Sofia and Andre are the brave ones in our family and had no trouble with the height. Jake and I, on the other hand, had many moments that took our breath away and left our knees wobbling. We persevered and made it to the 2nd level. There were over 600 steps - we attempted to take some photos of the numbers stamped onto the stairs.
From the Eiffel Tower we walked through the Champ de Mars to a great little market - we love European markets. All the beautiful produce, so fresh and colourful. Sofia isn't a fan of all the smells but she sure ate her fair share of fresh fruit and veggies. Jake, was even more adventurous and tried all kinds of things - and discovered new favourites!
From the market we went to le marais which I want to say is in the 3rd and/or 4th arrondissement. It is most recently the Jewish neighbourhood in Paris and was arguably our favourite spot. So many beautiful shops, buildings, sites and smells! yum. Le Marais is home to the beautiful Musee Carnavalet that we walked past many times and desperately wanted to go in but it always looked busy and the kids just wanted to go play in the beautiful park in Place des Vosges. Place des Vosges is yet another example of the fabulous Parisian public spaces. Beautiful fountains and monuments, gorgeous greenery, amazingly sculpted plants - squared-off trees seemed to be popular :) and a great play structure for kids! Seems so civilized yet so difficult for north american cities to figure out. sigh...
We're not done yet and before I get ahead of myself I cannot forget the most delicious falafel we enjoyed while in le marais! This is one of those new favourites Jake discovered...I am not sure I had more than two bites of my falafel but it's all good :).
At some point during this day, and I cannot remember exactly why, Sara and Sylvia took an afternoon break. The rest of us, after a rest, hydration and a snack moved onto wandering the neighbourhood en route to dinner. We ate at a beautiful restaurant that Pierre found on île-saint-louis which is one of 2 islands in the seine (the other island is île de la cité, which is home to the famous Notre Dame cathedral). We had a wonderfully delicious meal thanks to meme and pepe!!! We then got the daily ice cream and took the metro home to crawl into bed dreaming of a fabulous day!!
The beautiful tower!
Beautiful children at a beautiful tower
Look at those fearless climbers! Go LeBlancs
Having a bit of a moment on the tower...
But we worked through it and made it to the top! (you can see Champ de mars in the distance)
The view certainly makes the climb worth it. The forecast called for rain and the skies were grey but as we climbed the sun came out. What a reward.
Tower Champions!
the dizzying view
step numbers...
taking a break to update our journals
family at the top!
brave girl
brave boy
the view from the stairwell
the elevator that takes you higher - NO THANKS! ha. you can see a fake elevator operator on the outside. That is where a real person would have originally sat! can you imagine?
It's just so pretty!
Daddy and his girl
Me and the monkeys
Beautiful architecture
famous bakery just outside the market - made beautiful cookies
Le Marais
Le Marais - part of Musee Carnavalet
Place des Vosges! a beautiful oasis surrounded by stunning architecture.
Falafel...
These arcades surround Place des Vosges - they housed beautiful galleries, shops and cafes.
Walking to dinner...over to the bridge to île-Saint-Louis
outside the restaurant
the beautiful street
an amazing historic building across from the restaurant. 17th century with what looks like the original wooden beams.
ice cream!!
beautiful view back to the metro
happy girls
balancing games on the metro...try not to touch the pole when the metro stops!
my beautiful boys
girls selfie!
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