We had to plan a last minute trip to Paris to renew Makenna’s passport in order to book our flights home in October. We originally had an appointment in Marseille in August, but recently received an email that is was cancelled. But, who could complain about HAVING to go to Paris?! I quickly got to searching what last things we would like to see and do for our last trip there before we move back to the US.
We started out by visiting Musée Rodin, where we saw “The Thinker” (or as Makenna described it “le monsieur qui pense”). The kids had fun walking through the gardens and finding the different statues. When we went to check into our Airbnb, I was happy to find there was a Starbucks across the street, so of course we had to go there every day that we were there!
The next day we went to Musée D’Orsay which was really neat and we wished we had more time to look around. We enjoyed the mini Statue of Liberty and I loved seeing the Van Gogh paintings. My favorite, Starry Night, was on display in London, but there was a photo of it and after I showed it to Makenna she decided she loved it too. Just next to the Van Gogh paintings was a statue of a man with a sword trying to fight a crocodile while protecting a woman and child….and when I asked Makenna what her favorite thing she saw was she said it was this statue! It definitely wasn’t the answer I expected. We had to head towards the Champs Élysée to go to the US Embassy, so we stopped at a salad and sandwich restaurant where I had the most expensive salad I’ve ever ordered…30 euros! Makenna’s passport appointment went smoothly and when we were done the lady gave Makenna an American flag…just a little reminder that she is, in fact, American and not French. It also happened to be my birthday that day and I told Ryan I wanted cupcakes, so he found a little cupcake shop that sold mini cupcakes which was even better because I was able to order 4 different flavors for myself!
There are many ways to see Paris, but we have not seen it by boat yet so I booked us a river cruise on the Seine. We boarded the boat near Notre Dame, and it was so weird to see it closed, and without it’s spire, following the fire back in April. We loved seeing all the beauty of Paris without being surrounded by crowds!
The last thing I had on my list for this trip was to visit the Montmartre area and Sacre Coeur. After getting ice cream and letting the kids ride a carousel, we headed to “le mur des je t’aime” or “the wall of love” where the phrase ‘I love you’ is written in 250 different languages. We made the steep walk up to Place du Tertre where there are many street artists painting portraits or displaying their art. I was hoping to find a painting to bring home, but there was nothing I loved at a price I was willing to pay! Next we walked to Sacre Coeur which was a beautiful sight itself, but also offers an amazing view of the city. We ended by having tapas at a little restaurant and it was delicious! The walk back to the Airbnb was a long one, but I could never get tired of walking the streets of Paris. Everything is just so old and beautiful and romantic!
It was a wonderful “last” trip to Paris, but I sure hope it’s not our very last!
The Pawlowski's Go To France 