paris was wonderful ...

what can I say it was the most perfect three days. The sun shone, we enjoyed good food, delicious views, delectable shopping. The city did not fail to impress.

We had a huge hotel room that more than accommodated the three of us which meant we all slept well and so had plenty of energy for exploring the city and staying out well past a little person's usual bed time.

The view from our hotel window was fabulous.Yes, that's the Eiffel Tower.

The first day we just wandered around and soaked up the ambience and got our bearings. On the second day we first went to see the Sacre Coeur. Sadly the funicular railway was closed and according to the notices will remain so for the forseeable future. So rather than take the shuttle bus we climbed the steps avoiding the hawkers who were starting to gather.

At the foot of the Sacre Coeur there is the most fabulous fabric district. Buildings full of the most wonderful fabric and most of it ridculously cheap. I was so busy gawping open mouthed at all that was on offer I forgot to take any photographs. I also only bought three meters of fabric. Talk about a wasted opportunity!

Then we went on to see the Arc de Triomphe which my little fella insisted on calling the Arch of Triumph. We had watched 'Funny Face' the afternoon before travelling and that is what Fred Astaire called it. Then a brief walk down the Champs-Elysees before heading off to Boulevard Hausmann to check out Galeries Lafayette.

Then the Eiffel Tower. Little Fella was impressed that we had name checked pretty much everything in the "Bonjour Paris" song in 'Funny Face'. I was kind of impressed too at the speed of our sightseeing but that's the benefit of the French Metro system. We didn't go up the Tower as the queues by that hour of the day were so long, so instead we went and had ice creams.

On the third day we got up early again and walked up past the Louvre to Rue Monmartre where I went to Mokuba and got totally bedazzled by all the ribbons then took a hop skip and a jump over to Rue du Jour and La Droguerie. We then walked back along the Seine to buy a tacky souvenir (Eiffel tower snow globe) then rushed off to buy PJ's for the little fella and a book for the big fella. Quickly back to the hotel to check out then out again for lunch and little more wandering this time over to the Jardin du Luxembourg.We went to no museums as the weather was just too good to waste indoors and it was great that the little fella got to play in a few of the many parks in Paris. I am still shaking sand out of the pockets of his jeans. It felt like we were away for a lot longer than just three days and I think it was a definite hit with the little guy as he cried when we left.