Paris #1 - In Which We Prepare to Leave

Alyssa Meets the Pacific in California

JANICE:
For a number of years, it has been my plan to take each of my five nieces and nephews on a special trip around the time of their 12th birthdays. 

In 1998, Alyssa and I visited friends in San Francisco. Her trip came when she was only nine, but this was chance for her to gain great friends in Becky and Tim. She had a wonderful time with them at their church day camp all week. One very special moment for me was when I took Alyssa to an ocean beach for the first time in her life. I'll never forget the way she danced across the sand.

Greg and I by the Harbour in Victoria, BC

In 1999, Greg and I visited Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. We stayed a few nights in a fancy hotel in downtown Vancouver, took the lift up Grouse Mountain, visited every tourist site we could find, tooled around Victoria and had a most memorable crossing
on the ferry back from Vancouver Island (I still feel seasick just to think of it).

Next year, Nicholas and I hope to visit London and Bath in England. High on our list of important things to do is see Roman ruins, the Tower of London, Big Ben, Stonehenge, and a tour of a sports car manufacturer. 

Hilary and I have started to think of visiting Maui in a few years. We want to learn how to do the hula, go to a luau, visit some gorgeous beaches and bicycle down a volcano.

But this is the travelogue for my trip with Megan. To Paris. The first time for both of us!

Rather than stay in a hotel, we've rented a tiny apartment in the 4th Arrondisement (Le Marais) -- just a couple of blocks from the River Seine and perhaps within the sound of the bells of Notre-Dame Cathedral. We'll have a little more space than in a hotel room, be able to prepare some of our own meals (getting to know the neighbourhood shopkeepers in the process, we hope), and feel like real Parisiennes.

Some of the special things we're going to do during our visit are: take in a fashion show, go to a dinner theatre on a boat featuring a magic show, spend a day at Parc Astérix (a theme park), visit the Louvre, go down to the Catacombs, bike to Versailles and -- of course -- go up both the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe! 

At the end of our time in Paris, we're also going to spend three days in Normandy where we'll visit le Mont-Saint-Michel, the Bayeux Tapestry and the D-Day beaches. Oh, yes, we're also going to practice our French!
So ... we leave in one week, three hours & 24 minutes! We're packing. We're excited. What more can we say?

When Megan and I first discussed going to Paris she was about 9 1/2 years old. I showed her a picture book of Paris. When I asked her to draw a picture of our trip and the things she'd like to do there, this is what she created. It's been posted on my fridge ever since.

MEGAN:
My Paris Fantasy all started about two days before Aunt Janice asked me where I wanted to go on my trip for my 12th birthday. I was watching "Passport to Paris" at my friend's house and thought it looked awesome. A few days after, I was at my aunt's house and she asked me where I wanted to go. I immediately said Paris, France and she said yes, so now my dreams are coming true and I am going to Paris on May 21st.

We are going to spend 15 days there and during that time we are going to have a lot of fun. We are going to the Catacombs, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and tons of museums.

I'm so excited that I could eat a horse and cow. I've been talking to everyone about it and can't stop thinking about it. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!