Paris 8 September 2010
First things first, I did not have a very good day with the children inside The Louvre. We did make it out alive and without breaking anything.
We left the apartment at about 10am and headed to the Louvre, down the streets, into Galleries Lafayette up the elevator to the top to see the view(children really enjoyed this), back down to the street and out along Rue del Opera. Most of the main streets are named after whatever is at the end of them. So the Palais Royal Opera building is on this street. Before reaching the Louvre we had breakfast/lunch in a café. We met an American couple that the kids chatted to about what they have been doing and how long they are out of school (most important to children).
My wonderful cousin Deborah told me to use the entrance under the red awning on Rue du Rivoli to skip the long queue at the Pyramid entrance. We went in the door, down the escalator and crossed the floor to the ticket machines, it cost 9.50 euros each and Free for children. We found the upside down pyramid in the centre of the mall and walked straight through with no queue at all, it was great.
First area we entered was the history of the Louvre, fascinating how it started as a castle with farm lands surrounding it. There are the old foundations on display that look like where a moat would have been in the past.
We wandered through the Egyptian exhibit with statues, tools and jewels on display.
Then we found the area with the famous Mona Lisa on display, we had been in the musee for hours so we were happy to view the most famous painting in the world and leave with a few Louvre souvenirs.
Ok we did have a problem with our 7 year old after about an hour in the Egyptian exhibit. He decided He wanted to take photos so we gave him the spare camera. He was calm for about 5 minutes then He went ballistic at a couple standing in front of the sphinx. He told them that they should learn English and that He will kick them if they don't get out of the way (it was a bit worse than this, but I didn't want to write everything). I was so embarrassed. But this is a travelling with kids site so these things happen.
We exited out of the Pyramid and into the plaza above into more rain.
As we are near the Arc di Triumph we pop down a hole to the metro and catch a train to a station near the Arc. What a sight! It is so beautiful even in the rain, this area is near Charles de Gaule-Etoile Metro station and is on Champs Elysee it is lined with stores such as Louis Vuiton, Guess, Gucci and Cartier (a real shoppers paradise).
Back down a hole to our apartment with children in tow of course.
First things first, I did not have a very good day with the children inside The Louvre. We did make it out alive and without breaking anything.
We left the apartment at about 10am and headed to the Louvre, down the streets, into Galleries Lafayette up the elevator to the top to see the view(children really enjoyed this), back down to the street and out along Rue del Opera. Most of the main streets are named after whatever is at the end of them. So the Palais Royal Opera building is on this street. Before reaching the Louvre we had breakfast/lunch in a café. We met an American couple that the kids chatted to about what they have been doing and how long they are out of school (most important to children).
My wonderful cousin Deborah told me to use the entrance under the red awning on Rue du Rivoli to skip the long queue at the Pyramid entrance. We went in the door, down the escalator and crossed the floor to the ticket machines, it cost 9.50 euros each and Free for children. We found the upside down pyramid in the centre of the mall and walked straight through with no queue at all, it was great.
First area we entered was the history of the Louvre, fascinating how it started as a castle with farm lands surrounding it. There are the old foundations on display that look like where a moat would have been in the past.
We wandered through the Egyptian exhibit with statues, tools and jewels on display.
Then we found the area with the famous Mona Lisa on display, we had been in the musee for hours so we were happy to view the most famous painting in the world and leave with a few Louvre souvenirs.
Ok we did have a problem with our 7 year old after about an hour in the Egyptian exhibit. He decided He wanted to take photos so we gave him the spare camera. He was calm for about 5 minutes then He went ballistic at a couple standing in front of the sphinx. He told them that they should learn English and that He will kick them if they don't get out of the way (it was a bit worse than this, but I didn't want to write everything). I was so embarrassed. But this is a travelling with kids site so these things happen.
We exited out of the Pyramid and into the plaza above into more rain.
As we are near the Arc di Triumph we pop down a hole to the metro and catch a train to a station near the Arc. What a sight! It is so beautiful even in the rain, this area is near Charles de Gaule-Etoile Metro station and is on Champs Elysee it is lined with stores such as Louis Vuiton, Guess, Gucci and Cartier (a real shoppers paradise).
Back down a hole to our apartment with children in tow of course.
* There is a cartoon on the The Louvre website that can help prepare children before your planned trip to The Louvre. I will add the link soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment