Parks and Playgrounds are Paradise

Maze outside Chartres' Cathedral, France

Traveling with kids means not just monuments and museums but a considerable amount of playtime. As Climber Girl noted, it's tiring being on high alert all the time. High alert means watching for cars, navigating through crowds, standing in lines, worrying about what you can and can't touch, etc.  So play time is important - pretty much every day.

For playtime, playgrounds certainly are nice (you may have ready read our impressions of the Jardin du Luxembourg where we spent more days than I can count), but playgrounds aren't necessary. A few hours on an open grassy field yields, a pile of imaginative games, learning to make Daisy chains, and insightful observations can easily provide a much needed break from sightseeing.  Parks also present an unique opportunity to interact with other cultures.  We have all met interesting people and learned about other cultures as well as gotten some recommendations for our own travels (The Canadian tourism office doesn't need to worry, the many Canadians we have met have promoted the country well!)

Seeing less and enjoying our travels is definitely better than being turbo tourists. Besides, skipping things just gives us an excuse to come back. 

Chickens in the Park

At the park in Chartres where we were expecting to play, we found...

AND A GIANT MUSHROOM!

My Birthday

Today was my birthday, in April. It was an good day; First we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and then we went to the Jardin du Luxembourg (which has an awesome playground, by the way). It was a great birthday.

Playgrounds and Pastries

Upon our arrival in Paris, there were two high priorities: pastries and playgrounds.  So, that's how we spent our first afternoon.  After a looooonnnnggggg   plane ride and unusual car ride, we finally arrived in our lovely apartment in Paris (thank you, Daniel, for a lovely place to stay and some delicious wine).   No one had slept more than 2 hours, but we decided to just go big (25,000 steps big according to my phone counter.)

We ducked out of the apartment for croissants.  They were good, although we would have better when we got more acclimated.  Still, when you are hungry and craving your first french pastry, you can't complain.

From there we trekked across to the Jardin du Luxembourg, the ultimate playground in Paris (the picture doesn't do it justice).  They do charge, but it is worth it.  There are TONS of climbing areas, a fun sand pit and this indescribable standing rope zipline.  It was a big hit. Rock Monkey also figured out how to be a "helper" without even speaking French.  I was super impressed with how both Rock Monkey and Butterfly Twirl played with a bunch of kids without relying on verbal communication.  It was a great start to what is likely to be an amazing adventure.

By DocRunning