Mothers Day in Montmatre

Sunday morning I was treated to breakfast in bed for Mothers Day. I don’t think it was Mothers Day in France (although it was in Belgium!) but Andy and the kids spoilt me anyway. I was given some yummy French biscuits which we all enjoyed munching in bed. It was nice to ring both Mums back in NZ too and have a chat.

Late morning we headed up to Montmartre on the metro. It was a sunny Sunday so half of Paris was there, but that just added to the experience. We caught the funicular up to Sacre Cœur to spare the legs a few flights of stairs. The atmosphere was lovely with lots of people sitting on the steps and lots of street musicians. The street entertainers are very different here, with harps, violins and piano accordions being popular. Very melodious and relaxing.

The kids were keen to see inside Sacre Cœur. The queue was long but moved quite quickly. Admission to churches in Paris is free, but the sheer number of people churning through still causes long lines to develop. Matt was keen to climb the tower, but decided that it wasn’t good value. He had other plans for our Euros that included ice cream and riding a traditional carousel (the kids still has fond memories of the carousel they rode in San Francisco). After eating our lunch of baguettes from a boulangerie, we found our first Parisian geocache. Then it was back to the ice cream shop – very nice but not up to the standard of Berthillon.

Today was the first time on our trip that it has been a challenge to find a loo. Matt needed to go, but the only toilets nearby had an enormous queue. We walked away from the main tourist area, but no toilettes to be found. Andy remembered that they were loaded on the GPS, so finally we tracked one down. Only two people in the line in front of us, but it was the slowest loo line in history. There was only one loo and to make matters worse, the toilet did a self cleaning cycle after every person. The loo was right in the middle of Pigalle, a rather dodgy area of Paris, so the kids got to see a different perspective on Paris.

It was time for rest up so back to the apartment. Andy and I took turns to go out for an extra walk around where we are staying. It’s a lovely area, just over 5 minutes walk from Opera and the big department stores. I was going to take Anna into Galleries Lafayette, but it was closed on Sunday. That will have to wait for her next visit to Paris.

After dinner we went out to enjoy the beautiful evening. We strolled the Tuilleries Gardens, enjoyed the deck chairs by the fountains and tracked down a kids playground. It was nice just to wander and enjoy the atmosphere of Paris on a sunny evening. After one last look at the Louvre and it’s pyramids, we headed back for an earlier night. Off to Disneyland tomorrow so the kids are pretty hyped, but hopefully they sleep well.