Chayce’s Blog: A Kid’s View of Paris

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Hi, I’m Chayce Welborn! You know my mom, Autumn Welborn, because this is her blog. I got the idea to write this blog by reading the American Girl books about Lea. I’m so excited to share what it was like for me to be a kid in Paris with you. This is my very first blog and I hope you like it!

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Hi, I’m Autumn Welborn and this is *usually* my blog. However, I couldn’t be more excited to let my kid take it over for the day. This blog was 100% Chayce’s idea and is 100% Chayce’s words, but I did correct her spelling and punctuation.

 

Paris is my dream place and I am finally getting to go there!

I LOVE traveling and I am so excited to tell you about it! There are lots of things I am excited to see and do in Paris like trying all the pastries. I can’t wait to try a chocolate chip croissant! And I am dying to see the Eiffel Tower Notre-Dame Cathedral and Stravinsky Square (which is where a bunch of really cool different fountains are). I am also excited to see La Defense. La Defense is made entirely out of glass and concrete and that sounds cool. What are some different things that you want to see in different places?

I am excited to try new foods, but I asked my mom not to tell me what they are. But I am not trying snails!!!! I cannot wait to go to the market place to look around. I also really really want to go shopping!

Three things I am looking for in Paris are:

  1. blue scarf with Eiffel Towers all over it
  2. ring with a Eiffel Tower on it
  3. red or blue beret (very specific).

 

Before we go:

I keep asking my mom if we can see the Mona Lisa, but she says it will be too crowded. {Author’s note: We saw the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. It was crowded but not too bad! I actually got a good view!}

I am a little nervous about the time change because it is going to be a little confusing, but anyway…I am so excited about Paris!! Oh, and guess what? The week we are leaving I get to miss school on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday! Then the next week is spring break! Yay!

Three things I am looking forward to on the plane are:

  1. Writing in my travel journal
  2. Coloring and drawing (I love to draw)
  3. Sleeping!!!!

{Editor’s note: She did none of those things on the plane.}

WE MADE IT TO PARIS!

Ok I just got to Paris, and I am already amazed. I am excited to be in Paris but I am not excited about all the walking!

We got to have a photo shoot. The photographer’s name is Krystal and she is really good with kids. I was so excited, but I was not supposed to look at the camera. How can I do a photo shoot if I can’t look at the camera? I love to pose for pictures though, so this was a really fun day.

Paris has some really cool stuff!

I got to see the Eiffel Tower (my mouth dropped for five minutes and I screamed). The Eiffel Tower was way taller in person. I also got to see Notre-Dame and go inside it. It was really cool. There was a bunch of cool artwork. One showed all the places that Jesus appeared after the resurrection.

We also went to a park called the Tuilleries Garden. It had some play equipment and a carousel. There was another park called Place Des Vosges which was really close to our apartment. It took awhile to find a kid who spoke English, but I did at both places. At Place des Vosges, we played football (that means soccer) and played on the playground. The girls were fascinated with my back handsprings, and I taught some girls how to do round-offs. I guess they don’t have gymnastics there?

The photographer thought my gymnastics moves were pretty cool too.

 

We went on a cruise on the Seine River. I got to see the French National Library. It is built to look like open books. They served food on the boat. I got the butternut squash soup and it was actually pretty good! {Editor’s note: We had a four course, paired lunch on the boat. The food was outstanding and we all agreed that it was a highlight of our trip.}

May I just say that I had bread 24/7!

Everyday my mom and dad went to the bakery and got different treats like baguettes, croissants, and pain du lardon. Pain means bread in French. Pain du lardon has bacon and cheese in it. It is so good!! One day, we got churros and Nutella from a street cart. Churros and orange juice were my breakfast sometimes, while my parents had coffee (like usual). {Editor’s note: If your kids have a tough time in restaurants, the many boulangeries will be your saving grace. There you can find sandwiches, salads, and plenty of baked delights. Throw a sandwich or pain du lardon in your purse and you’ll have a back-up plan at the bistro! Crêpes from a street cart are also a good idea!}

Speaking of food, I tried a croissant with chocolate chips in it.

Actually, I tried it A LOT! It’s called pain du chocolat. It was sooooo good that someone would have to invent a new word to describe how good it was!!!

I want to leave the rest a surprise. Did I inspire you to go to Paris? If so, ask my mom Autumn Welborn for help! {Editor’s note: I promise I didn’t tell her to say that!}

We had a great time in Paris and I hope you do too!

Chayce’s Advice for Taking Your Kids to Paris:

  • After all the walking of everyday, it felt good to come back to our apartment and chill (which for me would be watching a show on Netflix and play games on my iPad). {Editor’s note: Same.}
  • If you bring your kid, one thing my mom and I have seen in all the places we have been to are Pringles, so you can buy some for your kid and it might make them feel normal. We even went to a McDonald’s one time!
  • Prepare your kid for the amount of walking you might have to do. My mom told me we would be walking everyday, but I didn’t know she meant that much!
  • The hardest part of going to Paris was the plane ride. I had a hard time going to sleep, and then I was tired the next day. The plane ride coming back was fun, though, because I wasn’t I tired.
  • (Kids) Read a travel book or look online to learn about the place you’re going. It may feel like homework, but you’ll like having stuff to look forward to!