PARIS !!

Christmas lights on Champs Elysees

At the beginning of our Winter Break we left the warm Doha scenery and headed north to Paris! Tim and Lisa were last in Paris 16 years ago and have been wanting to take Max and Simon. This was a five day trip on our way home to Nova Scotia.

Except for the cold, the Christmas season was a beautiful time to be in Paris -- fewer tourists, lots of lights and special events. We took an evening bus tour to view the Christmas lights in the city. So beautiful! But, of course, we also made sure there was educational value!

with DaVinci's Mona Lisa at the Louvre

We went to the usual tourist sights: the Louvre, the Pompidou Centre (modern art), L'Orangerie (Monet's Water Lillies), Sacre Coeur Basilica, Notre Dame Cathedral, Les Invalides (Napoleon's Tomb), Rodin Garden, Place de la Concorde. And we ate in many French cafe and bistros.

near Omaha Beach in Normandy

One day we took a high speed train to Caen in Northern France and joined a day tour of the Beaches of Normandy. Max is doing an historical investigation of the Battle of Caen so this was a field trip to give him context for his paper.

 Learning about D-Day and the Invasion of Normandy was significant for all of us. We visited several beaches where British, American, and Canadian troops landed on June 6, 1944.

top of Eiffel Tower overlooking River Seine

One of our Paris highlights was going to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We joined a tour group and had no wait time at all. We spent an hour looking at the view and then climbed down the 700 steps to the bottom. It was a fun trip!