UK to UK: Paris is Silly!

As Caitlyn said over and over, "Paris is silly. It's so silly because they park cars on the sidewalks."

We had a great time eating our way through the city this past weekend by enjoying many baguettes, cheese, fondue, pain au chocolat, Berthillon ice cream, and many other French delicacies. It has been 11 years since Josh and I last visited Paris and we were looking forward to exploring the city and introducing Caitlyn to another wonderful country.

We began by taking the Eurostar from London's Kings Cross Station and arrived in Gare du Nord in Paris just 2 and a half hours later. It was very easy and Caitlyn was VERY excited to take a big train. Even though she was tired, she stayed awake and played the entire train ride. Shortly after we arrived, however, she was fast asleep in the stroller while we made our way to the hotel.

Josh was very excited to try Berthillon ice cream and was hopeful that it would be just as he had remembered. Before we could enjoy a cone, we thought it would be good if we had some "real" food first. Luckily, our first stop on Ile de la Cite (one of the islands in the middle of the Seine) had a creperie and Berthillon ice cream. Caitlyn had her first taste of a true Parisian cheese crepe and then thoroughly enjoyed sharing our chocolate ice cream. Our first visit definitely did not disappoint.

As we continued walking, we came across the Notre Dame and meandered our way through the cathedral. We then strolled around Ile Saint-Louis where the only independent Berthillon ice cream store is located. At this point we let Caitlyn have her own ice cream. She chose a raspberry-blueberry sorbet combination and enjoyed it immensely. Before we had a chance to try hers, she held up her empty cup. I'd say she enjoyed the best ice cream in the world!

Notre Dame from a bridge at night

Eleven years ago Josh and I stayed in the Latin Quarter, specifically on Rue Mouffetard. We remembered it being a quaint cobble-stoned street with lots of restaurants, musicians, and stores. I think one thing we both forgot were the hills. It was quite a hike to arrive at the street, however it again did not disappoint, We were enamored with the lights, smells of fresh food, and street vendors. After a little while, Caitlyn said she was hungry (again!) and we were able to find frites (fries) for a snack. We walked about 5-6 miles and decided it was time to head back towards the hotel for dinner.

Across the street from our hotel, 7 Eiffel, was a delicious creperie. Crepuscule was a great location for a quick dinner before going to sleep for the next adventurous day. Before we could go to bed we had to get at least one picture in front of the Eiffel Tower.

The next morning we slept in a little, went to Rue Cler Market for baguettes, cheese, and fruit, and then walked around the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Avenue des Champs Elysees, back to Ile de la Cite, and then up to the Musee d'Orsay. It was a busy day of walking so by the time we arrived at the museum, we were ready to relax a little. Caitlyn was napping for the first hour of the museum and then enjoyed the last part when we were looking at Van Gogh, Rodin, and others. Two hours is not enough time at this museum, however, we feel like we were able to enjoy most of the artists.

Family picture at the Eiffel Tower

Caitlyn taking her own picture

She was very proud of herself (if only I brought the cord to download the pictures from her camera because she took a pretty good picture of us by herself.)

A dad and his little girl at the Eiffel Tower

Arc de Triomphe from the center of the Champs Elysees

Champs Elysees (from the Arc de Triomphe)

After our walk down the avenue we made our way to Musee d'Orsay and spent a couple of hours exploring, then back to the hotel to drop off the stroller before taking the subway up to the Sacre Coeur for nighttime pictures and then dinner at Les Refuge des Fondues. Again, this was another place we went on our last visit and thought Caitlyn would enjoy the experience. When we entered the restaurant the owner looked concerned that we walked in with a 2 year old and was nervous about how she would be with the hot fondue pot. The next amusing thing was that this restaurant serves wine in baby bottles. They happily put water in the bottle for Caitlyn and she kept saying I'm not a baby. This is so silly.

Sacre Coeur with the night sky

Caitlyn helping stir the fondue

Drinking water from the baby bottle

This is SO silly!

Enjoying dessert after fondue...she didn't save much for us. :)

As we were leaving the owners were so impressed with how well behaved Caitlyn was during dinner they surprised us with a present - her own baby bottle souvenir!

Proudly showing off her new bottle in front of the restaurant with our new friend from England. We enjoyed conversations with people from the US, Scotland, and England during our dinner.

Our final day in Paris was spent enjoying the beautiful stained glass at the Saint Chapelle church, eating our final Berthillon ice cream, and taking a food walking tour that we found on Tripadvisor. This brought us to a side of Paris that was not heavily travelled by tourists. We enjoyed seeing the local scenery, sampling more food, and relaxing with some delicious chocolat chaud.