A walk through history, kids style...

On Friday we did the "skip the line" style Louvre museum tour.  I was worried that the history and significance of this museum would be lost on the kids, so after some research a couple months ago I found a company called Paris Muse who do kid specific Louvre tours.  The concept is fantastic.  The kids get a clue book at the beginning.  The only way they can solve all the clues is to find them as they visit the many wings of the museum with our great guide Kelly.  She made everything sound so fascinating, and had the kids captivated for two hours.  Ken and I really enjoyed having someone else take over for a couple hours as we wandered along behind enjoying the  Louvre from a different perspective.  It was such a great visit.
The highlight was the Stele of Hammurabi (see pic below), a thumb shaped stone dating back 4000 years containing the worlds first ever recorded set of rules which were painstakingly etched into the stone and preserved ever since.  The kids, like the rest of the world, were captivated by the Mona Lisa, our guide Kelly taking them to look at her from every angle, revealing why the world over have fallen in love with this painting.  Her tip on how to get to the front to see her in a crowded room was also priceless!
After using the clues to find their treasure we left Kelly and decided to catch a cab to Galleries Lafayette for lunch.  We chose the champagne lounge upstairs which offers a lovely view of the stunning dome in this most famous shopping store.
The kids and ken then left me to browse the many levels of the store after lunch but whilst it was fun, it was largely unproductive due to the place being over run by tourists trying to bag a bargain. I found the (much smaller) store in Montparnasse much quieter and was able to make some nice purchases.  Be prepared to use your French however if you find yourself out at this store. The range is also not as extensive.

That evening we dined at the restaurant of the chef Christian Constant, Les Cocettes on St Domimique around the corner.  Most enjoyable.  The sepia pic of Miss Mackenzie below was taken on the way home.

Pics below, Paris Muse tour of the Louvre, Galleries Lafayette, Miss Happy Mackenzie........xoxo