We had a rough night with little sleep. Stefan and I kept waking to the sound of a mosquito in our ear. Ugh. All this to say we slept in. Don’t judge. After a slow morning at the apartment, we set out about 11am to see the city and make up for lost time.

We took Uber directly to Montmarte, where we’d read there was a street closed to vehicles on Sundays. Apparently it’s for early risers because it wasn’t just pedestrian when we arrived. Oh well. It was a lively area with tons of people walking around. There were many cafes and brasseries full to the brim with hip 20-and 30-somethings brunching. We felt like perhaps we’d found our spot.

The kids got super excited when we found a small kid ride in the middle of a square. It’s the sort of thing we’d normally roll our eyes at and keep walking by, but this time we just couldn’t. They were overjoyed to ride the pirate ship around and around. How can you not love that?!

As we walked down the street, the shops shifted away from hipster coffee shops and more to quaint shops selling fish, cheese, bread or flowers. Lines were long, even out the door at many places, as people hurried to stock up on their goods. As 1:15pm came around I understood the frenzy. The shops all closed up at 1:30! I guess it’s nap time? The street went from being so full it was difficult to move to being almost empty. Amazing. Luckily before they closed, we had a chance to buy the best croissants I’ve ever had as well as cheese and handmade ravioli.

The Salvador Dali Museum was “just up the hill” according to Stefan, so we made our way up there. What a hike! I don’t know how many steps and steep hills, but Lillian exclaimed “we made it!” at the top. I liked it; It reminded me of our time living in San Francisco.

The Dali Museum was a lot of fun. I wasn’t a big fan of Surrealism, but I may be now. It’s different seeing this type of art with your children. Lillian and Oly both got a kick out of it. They examined each piece, discussed it and in some cases simulated parts of it. Really a highlight of the trip for me.

//Stefan Note: Kids loved it but a little over priced for Dali prints and bronzes ‘inspired’ by Dali.  But, Kids really loved it, all of it.

Just around the corner from the museum was a nice little spot, so we sat and had a cocktail. Why not?! The kids enjoyed coloring on the postcards they bought at the museum. We’ve done that at most places we’ve visited, and they seem to really enjoy that ritual.

Then more walking. Uphill. The kids were running around chasing each other and having a great time, which makes the walk easy. The Sacre Coer Basilica is captivating no matter what time of day or how large the hordes of people outside. We watched people sing on the steps a few minutes and then started walking downhill.

We can cover a lot of ground when the kids are into riding their scooters, which was the case at this point. We walked beyond Montmarte and through some other types of neighborhoods. It was very interesting to see the different sections of Paris, all pressed up next to one another. We even got to do some train spotting along the way!

About an hour into our walk, we found a really cool playground. It’s along the train tracks and reminds me of the Highline a bit. Not that it’s a long walkway, or on top of old railroad tracks, but the esthetic was similar. The kids went nuts on the playground, even though it was packed. Stefan was shocked anyone would want to play on equipment already covered in children. Our kids weren’t phased. There was one particularly long slide that I was surprised Lillian could do and not be scared!

At some point Stefan and I notice Oly is trying to get comfortable enough to take a nap on a little spot under the playground. I tried to snap a photo, but I’m not sure any do it justice. It was hilarious. Poor baby was just done. So we headed home and ended up grabbing a car the rest of the way. We realized we all felt like Oly. The large amount of walking all over Paris combined with the lack of sleep due to mosquitoes finally took its toll on us.

Bath time, wonderful pasta, cheese and wine for dinner, then a movie night for the kids. Easy and calm. Love it. Hopefully we’ll be better rested for tomorrow.