Paris is my favorite city in the world, and sharing it with our daughter and granddaughter made it truly magical. Thirteen-year-old Georgia has been interested in Paris since she started reading the Fancy Nancy books at age four. Samantha has not been to Paris since our family went for the first time when she was ten.

After settling in to our apartment, we started our adventure with a Bateaux Mouches ride on the Seine River. Georgia’s excitement seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time gave us a hint of how special this week would be.

Rain (which graced us almost every day) didn’t dampen her enthusiasm. We strolled the Champs-Élysée, and Georgia and Samantha climbed the 284 steps to the top of the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile. A beautiful rainbow and panoramic view of Paris rewarded them for their efforts.

Learning New Things

Paul taught Georgia how to use the efficient Paris metro system. By the end of the week, she knew which line to take and where to sortie (exit.)

Thanks to two weeks at Concordia French camp, studying online with Duolingo, and a few tips from me, Georgia was soon confidently ordering food and asking questions.

She loves to cook and especially enjoyed learning to make macarons.

At the Fragonard Perfume Museum, we learned about the perfume-making process. We took the perfume-making class and made our own unique scents.

Georgia truly embraced Paris’ culinary delights-chocolate chaud at Angelina’s, warm croissants from our neighborhood boulangerie, crepes on the street, fresh baguettes and more.

I was so proud of her openness to trying new foods. The first time she tried escargot, she was disappointed they were already out of the shells. We made sure they were still in the shells the next time we ordered them, and she did a great job getting them out.

Versailles

The rainiest day of the week was the day we took the train to Versailles. Even our socks were soaking wet by the time we got back to our apartment that evening.

The rain did not stop us from making a short detour on our walk to the Palace of Versailles to visit Saint-Louis Cathedral. Since the interior of Notre Dame is still closed, we used our day at Versailles to show Georgia the interior of a beautiful French cathedral.

The most opulent and famous room at the Palace of Versailles is the famous Hall of Mirrors.

Louvre

With all the amazing art museums in Paris, it was hard to chose which one to visit. The Louvre, Paris’ most famous art museum, topped our list. Since the Louvre is huge (one source estimates it would take 100 days to see it all), we booked a private tour. Nick, our guide, did a wonderful job showing us the antiquities Georgia most wanted to see. And, of course, we finished our tour seeing the Mona Lisa. I think the Mona Lisa doesn’t quite live up to all the hype but felt Georgia had to see it.

Last Night in Paris

We feel so grateful for sharing a week in Paris with our daughter and granddaughter. Seeing Georgia’s reactions to new experiences and hearing her impressions were definitely the highlights of the week.

Dinner at Chez Papa Jazz Club was the perfect ending to our magical week.