The Munce Family: Oui Oui to Paris!

Next stop, Paris!

We took the Chunnel from St. Pancras Station to Paris, it was easily the nicest train ride of our adventure with fancy meals, coffee, and wine. The kids loved it, I loved the brief nap I was able to squeeze in. Once we arrived at the train station in Paris, we struggled to navigate the Underground, but eventually figured it out, but never did get over the dozens of staircases we had to navigate with our heavy suitcases...airport/train station transport from here on out!

We rendezvoused with Lor and Alexa (an obvious highlight). They met us at the apartment upon our arrival, we settled in and immediately went for dinner followed by a walk along the Seine. The weather was incredible and the Eiffel Tower was breathtaking. We caught the last Eiffel Tower tour of the day because our original tour had been rescheduled due to the Olympic's security, which barricaded so many main tourist attractions, making them only accessible to locals with a QR code. The tour was long, we had to wait for what felt like hours to get up to the top, but it was worth it. The kids were all speechless with its beauty and we loved the twinkling lights, we were so thankful the timing worked out and we were able to get to the top.

The following morning we went for a much anticipated bakery tour which was 10/10. Our guide was funny and engaging and so good with the kids. We made enough baguettes for weeks and learned how to roll croissants and a few other fun tidbits. We found a nearby royal park called Place de Vosges where Lor brought the kids for ice cream and Dave and I found a bottle of wine to share. We sat and watched the day unfold for awhile and simply appreciated where we were, the kids had their first glimpse of a topless sunbather and had soooo many questions. Alexa went back to work on some homework and the rest of meandered and accidentally ended up on the wrong side of the barricades near Notre Dame. We followed Lor's instructions of "just act like a local!" We had some incredible photo ops thanks to that bit of advice. That night we brought in charcuterie and cheeses and wine to eat with our plethora of baguettes. ;).

The next day we attempted to go the Louvre, but ended up running into barricade after barricade, so we changed gears completely and went up to explore Montmarte which was a great alternative. The views, the lockets on the fences, the charming streets, and the art market made for an excellent afternoon. We found a really good pizza spot called Le Florenza where we ate for what felt like hours. It was a great slowdown.

Our final full day in France was spent at Versailles. We were looking to escape the crowds and barricades, so this was perfect. We took the advice of a smart friend and rented a golf cart to explore the gardens. A couple of the highlights were having a picnic lunch along the Grand Canal of Versailles and exploring Le Petit Trianon and Grotte de Marie-Antoinette. The kids loved exploring the little houses, a real life fairy tale setting. We went for a small snack and a drink after our adventure before returning back to Paris for a late evening dinner and to pack up for our move the following day.

Highlight: Lor!