On our last day we asked the kids what they would like to do, and they all said they wanted to ride in one of the big hop on/off buses for a bus tour. They had been seeing them all week and wanted to ride one and also I think everyone was pretty tired of walking so much! In the morning we stopped by the Rodin Museum Gardens for a quick look. I have always wanted to go to the museum, but didn’t feel like the kids were up to another museum day.
First stop, The Thinker. Elora sat on a bench to draw some sketches while the rest of us wandered about the area enjoying the roses and sculptures. The kids all really liked The Thinker and we asked the kids what they thought he was thinking about. The general consensus was that he looks sad, although James said he thought he looked like he is sleeping. We all practiced the thinker pose for a few moments.
The gardens are really beautiful to walk around in. I did enjoy the sculptures as well, but in the end I wish we would have come when we had more time to see the museum as well. I guess I will just have to come back to Paris someday! On a trip without kids I could have spent all day in these gardens. They were quite peaceful and uncrowded, with a lot of lovely spots to sit down.
Here we have the children pretending to be sculptures standing in the garden. We told them to hold the pose and see how many people really thought they were statues, and they stayed there for quite some time.
Chris took the boys over to the gift shop in the Musée de l’Armée to pick out a souvenir from the trip. They both decided on foam pistols, and James declared it the best day ever as he posed for photos.
We went with the company Big Bus for our tour. In retrospect I would choose a different one. The buses were older and some of the newer companies have wifi on their newer buses. That being said, the kids all really enjoyed the tour and it worked out perfectly because we had checked out of our apartment and had a suitcase with us that we just slid under the seats while riding the bus. There were head phones provided so we could listen to commentary about what we were seeing as well as some music while at the bus stops. The music was chosen for what section of Paris you were in. When we were stuck in traffic on the Champes Elysee we listened to the same song over and over and over and it got a little irritating. They need a longer playlist!!! But I did like the tour because we drove around the city seeing all the most beautiful sights, some of which we had missed over the course of the week. It was beautiful weather for it, not too hot and there was a nice breeze on the top of the bus. James wouldn’t cooperate and pose for pictures for me and Marion and Oliver were too busy looking to turn around and smile much.
We decided to hop off near the Notre Dame and explore some of the little shops and cafes in the alleyways near there. We went inside one beautiful chocolate shop. The kids drooled over everything so I picked out a couple chocolates for them and some pastries for me and Chris to try. There was even a beautiful chocolate sculpture of the Notre Dame!
One place we only saw from the bus was the Opera House. If I ever come back to Paris I want to tour that beautiful building and see an opera there too. And maybe meet the Phantom of the Opera since he lives in the sewers underneath the Paris opera house. Elora really wanted to climb to the top of the Arc d’Triumph, but as we made our way towards it, James fell asleep. We decided it would be best just to ride to Trocadero where we could catch the metro to the airport.
One last picture with the Eiffel Tower before catching the train. The kids all declared they would miss Paris SO MUCH. I’m so glad they enjoyed it and that we could have this fun vacation together!
