Today we headed into Paris to change some money. Thanks to Google reviews we found one along our Metro route to Versailles that had better exchange rates than the others.

On the way back, we cut through the Jardin de Tuileries to get to our train to Versailles. Guess what? The kids spotted a playground and insisted we stop to play.

We were near Place de la Concorde so we saw the obélisque from afar.

We crossed a bridge and the kids thought all the locks were really cool.

Photo credit Cal

Then we were finally on the train to Versailles. We had picked up some fruit at a farmer’s market on the same street as our Airbnb and we ate most of it while we traveled which was good because it was kind of heavy.

RER train to Versailles. Asa and I kind of have a game where I try to get a picture of him having a good time and he tries to look miserable before I can snap it. Don’t worry, he’s not as sad as he looks in most of the pictures.

We looked through the whole palace but pooped out before the gardens. I don’t have pictures of the inside because it was kind of a task to keep everyone together (mobs of tourists and students at this place), listen to the audio guide, and take everything in. We ate a little something in the café…

…and then walked back to the RER station.

On the way we saw this interesting drinking fountain:

And this street performer:

My mom picked up this scarf from a vendor:

Then we arrived back in Paris and looked for more food. It was 5pm so our choices were limited and we ended up at an expensive pizza and pasta place along the Seine. It was pretty good though and we even tried frog legs.

Sodas were 5,50€ each, more than my mom’s Heineken!

We had mentioned finding another playground in Paris before heading back to the apartment (also it was 6pm when we finished dinner so we thought it would be better to wait a while before attempting the Metro). The first park we visited was Luxembourg Gardens, a 20 minute walk.

Their playground was under construction so we thought about throwing in the towel and heading home but the kids insisted on finding a playground. With some more help from Google we found a playground another 20 minute walk away at Place de Emile Mâle. If you get one thing for a trip to Europe, it should be a good international phone plan. It has been so important to have as much data as we need to find walking directions, places to visit, opening and closing hours, and public transportation information.

This playground was great because the equipment here all has ages restrictions and Cal has been too old for most of it. This one went up to age 15 so he played too.

We took the Metro back to the Airbnb and Esme fell asleep on the way.

Now we are back at the apartment and packing up because our checkout time is 9am. We plan to leave around 8am to use public transportation to get us to the airport to say goodbye to my mom. I’m on my own with the manual transmission tomorrow so wish me luck!