Happy Birthday in Paris

I have to say that when I asked my little 3yr old, soon to be 4 yr old, what she wanted for her birthday, I received a strange answer from her. She didn't mention Disneyland, Princess collection,cell phone, doll, a Hummer or a big honking box of candy. She said she wanted to go back to Paris.
Now any sane person would say "No" to this request, but if you were me and where I am and waiting for a chance to go back to that wonderful place, then you would jump at this chance to go back to the "City of Lights'.
Since our first trip there many months ago, she has recounted many times her steps across this grand and lovely city. She remembers the sights and the smells as if she were just there that morning. She can tell you where Madeline fell from the bridge and the sweet pastry shops which were mere footsteps from our door. When we went in April, we stayed in a gorgeous apartment in a superbly multi-ethnic neighborhood. there was so much to love about this city! The gentleman whose apartment we stayed in was an excellent host even though we never met, he was just a phone call away. My 9 yr old was hospitalized for 4 days and her stay in the hospital was great! Oh, and the hospital food was awesome!! How many people can say that about a hospital? So French and so wonderful!

Anywho, we went back to Paris again and guess what? That pesky 9 yr old became ill again! 102 degree temperature ill! I just about lost what parental composure I had, but decided to make the best of it and focus myself on having a good time. One of the greatest moments of my life was had there on the first night we arrived. Instead of sitting around looking at the sad scenery from our cramped hotel room window, my son, birthday girl and I decided to make a quick night time run to see the tower ourselves. We took the Metro (underground train) to the nearest station and had to walk a few blocks to our destination. as soon as I could see the Eiffel, I called out to Chloe, "Look Chloe! The tower is ahead!" She came to a complete stop, looked forward and said in her most overjoyed voice, "The Eiffel Tower, The Eiffel Tower, The Eiffel Tower!" Each time she said this, her voice became ecstatic, almost to the point of tears. She was so happy! I almost cried to see her so happy! We walked to the tower and snapped a few photos with my cell phone, (duh, I forgot to take the real camera!). Wandering around the base of the tower, there seemed to be a never ending stream of tourists. Personally I thought all of those people should have been stuffed in their cramped little hotel rooms and sleeping, but apparently they had the same idea. We popped into a grocery store on the way home for some sandwich making supplies and ate a late night meal. She had thoroughly enjoyed herself and was so-ooo happy about her late night soiree.


A good time was had by all and the best time for the children was on the last night when we hired a driver to do a night time tour of the city. The sick 9yr old's fever had broken and I didn't want her thinking that all the sights of the city were on postcards. She needed some fresh air and a chance to see what we had seen the night before. There were many places we hadn't visited so we combined them all into an exciting personal guided tour.

I'll stop talking and let the pictures show you the beauty of the city at night