“We’ll always have Paris.” Howard Koch
After a somewhat shaky start to the trip with ever-changing plans, date juggling (Eurostar, best telephone customer service ever!) and then an incident in the Channel Tunnel that caused major delays on our actual day of travel (grrrrrr), the eldest, teenager and I set off on the Eurostar (only a slight delay and at least our train wasn’t cancelled like most) for our Familie de Brett trip to Paris. Once onboard it was an easy and uneventful journey to Paris Du Nord, followed by a slightly prolonged Metro ticket debacle and a dubious late night trip on the subway, but nevertheless we arrived unscathed at our quaint boutique hotel in St.Michel.
Our first day was spent at Disneyland Paris (read about it here) while the other half flew from Abu Dhabi direct to Paris and the second day was sightseeing on the teenagers 16th birthday (read about that here).
Bit damp at Disneyland Paris
Souvenirs along the Seine but watch out for pickpockets
The week-long adventure was a non-stop pavement pounding exercise in the wrong shoes (me) as we criss-crossed The Seine and the city, taking in as many sights as possible. Visits to the Eiffel Tower (amazing panoramic views from the observation deck at the Summit), The Lourve, throwback in time in artistic Montmarte, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Élysées, Sacre Cœur, Notre Dame, Place de la Concorde, Centre Pompidou, street art and a trip on the Babobus along the Seine to name a few. We celebrated two birthdays (the aforementioned teenagers 16th and the eldest’s 23rd), ducked showers, got soaked, were briefly reunited as a family of five (when second son joined us for the weekend), ate lots, drunk more, ate some more, shopped, took in some art and culture (well me anyway), wore clichéd striped Breton tops (me again), photographed everything (ok that was me too) and ‘selfied'(new word alert as the eldest ‘selfie’ himself around the city’s landmark) ourselves around the beautiful historic French capital city. Here’s a snapshot of our Parisian escapade.
A spectacular bridge across the Seine, the Pont Alexandre III connecting the Champs Élysées quarter and Invalides/Eiffel Tower quarter
Jardin des Tuileries
The Louvre
La Basilique du Sacre Cœur sits high above the city and has amazing views
Montmartre where all the artists gather
Espace Dalí Gallery in the Place du Tertre, Montmartre
Someone in a beret turned 23 in Paris
Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Élysées
Place da la Concorde
Notre Dame
Stravinsky Fountain (Fontaine des automates) that has sixteen works of sculpture that move and spray water
Centre Pompidou which houses Musée National d’Art Moderne
Top of the Centre Pompidou
All aboard the Batobus
Macarons from Ladurée
Architect and engineer Gustave Eiffel’s statue at the base of the tower
The wrought iron lattice tower located on Champ de Mars better known as the Eiffel Tower, one of the world’s most iconic landmarks
Panoramic views across the city from the summit observation deck
Top of the Eiffel Tower selfies
St.Michel in the Latin Quarter
All those selfies were exhausting
Back at St Pancras in London
Au Revoir Paris
All photos on this page © Jo Brett 2014. All rights reserved.