The weather for our final full day dans Paris was very different from our first. We were met with mild temperatures and blues skies when we arrived in Europe…our last day was grey, chilly, windy, and threatened rain.
Since the Louvre was closed when we first intended to visit almost 3 weeks ago, that was high on the agenda for our final day in Paris. So too was visiting the Eiffel Tower, as we’d been jet-lagged when we first planned to see it and had decided to hold off until the end of our trip.
First we ate breakfast at a terrific place we found on the way to the Louvre. Here was my delicious vegetarian meal:
Our girl was inspired by all the pretty coffees we’d been drinking, and poured her melted chocolate into her milk with a flourish:
And here are photos she took of everyone else’s breakfast:
We purchased our tickets online for the Louvre while still in the Netherlands and were so glad we had! Even though our entry time was earlier in the day, there was already a long line for those without tickets.
Here was the famous entrance:
We spent 4 hours in the Louvre, and barely made a dent in seeing the incredible works of art housed there!
Our girl was set on seeing the Mona Lisa, so we worked our way through the Greco-Roman sculptures and renaissance paintings first.
It was extremely dark in some areas and the number of people in the museum kept increasing exponentially, so it was tough getting decent photos of the art. But here are some of the amazing things we saw:
And can you believe that in addition to the human form, this chaise was also sculpted from marble?
We saw beautiful ceilings:
Very interesting paintings, with varied subject matter and techniques used:
Then we followed the crush of people and waited our turn to see the Mona Lisa:
We then saw more works by masters from the Greco-Roman period:
And I think Marc may have some Greco-Roman blood, don’t you? Check out that profile!
We went downstairs, descending further back in time.
Our girl said these were the original drafts for our Statue of Liberty:
I thought the magic talismans were cool:
And then we explored the Asian art section, complete with the boys’ favorite – sharp pointy objects! As an added bonus, the first photo also includes elephant head gear:
We really wanted to explore further, but time was not our friend if we wanted to visit the Eiffel Tower.
Now, when we originally discussed getting tickets to the Louvre, we also considered getting tickets to go up the Eiffel Tower. We (meaning our girl and I) made the unfortunate decision of not getting the tickets, thinking we’d be happy “just” seeing it from the bottom:
Which was totally amazing. But upon seeing it in-person, our family unanimously decided we had to go to the top. The kids were completely set on it, and a little surprisingly, I think our boy was the most adamant of all.
I did mention earlier how the weather had shifted, right?
Well, we spent hours in the miserable windy cold weather to get tickets, and then found we had subsequent lines to wait in while shivering and huddling together to keep warm. I still can’t decide whether it was good or bad that it only threatened to rain. On the one hand, it would’ve been even more miserable. BUT we were all wearing rain coats, and I think the rain might’ve chased some people away.
Anyhow, we finally shot up the elevator to the 2nd tier, and this view was our reward:
Oh, and our girl tried to get herself lost at the Eiffel Tower – twice.
The first time was on the 2nd tier. She saw a sign for a cafe with warm drinks and must’ve been feeling confident since we’d been in Europe for a little while.
I was taking photos while we were in line for the elevator to the top…and the next thing I knew, she said something to Marc and bounded past me down the stairs!
I went after her but as Marc likes to put it, I was “too short,” plus I was discombobulated by the mass of people wearing black like she was. So Marc went and found her, saving me from having a serious panic attack!!
Upside was that they came back with a coffee and a hot cocoa that we shared, while passing them around to warm our hands. I think other people around us wished they’d had her initiative, lol.
We finally made it to the top, where it was considerably less windy. And these were the incredible views:
Our boy “hung off the Eiffel Tower” (his words), before getting yelled at in French to knock it off:
I really, really wish I had a photo from when our girl tried to get herself lost the second time.
As our giant elevator was descending from the 2nd tier, it paused partway, and I *think* the operator said something in French about getting off if you were staying in a hotel.
Well, our girl apparently didn’t hear that and went bounding off the elevator, much to the astonishment of everyone inside! I thought she’d take two steps, realize no one was with her, and come back. But no – she kept right on going!
It took all four of us calling her name for her to turn mid-bounce, halfway down the hall, with a shocked expression. It was that expression that made everyone in the elevator crack up – I’m still laughing as I write this!!
With that, we walked out of the Eiffel Tower in time to see the running lights turn to solid lights:
And we topped it all off by making gnocchi and ravioli picked up from the neighborhood market near our place, and fresh baguettes plus a lovely tarte aux pommes from the boulangerie/patisserie.
Here was the yummy tarte:
We leave for home tomorrow, and so we now bid adieu to all the amazing places we visited over the past 3 weeks:
- Paris, France
- Bruges, Belgium
- Utrecht, the Netherlands
- Ribe, Denmark
- Mondo, Denmark
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Hamburg, Germany
- Prague, Czech Republic
- Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Plus all the places we stopped along the way! We had the most incredible time together – and we’re already talking about where our next adventure will take us.
Until then!
Travel Blog 