Last week

I can’t believe it has been 2 months since we left Kansas City. It has gone by in a flash but at the same time it feels like forever since we were back in the U.S. We had to dig deep to keep up the energy in order to take full advantage of our final week. Thankfully we saved some of the best things for last.

We attended mass at Notre Dame on Sunday. It was beautiful, partly in English, and an added benefit was that we were able to get in without standing in the huge visitor line.

Later that day, we went up the Eiffel Tower. The kids didn’t have any interest in going to the top which was fine with us as there was a 45 minute wait in line to do that. We had a perfect sunny day to enjoy the spectacular views of Paris from above.

Monday we stayed near our apartment. We took the kids to the Jardins des Plantes where they played hide and seek in the botanical labyrinth, then spent time at the Roman ampitheater across the street. Trip and Greg threw the baseball around, the kids played soccer, and Taylor collected rocks. (We now by the way have about 8 pounds of rocks from every country we traveled stashed in our luggage). That evening we had fondue for dinner at the lively Rue Mouffetard.

Tuesday my cousin spent the day with us visiting the Pantheon where many important people are buried in the crypts below and where the Foucault’s pendulum swings. We then headed to the Luxenbourg Gardens to sail a toy boat and eat lunch. We finished up the day to the north.

Wednesday we spent the day at Versailles with another cousin. And Thursday we spent the entire day at the Louvre. Both days we were pleasantly surprised that the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They listened intently to the audio guides – what a relief!