Toy Louvre
The one-legged king who never lost his smile
He might have lost his leg but he surely did not lose his humour. It’s amazing when you see these people on the side of the street, they make you think. If it had to be me sitting in the wheelchair, with restricted mobility, what would I do? Would I have the courage to face the hardship of life and smile at it once more? This man was outside in the cold and as soon as he saw the little ones he placed the dummy in his mouth and made them all smile. He had a crown on his head, and personally I think he deserved it, as he is the king of the street. He fought against life and came out with a smile. Now that is saying something in a life where it’s so easy to give up.
I love pretzel sticks
If I said no it’s no, or maybe ok
An other two wheels
The little old lady who lived outside our apartment.
To the little lady who lived outside in the cold of winter, you have given us more then we have given you. You put your dogs before yourself. How lucky we are and we cant even see it. The secret to life is simplicity, and we are blind to it.
coming down the steps of Montmartre
It’s worth all the steps to go up to Montmartre. Yes, the steps might seem daunting to a lot of people but for the lazy one (just as myself) you can use the funiculaire situated on the left side of the steps to the Sacre Coeur. You can use the underground ticket for this.
The Musee D’Orsay
Montmartre, a lot of steps
An other look at the louvre
no one sees the beggar
Carrousel, I want a ride
An unusual metro
Not interested in the view
Paris is fun for the kids
Vintage toys
Entertaining children at the Louvre
How to entertain a little child in such a big museum as the Louvre?
Well, it’s simple. Just make a game out of it. Pick up a flier on the way in, which most of the times pictures some of the most important paintings and where they are. Then give a camera, phone or tablet to the kid asking them to find the paintings pictured in the brochure and to take photos of them. It worked miracles. She looked at each and every painting on the wall snapping away at the main attractions.
However, the Louvre is a massive museum and, after speeding from hall to hall and the enthusiasm started to wear down, we looked at other attractions. You will find a lot of people who sit down and sketch what has been pictured by the masters themselves. For little kids, just like ours, who eventually get tired and want to sit, this was like watching a real live “Art attack” (thank God that we were not too far away from the exit at this point).
Finding an apartment through Airbnb
Whilst in Rome do as the Romans do. Well, I love Paris so for me it’s live in Paris as the Parisians do.
This time the family was a little bigger than the previous years so the old hotel did not have a room to cater for our needs. As much as we loved it and still do as it does carry a lot of lovely memories, this time we resorted to using Airbnb to find an apartment in the heart of paris. Not only did it work out perfectly but it added that feeling of being at home in a city we are in love with. Being in an apartment in a residential area just a few minutes away from the touristic areas made such a difference. Walking through the market in the morning, shopping from the supermarket just beside us and meeting the same people in our street everyday made this year’s visit to Paris so much better. In fact, on the way back home in Gozo our eldest child didn’t want to leave “home” (she does get very attached very quickly) but we did promise to be back whilst locking the door for the last time.
So until then, we’ll miss our home away from home and we will count the days till we will open that door once again.
        
 
la defense
under the glass
black & white Paris 