Paris Day 3: The Louvre, The Seine, and The Champs Elysees

Another beautiful day. Despite our best intentions for an early start, our Parisian breakfasts of pastries with espresso or chocolat chaud were inevitably leisurely, so by the time we arrived at the Louvre on Monday, Mike and I were expecting a brief visit before the children clamored for something more exciting. My parents went their own way, expecting to stay longer than we would. We were wrong. The three young Hicks are big fans of sculpture, and the Louvre has lots. We stayed for over 3 hours. Mike and I were overwhelmed by the size and scope of the museum. It was thrilling to see the originals of familiar works.







Diana of Versailles is a Roman copy of a Greek sculpture from the 1st or 2nd century AD. We had seen a copy of this during a recent visit to Anglesey Abbey, a stately manor home near Cambridge with extensive gardens containing neoclassical sculpture. Timmy was studying Greek mythology at the time, and we had spent some time determining which goddess she was. Annie was the first to discover that we were standing near the original copy. Tying our experiences to things the children could understand was our strategy for engaging them.








Outside the Louvre we saw this familiar statue of St. Joan of Arc. The original was made for the city of Paris and the city of Philadelphia apparently ordered a copy, but the artist sent the original and created a revised version for Paris. The first piece was practically our neighbor for 6 years when Mike and I lived near the Art Museum in Philadelphia.

The children were really great at the Louvre. Timmy needed some reminders that his video game time was contingent on good behavior, and I gave him the tip to "act as if" he was enjoying himself. Something worked. Either he successfully fooled Mike and me into thinking he was happy, or he actually did have fun. Letting the kids suggest photos and even take a few shots was helpful too.





After a while we all needed a break, so lunch was followed by a ride on the Batobus river boat transport. It was a sedentary and lovely way to see the city. A good time was had by all.

All this fun was taking too long. It was cutting into date night for Mike and me. We took the children back to the hotel where they spent an evening with their grandparents: french fries in a French McDonalds and extra video game time.

Mike and I washed up and headed out to the Champs Elysees. We started at the Jardin des Tuileries and walked up to the Arc de Triomphe, stopping for a nice, quiet dinner along the way. We skipped shopping at Louis Vuitton and Chanel, but stayed the course for the Arc de Triomphe. Like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, we were astounded by the size of it. Having not gone to the top of the Eiffel Tower, we now took the opportunity to go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. The evening was gorgeous and the views fantastic. We were exhilarated and exhausted. Time to get back and prepare for our last day.