Saturday in Paris

July 25th--We left the apartment about 10:00 this morning and headed toward the Pompidou Center. We decided not to go inside, but to just let the kids run around and play outside in the huge plaza. From here, we walked over to the fun fountains in the square next to the Center. The kids enjoyed seeing the colorful sculptures within the water and having room to just run. The adults grabbed a table at a French cafe within the square. We all enjoyed a French lunch while being entertained by a break dance duo. After lunch, the Jaye's wanted to go to the Orsay Museum, but we opted not to go on a Saturday. Before leaving, we saw an interesting scene. There was this cute dog that was allowing the kids to throw a ball for him. Well, there was a young boy that had a Nerf soccer ball. The boy had the soccer ball in his hands, but the dog kept jumping up on him trying to get the ball away. The dog finally managed to get the ball and immediately jumped into the water of the fountains. Smart dog because no one could get the ball from him since he was out in the middle of the water. The owner of the dog wasn't doing much to get the ball back and the Dad of the young boy was not happy. The dog eventually bit a piece of the soccer ball off and started chewing on it. The owner finally rolled up her pants and climbed in the water to get the dog and ball back. We all just stood there like we were watching a scene from a movie. It was definitely something different and funny to see. We left there and headed to Luxembourg Gardens. The kids got to play for a couple of hours before heading back to the apartment. We passed a Subway along the way and since we had a babysitter coming tonight, we picked up dinner for Abby and Austin. When we got back to the apartment, the kids ate dinner and got ready for bed. The babysitter came around 7:00. We had gotten her through a babysitting service. The adults left a little after 7:00 and walked to eat dinner at a outdoor restaurant nearby. It was a cute little cafe overlooking a tree lined street. Shanda ordered a gizzard salad. I'm proud to say that I actually tried gizzard, but still really enjoyed my onion soup and chicken entree more. After dinner, we took the Metro to the Eiffel Tower. We stood in line for a little while to go up to the Eiffel Tower. We had every intention of going to the top, but it closed before we got to the ticket booth. So, we headed up to the second floor a little after 11:00pm for a wonderful view. It was definitely an awesome experience to see Paris from the Eiffel Tower at night!