Brooklyn’s Paris Sightseeing

Monday September 1st

We took the subway to the Eiffel Tower. The subway was crowded with people headed to work so it was hard to get our mom’s wheelchair to fit on the train. It was clear that not many of the stations were built for wheelchairs because there were lots of stairs so our dad had to carry the wheelchair while our mom walked up the stairs.

Once we reached the Eiffel Tower we took lots of pictures. It was a lot taller than I had expected. We were curious to see whether the Calgary Tower or the Eiffel Tower was taller and by how much, it turns out that the Eiffel Tower is way higher at 1083 feet tall while the Calgary Tower is only 626 feet tall (which is a height difference of 457 feet). When we got to the ticket booth we found out our mom could not go to the top in case there was an emergency and we would have to run down all of the stairs. We were all upset that she could not come but they would not let her go. We went to the second floor with her to start and got great photos then my dad, Rylee and I went to the top and got amazing views.

Tuesday September 2nd

As part of our birthday gift we went to Walt Disney Studios Park Paris. In the morning we took the subway and a train for just over an hour as it’s pretty far outside the city. When we arrived it was very crowded. My three favorite rides were:

• Ratatouille
  This was a ride that made you feel small, you were in a mouse vehicle and there was a big world around you with big screens that showed you clips of Ratatouille. Our vehicle moved with the movie and it made you feel like we were part of the movie! It even splashed water at us!
  
• Avengers: Flight Force
  This was a really fast rollercoaster and it was in the dark so you could not see what was happening. It went upside down multiple times.
  
• Crush’s Coaster
  Similar to Avengers: Flight Force but you are in a turtle shell and there are scenes from Finding Nemo.

Overall I thought Disney was really fun. I just really did not like the first ride called the Tower of Terror where you went into a giant elevator with seats that went high up and then dropped multiple times. There were scenes of old haunted hotels and a freaky ghost girl made from lights.

Wednesday September 3rd

On Wednesday we just relaxed.

Thursday September 4th

We took the subway to Le Bistro Marbeuf, which is a restaurant where we got a choice of Nutella, strawberry jam, or chocolate and banana crepes I chose Nutella crepes, they were very good.

After we went to the Arc de Triomphe and we walked up the small circular staircase. It was very skinny and you could not pass anyone. We got an excellent view and lots of photos.

Later we went to the Paris Aquarium and looked at the beautiful fish of all different shapes, colors, and sizes. The zebra sharks were really interesting because we learned they got their name because of the black and white strips they have as babies. When they mature, their stripes fade and polka-dots are left behind. Another interesting thing about them is that their tails were like a snakes tail but flat. The jellyfish were magnificent, all of them were shaped differently and we learned how toxic each different kind was. It was very interesting to me that some of the more toxic jellyfish were the smaller ones.

Next we went to the Louvre and got up front views of the Mona Lisa and amazing photos.

Friday September 5th

We took the subway to the City of Science and Industry Museum which is a giant science museum. The first display we went to was a spy submarine for the cold war and learned about how people lived and worked on it. Next, we went to an exhibit where we learned all about cats and dogs. There were lots of fun, interactive displays like playing Guess Who with different types of cats and dogs. You could also be timed while running on hands and feet and weaving through cones like a show dog, watch a video of a dogs behavior and guessing if they were relaxed or stressed, and being quizzed about cats and dogs.

One other display that was really cool was where you whispered into a curved dish and another person stood on the far end of the room at another curved dish and they would clearly hear the other person.

Saturday September 6th

We took the subway to a restaurant called Le Moulin De La Galette where we each got four macarons and a drink, I chose pineapple juice. We got the macaron flavors at random and I got vanilla, pistachio, coffee, and raspberry. I traded my mom coffee for another vanilla and split chocolate and raspberry with Rylee. They were the best macarons I have ever had and pistachio was my favourite. We also tried escargot which I was scared to try but I really liked them. I had 3 in total!

Then we caught a tour train and went to Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre which is a cathedral. To get down the hill, we took a funicular, which is similar to a gondola but on a track. We then went on a double decker carrousel and some shopping at small markets down the road.

Later in the day we went on a river cruise and got good views of old buildings and took the subway back to our Airbnb.

Sunday September 7th

To start off our birthday we had a Nutella filled donut, brioche, and scrambled eggs with fresh mozzarella and ham. Then we took the subway to the island where the Notre Dame Cathedral is and went to get our packet for the murder mystery we were doing. We made a quick pit stop at a cafe called The Coffee (which is not a very creative name) and got frozen hot chocolate. It was a very hard murder mystery and in the end we got it wrong.

For lunch we went to Au Vieux Chatelet restaurant where we got Croque Madam which is a fancy grilled cheese with ham and an egg, fries, and salad. The Croque Madam was very big and I barely made a dent in it.

It was 30° so we were all very hot and had some ice cold water and cooled down. We visited Notre Dame and looked at it’s beautiful architecture. It’s roof was domed and it had amazing carvings and detailed stained glass.

We decided to go to the tallest tower in Paris (not including the Eiffel Tower) and we got gorgeous views of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, The Louvre, and the Arc de Triomphe. Next we went back to the Airbnb, watched a movie and had fruit, Maltesers, and French pastries called mini merveilleux (I picked pistachio, cherry and chocolate).

Monday September 8th

The first thing we did was taking the subway to a place a perfume museum where we learned about the history of perfume in France. One interesting thing that we learned was that in the 15th century that men would carry around vinegar and salt in a perfume bottle because women used to wear corsets which were really tight so women often fainted and the men would use the strong smell to wake them up. We got to create our own perfume by mixing together the three components and adding more of one sent then the others.

Then we went to the Paris Opera Garnier where ballet performances take place in the theater. Unfortunately the theater was closed do to a ballet rehearsal. It was cool to see the rest of the building though because we recently watched Find me in Paris which took place there.

One thing that was really fun was the Paradox Museum which was full of really cool illusions. My favorite illusion was where our mom sat on the floor and put her legs underneath metal fencing thing that looked like a porch and Rylee lied on it. Next, my mom grabbed Rylee’s ankles and then I lied in front of Rylee and we grabbed each others hands and there was a mirror on the roof so it looked like I was falling and my mom was leaning over a porch holding Rylee’s ankles to catch me.

Next we went to a chocolate museum where we learned about the history of chocolate and got unlimited chocolate! We also tasted how chocolate developed over time, the first chocolate was really bitter because there was no sugar and as the time went by it became less and less bitter until it was milk chocolate.

Finally we went to cheese tasting where we got to try 5 types of cheese. My favorite was brie which was soft and creamy and the one I was more hesitant to try was blue cheese which is basically moldy cheese but it was not too bad.