Angers ~ Paris ~ Marne-la-Vallée ~ Pont-Saint-Esprit
Terra Boncala
Sunday in Angers and it was off to Terra Botanica … or as Charles mis-read the sign on the way in, “Terra Boncala”, causing family-wide hysterics.
Terra Boncala is a botanical theme park in Angers with a variety of ways to discover nature, including flying over it in pedal powered walnut shells, floating through it on little boats, and watching 3D movies of it. Another bright sunny day for exploring!
We found mysterious caves, prehistoric marshes and talking trees…
A quieter day out after all the excitement of Puy du Fou, which was exactly what was needed.
Time to catch up on a bit of homework on the train back to Paris and get ready for (believe it or not) even more excitement to come this week for both kids…
The excursion to end all excursions
While a school excursion for 7 year olds in Sydney might involve a trip to a museum or gallery, in France we take things up a notch.
This week Charles went on a 4-day excursion to the south of France on the TGV! Whatever concerns Charles might have had to be heading 700km away from home for a little excursion were magnified ten fold for his mother.
But we all got our heads around it in the end, and after some practice at finding his own clothes each day from a little suitcase, and with a few Euros in his pocket for a souvenir, off he went with his classmates and teacher.
High emotions and excitement on the train platform…
It was a big step for them all, and they had a great time of course. Avignon and Pope’s palace, Pont de Gard aqueduct, Théâtre antique d’Orange etc, all capped off with a big disco party on the final night.
Parental stress managed via daily blog photos in the meantime :-).
Suffice to say 15 kids safely delivered home at the end of the week having grown up a lot in the space of 4 days – but also very glad to be home after their big adventure.
The Sculpture show rolls slowly on
Meanwhile it’s business as usual back in paris for Mum & Dad, at least for a day or so.
After seeing off Charles at the train station, Simon made a pilgrimage to BHV for a few things for the Honoré apartment renovations.
Along the way, wandering past the Tour St Jacques, a tower built in the 1500s to welcome pilgrims setting out on the long path to the pilgrimage destination of Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain. Still a walk many pilgrims complete.
Of course, a pilgrimage to the bricolage department at BHV is no less daunting in many ways…
Sculpture classes also wait for no man (or specifically, the only man in the class), and not that all the figures are fixed into the plaster, it’s time to venture into the rather intimidating world of paint colours and patinas for the plasters.
Yet another set of skills to be learned, from choosing and mixing colours, to different techniques for applying them, types of gomme laque to apply etc. So much to learn in so little time!
Time with Mum & Dad
While Charles was away, chance for Aisling to have some Mum & Dad time – out and about on our scooter, and trying on some lovely hats…
Happy days!
We also stopped in to one of Niamh and Simon’s favourite restaurants in Paris, Le Récamier for some gorgeous soufflés – almost as gorgeous as the patrons themselves.
Usually one of our first stops on a trip to Paris, this was the first time we had made it here, and we made the most of it!
Holly!
While Charles’ excitement was all in the south of France this week, Aisling’s excitement was much closer to the home, as her best friend Holly from preschool in Sydney was coming to stay for a few days, along with her mother Lauren and baby sister Emily.
The visit was a surprise until Aisling saw Holly step off the train at the station. High excitement all around!
Nothing says Paris fashion like matching pink string backpacks, and the two little ladies were soon stepping out in style…
Champ de mars, here we come!
Disneyland
In an act of either sheer bravery or reckless insanity, Niamh and Holly’s mother Lauren decided at the drop of a hat to make a day trip with the three girls to Disneyland Paris.
Some plan their trip to Disneyland for months in advance. Others fearlessly sally forth on the day. Excited kids on the train on the way there…
A trip to Disneyland Paris is not a voyage for the faint-of-heart parent.
Luckily both Lauren and Niamh are far from faint of heart, and they fearlessly set forth and then talked / muscled / charmed / cajoled their way through snaking queues and less than accommodating staff to successfully negotiate the required photos with princesses, fairytale rides and no less than front-row seats at the parade (secrets of this not to be divulged to the general public).
Disney staff uniformly unhelpful throughout. Puy du Fou service rating: 10/10. Disneyland: 3/10. So much for famed service orientation – concept doesn’t seem to translate to Europe well, and Niamh found it commercial at every turn after Puy du Fou.
Nevertheless, very happy little girls! Aisling’s conclusion: it’s pretty good to be a kid … but it’s a bit tiring sometimes.
Kudos to the two super mums!
Eiffel Tower (at last)
The next adventure was much closer to home and HAD been planned well in advance, to avoid hours of queuing in the sun – the long awaited trip up the tour Eiffel.
After living in its shadow for 5 months, we finally had the excuse to head on up!
We had planned for Charles to join on a Wednesday afternoon, but as he found himself 700km to the south at the time, his chance would have to wait for another day (and not too long as it turned out).
Lovely sunny day as we marched up the champ de mars to navigate the confusing construction site that is the bottom of the Tour Eiffel these days, as the city is putting in new security barriers to cope with the throngs of visitors.
Some degree of confusion among the myriad queues, requiring regular intervention and advocacy in french to end up in the right place :-). But eventually we were where we needed to be and soaring up towards the sky in the lifts…
Of course, there’s nothing like buying a pink Eiffel Tower when in the Eiffel Tower, and the gift shop was naturally more than happy to oblige – complete with sign warning of the security risks associated with buying cheap Eiffel Tower knock-offs. Accept no imitations!
Mostly though it’s all about the views of course, and we were very lucky to have both a clear day and a (relatively) less busy time on the top floor, where for once it wasn’t cheek to jowl, just cheek to cheek 🙂
Boats, Buses & Playgrounds
Having taken in Paris from the air, it was time to check it out from the water. Happy motoring on the river, checking out the scenery floating by.
… including of course our favourite willow tree, for old times’ sake.
Then it was from the boat to the bus – open-top of course. Little earbuds supplying patchy commentary, we made our way past the major landmarks – an easy way to whiz around and give 4-year-old legs a break. Ah, the feel of wind in your hair and traffic jams at your feet…
Time for a run-around after all those boats and buses! Off to our favourite down-town playground in the jardin des Tuileries, where we were soon scampering up ladders, across rope bridges and down onto see-saws.
Again amazingly we mostly have the place to ourselves in the middle of one of the world’s largest cities and a short walk from the most visited museum in the world.
And just to round things out, a bit of a bounce in the adjacent outdoor trampoline area, where again we are the only guests…
Dinner at Suffren, our local, after a busy day!
Play time with Charles
After Charles’ triumphant return from his successful southern tour, time for some fun in the champ de mars and lots of stories to tell and catch up on. Some like to use interpretive dance. Charles and Aisling prefer interpretive balloons…
Then off to the little champ de mars merry-go-round jousting tournament, where each child gets a wand stick and the goal is to skewer as many rings as you can on the way around. Champions all.
The Scott-Bacons take the 5th
All things come to an end, and sadly at the end of the week Holly and her mother and sister had to head off to their next adventure, travelling to beautiful Vevey, Switzerland by train. We had a great time hosting them.
Just as Aisling was starting to mourn the absence of Holly in earnest, thank goodness it was the Scott Bacons to the rescue! Our second catch up with Nerida, Roger, Alex and Amy, who came over to stay for the long weekend from London. Happy days.
Our first stop was a Saturday morning walk around the 5th arrondissement, including the markets at Place Monge.
Aisling brought along her best pair of wheels to celebrate the occasion…
Sweet shops and meringue cake shops distracted us along the way (don’t mention the word pav!!)…
In the markets, fruit, meat, cheese and produce stores of all description.
Obligatory to try a croissant from the shop voted best in Paris of course.
Slightly less enticing were the various pig parts on offer!
We picked up some tasty food (pigs trotters not on the menu!) and made our way to the Luxembourg gardens nearby for a lovely sunny picnic …
… followed by a play in the excellent playground.
Great climbing, girls!
Saturday afternoon and it was time for some culture.
We had organised a walking tour of Montmartre, a region in the north of Paris full of history, with Kelly, the excellent tour guide we met through the parents’ association at Charles’ school.
So it was off on the metro across Paris to find Kelly.
Kelly is an amazing guide with a seemingly endless knowledge of Paris. She talked us through the history of Montmartre from its time as a quarry for paster of Paris (the windmills originally used to grind the rocks, not grain), to evolving into an artists neighbourhood, and becoming what it is today – a mix of tourist attraction, artist colony and swanky neighbourhood for people wanting to live a little away from the hubbub and with a sprawling view over the Parisian rooftops.
Big first day out and about in Paris for our guests, and for us!