It is hard to believe, but it was exactly a year ago on this day that I finally managed to achieve a lifelong dream of mine, and take my son to Paris. We are of French heritage, so it was pretty important to me that he get to see it, and that I take him, specifically. And although we only really spent one day and another half day and night in and around Paris, this came to pass, finally, last year. It was not only my son's first ever trip to France, but his first taste of Europe moreover. It was very pleasing to me that it both began and ended in Paris.
Right now as I write this, it is 7:09 in the morning EST. That means that it is 1:09 in the afternoon in Paris. At around this time last year, I think that we were either by the Place de l'Étoile and the Arc de Triomphe, or leaving it and getting ready to go on the bateaux mouche. It was an exhausting day, but I felt glad that we made the most of it, visiting the Sacre Coeur and Montmartre, the beautiful fountains of the Place de la Concorde, Montmartre, the Tuileries and the exterior of the Louvre Museum, although I did show him the Court Marly, which can be viewed from the outside. As mentioned earlier, we saw the Place de l'Étoile and the Arc de Triomphe, and then took a bateaux mouche, where we saw some of the wonderful bridges of Paris, as well as other landmarks, such as the Hôtel des Invalides, the Conciergerie, La Sorbonne, a smaller version of the Liberty Torch, and the main attraction that we could not get much closer to, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris (Notre Dame Cathedral). Finally, we ended the day by visiting around the Eiffel Tower, and strolling down the Champ de Mars, past the École Militaire, and to the subway that took us back to the airport.
Frankly, it was a lot to fit in for one day. But we only had the one day as a layover, and I knew that we needed to make the most of it. By the end of the day, fatigued as we both were, there was still a sense of accomplishment that I managed to get my son to see as much of this beautiful city as we probably could, realistically, given the time constraints. It was also one of the happiest days that I can remember in many years.
We would go back to Paris in roughly two weeks, but that was during the night. Of course, the night adds a much different dimension to Paris, but I did not include those pictures here, because again, that would happen two weeks later.
So to remember it on this year anniversary, it seemed fitting to publish this and include many of the earliest pictures that I posted, some of them while still in Paris!
Enjoy!
From posts published last year about the trip to Paris, which I began publishing while actually still in Paris:
Well, we made it to Paris!
It was a dream that I had for a long time to take my son to Europe, and especially to Paris.
Took a long time. Wanted to wait for a time when he would be mature enough to more fully appreciate it.
This year, we finally made it !
Here are some pictures from our time in Paris earlier today:
Place de la Conchorde, Part Three
Marly Presence in Paris, Part Two
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