Monday-A Visit to the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower

Today was a busy day! We took the Metro to the Louvre and arrived hungry and needing coffee. We hung out in a mall-like food court area connected to the Louvre, waiting for a crepe place to open, but after almost a half hour of waiting, we gulped our delicious cappuccinos and grabbed a quick pastry so we could get going to see the artwork.

Well, everything is a bit more complicated with a toddler in tow. Once we got inside, we were told that we could not have Max in our backpack carrier that we can’t live without. We had to go to information to get us a stroller on loan, which of course Max refused to sit in. Then their one elevator from that main area (could that be possible that there is only one?!!) was broken so we had to wait with some others in wheelchairs until the security guard could take us to a keyed-entry “behind the scenes” elevator! All of this with a restless Max in our arms and an empty stroller in hand…By the time we got into the first gallery Max was losing interest in the whole thing.

Jen could not find the Flemish Renaissance paintings the she was desperately seeking.  Chris did the best that he could with Max running from gallery to gallery.  Note to self: if you set a baby down once he will always want to be on the ground!  After a lengthy search we finally gave up and went to the Large paintings room where Chris was finally able to see the Delacroix “Raft of the Medusa” that alluded him the last time that he was in Paris (it was being restored).  Also in the room were many Jacques Louis David paintings that were incredibly large including the Coronation of Napoleon seen below. 

Since we were so close we figured we should probably see the Mona Lisa, just because.  We are perplexed why people love this piece so much when there are so many other more impressive pieces in the same gallery.  It’s more fun seeing people obsess over the extremely small portrait.

Max was really zonked by the time we got out of there and we figured that he might go to sleep in his carrier while we ran to Rue Cler and the Eiffel Tower.  On the subway he almost fell asleep however when we reached Rue Cler (a famous market area) we found that he was hungry.  While waiting in line for crepes he was making the yummy noise, “mmmm…”.  While walking to the Eiffel Tower, we enjoyed our ham and cheese crepes while Max enjoyed his banana that the crepe man gave him.  

At the Eiffel Tower Max finally got some time with mom, but it was not enough to make him go to sleep. In order to wear him out a little more, we let him run around on the lawn next to the Eiffel Tower.  Then we put him in the backpack carrier and walked towards the tower. Max was really over the whole Eiffel Tower thing. Eventually, directly underneath the ET, his eyes started sagging and he was out like a light.  We took advantage to enjoy the romantic setting with some ice cream cones.  Jennifer had pistachio and Chris had chocolate and vanilla.  We thought how much Jacob and Joel would have loved the ice cream and being there under that amazing structure.  The last thing we did was to purchase the boys each a little something at a local gift shop.  Max woke up after about 45 minutes in the carrier on mom’s back. 

We walked and metroed ourselves to the St. Germain de Pres Church. After we got home, we read that the St. Germain Church is the oldest in Paris, built in 542 to shelter a piece of wood from the cross of Jesus! Whoa! Max had a great time observing, following, and chasing pigeons in the church’s garden. 

After a long day out, we had a terrific dinner at a local eatery with a very engaging host that served us sangria and brandy on the house. We must have looked like we needed it after a trying yet fun day.