Boats, Beaches & Bedlam

Our final week in Paris involved an impressive amount of water: canals, ponds, pools, a lake, splash pads, rainstorms, and probably a few bath-time negotiations. It also involved several boats, many playgrounds, and one unexpected Parisian engagement.

Stalingrad and the Canal

We started Sunday at our Airbnb in Pantin and took the train to Stalingrad, where we found a new bakery. We loaded up on donuts, sandwiches, a salad for Mommy, and bread. Always bread. If there is one thing our family has mastered in Paris, it is making sure we are never more than a few feet from a baguette.

From there we rented a boat for two hours and drove it up and down the canal. The little electric motor did not have a lot of power and the boat was surprisingly tricky to steer, which made Coons feel slightly less like an experienced captain and slightly more like a dad trying not to hit the side of a canal. It was fun seeing parts of Paris we had already explored from a completely different angle.

On the way back, it started raining and we had to put up the boat’s cover. Nolan bravely stayed up front to hold down the awning even while he was getting wet. We passed the time using all of our finest sailing vocabulary, including “swab the poop deck.” Nolan later clarified that sailing was his favorite part of the day, “but when it was not raining. That was crazy.” Fair assessment, Bubby.

After docking, we played some checkers in the park and Mommy and Daddy bought cards for each other. Then we took the train back to a playground Nolan and Nina had previously visited with Miss Presh. They played for a long time and made some new friends before we returned home for dinner and a call with Yaya, whom we were all missing.

Nina’s favorite part of the day was eating dinner, proving once again that we could probably save a lot of money on activities and simply continue feeding her. She has quickly abandoned most of her American diet for a Parisian diet which consists mostly of pain du chocolat.

Luxembourg Gardens

On Monday morning we grabbed breakfast on the go from our favorite supermarket and took the train to Luxembourg Gardens. The park was beautiful, with flowers, statues, a very impressive building, and a large pond where we could rent little sailboats.

Nolan and Nina each got their own boat and a stick to push it into the water. The basic routine was to launch the boat, watch it sail across the pond, sprint to the other side, and push it back again. Dad helped manage the fleet while Mom enjoyed the flowers, statues, and Luxembourg castle. It was one of those rare children’s activities that was both very simple and genuinely lovely for everyone involved.

After sailing, we headed to a playground where Nolan and Nina played independently in the sandbox. Nina climbed a pretty tough ladder and slid down the slide, looking very proud of herself. Then they used their own money for rides on the merry-go-round. Nolan had a little jousting pole and did a great job catching the metal keys as he went around, while Nina was mostly thrilled to sit with a friend in a carriage, clapping along to a tune with her.

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We eventually returned to the apartment because Monday meant a big workday for Dad. The kids did a good job playing independently while Mommy cooked dinner, and later we ordered Vietnamese street food for the adults through Uber Eats. Nothing says glamorous Paris evening quite like working from an Airbnb while your children play nearby and someone delivers your dinner.

La Plage and Les Grandes Lacres

Tuesday was hot, so we got a late start and headed for La Plage, one of the beaches and pools Paris sets up every summer. We took the train, changed into our swimsuits, and spent the next two or three hours in the water.

Nolan and Nina made friends from Vancouver and Paris and played together for a long time, somehow navigating both English and French more naturally than most adults would.

Coons became Daddy Sea Monster and tried to stop the kids from getting past him in the pool. Nolan’s favorite part of the day was making friends and attempting to defeat the sea monster, while Nina reported that hers was “going in the wall, the pool.” We are not completely sure what that means, but she was happy about it.

After swimming, we visited a small playground where Nolan and Nina played with the attendants, then we got some delicious gelato.

From there we split up: Kourtney and Nolan went on a shopping adventure while Coons and Nina returned to the apartment, visited another small playground, and shopped for supplies for the next day’s lake outing. Kourtney especially enjoyed her one-on-one time with Nolan and watching him learn the value of saving his own money. We reunited for a salmon dinner at the apartment, bath time, and .FaceTime with Pa, Auntie Kristian, and  baby Arthur.

Wednesday was the hottest day we had experienced in Paris. Lightning McQueen’s thermometer claimed it reached 107 degrees at one point, so we escaped the city and took our first little day trip to Les Grandes Lacres. The huge complex had two sandy beaches, a splash pad, restaurants, and a volleyball court, but we spent most of our time swimming and playing in the sand.

Nolan  loved swimming and going underwater to dive for buried treasure. Nina also confirmed that we had gone to the beach, although dinner once again earned the official title of her favorite part of the day (this also may have something to do with the fact that we go through this exercise of discussing our favorite part of the day around the dinner table).

We moved over to the splash pad to rinse off the sand, where the kids loved watching others standing under the dumping bucket. Everyone was brave enough to try most of the water features, which was a great way to survive a day when even Lightning McQueen thought the temperature was getting a little ridiculous (113 inside Lightning McQueen).

On the way home we stopped at a camping accessory store and bought a new stove and gas bottle in preparation for our first weekend in the van. We returned to the apartment, ordered Uber Eats, and Coons worked through the evening while we started looking ahead to our final couple of days in Paris.

Rain, the Louvre, and a Paris Engagement

Thursday began early after a rough night of sleep for Mommy and the kids. Coons took Nolan and Nina on a morning errand adventure to buy diapers and treats. We tried some new donuts that nobody liked, then went to a hardware store for cooking gas and bought the wrong cylinder. Since the morning was going so well, we returned to our normal grocery store for the good donuts and good croissants, including a croissant for Mommy.

The rain changed our outdoor plans, so we spent three hours at an indoor play place. Nolan and Nina climbed through some very large structures, flew down the slides, and won candy and stuffies from arcade games.

Coons slipped across the street to the mall and found what we hoped was finally the correct gas canister. Preparing to cook in a camper van had somehow become a multi-day scavenger hunt.

Dad’s actual favorite part of the day was sorting out some confusion with our Airbnb booking and confirming that we could stay the extra night we needed. This was less exciting than candy and giant slides, but significantly more exciting than discovering your family of four has nowhere to sleep.

Back at the apartment, Nolan and Nina FaceTimed with Yaya. She read them a book, and then each of them read a book back to her. We made dinner and spent the rest of the evening doing laundry, cooking, shopping, and slowly getting everything ready for our Saturday departure.

On Friday we grabbed breakfast at the supermarket and took the train to the Louvre. Kourtney split off for some sightseeing while Coons brought the kids to the playground in the park.

Nolan quickly made a very good friend and informed us that he loved her and was going to marry her. We had only planned to visit a playground, but apparently Nolan had larger goals for his final day in Paris.

When Kourtney returned, we played a little longer and took some carousel rides. The kids also played an awful carnival game, but hopefully they learned something from the experience. Possibly that not every game positioned near a famous museum is a good financial decision.

That evening Miss Presh came over so Mom and Dad could have another date night. We went to a wine bar and then had a fantastic anniversary dinner at Les Ombres with a glass roof overlooking the Eiffel Tower.

It was a pretty wonderful way to end our time in Paris before returning to the apartment to finish packing for the next phase of the trip.

Lac de Medin

Saturday morning we packed up the apartment in Pantin and officially said goodbye to Paris. Around 10:00 we loaded everyone into Lightning McQueen and headed east toward Lac de Medin. The drive took a little over three hours with a few pit stops and some surprisingly nice rest stops along the way.

When we arrived, we set up camp for our first night in Lightning McQueen in Europe.

Kourtney had packed toys in the van for Nolan and Nina, and watching them discover everything for the first time was her favorite part of the day. All that planning and packing paid off in the form of two very excited little kids.

Once camp was ready, we walked down to the lake and swam for a while. Nolan declared the lake his favorite part of the day, and Nina said hers was controlling the dino toy that mom had packed. Then we returned to the campsite and cooked our first dinner outside in Europe.

After weeks of planning—and several days spent locating the correct gas canister—we were finally camping. Lightning McQueen was officially home, dinner was cooked outside, and our European van adventure had begun!