À Paris
Last month we went to Paris for the first time in five years, to meet up with my sister-in-law at the end of her European trip. We weren’t sure what to expect with a toddler in tow, but actually it was fine; quite a few Parisians have children, funnily enough, so we weren’t the only ones pushing a buggy around. The playgrounds around the city are très bien, with lots of shady trees and some good sandpits. (They were preparing the annual sandpit along the Seine while we were there, too.) The Metro was a bit of a nightmare, though, with hardly any lifts or escalators. Good thing there were three of us to carry him up and down the stairs. Trying to get an early evening meal at a brasserie was also a challenge; it wasn’t quite Spanish mealtimes, but close.
It’s a good thing we saw the Louvre and the d’Orsay last time, because there’s no way we could have done them this time. We did manage a visit to the Musée Rodin, though, taking it in turns to look at the indoor exhibits while the others enjoyed the gardens. And the sandpits.
Apart from that (and Versailles, which deserves its own post), we mainly just enjoyed wandering around in the sunshine. That and the food: lots of fresh apricots and nectarines, countless cakes, and I had a delicious confit of duck one evening, so I was happy.
I also managed a decent browse around a branch of Book Off, the remainder store I so enjoyed in Tokyo, which was only a couple of blocks from where we were staying. It wasn’t as cheap as the Japanese one, but I still found a few more bandes dessinée to go with the last batch.
And of course there were photos: hundreds of a small boy playing in Parisian sand, and somewhat fewer of the wider surroundings. This gallery features three dozen of the latter.
9 August 2009