Stairs and Stars

Paris, France -- Day 3

It dawned another beautiful day in Paris.  Our mornings have revolved around coffee and pastries, so Dean and I headed out to seek our breakfast provisions.  We returned home with the proper assortment of goodies, and, as we shared breakfast, talk turned to what to do for the day.

Ely, seeing as she is a kind and lovely woman, wanted to get some souvenirs for the people back home.  She had researched an open-air market and we had made plans to check it out.  However, I was the only Hoornaert interested in that excursion.  I left the kids with Dean to work on blogs and determine how he could print up our Eiffel Tower tickets for that night, while I joined the Hanuschik's to see how this "souvenir buying" thing worked.

Much to our dismay, the market turned out to be a fruit market and not much else.  With today being the last opportunity for Ely to shop, I had offered to take Cole back to the house and let them seek out items on their own.  Cole and I walked back to the flat, he asleep in the stroller, me keeping a close eye on Google Maps to get me home.  There were a couple of miscues on my part -- Dean makes this look easier.... I picked up some sandwiches and returned home.  Cole must have known that Kylie and Dexter were close at hand, as he woke up just as I walked into the flat.

After lunch, I took the kids to the nearby playground we'd seen the previous day on our walk to the zoo.  With a sandbox and a water fountain, the kids were happy to be outside, in the shade and getting dirty.  There was a nice family there from England, living in France.  They were moving that day to a different apartment in the city, but staying near enough that they could continue to use the lovely playground, tucked away in a green space/walkway through the city.

Ely and Mike returned victorious from the souvenir hunt, and it was sweet to see Cole reunited with them.  Cole is a super kid. Easy going and fun, and funny too.  We all enjoyed playing with him and getting to know him.  Mike brought back cookies and Ely brought back chocolates, so it was a perfect and proper Fika.

As the days have been warm, we stayed inside until about 6:00.  Our plan for the night was to walk along the Champs Elysee and get ourselves back to the Eiffel Tower for our 11 p.m. tickets to the 2nd floor platform.  We detoured to the Arc de Triomphe and took the stairs to the top to see the biggest roundabout of them all.  It was funny and heart-pounding watching the non-existent traffic rules in effect.  All I can say is that I'm glad we were out of harms way and taking the metro everywhere!

The Hanuschik's opted out of the stair climb and we met back up with them a short while later, in time to figure out dinner.  Our last meal in Paris was accompanied with a toast or two.  With nightfall upon us, we made our way to the beautifully lit Eiffel Tower.  Dean had read that on the hour, every hour, for 5 minutes, the tower twinkles with over 40 km of attached LED's.  It was like fireworks when we saw it -- truly breathtaking.

As we approached the base of the tower, we enjoyed a late dessert and said farewell to Mike, Ely and Cole as they headed for the flat while we headed up the tower stairs. Dean and Dex happily ran off, counting each step, while Kylie and I noticed that the numbers were written on the side of the steps every so often.  I'm happy to say that we got the same number as they did, though we enjoyed a lovely conversation to the viewing platform.  It is amazing how big the tower is.  The first floor platform has a restaurant, a night club, a gallery and a neat presentation on the history of the famous landmark.  Even at 11 p.m., the place was hopping.

Upon arriving at the second floor platform, we found the magnificent lights of the city laid out before us.  The night was clear and beautiful, there was a pleasant breeze, and it was truly an enchanted evening.  Paris is for lovers and for life.