearly 135 years, is an amazing structure and it is hard to believe that it was only meant to be erected for 20 years. We finished the night with some crepes before heading back to the hotel, to get ready to head to London in the morning.