France Day 5

We took an early morning ride over to Luxembourg Gardens. Kids sat and drew in their sketchbooks and watched fish and Matt and I went for a little walk through the gardens. Down in the Latin Quarter things weren't quite as accessible as we would've liked so the kids did get weary of walking. The Pantheon was a pretty short walk from the gardens. 

There was really a lot to see in the Pantheon. This pendulum was pretty fascinating. I think the kids didn't really believe that it would keep time, Brigham checked up and was impressed with the accuracy.

Some of our favorite authors are buried here.

I loved being able to teach the girls about different people in history.

We went to the Musee D'Orsay. Again, girls and me, Alena on here own and Matt and Brigham. Samuel stayed back at the hotel for school for most of the day.

So at the Louvre the girls were super immersed in the art. We got the kids booklet with a sort of scavenger hunt adventures. I thought it would be fun and the girls did enjoy it but I was a little disappointed. Instead of being immersed in what the art looked like and the stories and being content, suddenly they were rejecting all the art that didn't move them forward in their quest. The passed so many things without a backward glance. I tried to let go of my own expectations and let them enjoy it how they wanted to but I was bummed. I hadn't realized how much violence is portrayed at Musee D'Orsay. I typically remember the impressionist peacefulness but we ended up focused on some pretty horrible scenes I had to try and explain to the girls. At one point I gave up and just told them we weren't going to discuss it. They were not happy about this but I was done. 

Lovely temporary Whistler exhibit!

I really wanted to name this one "The Last Camel Died at Noon" after an Amelia Peabody book.

One of the most alluring things about the museum is that it used to be an old train station. There are 3 amazing clocks and the layout is unique. 

I tried recreating the photo I took of Alena at age 10 admiring the ballerinas. These two goons didn't quite give the pose the grace it deserved.

The metro. I could write an entire blogpost full of metro experiences. What a bitter-sweet privilege they were. We headed back to the Latin Quarter and Matt went to bring Samuel back to tour the catacombs.  

I wonder if there's any place in the world that rivals the Catacombs. Over 2 million bodies buried here. There are many tunnels that run in all directions under Paris here in the Latin QUarter that are LINED with bones in a pattern like you see above. That was a sort of roundabout in the middle of streets. It's sort of hard to fathom.

If I'd had time I would've read more of the french quotes posted along the tour. After this tour we went back to Les Halles and the kids went to bed. Sam, Matt and I went out and got some dinner at a cafe outside the hotel. Matt wanted some authentic French cuisine so he ordered Escargot and Beef Bourguignon. I got French Onion Soup and Creme Brule. Samuel got Pasta. 

We saw this every day. The War waged on Ukraine is really heart-breaking and we haven't forgotten. We saw support for Ukraine in many places. It was another great day.