10 Nov.

Again great breakfast at Hôtel Avalon Paris and off we went to the Louvre.

The boys wanted to see the Eiffel Tower and the Mona Lisa in Paris. Having covered the first item we entered the massive Louvre. Walked to the Mona Lisa, talked about it, trying to see it clearly behind the barrier and glass, and continued through the museum. I started to tell them about the various artists, paintings and sculptures, but they were selective at the pieces they wanted to look at. ( Fine by me)

Besides the Mona Lisa the only other things they were interested in were the big bannister railings on the staircases- they wanted to slide down them, and the Egyptian mummified pets. They liked the mummies of pet cats, birds, chickens, snakes, rats, mice, beetles, and other assorted pets.

Lunch time after nearly 4 hours at the Louvre was at H.A.N.D. food, beverages & bakery located at 39 Rue de Richelieu, Paris 1er. This place was packed, we were fortunate to find a table during the lunch rush. Great atmosphere, great music, hustle and bustle of Parisiens on lunch hour. A very American menu – we had onion rings, cheese burgers and a Farmer burger. The burgers are massive, and the fries are delicious. The onion rings were slightly crunchy and had a wonderful flavour – made us want to have more. I recommend this place for lunch.

Onwards up the street to the Paris Opera House, a drugstore to buy new toothbrushes and bandaids, and then to Galeries Lafayette. Galeries Lafayettes main store for women – second building for men- had their Christmas decorations up and a huge 40-50 foot tree up in the centre of the store. Beautiful interior and a very busy place.

When we were leaving the store we noticed the Christmas window displays. One had dancing bears dancing to ABBA music from the musical Mama Mia. Other window displays had dancing animals, and people were still setting up the displays as we walked by.

This evening we went back to Au Bout En Train on Blvd. Magenta, by the Gare du Nord. I had the last of the daily special Vin de Poulet – delicious, and the boys each had a pizza which they gobbled up. Liam was a little slower with his anchovy pizza and we had a little take home (take-out).