June 26, 2025
After a few days of exploring our neighborhood by foot, we were anxious to see more of Paris with the boys. Kyle booked e-bikes for the day where we pushed the limits of the kids’ seats, but were all still thrilled with the set up. Not as comfortable or easy as our bike at home especially since these lacked the throttle button which gives us a boost when starting from from a standstill.
We crossed the Seine to head to Jardin des Tuileries with our first stop being Musée de l'Orangerie. Our friends gave us the tip that the museum had a great scavenger hunt for the kids which made their visit pleasant and this held true for ours as well. The water lilies rooms provided a full circle moment as we had visited Monet’s garden in Giverny, but the boys were more focused on the fact that the scavenger hunt began downstairs and not in these rooms.
Downstairs, the boys worked mostly in teams to find the pieces they needed as part of their scavenger hunt. It was cute to see Lenny walking (running) solo through the museum looking intently at each piece’s description while clutching the screen hanging from his neck. He proclaimed multiple times, “This is SO FUN mama!” Oliver’s favorite was Derain’s Harlequin and Pierrot while Lenny’s was a mask that we walked past as we were preparing to leave.
The boys both were great at the museum but we knew we needed to feed them and run them around to keep the momentum of the day going. We biked deeper into Jardin des Tuileries in search of lunch and the playground. First we had a mediocre lunch from a stand in the park where Ollie had some spicy mustard on his hotdog that nearly brought him to tears. Kyle took the lead on removing the mustard from the hotdog and procuring more ketchup to drown out the mustard. I had my doubts but this method proved successful. Len’s exhaustion started to show at this point (2pm) and he went on a brief hunger strike in protest of being served a sandwich and not a hotdog. Time spent at the playground and on the trampolines thankfully turned his mood around.
The kids were dying to go to the fair and ride the bumper cars. We offered the ferris wheel or no rides and they surprisingly took the no ride option. Lenny has come a long way from his wheel obsession in Cape Town.
It ended up being a blessing that we skipped the ferris wheel as it took much longer to bike to our next stop than anticipated. The bikes didn’t have a stand for our phones to help with navigation so we had to stop every few blocks to check that we were still headed in the right direction. This led to a few missed turns and abrupt stops but somehow Len was able to sneak in a nap despite the less than smooth ride.
Next up was Atelier des Lumieres for the Petite Prince exhibit. Bri and Amanda met us there and were waving to us as we arrived on our bikes. Ollie goes, “WHOA crazy they are at the same place!!” Once inside, Ollie shared that we was disappointed as he thought we were going to be, “you know, sitting in a theater with people dressed up and acting”, but he ended up really enjoying the show. It was in French with English subtitles and since he was sat next to Ollie, Kyle ended up reading all the subtitles aloud. Len chose to cuddle up to Amanda and Bri and express his boredom and hunger every few minutes.
We then attempted to get a table at Oobatz, a sourdough pizza and natural wine spot that reminded us of home, to find that they had no availability and that they typically book reservations out a few weeks in advance. Thankfully they agreed to make us a few takeaway pies and I walked a few blocks to a market to procure a few more snacks for an impromptu playground picnic. The boys had energy to spare after sitting through the Little Prince show so it may have been best that we were outside and not at a restaurant table. The boys played an intense game of tag that led to a few hard spills by Len. Though his etiquette in other areas of life may be a work in progress, Len continues to display excellent slide manners by always yelling up, “all clear!!” once he goes down. The pigeons were out of control at this park and the boys were thrilled that I got pooped on twice and Amanda once.
Bri and Amanda left to go in search of dinner and to head to a Jazz bar while we began our bike trip back to the garage to turn in our rides. We then had a ~20 minute walk back to our apartment where standing over a metro grate and being blown with hot air was a highlight. We picked up ice cream along the way but still couldn’t combat Len’s exhaustion. Showers were in order when we made it home and both boys were so tired, they sat on the shower floor while being rinsed.
