Louvre, the McLain Kids

​July 20

We slept in again this morning (as we do) and headed straight to the Louvre for our 12:30pm ticketed entrance time. We used the secret second entrance located in the Carrousel du Louvre. The museum is massive, and there’s never enough time to see everything. We wandered around for a long time, making a point to visit the Mona Lisa. The museum has instituted a new system to control the flow of traffic in that room and I found it very funny, and not at all relaxing.

We also saw Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, and many of the other famed pieces. I attempted to show my siblings Napoleon’s Apartments but they were closed for some reason. It’s very hard to move about the Louvre and we were all worn out relatively quickly.

We found a restaurant nearby to stop for coffee, cards, and a snack. Then, we walked across the Seine to Sainte-Chapelle. Alastair really wanted to go in, but the tickets were very expensive so we skipped it. We walked to the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris and took in the views.

We walked past one of the few Chipotle Mexican Grills in Paris which was a strange and sweet reminder of home.

Alastair brought us to the famous Cremerie Restaurant Polidor where many famous authors have eaten. The food was amazing and we practically had the place to ourselves.

Next, we took the metro to Grands Boulevards. Our Uncle Allen suggested that we should visit Passage Jouffroy for some shopping. Dagny and I both found purses in a kilo shop to hold our belongings on long train days.

Our last stop for the evening was an artisan chocolate shop called À la Mère de Famille (also a recommendation from our Uncle). We purchased a variety of chocolates and did a tasting back at the AirBnB while FaceTiming Mom.

We leave Paris very early tomorrow morning and while we’ve had four nights here, they’ve been incredibly busy! We didn’t even have time to see the Arc de Triomphe or Jardin des Tuileries. Next time!

Adelaide

Let them Eat Cake!

​July 19

We got to sleep in a bit this morning and Alastair made eggs for breakfast again. We packed lunches (sandwiches, water, chips) for our day trip. Around 10am, we left the apartment and took 2 metro rides and a train to get to Versailles. Dagny put my hair up into a really cute updo while we waited to get in!

We started with a self-guided tour of the palace of Versailles which is massive! We visited on a Sunday and it was unfortunately packed. 

We were eager to explore the gardens and once outside, we had a picnic lunch. We also found some chocolate cake and tables where we could play cards. I had this chocolate cake 2 years ago while visiting with Palmer and our friends. I remember it being much better.

After cake, we walked to the Queen’s Hamlet and everyone was starting to get sleepy. Mags wanted to lay down in the grass and while she napped, the three of us walked around and found many farm animals, including some goats who head butted one another. 

We collected Magnolia and then walked back through Le Gran Trianon on our way back to the train station. Overall a successful, but sleepy, day trip.

Once back in Paris, we made our way to Bastille to La Fée Verte to try absinthe. A trickle of water is used to slowly melt a torched sugar cube into the glass of absinthe and the whole production is fascinating.

After lots of cards, we made our way to Bouillon Pigalle for dinner and again, waited in a long line. This was a much later dinner than our usual and the restaurant was packed. Unfortunately, the food and service were both laughably bad. We waited in line for well over 30 minutes, and it took another 20 minutes at least before our server made any attempt to take our drink order. When he did, it was to jokingly decline my order of still water, which I didn’t find funny. We watched him shatter at least 4 dishes, he blurted sounds at us, and charged us for soups that we didn’t order. His behavior was so erratic throughout our whole meal, we decided he must be high on some substance. Our food was also less than amazing so we skipped dessert and moved on.

Our last stop of the night (Alastair was dragging us all along at this point) was to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. The stairs that we climbed to reach the top of Montmarte were brutal but the sunset overlook was worth the effort.

It’s always a blessing to travel with my family and the four of us laughed all the way back to the apartment. Alastair even wrote a little song about Magnolia to the tune of “Bella Ciao.”

Adelaide