We did a lot of walking and touring the Paris subway system (much of the time with our heavy suitcases and stroller). While David attended a conference for work, the rest of us went to see the Eiffel Tower. It was very cold and windy that day, and we were even caught in a few hailstorms. The Eiffel Tower hadn't changed much since David and I were there on our honeymoon (LONG lines of tourists and school groups waiting to ascend, hoardes of gypsy-type women asking for money, and guards with machine-guns patrolling the grounds), so Samantha and I decided to forgo the long lines and chase pigeons instead.
Samantha was impressed with the tower, and every few days since our trip stands up real tall (usually after climbing onto something she shouldn't) and says, "Tower, Eiffel Tower!"
Summer's favorite thing by far since we've been in France was going to the top of the tower with my parents. She was in awe of it's size and insisted that she could see Austin from the top, which she described as a dark rain cloud in the distance. Summer also took to Parisian shopping and suckered my parents into buying her various souvenirs, including a Paris totebag, a coin purse with "Paris" spelled out in rhinestones, an Eiffel Tower statue, and several postcards.
My parents got to see the other tourist hotspots (Louvre, Notre Dame, Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe), and David and I enjoyed kid-free dinners while my parents stayed with the girls. We enjoyed our time there but were glad to return to our much-quieter village in Barraux.
The day before my parents flew home, I drove them to Turin, Italy, which was only a few hours away. Despite being told to just "follow the signs", we found the city relatively easily but had a nightmare of a time leaving the city due to construction and lack of a good map. Upon arrival, we parked in what I decided was a "scary" part of the city but found a welcoming restaurant, where we enjoyed delicious pizza, pasta, and a very friendly waiter who was not shy in showing off his knowledge of the English language (January, February, March...). Our comparison between what we've seen of France and Italy was this: France is much prettier and cleaner, has better road signs, and much more considerate drivers. Still, growing up in Texas where you can drive twelve hours and still be in Texas, we were intrigued by the opportunity to visit three countries in just a few hours. After Turin, I drove my parents to Geneva, where they spent the night before flying home early the next morning. Much to my mother's dismay, I drove home alone on a road I'd never been on, with one headlight working, and a dead cell phone battery. I was fine. :)
