Part 1:
I went to Pairs with the money that our family gave us. We had to go on a plane. The city we flew in to wasn’t Paris it was Beauvais, France. So we had to take a one- hour bus ride to get to Paris. When we got off the bus in Paris it was freezing. We had to wear two shirts, two coats, a hat, a scarf, two layers of pants and gloves but daddy didn’t buy any gloves. Daddy always had to hold Quinn’s hands to keep his hands warm because she was wearing fuzzy gloves. Anyway, when we were walking we saw yummy treats in the window of a bakery, so we went inside and it smelled delicious. I told mama we should go in and we bought some plain croissants. They tasted amazing. They were a little bit sweet and very buttery. They made us forget that we were cold until we were done with them. After we were done with our croissants we had to go to the metro to get to our hotel. It was at least half an hour ride on the metro. When we got off we were at a stop called Porte de la Chapelle and it took about five minutes to get our hotel. It was clean and there was a shower and bath in one room and in another room there was a toilette. We stayed in our hotel for an hour and then we went to eat at a fancy dinner place. I got a small cheeseburger and so did Quinn. We also got very yummy French fries. After we got home we were all very tired so we went to bed.
The next morning we had to get up early so we could go to the Catacombs. We had to take a metro to get to Catacombs. For breakfast we got croissants, but they weren’t as good as the croissants we had on our first day in Paris. To get into the Catacombs there was a big line. Once we were at the front to of the line, there were so many stairs that I couldn’t count them. Daddy saw a sign that said there were about 130 stairs. When we were at the bottom of the stairs, it was dark and the lights were dim. It was very warm because it was 65 feet under the street. We were walking and we saw tons of creepy skulls and bones of 6 million people.
It was all wet and there were big puddles of water in the narrow walkway. We went in this room where it made you feel like there were ghosts but not mean ones, nice ones. I knew they were nice because I wasn’t scared. To get out of the Catacombs, we had to go up eighty-three stairs instead of the 130, which I thought was weird.
Once we were at the top of the Catacombs, it was time to head to the Metro to get to the Eiffel Tower. It took about 30 minutes to get to a stop where we had to switch trains and then it took another 30 minutes to get to the stop for the Eiffel Tower. When we got out of the Metro you could see the gigantic beautiful Eiffel Tower. It looked taller than a skyscraper. When we got to the line it wasn’t very long. We had to buy tickets to go on the tower. Once we bought our tickets, we had a choice to go on a short elevator ride or up a lot of stairs. We went on the elevator ride because mama’s knees were swollen. The elevator was fun because when it went up, it felt like I was flying when I looked out the window of the elevator. We didn’t get to go on the top because it was under construction but we still got to go to the 2nd floor.
When we got to the 2nd floor we could see miles away. I saw a big castle in the distance with a gold roof. Quinn saw another castle far, far away. Mama said behind the castle was where our home in Paris was. That meant our home was a very long ways away. On the 2nd floor there was a balcony where we could see a little bit further than where we just were. I was so cold because we were up five hundred-nine feet! So mama let us go in a warm shop because there were a lot of shops on the Eiffel tower. It was very crowed but it was very warm. Then, we decided to go to the first floor of the Eiffel tower. We were afraid that if we took the elevator it would take us down to the bottom, so we had to take the stairs instead. It was five sets of stairs and a small platform over and over until we reached the bottom. It was exciting because there was loud music and a small ice skating rink. When we were on the 2nd floor we couldn’t hear it or see it. I wanted to go on the rink so Daddy said that if it was cheap we could go. So we went in the line to get ice skates. When we were at the front of the line we had to take off our shoes and tell the man what size we were. Then daddy asked how much skating was, the man said it was free. So we put on the ice skates with a little bit of difficulties but we managed it. Daddy and I were done first.
When we walked over to the rink, I asked daddy if he knew how to ice skate. He said it was his first time. When Quinn and mommy walked on to the slippery ice Quinn saw kids using chairs to help them stand up. She asked if she could have one too, so daddy went over to get a chair. There was only one left. Quinn got to skate with the chair and mama helped me learn how to ice skate. It looked really easy but it was so hard. I fell a lot of times but when I fell it wasn’t very cold.
Daddy and Quinn left because they were cold. After a little bit mama and I left too. Once we all took off the skates and put on our shoes on we headed for the elevator. It took a little bit to find it but we found it. It was very full when we got on. When we were at the bottom of the Eiffel tower Quinn asked if she could go on the merry- go- round. Mama said yes but that meant she wouldn’t get a treat later. But Quinn still wanted to go on the merry- go-round. I wanted a treat because earlier I saw a kid with cotton candy. Anyway, it was three Euros for one ride. Quinn wanted to go on the plane. Daddy thought that it was probably boring because the merry-go-rounds in Colorado had music and this one didn’t.
When the ride was over we walked to the candy shop I saw. When we got there I saw waffles and lollypops but I pointed at a big bucket with a little bit of cotton candy string in it. I told mommy I wanted some cotton candy, so mommy asked the lady if we could have some. The lady went over to the bucket and dumped a cup full of pink sugar into a tube and pressed a button. Then, the strings of the cotton candy started getting made and getting stuck to the sides of the bucket. Then she grabbed a thin stick that she used to twirl the cotton candy on to it. Soon, there was so much cotton candy on the stick it was as big as my head.
I didn’t have to share it with anyone except when daddy ripped off pieces of it. When we got to the metro I was almost done, and I had cotton candy all over my face. When daddy was pulling out our metro tickets he didn’t see one of the kid tickets. He kept asking if we had it in our pockets in a frustrated sort of way. In the end, we had to go to a machine and buy new tickets. Once we bought the tickets we hopped on the metro. Again, it was a 30-minute train ride and then we switched trains and it took another 30-minutes. When we got off the metro it was a cold walk to our hotel.
When we got home, daddy said he had to go pick up some dinner. He said we were having some chicken. When he left Mama let us play on our tablets while she was taking a bath. I went in to see what she was doing and I saw that she was relaxing in a bubble bath. She asked me to get her a cup. Then she asked Quinn to get her some beer. She poured the beer into the cup and Quinn and I left to go back to playing on our tablets. A little bit later Mama asked Quinn to get her phone so she could have music but when mama turned on her phone it was almost dead. Mama looked around for a charger but there wasn’t one. Then daddy got home and Mama had to get out. I asked if I could take a bath after dinner too. Daddy said yes. He also said after dinner we could watch a movie. After dinner I got a bath and instead of beer I got orange juice. When my bath was over I saw that daddy and Quinn were trying to find a movie. Daddy said that there was The Lorax or Back to Nim’s Island. I said I wanted to watch Back to Nim’s island because I have watched The Lorax a lot of times and I had never seen Back to Nim’s Island before. The movie was about a girl named Nim who wanted to take care of endangered animals but someone wouldn’t let them stay on the island. Nim wanted to stay so she could help the animals. It was a very exiting and scary movie, but I still loved it.
After the movie it was hard to go to sleep because I was so excited for the next day. The next morning we got up, put on our clothes and then, when we were walking out the door, I asked Mommy where we were going. She said that we were going to one of the most biggest museums in the whole world called The Louvre.
I love love love this post! It’s such a treat to follow your adventures. The buttery croissant sounds so great and a perfect way to forget the chill.
Love you!
Thank you Marcy! I wish I could have another one but I think they are all around the world. I had one the other day in Africa!
I loved reading about your family’s exciting first day in Paris Mackenzie. Thank you for sharing your adventures.
Wow! Beautiful memories! What a talented writer you are!!
Thank you. I am thinking of writing another one soon.
Mackenzie I love your story. Your descriptions are so good I almost thought I was with you. The catacombs looked very exciting. I never knew they had ice skating in the Eiffle Tower! I love you lots and miss you all every day. Grandma
I love your story of your first days in Paris. It sounds like you had a lot of fun and ate a lot of cotton candy. I feel bad that Mommy’s knees hurt and I pray that they will get better. Grandma and I miss you guys and we can’t wait until we can see you again. Love you. Grandpa.
DEAR MACKENZIE AND QUINN; YOUR STORY ABOUT PARIS AND THE BEAUTIFUL PICTURES OF BOTH OF YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!! THEY FILL ME WITH SO MANY EMOTIONS LIKE MISSING YOU,LOVING YOU,PROUD OF YOU. ETC ETC ETC.. CONTINUE ENJOYING YOUR WONDERFUL JOURNEY..CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU AGAIN..ALSO, BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY MACKENZIE, WILL BE GETTING SOMETHING OFF TO YOU SOON. LOVE TO ALL OF YOU…GRANDMA BETTY
Thank you Grandma Betty! We miss your “drive up” visits. We love you. -Mackenzie