As fun as all of the kid-centered Paris things are, Pete and I each had things we wanted to do kid-free. Shopping for moi and touring the Catacombs for Pete. So on Thursday, we divided and conquered. Pete went first thing in the morning to the Catacombs while Jude and I went back to the playground at the Luxembourg Gardens. This time, the visit included a ride on the carousel. I was nervous to see him sitting all by himself, but I guess he was strapped in pretty good.
A few of Pete's pictures from the Catacombs. The bones of over 6 million Parisians line the walls of old limestone quarry tunnels dating from the middle ages. When the cemeteries in Paris were at capacity and causing disease to the residents, the city decided to remove all of the bodies and place the bones in the tunnels starting in the late 1700s. They were later organized and the site was opened for visitors. We tried to go on our trip to Paris last November, but the line was too long. I remember feeling relieved as I didn't really want to see it myself. I'm glad Pete got the opportunity to go though!
We met back up for lunch and found a classic french bistro with a three course set lunch menu. We found it hard to eat out for dinner as the bistros and French restaurants we wanted to try didn't open until 7pm, which is a little later for Jude. So we settled in for a nice lunch and in the middle of the bread course, Jude fell asleep. Yes, our child who used to have to rocked and sushed forever to sleep now falls asleep really easily at nap time when eating. It is hilarious to witness. So we laid him down in our booth and Pete and I had a spontaneous 90 minute lunch date!
In the afternoon, Pete took Jude to the National History Museum to see the "bones" and then to the nearby zoo.
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| Working on our smile- "cheese" |
I took the time to slowly wander/waddle around our neighborhood, window shopping and real shopping. The French children's clothing store Bonpoint was around the corner from our apartment. Clothes to die for at ludicrous prices. Still fun to ogle all of the adorable little girl clothes even if I didn't want to spend 110 euro for a shirt. I was a little too excited to find a Gap Kids and shamefully did all of my shopping there. I made it as far as Laduree to pick up some macaroons before some sciatica forced a slow waddle home.
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| Balcony view |
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| Our apartment building |
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| Lots of great looking restaurants near us in Saint-Germain des Pres |
Our final day was spent at the Science Museum, which had a special exhibit/play space for little ones. It was a cooler, grey day so a good one to spend inside. An overindulgence in burgers and crepes left me sick (for hopefully the last time this pregnancy!) so Pete took Jude out to dinner at another local brew pub while I recuperated. After one final viewing of the Eiffel tower twinkly lights from our balcony, it was early to bed after a busy week!
Saturday we took the Thalys train back to Amsterdam. As France is still in a state of emergency, there were new security measures in place. Everyone had to pass through airport-style security with metal detectors and x-rays machines for bags. Between Paris and Brussels, police went through the train and checked everyone's passports. We really felt safe on this trip, but I still appreciated the precaution.
Jude picked up some French on this trip. Pete came up with a little jingle for when they would go in the morning to the bakery for croissants: "Boulangerie, we say 'oui oui'!" He also got good at saying "bonjour" and "merci" to people.
Au revoir Paris! Until next time!
