Paris! Bois de Boulogne

Royalty use to hunt in the beautiful 25 acres that is now Bois de Boulogne in Paris and today, here we are camping in it along the Seine! Where else can you get a huge space to stay in Paris for twenty something dollars (even much less for tent campers)? It is not a secret as it is on 7 hectars just 15 minutes from the Champs-Elysees open 365 days a year with its own store, restaurant, take out food, rentals etc and has 435 pitches for camping and is usually pretty full. You can also rent campers here if you do not have one, reserve ahead tho if it is high season.

It is a great spot to explore Paris from so we decided to go for it. We were thinking about going to the campground in Versailles which we hear is very nice and with in walking distance to Versailles and easy metro access to Paris. There are several other good camping choices for Paris too, but after rereading the reports, we decided to try this one out because it was the closest in and there is so much in this beautiful park for kids.

Mozart is bouncing with joy over excitement about Paris. In “Taking your kids to Europe” she talks about how kids like brand names and it is why they love Paris and the Eiffel Tower..everybody knows what and where they are. The Cadogan “Take the kids to Paris” seems great and has given me lots of good ideas. I got to reread lots of it as we drove here since most of my navigation duties have been taken over by our nuvi Florence.

I have had the most fun in Paris when I have been with friends who live here or know it well and speak perfect French. How hard is it to not enjoy Paris when you are staying at the George V and have your own personal interpreter and guide thru French culture? (Of course I did not even know what the George V was until I stayed there). Another time I stayed in a lovely, typical French apartment with a friend from my church and again was very spoiled with a look into the real Paris. Even when DaVinci and I came last time we had French speaking friends to guide us. I must admit I hated Paris the first time I came alone as a very young woman, so hoping Mozart has a better experience and of course I have not mentioned that first visit of mine. It will be an interesting test as we will be on our own and we do not speak French.

We also plan to do at least one children’s literature based Paris itinerary one day based on a wonderful book called “Storybook Travels”. Mozart took a course this past spring in French and it also combined play writing and acting and was literary based on the Madeline books for 6 to 11 year olds. She had long ago been thru with those books, but it was great to reintroduce them as a way to focus on Paris famous sights and French. We also got the Madeline CD and DVD to introduce and familiarize her to many of the sights of Paris. Not to mention books like “This is Paris”, “Charlotte in Paris”,“Linnea in Monet’s Garden”,“Eloise in Paris” etc. There are more things available for Paris and France for kids than any where I think.

I got some shots of the camp at our first sunset in Paris upon our arrival as it sets on the Seine just behind our camper as we settle in. Every day Mozart enjoyed walking on that ledge on the way to the camp store, playing in the trees, eating outside, playing in the little playground with the Eiffel Tower in the distance as we waited for the bus.

Comments

[Margaret S.]

Great report, thank you! I'm thinking that family travelblogging and homeschooling may be a perfect combination, since if Mozart decides to publish her own reports on her travel experiences, she has a ready-made audience eager to read what she writes! I hope to read some of her thoughts here sometime.