Paris, Day 3

Our last day in Paris was spent at the Palace of Versailles. The palace is quite spectacular, ornate decor, paintings and grounds. I can just imagine how beautiful the gardens would be in the Spring. The boys tolerated the palace but loved running wild through the gardens. We rented a little boat and paddled around the lake, cold as it was, and yes, fed more birds.

Ethan took this photo for us

It was a great adventure and we thoroughly enjoyed eating fresh croissants (especially chocolate filled ones) every morning.

I have to add a good word here for the French. Often when I hear American's describe their adventures through Europe, they usually mention that they didn't enjoy France because they were treated rudely. I have to say that both times I've had the exact opposite experience. People were quite friendly (especially for a big city) and even more so since we had children. Every bakery we went to the boys were given free treats, the checker at the grocery store told us how much he loved America, and no one seemed annoyed by our inability to speak more than Bonjour and Merci. (I was also pleasantly surprised that I didn't have to pay for bathrooms anywhere, my last trip I didn't find any free bathrooms.) Next post I'll include a few tips for traveling to Paris with little kids.