Paris at night is spectacular!!! The Eiffel Tower was everything that Kylie was hoping it would be. She was so excited all day to come and see Paris. She has been asking to come to Paris since she was practically old enough to talk.

The Eiffel Tower is the hot spot for the hipsters to hang out on the lawn and drink champagne or wine. There was music playing from randoms, stands that sell hot crepes, and a cute carousel. The plaza leading up has vendors and restaurants and touristy shops. Kylie found a bag that she didn't want to leave and we got a few knickknacks for our cousins. Every hour at night the Eiffel Tower sparkles, right at midnight, Kylie recorded a Skype video and sent it to her class.

The beginning of Paris didn't start out the best. We flew here from Venice for less than 20 euro per person. However, the airport we flew into was way out in the boonies, and it was crazy expensive, more than our flight to ride a bus or take a taxi into town. So, we defaulted to renting a car. Biggest issue was that renting a car was outrageous too! So we hopped on my travel MLM site and found one for less than half of what it was originally quoted for a car, and scored a van with GPS!

We had such a weird experience at the airport leaving Venice and then in Paris. Today was such a strange day. First of all, in Venice, it took us twice as long to get out of the city than we thought, and we missed out connecting train to get to the city where the airport is in. So, we decided to take the bus, then we missed the first bus by two minutes, and by the time we figured out there was another bus, we watched as it pulled away. Taxi was our only option.
As we were standing there trying to talk to the taxis that were OUTRAGEOUS, a man from the bus station overheard us and took us for half the cost. I'm pretty sure he had no brakes in his car, and I had to sit with two kids on my lap, but we made our flight with time to spare, phew!! We made the guys day, and although it was a little sketchy, we felt safe, and lucky we got a decent deal and made our flight.

Then, in Paris, this man followed us out of the terminal, trying to talk us into going in his "private car" into town for the same price as the bus, which was still insane. He just really gave us the creeps, because instead of finding another group to drive, he followed us for nearly an hour. He kept telling us we were going to pay more with someone else and how much he was going to save us. Then when he saw Jeff's camera, the price went even lower?! I don't know what that guys deal was, but none of us felt good about it. It took us FOREVER to book our rental car because their costs were too high, and we could not get our Internet to work at all today. So, the guy was standing nearby me and the kids while the guys were looking for options. Sooooo creepy!!!

Anyway, we were finally headed into town in our awesome mini-van, jamming to tunes along the way. We even ate McDonald's for the first time on our trip to just get on the road and fast.
We got to Paris with the late afternoon sun shining through the trees, hoping to drop our car and bags at our hotel. I tried to be cheap with some hotels, but in Paris it was hard to find something, so I booked what looked like a good deal and nice hotel on Hotwire. We pulled onto the street and it literally looked like we were in a third world country. I thought no problem, our hotel will be nice, it looked fine from the outside. I went in alone, as I have for the entire trip, to check in and look in at our rooms to make sure everything is good. With six people, it is hard to find rooms and setups that work and are affordable, and I just want to make sure we get what we need without kids jumping up and down and settling for something different. Anyway, this guy was so dang creepy!!!! He hands me the keys with one of them Sharpied with a pink line so that I can tell them apart? Then proceeds to tell me that my rooms are 5 floors apart. One of the rooms was right next to his desk, and when I opened the door, it looked like someone had already slept in it! Then he let me get into the wrong elevator as he stared at me this entire time. When I came back downstairs, and told him I couldn't find that room number, he told me the correct elevator, and again watched me every step. This time he was on the phone, and was talking about me, first in English, then another language. The upstairs room was filthy, and I was so creeped out at the thought of having to sleep right next to the guy, I just couldn't do it. The entire experience was surreal, the beds were disgusting and the rooms weren't clean. The guy was a slime ball and it looked like someone may get stabbed or shot any second outside.
We were so lucky we had a car to get out of that place!!! I called Hotwire, and they gave me a refund after talking with the hotel clerk, and verifying the clerk couldn't provide me with the rooms I booked (one of them only had one bed.). We are staying a little out of town in a Best Western resort for way less than we paid originally for the dive hotel, and we are safe! I just can't believe how crazy the world is getting.

The next day the kids went to the Louve while I arranged our travel in Turkey. The riots in Istanbul changed our plans a little, so I was being a nervous Nellie and wanted to double check routes and maps.

Paris is an amazing and beautiful city and I wish we had one more day there! We also got to see the Notre Dame Cathedral, Champs Elysse, the Palace and several other beautiful buildings and cathedrals on our way back to the airport.

Driving in Paris was insanity, and we were all lucky Jeff was such a good driver. A few close calls, but we made it back to the airport with no scratches or dents.