Paris - the Eiffle tower at night. Every hour on the hour for about ten minutes it would sparkle with white lights. It was beautiful! The was 9:00 at night on April 17th. It stays light so late! 

Paris - How high? This is the first level but we braved the lines and the crowds and went to the very top. 

Paris - a view of the Arc de Triomphe from the Eiffel Tower. 

Paris - up the Eiffel Tower. It was incredibly windy and cold but amazing. 

Paris - a classic Haussmann street. Baron Haussmann knocked down the old building and lined the wide boulevards with five story residences with the specific characteristics seen in the photo. Each floor was occupied by a different class. The buildings remain today and dominate the architecture of the center of Paris. 

Paris - Can you guess whose missing? The Arc de Triomphe is in the background. The Arc was started by Napoleon as a tribute to the French armies and himself but by the time it was completed it was dedicted to the French Armies in general. 

Paris - one of the amazing sculptures on the Arc de Triomphe 

Paris - View of the Eiffel from the top of the Arc de Triomphe 

Paris - The Bodmers at the top of Arc de Triomphe. Steve spotted this view with the Eiffel tower in the background. 

Paris - Steve, Kim, Tori and Jason from the top of the Arc de Triomphe 

Paris - Tommy, TJ, and Diane from the top of the Arc de Triomphe 

Paris - Uncle Tom is actually sitting with Megan and Alyssa! The girls in true form made their Aunts and Uncles and even their cousins work hard to win them over.  

Paris - Almost the whole gang inside the Arc de Triomphe. This is a museum dedicated to WWI. 

Paris - with the kids in tow we made time to play in between all of the big sights. 

Paris - Notre Dame Cathedral 

One of Paris' many gargoyles. 

Paris - feeding the pigeons outside of Notre Dame Cathedral; Drew, TJ, Megan, Jason and Alyssa. 

Paris - a view of a tiny fraction of the Louvre Museum facade. 

Paris - inside the Louvre. For all you DaVinci Code readers this is where the Holy Grail is buried. It is also a great lounging spot for 6 tired tourists. 

Paris - our tour bus. The 12 of us had this bus and a guide all to ourselves for three hours. The guide was very knowledgable and gave us a great overview of the sights of Paris. 

Paris - Sacre-Coeur - this area was mobbed with tourists but very picturesque. Our tour guide walked us up the hill through the winding roads of Montmartre at a breaknecking pace compared to the speed of our littler tourists. Somehow not one of us had a map that day so the adults were careful to remember the way but in the end it was TJ who lead the way back down. 

Paris - Montmartre place du Tertre packed with tourists and artists selling their wares. 

Paris - Moulin Rouge 

Paris - Opera-Garnier. We unfortunatel weren't able to get beyond the front entrance way due to rehearsals in the auditorium. Even the entrance interior was magnificent with beautifully carved sculptures and colorful marble inlays. 

Paris