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Published: September 3rd 2007
Emma's First View
We worked hard and played games to avoid the Eiffel Tower in each of our previous visits. Here is the payoff...I almost wrote September 2, 2001 because I am so used to writing her birthday. I woke up at six am and took a run around town. Luckily I noticed all of the barriers and had some idea of the bus chaos that would be occurring later in the morning. Came back, showered and woke up Elaine and Deb. I dressed, made coffee and croissants and the girls woke up. Emma was very excited for her birthday! We had celebrated with gifts last night but Grandma and Grandpa were still waiting to give her theirs in a special location. I had our bag all packed to go, so I fed my girls while everyone else got ready to go. All nine of us were ready to go by about 8:30 which gave us loads of extra time. We walk to the temporary bus stop and wait. And wait. And wait. Finally after about 15 minutes I ask someone going by and he says, yes it will come. We wait some more. Then the guy comes back looks at the sign again and says, no it won’t come today because of the bike race. OH NO! We throw all the kids on
The Whole Gang
Our family, plus Grandparents, Sister, and Niece in front of the Eiffel Tower. Completely surreal for everyone! shoulders and start hoofing it across town. For the most part I had Eliza on my back and Abigail on my shoulders. My mother in law, Elaine, took a turn with Abigail as did Saul, my father in law. Poor Deb, my sister in law, had her daughter Chloe, but it isn’t easy to put 64 pounds on your shoulders. Chloe was a trooper and did a half walk/half run with us to the station and we made it. We got to Brussels Zuid and got the Thayls towards Paris. Deb and I sat with the three big girls and Jonathan sat with Saul, Elaine and Eliza. The big girls played with all their little plastic animals and snacked on pretzels, fruit and cookies I had packed.
We arrive at Gare du Nord and after the expected Metro ticket snafu caught the Metro to Le Tour Eiffel. We got off the Metro at the Trocadero stop and when we came out of the station, BOOM, there it was. It was breathtaking. After spending our other visits avoiding the Eiffel Tower, it was a treat for all of us to be able to stand there in awe. We had met
The Bracelet
Grandma and Grandpa's gift brought tears to my eyes. The sentiments, the location, the magic all made Emma's 6th birthday MY most magical birthday ever. a nice German couple on the train (who gave Emma a 50 cent piece because it was her birthday) and they took lots of group photos for us. We got the girls really big, really over priced ice cream cones, took more pictures and made our way to the Eiffel Tower. I think I should have packed a more formal lunch because Emma was in a rather disagreeable mood and I think it was because the snacks and sweets weren’t enough. We had thought we would find some patisseries to pick up stuff for a picnic, but there isn’t much of that next to the big tourist spots.
We got under the tower and Chloe had to go to the bathroom, so then I took my girls too and sat in line for 40 minutes! The lines to go up the Eiffel Tower itself weren’t that bad but it turns out that you have to wait in line on every level, both going up and going down, so that was pretty tough. The ride up the elevator was ASTOUNDING! It was so amazing being up there and looking over the city. Emma said, I can see Berlin! And Abigail
Eliza in her beret
We couldn't find an orange one, but the green one seemed to be just fine. said, I can see Belchertown! At the top of the Eiffel Tower Saul and Elaine presented Emma with her birthday present, a magnificent charm bracelet with an Eiffel Tower charm on it. I think she really loved it. It was so sweet and such a monumental gesture up there at the top of the world. She is already itching to go more places and collect more charms.
After the Eiffel Tower Eliza and Abigail had their obligatory ride on a French carousel; nothing makes them happier than a good spin. We were trying to fit in some major sites for Deb and Chloe since they had never been to Paris before, but the Eiffel Tower did eat up a lot of our day. Nothing goes too fast with four kids in tow, besides. We caught the Metro to the St. Michel station and walked to the Ile de Cite and they explored Notre Dame. Eliza fell asleep in the backpack and I did some Christmas shopping of my own. At Notre Dame my in laws bought all of the girls little berets. It was so cute! Abigail especially wears hers quite well. It was five pm and we decided
Berets
Grandma and Grandpa had a vision of four beauties in Paris in berets. It came true at Notre Dame and I think it lived up to everyone's expectations. to think about dinner rather than squeezing in another site. We found an Italian restaurant and the meal turned out quite good, and as it was Emma’s birthday pizza was a good choice for the kids.
After dinner Jonathan and I decided not to chance fate and so we took the kids to the train station to wait for the train. Saul, Elaine and Deb continued on their way and went to Montmatre to see Sacre Coeur. They had to pull a Chevy Chase (a la "Vacation") and snap a few photos and then run back to the train station. They made it with time to spare but their feet were a mess! We all collapsed on the train and relaxed our way into Belgium. Another frantic few minutes to both catch the fast train to Leuven and the bus from the station (which were luckily running!), and we had the kids in bed at the not-so-early hour of 10:30. I told them if they got up early they were napping the next day! Jonathan, Saul, Elaine and I all spent the next hour previewing all of the amazing photos from the day. All in all it was a
The End of a Long Day
Grandpa stood, squatted, slouched and laid down to get the best photos of his girls. This marks the end of a long day! great day. Had Emma’s attitude, which did perk up after a nice dinner, been better it would have been a perfect day for me. But there is always next time in Paris!
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Mormor
non-member comment
Hi Emma! It looks like your 6th birthday will be a tough one to top, but you can make it your quest to try!!!!! I enjoyed the pictures of your big adventure to Paris and the Eiffel Tower on your birthday. The berets look lovely on all of you. I can't wait to experience it for myself. Love to all Mormor