Day 2 summary: August 7th "Francey-shmancy"

Good morning. While the kids finished their 12 hour nap I sneaked out to our local bakery. We found a cheese shop yesterday and so we ate in the flat. Brie, goat Brie with figs, chocolate and Bavarian cream danish and bread with juice and coffee. A SOLID start to the day. It would be fun to try and bake baguette when we get back home. 

Lots happened during the day, but let's start with dinner at Chartier.

Here are the Tripadvisor reviews

Yes, we had to try them. Really it was Jonah who was the driving force. Did we finish all six? Yes. Who likes escargot? Jonah and Steven, only.

The waiter uses the paper table cloth to draw the menu selections so you have an idea of what to expect when you order.... here is our menu.....

The table cloth is also the bill....

Here was our dinning bill.... Not too bad for a French restaurant in Paris. Our bottle of red wine was 7 Euro and the kids had two Pepsi and one orange juice and their bar bill was 8 Euro.... Wine is less expensive than soda in Paris, at lease in the restaurants we go to. You can certainly find better quality food in Paris but the kids had a great time and the price was right. The prices include tax and tip, but the waiter, in a nice way, asked if he could have the change as a tip.... well we said sure. But he should not have asked us for extra tip.

 We walked home after dinner along the Champs de Elysee and through the Tuileries Garden.

As the sun sets the lights turn on and it was a great transformation. We are constantly surprised that so many stores and coffee shops close up early. I guess we are accustomed to 24 hour shopping. We found one open bakery and bought the last two pieces of flan for the next day. If you know of a good recipe for flan please send it to us. 

What did we do all day?

The most amazing sculpture we have ever seen. She is draped in a flowing sheet made out of marble.

After our great breakfast we used the Metro to reach the Louvre. It was raining hard, but Iris found the inside entrance called the Carrousel entrance. Do not look for a carrousel. This is the underground entrance connected to the metro and restaurant area.  We could see the long outside line with very wet people. 

When they say that the Louvre is the most visited museum in the world you should expect many people. But this was just crazy. Everyone was okay, but Jonah was not having fun. It was humid and the there were people shoulder to shoulder. At the most popular areas you had to push to the front of the viewing area to get up close. Next to many exhibits were pick pocket warning signs. For example...

 After three hours we saw the Egyptian, Roman, Greek and Italian sections, including the Mona Lisa. All serious art lovers need to have a good sense of humor. Peace man!

Time for  lunch.

We found a taxi for five and headed off for steak and fries. Using TripAdvisor we wanted to try L'entrecote de Paris, especially for their desert menu.

Too bad the restaurant was closed for renovations, they could have informed us on their website. Yikes, you need to keep my children fed or they get mean. Luckily there is always a bakery close at hand, which was the third choice. The soufflé restaurant we wanted to try is closed for August vacation, at least we knew ahead of time.

After lunch we felt rejuvenated. To keep pace with Iris' Paris itinerary we walked to The Mémorial de la Shoah (holocaust museum). The museum is small, but it was important for us to see. 

Jonah at the eternal flame

The "justes de France" includes Jean and Jeanne Rogalle. The father and daughter who helped lead my father and grandparents out of France and into Spain in 1942.

Overall day 2 was very nice. What did we learn? You can't always get what you want. Sometimes you need to walk and not use the metro, so you can find the flan dessert you want. The city gets busy as the sun sets but the shops seem to close early. Don't try to do too much. There are long lines and lots of people in Paris. The city is great for families.