The first weekend we visited the Loire Valley which is known for its plethora of "Chateaus" belonging to the aristocracy before the royals and court moved to Versailles, many which can be toured through. We based our excursions out of Amboise so we also got to see Leonardo da Vinci's house and workrooms. His genius is even today, unfathomable. We had great weather and the kids had tons of fun trapsing through all the castles.
For Mother's Day (the American one), we spent the day out at Disney Village where we ate and played until everyone was pooped.
We spent one Saturday exploring the 5th Arrondissement. Also known as the Latin Quarter, it is home to the Musuem of Middle Ages, the Pantheon, Roman baths, ruins, and colosseum, the Sorbonne, as well as several famous streets, churches and monuments. It also happened to be a very "walkable" arrondissement which the kids appreciated and we enjoyed gorging ourselves on pancakes at Breakfast in America.
One gorgeous day, we visited Claude Monet's house and gardens at Giverny. I honestly have never seen anything like it...the gardens even made my black thumb itch to plant some flowers. The house has been wonderfully maintained and after walking through the water gardens, it is obvious to see why he spent so much time there. 
We took the kids back up to Montmarte (see 18th Arrondissement) to the artist's square to have their portraits made. After scouring around and talking to several artists, we decided to go with a woman named Flore who used colored pastels, was affordable and did a marvelous job. These will always be one of my treasures from this year in Paris.
Finally, we went to a park called France Miniature where they have recreated hundreds of significant buildings, monuments, churches, towns and geographical features from around the country. About mid-way through there is a lunch counter and several "rides" that you run yourself, a little creepy for me, but the kids had a ball. Another beautiful day with tired kiddos at the end...who could ask for more?
3 comments:
Such a fun month you have had! I love Montmarte, one of my favorite areas of Paris. And the Loire Valley castles are beautiful, aren't they? Too bad I couldn't swing a trip to Paris to visit you! :)
Cool, cool! You've done so much in such a short time there.
That is really cool. I wish that we could have seen that. Looks like you had a really fun time and a beautiful day.
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