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Our last day in Paris we let the kids choose what to do. Needless to say, there were no churches, art galleries, or museums in sight. Instead we spent the day “horsing” around, drinking coffee, shopping at the Monoprix (a 4-story French version of our Target), an afternoon movie, and dinner at the kids’ favorite restaurant, the Hippopotamus. The Hippo is similar to our TGIF restaurants but with a French twist, in that they serve both foie gras and burgers here. BTW, the French eat their burgers and fries with a knife and fork. This sent my kids into gales of laughter every time they spotted a diner doing so. All in all, a full day and a fun night!

 

Au Revoir Paris! Merci beaucoup pour un grand moment. We will never forget you! XOXO – the Murphys

 

Paris at night is a sight not to be missed. The city turns into a much cooler, edgier, and altogether more glamorous place. We took a Sunset Seine River Cruise, followed by a Paris at Night City Tour. However, some of us were not nearly as impressed as I thought the occasion warranted.

The finale was the Eiffel Tower Light Show. This is a music and multi-light extravaganza reminiscent of the nightly Disney Fireworks display. When the Eiffel Tower turned pink, Olivia audibly gasped and exclaimed excitedly, “Look, they made a Barbie Tower!”

 

For being a relatively small city square footage wise, Paris has a surprisingly large number of parks. We spent an afternoon just playing near one, doing nothing in particular, but still enjoying ourselves immensely.

P.S. Note even the all-American hotdogs here are served on a baguette!

 

Today we went to Arctic Disney…aka Disneyland Paris. It was so cold, I broke down and bought a sweatshirt that I am pretty sure cost more than my wedding dress. We lasted as a family for about 15 minutes, then Brian and the girls ditched Olivia and I to go on some “real rides.” I have no idea what they did all day, but I rode Pirates of the Caribbean 37 times! By the end I was more than ready to say “au revoir” to Jack Sparrow, but clearly someone else was not…

We fought the Louvre…and the Louvre won. Apparently we picked the busiest day of the year to visit France’s most famous museum. Notice the queue in photo #2. Even with Brian’s foresight to buy Priority Passes and hire a personal tour guide, we only saw maybe 5% of all the art exhibited here. Our tour guide seemed to take perverse pleasure in shocking us with “Must See” exhibits of enormous naked male body parts, weird hermaphrodite statues, and creepy eyeless baby wedding sculptures. At the end, Brian was catatonic and the girls were slightly traumatized. Paige’s verdict of the Louvre, “I liked Graceland better.”

 

Olivia…fully embracing her inner French girl. Olivia has officially drank the Kool-Aid. She adores everything French, the Fashion, the Culture, the Food!

 

Sunday in Paris: Attended church at Notre Dame, an impromptu concert because apparently pianos in the street are no big deal, a little retail therapy on the Champs Élysées, and ice cream for dinner at the famous Berthillon.

 

In Love…with the City of Love! In honor of the Eid holiday, we are spending a week in Paris and falling completely under her spell. Our first day spent strolling the gorgeous city and sampling croissants, croque monsieurs, and cafe au lait. C’est Tres Bon!

 

Even though the Sofitel is a French hotel, there are lots of traditional Bahraini touches like the nightly Sunset Lantern Lighting Ceremony, which is breathtakingly beautiful. Also, some lovely some French influences…Brian and I enjoying “Le Gouter”, the French version of High Tea. And Paige ready for dinner…unlike Florida, guests are expected to “dress” for dinner every evening in the restaurants.