Patience…

We spent most of today walking around Paris again.

We are lucky enough to be staying almost next door to the Marche des Enfants Rouges, so we started our day by having a good look around there.  Our appetite for food-tourism piqued, we then walked over to Rue Montorgeuil, another foodie paradise.  As well as patisseries, fromageries, charcuteries etc, we found a little book-and-puzzle shop, where the children each chose a book – Babess found a version of Little Red Riding Hood in French, Pearl found a translation of Guess How Much I Love You, and Fainjin, ever the rebel, found a big Where’s Wally book – in English.

It was a fair bit more walking to the Louvre, where we found the glass pyramid bathed in warm sunshine and surrounded by throngs of people.  Already tired from the morning’s walking, the children were most dismayed at the sight of the queue to enter.  It wasn’t all that bad for the time of day and year, and was moving reasonably quickly, but we decided not to push the issue (after all, there would just be more walking and probably more whining inside the museum) so we returned to our home quartier and the Marche des Enfants Rouges to pick up a lunch to eat in our apartment.

After a substantial meal of smoked salmon, brie, chevre, salad and fresh bread, followed by a range of delights from the local patisserie, we had a bit of a break before heading out to walk it all off again.

This time we went back to our friend at the souvenir shop near Notre Dame, and as promised the other day he gave us prices less than marked for our t-shirts and the kids’ choices of souvenirs.  Onward and southward, over the Seine again and into the Latin Quarter, we ran the gauntlet of restaurant owners trying to entice us in for a 4pm dinner, and eventually washed up at the Jardin du Luxembourg.

Babess loved the statues of queens past and ran around finding out their names.  We found the playground… and the queue of families waiting for admission… and turned to the merry-go-round for entertainment instead.  Pearl was too big for it, but Babess & Fainjin enjoyed their ride.

After a wander in the shade and some people-watching, it was time to hop on the Metro and head home again.  Babess has been singing and talking non-stop all day long.  I can’t believe she isn’t absolutely worn out – I am! It is now 9:15pm and she is still talking.  At this rate she will send both of her parents stark raving mad.

In other news, Fainjin’s tooth fell out during dinner.  We shall have to see whether the tooth fairy includes France on her regular route.

© UpsideBackwards 2014.

Tags: children, Family, food, parenting, Paris, queues, travel