Ooh La La! It's Paris! (vol. 1)

La Tower Eiffel

View of the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower

We could not be so close and not go to Paris. A guided tour seemed the way to go since we just had a day and wanted to see as much as possible. We had a few snags with the subway and ran like mad to meet our reported 6:30am train. Of course another tour agent lets us know that our tour doesn't actually leave until 7:15am. I guess they employ the mind game on tourists I use on Chris to ensure that we aren't late to any event. Tell them you have to be there thirty minutes sooner than you do. So we made it to the station with plenty of time to spare and settled in to our seats for the two hour ride on the Eurostar train that goes through the Chunnel to Paris. We explained that it is a train that goes in a tunnel underneath the English Channel, but the kids were kind of bummed that it was not a submarine train and we would not see fish out of the windows.

Paris was a little chilly, but so beautiful. Withing an hour of being there, Chris and I had already said to each other that we need to come back and stay a while. The architecture and all of the bridges are so intricate. I can't even begin to think of how gorgeous it would be in mid-April when everything is in bloom.

Driving up the Avenue de Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe

Upon making the circle around the Arc de Triomphe, we realized that there is no way we would ever drive. The cars drive on the right side of the road, but it is just chaos in that area--almost like a cattle drive. Cars and buses were everywhere, darting in and out in front of each other. Lots of honking, animated waving and gesturing, and yelling. I did pick up a bad French word or two from a Belgium foreign exchange student in high school, but you could get the idea without speaking the language.

Kacee, Georgia and Brody on the Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower or la Tower Eiffel as the French call it, was just as iconic a symbol of France as you would think it would be. We went up to the second level and the views were spectacular. The city seemed to go on forever.

Saint-Louis des Invalides Church with the Notre Dame in the background

Basilique du Sacre-Coer (Sacred Heart) on top of the Montmatre, which is the highest point in the city