We started the day with another perfect pain au chocolate, this time decadently accompanied by chocolat chaud. Mmmmm.... First stop, the Louvre. On 2 previous visits to Paris, I have been unable to see the Louvre due to worker strikes, so I was thrilled to finally get in! We had the benefit of a children’s tour led by a lovely guide named Emma. Emma gave the girls workbooks so that they could be “Art Detectives,” and at every stop she had them look for a clue in the featured art. At the end, they put all of the clues together to claim a little prize! This worked like a charm. The girls were very engaged as they learned about how art was used in ancient times through the renaissance to convey divinity, power, and personality. Although we had been warned by friends that the Mona Lisa was a “letdown,” very small and crowded, we all felt otherwise. Flat views in books can’t convey the amazing depth of the painting, and Emma explained how Leonardo da Vinci had discovered principles of optics (e.g., the eye is always drawn to the darkest spot) and used them to varnish the painting such that it always feels like you make eye contact with Mona Lisa.

After the Louvre, we found a creperie for lunch. One of Amory’s “must do’s” in Paris had been to eat crepes, so she was particularly excited to happen upon this spot. We shared a whole variety of savory and sweet crepes, and left with bellies full back to the hotel. There, Mommy crashed for an enormous nap, while Daddy took the girls to an even cooler playground than yesterday’s, at the Luxembourg Gardens.

When the gang peeled Mommy off the bed, it was time to head to the Eiffel Tower. Mr. Marathon decided that it wouldn’t be too big a deal to climb up, and certainly more time-efficient than waiting in the elevator line. Mommy, having had a very wimpy afternoon, was eager to appear game. 700 stairs later, huffing and puffing and pretending to assiduously read the informational posters hung at every landing, she was yearning for the lift. The girls, however, bounded right up. All of us enjoyed the views of the city. Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur cathedral were particularly impressive from that high up (sorry that picture didn’t come out very well).

We ended the day with a delicious dinner back at the hotel. I must describe the desserts: salted caramel ice cream with black cherry topping, a banana prailine meringue bomb, lemon meringue tart, and blueberry tart with lemon verbena meringue topping. Riley’s came with a lime garnish, and she pretended it was candied and suggested Amory take a full bite. What a sour surprise for Amory!  As you can see it was a busy day, and we felt very French as we dined with the kids at 10:30 pm!