Audrey Hepburn once said.  Rich in art, history and defining delicious cuisine, we agree.  Everyone in our family wanted Paris to be on our European itinerary.  During the planning process, we allocated two of the thirteen weeks we have on the continent for France.  With that time frame in mind, it was easy to focus on the northern region of France by Paris, but difficult to decide where to stay and what to put on our list to see and visit and thus what to leave off.  

We eventually settled on spending the whole two weeks in the Paris area.  We searched for a while on AirBnB and settled on an apartment in La Frette sur Seine, a northwestern suburb.  We thought it would be nice to be out of the hustle and bustle of the city and spend less on lodging but staying on a train line so transportation was easy.  We reluctantly cut the Normandy region and its beaches, so significant to World War II history in favor of a simpler itinerary so we could slow down from the pace we had moved during our last two weeks in the UK as well as work into a school routine.  We eventually, and sadly, also cut Reims and Lisieux for the same reason.  

Our time in Paris began with gray, cold and rainy weather AND a trip to the Eiffel tower.  Because of the high demand for tickets, we had ordered the tickets earlier in the summer before we left home so we had no choice but to get going the first day.  That morning, August 31st,  we slept in to recover from our long travel day the day before and then got settled.  Scott and Arlie went to the market, actually twice – once for breakfast and once for lunch.  I figured out the kitchen and  started tackling the mounds of laundry that had built up over the previous nine days.  By early afternoon, it was time to head into Paris to visit the iconic landmark.  

At the time, having a scheduled appointment on our first day in France was hard because the previous two weeks had been so tiring and we were all ready to unwind.  Even though our time in York had been more relaxing, we were all tired and needed some rest, but I am glad the Eiffel Tower was the first sight we saw in Paris:  First, because everyone had been so excited to see it and second, because the lofty view gave us a great visual overview of the city.  Over the course of our trip, I’ve noticed that starting our time in a new place with a monumental event or sight is, in my opinion, the best way to begin seeing and learning in a new place.  

The next day, also rainy and cold, we were able to stay at home the whole day.  We slept in again, but after a late breakfast, we had our official “first day of school.”  This means we started two things:  1) math lessons and 2) following a morning routine on home school days.  The first few days of our school routine were, shall I say, rocky.  We start each morning by getting together to pray, read scripture and read a book out loud (what we call “morning time”). After summer break, there is always a lot of kinks to work out so this time can run smoothly and be enjoyable. This year was no different.  After morning time, we break up and do the individual subjects that we decided Abe and Arlie would do this year while we’re traveling:  Math and Language Arts.  Arlie began hers pretty smoothly. Abe, however, who did not want to home school anymore, tried to “beg, borrow and steal” as my dad would say to avoid his journaling requirement for his English and World History credit.

We prioritized school mornings that first week in Paris so we could build a routine and then would go out in the afternoon to see sites or visit a museum.  Abe was also sick the first several days so he didn’t join us for all of our outings and we had to balance school with understanding his need to rest.  I think this made his transition into a good school routine even harder. 

Overall, our time in Paris was enjoyable and marked by warm, sunny weather (after the first two days), seeing beautiful art, and eating delicious food.  We also made a pilgrimage to a special church, started a fantastic read aloud set in France, Black Radishes, a historical fiction middle grade novel set during World War II and spent a day at Disneyland Paris.  Most of these I’ll write about in separate posts, but here is a chart of how we spent our time:  

Thursday, Aug. 31st	Get Settled: unpack, groceries & laundry; Eiffel Tower; Galettes & Crepes for dinner
Friday, Sept. 1st	“First Day of School,” laundry, afternoon walk
Saturday, Sept. 2nd	School, Arc De Triomphe & Champs Elysee’, Abe home sick
Sunday, Sept. 3rd	School, Mass in Paris, dinner by St. Lazare, Abe home sick
Monday, Sept. 4th	School, Rick Steves Paris Historic Walking Tour
Tuesday, Sept. 5th	Giverny – Monet’s House & Gardens
Wednesday, Sept. 6th	School – Orsay for me, Miraculous Medal Church, Rue Clare & Traditional French Dinner
Thursday, Sept. 7th	School & Home day, afternoon walk
Friday, Sept. 8th	School; Scott & John Aviation Museum; All of us The Louvre at night
Saturday, Sept. 9th	Versailles – Toured Gardens, not the palace
Sunday, Sept. 10th	Mass at Sacre Coeur; French meal on Mont Montre
Monday, Sept. 11th	Disneyland Paris
Tuesday, Sept. 12th.	Homeschool, Laundry & Pack day
Wednesday, Sept. 13th	Check out and Travel to Brussels area

The warm and sunny weather was a nice change, for the most part, after it being chilly and rainy so often in England.  We could go out in short sleeves and not have to worry about taking a raincoat as well as do some sunbathing on the rooftop patio.  Even though we had some hot days before we left home, after being in England for so long, it kinda felt like we had not had a summer, so I appreciated the sun and warmth.  We also needed vitamin D for our immune systems.  The only negative was having to wash our short-sleeve clothes often because it was too hot to rewear our clothes.  

In the end, we were pleased with the apartment, especially its roof-top patio, but wished we had stayed closer to the city.  Even though our apartment was across the street from the train station, the twenty minute ride into the city seemed to get longer rather than shorter; I think because anytime we had to transfer to the subway and ride to another part of the city, our whole transit time would end up taking close to an hour or so each way.  

A word of advice in case you also think Paris is a good idea and plan to visit it soon:  Take your time.  It’s easy to over-do it in Paris.  It’s a gigantic city with a lot of museums and the key sights are in different neighborhoods.  Also, meals take at least two hours if you have them in traditional restaurants.  Consider seeing less, and enjoying it slowly, like a fine meal.  

I was surprised by how much I liked Paris.  I think this was mostly because I had heard that the French people are rude to Americans, so I expected it to be an inhospitable place that was hard to navigate. Our experience was the opposite.  Despite the fact that none of us speak French, we learned to navigate the city and public transportation system pretty quickly and found the French people that we interacted with at restaurants and stores to be friendly and helpful even though we couldn’t speak their language.  Also, it is a beautiful city – from the architecture, to the restaurants to the stylishly dressed people and beauty is lovely and inspiring to be around.