When we got up the next morning and headed in to the city, we were met with less crowded subways. Hallelujah! Before long, we were there! We stepped out of the subway station and were met with the beautiful sight of Notre Dame. I'm pretty sure a gasped, and I know I got teary eyed.
It's an awe-inspiring building. I knew there were gargoyles, but didn't realize just how many there were all over the church. I could spend hours just walking around this church.
We got to Notre Dame a bit late, so the line to get in was super long. We wanted to take a bus tour, as well as spend a few hours in the Louvre, so we opted to skip going inside. Maybe next time...
I wanted to check out a Star Wars themed cafe called Odyssey. This is where smart phones come in so handy when traveling. We were able to figure out the location, and just followed the suggested route to the cafe. It was nice to walk around and check out the architecture. On the same block was a cool comic book store. We did some browsing. I tried to get them to buy french comic books, but they weren't interested.
The cafe had just opened, so we had our pick of tables. This place was so cool! Star Wars music played over speakers, and there was a tv screen that played some of the Star Wars video games.
The food was delicious! It serves a variety of crepes. I will say this about cafes in Paris. They are in no hurry. No hurry to take orders, no hurry to bring your food and no hurry to bring your bill. We spent well over an hour here. But it was an experience and I'm glad we did it. The kids usually aren't experimental with their food, and I was worried they wouldn't like the cheese. But they did like it!
Noah had a simple, plain crepe.
Nik had the Caprica.
The Dagobah
We even split a dessert crepe. It was so good!
The Mongo
Next up was the Louvre. We wanted to see as much of the city as possible, so we jumped on a Hop on bus tour to enjoy the sites along the way. We didn't pre-purchase tickets. We just walked right up and looked for a bus that had open seats upstairs. Here's another tip. Bring your sunblock with you. See those exposed necks? They did not get sunburned because we reapplied sunblock frequently.
I know some people hate these bus tours, but we really love them! You see so much of the city, and can hop on and off when you want. We definitely would not have seen as much of the city without the bus tour. We did the Big Bus Paris tour for 31 euros per person. They gave us new headphones and we were able to hear commentary as we passed buildings.
Our first view of the Eiffel Tower!
I'm going a bit out of order here, because the Eiffel Tower was our last stop of the day. But I took a ton of Louvre pictures, so I'm skipping that for now and it will have it's own blog entry.
There are McDonald's everywhere.
In order to get close, you do have to clear security. But they have their system down, so the line moves quickly.
The Eiffel Tower was another dream come true. Nik is afraid of heights, so we just walked around it and took a ton of photos. Part of successful travel with autism is that you know the limitations of your family. We had already pushed the kids pretty hard today. We had walked a lot, it was hot, and we were in a crowded city. So, we opted not to push to get them on the Eiffel tower.
I thought they were stopping this nonsense? Come on, people. Your selfishness is destroying Paris bridges.
Next up on the blog is the Louvre, but here is a little taste of what is to come.
This city is a sight for the eyes. You will keep stopping to admire the sites, so don't expect to get anywhere in a hurry.
Noah was all in on the cheesy tourist pictures, while Nik would have none of it.
Next up...Mona Lisa!
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