Paris with children is very different than Paris as a young carefree adult ... We have found every public toilet and spend hours each day asking hotels to use their toilettes because "mes filles ont besion ". Our kids have been awesome and we have enjoyed almost every moment with them as they soak up the sights, sounds and smells of a very busy Paris. They cast a different perspective on everything with incessant questions such as - I notice that lots of people wear stripes in Paris (Kaya), why were they so mean to Jesus, wouldn't it hurt to get nailed onto a cross? Why is that lady smoking while she rides her scooter down the sidewalk with no helmet? Is Quasimodo still alive?

There are about a 100 times a day that Colin and I look at each other when we see parents with younger kids in strollers and we are so thankful to be beyond that stage .. .

Our first night in Paris was spent roaming the area of St Germain and the artiste quartier of Paris ... There are art galleries and universities and statues of famous writers ( Balzac, Sartre, George Sand, etc) everywhere. We are within walking distance of Notre Dame Cathedral and the Louvre.

Our first full day in Paris was spent on the hop on hop off bus- touring sites and picnicking at Le Sacre Coeur. The late afternoon had us all climbing the stairs of the eiffel tower and taking an elevator to " le sommet! " Mahri surprised us all by declaring she was afraid of heights and wanted to go back down before reaching the first level and then deciding that her need to see the top of the tower was greater than her fear. She battled her way up over 700 steps to do so !

Today we tackled the Louvre, wrestled our way with about 1000 other people to see the Mona Lisa and then spent a much more enjoyable hour in the Africa and South American display areas.
This afternoon was a bit of a slow down and re group- Somehow mundane activities such as laundry can be an event. Kaya and I left our stinky travel clothes in the laundromat and went window shopping and sat at a cafe people watching while waiting for our clothes to dry.

Tomorrow we are hitting the kids science museum and Notre Dame Cathedral... Can't wait!