Paris

Last Thursday, the dipe squad boarded a train in The Hague bound for Brussels, where we changed over to another train headed directly to Disneyland Paris. Yes, there is a train station right at the entrance to the park. As our hotel room wouldn't be ready for another few hours, we stowed our bag and headed into Disney. Ellie was soooo excited! She'd been talking about Mickey Mouse for a few days already, and she knew something interesting was bound to happen in the park. We entered on Main Street USA (just like in Florida, though much smaller I'm sure) and grabbed a bite to eat (having been starved on the train). Before we could even get to lunch, Ellie was a proud owner of a large mylar Winnie the Pooh balloon and was watching a parade of characters through town. Of course, it only got better from there, because after lunch, we got ice cream with sprinkles. We probably could have given it all up and gone home at this point and still have called it a great trip, because if you know Ellie, you know that a balloon AND ice cream with sprinkles is just about as close to Paradise as any of us will ever get. But oh...it got better. Disneyland Paris also has a carousel. With a short line. YIPPEE!!!!! AND the Dumbo ride (AKA "the elephant carousel")! AND the teacup ride! AND we can ride on the carousel more than once! WHY HAVEN'T WE BEEN HERE BEFORE??!!!




Markus and I had naively presupposed that Ellie would only last two or three hours in the park before she was completely exhausted and overstimulated, but really that applied more to us. She LOVED it! She was so happy and excited! In fact, the only way we bought ourselves a little rest was taking a break for kettle corn (or as Ellie called it, "pop-maize"). I haven't been to Disneyworld since I was 9, but I believe it must be much bigger than Disneyland Paris. This was actually okay for us, because Ellie's realm of enthusiasm encompassed the three above-mentioned rides that were all conveniently located right next to each other. When we finally saw her wearing down, we plunked her in the stroller and wandered to a different section to see what we could see. We decided to risk one more ride and go on the Pirates of the Caribbean, because I had liked that the most when I was a kid in Disneyworld and Markus had never been. Despite the fact that it was pitch black most of the time, had all kinds of animatronics and included more than one small dip in the dark, Ellie was completely mellow in her exhaustion until the end of the ride, when an animated skull and crossbones gives instructions for disembarking. She was having none of that!!!! Luckily, we were at the end, so we left the trauma behind and headed out to Frontierland, where we wanted to take the steamboat ride before going to the hotel. We nearly made it too. Mama spotted Mickey Mouse posing for photos with almost no line, so we gave it a go. Ellie had been talking about him for days, after all. She would be happy, right? WRONG! Mickey Mouse is a fun, loveable character friend who is most safely admired at a distance. He is not to be trusted, this Mouse. He has big shoes. We know this, because approaching him resulted in SEVERE trauma and Ellie is still days later recounting the tale of "Mickey Mouse. Big. Shoes. Sad. Ellie. Go."


The next day, Ellie took a late morning nap, so we decided to eat lunch at the Disney Village before heading into Paris. Disney Village is just outside the park, and it's a collection of chain restaurants (McDonalds, Planet Hollywood, Rainforest Cafe...), movie theaters and shops. We opted to eat at Cafe Mickey because the menu looked the most acceptable. We had been told that on birthdays, you can request a special cake and the characters will bring it out and sing and dance and take pictures with you. It was indeed Ellie's birthday, so we asked about this and the hostess agreed we could just let them know closer to the end of our meal whether or not we wanted it, since we were a bit afraid of the trauma returning. So we settled down happily in our booth. Ellie started coloring with the set they gave her. We ordered lunch. All was happy and well. UNTIL. What they had neglected to tell us was birthday or no birthday, the characters come out anyway at Cafe Disney. They mingle through all the tables, pose for photos and TOUCH PEOPLE (horrors!). It was all over before our food even came. Ellie was climbing me like she wanted to hide under my skin and her misery was so extreme that we had to leave (and maintain at least a 100 meter distance from the door). Markus quickly ate his meal, and then he took his turn outside while I rushed through mine. Ellie refused to return. At least I didn't have to eat all alone. Goofy came and sat with me for a while, but given the level of trauma in our little one, I opted not to pose for a photo with him. I'm sure you understand. At this point, it was fairly clear that it was time to leave Disney behind and head into the city. Ellie really did have fun in the park, and we can understand her trepidation about the characters. They are pretty big and strange and intimidating. And, as we have been repeatedly informed, they wear big shoes.


Our Paris hotel was just off of the Royal Palace Gardens, and despite its central location, the room was blissfully quiet. We checked in, wandered through the gardens, and made our way to the Louvre and the adjoining Jardin de Tuileries.


Ellie was a huge fan of running along the Louvre fountains, watching the boats in the Tuileries fountain, and of course the "piece de resistance": ice cream in the gardens. We were on a mission for some cake and coffee, and we headed to the recommended locale only to get caught up in rush hour madness (even on foot, the manic panic was stressful). Markus managed to find a restaurant in a little out of the way alley in a seriously upscale shopping district. This made for some very interesting people-watching (boy, were we sore thumbs there!), and Ellie was all about helping Mama consume the molten chocolate cake.


We headed back to the hotel and cleaned up a bit for dinner. Our concierge had recommended a little spot around the corner. He said our (very) casual dress was fine and they were okay with children. The restaurant was "Le Grand Colbert" on the Rue de Vivienne. If you have seen the Diane Keaton-Jack Nicholson movie "Something's Gotta Give", yes, this is the restaurant where they meet in the end. And it's good! The staff were so welcoming and friendly that we were amazed to still be in Paris. The food was fresh and well-prepared, and the atmosphere was charming (you've seen it if you've seen the movie). Markus had the foresight to pack our portable DVD player, which also helped make for an enjoyable meal.

We woke up on Saturday to a gorgeous summery day. We used the morning to take a boat tour of Paris, something we hadn't done before and truly recommend, especially with a small child. It was a great way to see the beautiful architectural highlights of a huge city. It was also a great way to enjoy the sunshine.


We walked back to the hotel via Ile de la Cite and discovered a peaceful little square near the point with some nice bistros. Based on menu, we wanted to eat at the Cafe George, but they were full so we kept moving (we did return to it for dinner, though, and we HIGHLY recommend it!!). We ended up eating lunch in a restaurant off of the Royal Palace Gardens, and that was a great choice. Ellie ran around in the dirt while we ate and kept herself more than happy. Afterwards, we headed across town on a mission for "the best chocolate cake in Paris" at Pierre Herme and on to the Jardin du Luxembourg so Ellie could play. At Pierre Herme, the line was out the door and down the corner, and let me tell you people, THERE IS A GOOD REASON FOR THIS. All of the pastries looked beautiful and amazing, and the chocolate cake is out of this world! But I digress...
Ellie had good fun in the gardens. The Jardin du Luxembourg is a great spot for families, with lots of open playspace and some big playgrounds. Being such a gorgeous day, the playground was completely overrun, so we put Ellie on the carousel (another carousel! hooray!). We watched the boats in the fountain. We ran on the paths. And we went back for dinner and bed.

By Sunday morning, we were all partied out, but we had a few hours to kill before our train so we headed to the Musee d'Orsay for some beautiful Impressionist paintings and impressive sculptures on the ground level. Even the building itself is nearly worth the entry fee. What foresight to transform a huge old trainstation into a fabulous museum!

All in all, we had an amazing fun trip! We were all happy and relaxed, which is the only way to survive Paris. There is far too much to see and do to try to do it all. Visiting the city with Ellie forced us to slow down and just take it as it comes, which made for the most enjoyable Paris visit to date. So, Happy Birthday, Ellie! We're sure you'll wonder when you're 16 why we took you to Paris for your birthday when you were 2, but trust us: you had fun.