Cinéaqua

Today we went to Cinéaqua. It is an aquarium located at Trocadéro right next to the Eiffel Tower. Who knew there were sharks swimming around next to the Eiffel Tower?! Well, now you know. It's an OK aquarium. Not really worth the price they were asking. Especially since I grew up close to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and I was seriously spoiled with that. We should have gone to the National Aquarium Baltimore when we lived there. Oh well. Maybe next time.
Timmy really liked it. I actually ended up buying a year pass. I figured it would be a good place to go when it's really hot. And Timmy can walk around. (As long as it's not his nap time like it was today.)
We weren't supposed to use our flash, so this is a little dark.
It boasts a shark tunnel. It wasn't that great and the boys were really looking forward to seeing lots and lots of big sharks. There were some. We'll have to find out when they feed the sharks and then go back.


There is a touch pool where you can touch fish. It's a really low tank so I had visions of boys falling in. Timmy would have if I didn't have a really good grip around his waist. He mostly splashed and got wet. He even managed to get one of his feet in the pool. There was no way I was letting go of him. He screamed a lot when I put him back in his stroller. It took some coaching to get Thomas to calmly put his hand in the water. After a while they got the hang of it. I really don't know why there is a giant T-Rex head here.

Aye Aye Cap'n!

They do have activities for kids. There are a couple theaters with shows about oceans and pirates. Apparently next month they are showing Ice Age 3. There are puppet shows on the weekends, and every afternoon kids can paint on the wall. With supervision of course. There were stencils of various marine life the kids could trace and paint. Matt made a shark...with lasers of course. Thomas did a colorful seahorse.
They also had a green screen where kids could have a background and be on TV. The boys liked this. Sorry if the picture is weird. The TV screen was up really high and I had to hold the camera up high to get it. The boys are being "chased by a dinosaur"

L'Etoile dans une voiture.

Tonight we went to run an errand in the car. Driving around the Arc de Triomphe is crazy and I never want to do it. Doug gets a kick out of it. The rule is that the people coming into the circle around the Arc have the right of way. So, all the people circling around have to stop at each street to let people in (and there are 12 streets). Then you navigate your way gradually to the outside before you want to exit. So last night, we got into the middle of the circle and were in too far to try to dart out 4 lanes of traffic (that is if they really had lanes, because there are no lines on the road). So we circled around again. I had a Clark Griswald moment when he was stuck going around a circle over and over again. "Kids. Big Ben. Parliment..." It made me smile.

Les Invalides

Today we went to Les Invalides. The boys enjoyed learning about its history. It helped that there was a military museum inside.


There is a chapel here, but we couldn't go in it because there was a choir rehearsing inside. The rehearsal sounded good.

This is the burial place for Napoleon Bonaparte. This sarcophagus is huge.

And also for his son, Napoleon II.
(Remember Napoleon III? How I now live in the same apartment that his coiffeur lived in? He is Napoleon I's nephew) Anyway, moving on...
This is a mini replica of the grounds and buildings of Les Invalides.The boys got very excited when they saw this tank. There was an army museum. There were rooms with floor plans of battles, ancient armor (which we didn't have time to see), weapons and clothing from the time of Louis XIV to Napoleon III, and another with just World War II artifacts.




I think Doug had as much fun explaining war history to the boys as the boys did seeing swords and guns on the wall. I'm sure we'll be back a few more times.

Parc Disneyland

Yesterday we went to Disneyland Paris. It was the first time the boys have been there. They had a lot of fun and didn't even whine while standing in line. I was very impressed with how cooperative they were. We might even get an annual pass because this trip was a pretty good experience. We managed to only have one mishap.

At one point while we were walking around, Doug noticed a white thing by Timmy's ankle. He wondered what it was. Apparently Timmy's diaper had come unattached on one side and it had dropped down his leg and was resting at his ankle under his pantleg. We had a good laugh over that one. I took full responsibility as I was the one who changed him that morning. Thankfully we didn't have any more problems.

We always have a hard time getting Timmy to stay still for pictures.
Of course we had to go on "It's a Small World". They all loved it. There were so many things for them to look at. At one point Timmy started clapping he enjoyed it so much.
Timmy's favorite show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. One of his first words was "Show" and he would bring me the remote control of the Mickey Mouse DVD asking for it. I couldn't wait for him to see Mickey in person. Here he is as he sees Mickey for the first time.


We also got to meet Woody and Jesse. The boys haven't really seen Toy Story yet. Too many Star Wars and Cars shows taking presidence. Perhaps we ought to watch it so that they can all go see the third one this summer.
Timmy calls Goofy "Hoofy". It's cute that he knows all the character's names. It was fun for all the boys to see the different characters. We only caught the end of the parade at the end of the day. we make an effort to watch it all the next time.

Thomas was very excited to go on this car ride. The wait, however, was way to long to rationalize going. We'll try to go on it next time.We took the boys on Pirates of the Carribbean. They liked it. I thought it was darker than usual. I seem to remember that it was more humerous and light than dark and spooky. Maybe that's teh European interpretation of it. Or, then again, I was looking at it this time through the eyes of small children.
One of my most favorite rides at an amusement park are the spinning cups. I love these things. the faster the better. However, when it is just me doing the spinning we don't go very fast. I have a hard time finding people who will go on it with me.


One of the boys favorite rides was Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast. They got to have little guns that made laser noises and you got points as you hit various spots around the ride. It also had a control that could allow you to turn the ride around and see from all angles. Timmy liked grabbing this and spinning us around. Here they are trying to defeat the Evil Zurg.

Ready. Aim. Fire!

A the end of the day they boys admitted they had fun, but were tired. On the way home they all three fell asleep on the train ride home. (We took the train because it stops right in front of the entrance to Disneyland. Not bad, eh?) It was a little difficult waking them up so they could walk through the Metro station and up the stairs on their own. Doug discovered after wards that it is much cheaper to park at Disneyland than to buy train tickets. And since it opens at 10 AM, we would go after the big morning rush anyway. Maybe next time
I asked the boys what their favorite part of the day was. Matt said his favorite part was the Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast and the Star Wars ride. Thomas said his favorite part is the same as Matt's.

Fête des Pères

Happy Father's Day!All of my handsome boys.

Les jardins du Louvre

Today we went to have a picnic in the gardens by the Louvre. It was so beautiful with perfectly cut hedges (I know. Me and my square bushes). There were statues all over the lawn and the Louvre surrounding us. Since I had 3 kids running around, I chose to watch them instead of taking pictures. Next time I will.

We were there for a primary activity for the kids. We had a picnic, and then the kids played games. At first we were the only ones there, but after noon, there were a lot of people there with their kids and just laying in the sun. It was a beautiful day out. The kids played a game where they had to pop each others balloon without getting theirs popped. I thought I'd share this video. Matt is clearly the winner.

In order to watch the video, just click on where it says "watch it in You Tube". When I was fixing the settings on the You Tube account I apparently did some stuff so that it won't show on the blog. You can still watch it by clicking on the link anyway and it will open up a new window.

Les Jardins de Versailles

Today we went to Versailles. Well, we only visited the gardens of Versailles. And it was only for a few hours. But it was still a good experience.
Doug had a meeting at the Stake Center in Versailles, so while he went to a meeting, we went to Versailles. I knew that we only had a couple hours, so I let the boys explore the gardens. I love how the gardens are symmetrical. (I'll get better pictures next time) They're perfect. If I ever had hedges in my yard, I would definitely cut them flat and square shaped. I pointed out how the trees were cut into shapes and they were all layed out in a pattern.I gave the boys a brief history lesson on King Louis XVI (even though this statue is of Louis XIV) and Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution. Matt said, "If I were the people, instead of cutting his head off, I would make him clean his house all by himself." (we had talked about how many rooms there were in the castle and whether or not the king had to clean his own room). I told Doug Matt's comment and Doug said, "Cleaning your own room is a fate worse than death".
We loved the fountains. They are everywhere. Even in the middle of the mazes.The boys thought it was cool that there was a swan in this fountain.Sometimes it's so hard to get a decent picture of all three of them looking in the same direction...
So I had them do silly faces instead. we may follow my friend Ireta's example and do more silly face pictures. They are so much more cooperative.

Do you think this is bigger than Old Faithful?

Timmy was also intrigued by the fountains. Here's one more his height.
Just a little bit closer...
Good thing he's strapped in!
The highlight of our visit was not the beautiful gardens and fountains. It was all these empty snail shells. They even brought some home to show daddy.