For our last day in Paris we took ourselves around on foot...our own walking tour of Paris. We covered a lot of ground, and took in such treasures as the oldest house on Paris, Notre Dame, the actual centre of Paris, Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower, as well as many, many more in between. We were a bit disappointed, after a big walk to find it for Daniel, to arrive and find the cat cafe was shut! But still, the walk helped us score a lot of of points in our eye spy guide book! Today though was presenting to the kids the very Paris I didn't want them to see: a Paris with armed guards, a city of guns. But it was inevitable I guess and today they were put in force. At Notre Dame they were moving people on...no loitering in the square. At the Arc de Triomphe they were walking amongst us. They were most present at the Eiffel Tower, where we had to walk through a wall of guards to get to the ticket booth, as they surrounded the square. At every significant monument or meeting place...and in Paris, that's pretty much every street....police or military were there, putting you on edge. The guns made Daniel very anxious, as he was aware that, while the guns were there to protect us, they were also there to shoot, and he wanted to know what the soldiers were expecting to happen on this day. So he got very uptight at each new monument, but enjoyed the walking through the Parisian streets in between. There were many disruptions to the norm...stores closed, routes altered, services no longer offered, as a direct result of the attacks. The significant lack of tourists, and shoppers over from the uk etc is obvious, and having a significant impact on the city. The government has put out a recommendation for all stores to have sales, and to keep them on until the end February...sales are normally a no go after mid January here apparently (Wish I could have shopped, bargains everywhere!). And whereas in London I heard at least 7 different languages each trip, here it was hard to find anyone who didn't speak only French. So it is fair to say the attacks have left their mark. But a positive spin on that is that it cleared the way for us, the kids don't know how lucky they were to see what they saw with no crowds! And, oddly, I must have looked Parisian, as throughout the day I had four people ask me, in very bad French, for directions, clearly thinking I was French! A highlight had to be the Eiffel Tower at night, lit up she is a symbol of strength and beauty...and we got to ice skate on the first slipperiest ice ever... but it was so much fun! With Happy locals out enjoying themselves. We finished our night by spooling ourselves with a spot of fine dining, a touch of class if you will - and a very fine meal it was too :) Poor kids walked many miles today, and didn't get to bed until about 10am... Oops! But a good explore that makes if OK to say au revior... As we know we'll be back.