Day 1

At the hotel

We arrived in Paris early this morning after a non-eventful flight.  The kids were so ready to start exploring although everyone was tired and no one slept much on the plane.  We met our tour director, Orane, who had the bus ready to take us to our hotel in the southeast corner of Paris.  Since we arrived so early, the rooms were not yet ready...so we changed in the bathrooms and stored our luggage and headed out for a busy day.  It's rather chilly here, though sunny, so we bundled up.

At the metro

It's a quick 10 minute walk to the metro from our hotel.  We learned how to read the metro map, how to route, and what to do if we get separate on the metro. It is very crowded on the metro right now, with lots of visitors in town!

Our first stop was the Montmarte district, which is the artists district and also one of the highest points.  It was an exhausting climb to the top (for me at least, not so much the kids!) but the reward was fantastic.  Orane took us around the Place du Terte, the basillica of Sacré Coeur, to the only vineyard in all of Paris, as well as the famous "moulins" (windmills) found throughout the district.  Since the cherry danish from breakfast on the plane had worn off, we gave the kids some free time to eat, and shop, and see the church and square.  I am happy to report they all ate, and all returned on time :)  Many shopped for souvenirs - I won't spoil any surprises.

After our visit to the top of Paris, we headed off to one of the lowest subway stations in Paris to the Ile de la Cité to see the famous Notre Dame cathedral.






With it being Palm Sunday, it was extremely busy at the cathedral with a line to get in.  We had a treat inside though as several musical groups were practicing for Holy Week services.


We had a chance to explore the famous stained glass, the many architectural beauties and the gardens outside, where tulips are blooming.

Then it was more free time to explore the church more, although most headed off either to the gardens to relax or over to the Latin Quarter for more shopping.  These kids love to shop!

 After that we met the rest of our tour group who came in from Maryland and we headed off to dinner in the at L'Hippo in the Latin Quarter.  We had roast pork with delicious au gratin potatoes and chocolate mousse for dessert.  Then we had a special surprise for Katelyn, whose birthday is today!  So we had a sparkler in an ice cream sundae for her and we all sang Happy Birthday as well.

Now that the kids were good and exhausted from walking all over Paris and probably up 1,000 steps in a day, we headed back to the hotel. They've all been tucked in, given hugs, and are going to be ready to face the day tomorrow!

Lots more pictures on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.324393240953866.75415.100001495784044&type=3&l=f2c300ec0d