The following are short posts and pictures about different activities we did with the Kahns. The Kahns are our friends from Lexington MA and they came for one week to visit us in Paris. We’ve been friends with the Kahns since my Mom and Dad were in college. They have two children, Sophie and Rachel. Rachel is the oldest and almost 13. Sophie is the younger, and is 11. We were very excited that they came to visit and we left the apartment an hour after they arrived, already roaring for adventure. Louvre- With happy souls we entered the Louvre complex once more. Today there was no line, however we chose to enter through a secret passage bringing us straight to the ticket booth. We strolled through the halls for an hour and a half, before leaving for a nice meal of steak and fries. Sophie said that she wanted to go back and hear more stories. Once at the restaurant, Rachel and Sophie quickly learned a new card game which we would continue to play. Orsay- We walked to the Orsay in the arctic weather feeling like popsicles on a pilgrimage to the ice box. I was thoroughly convinced that my fingers and ears were going in to micro-freeze, where they slowly crumble in to little crystallized shards. But when we reached the cozy interior of the Orsay I still had my fingers and ears. There we divided in to three groups. Off went the Kahns, and my Mom said it was her turn to go by herself; so she left as well. Leaving us and my Dad to go and do what we please, or rather, what HE pleased. We spent the entire time looking at paintings on the bottom floor. Notre Dame- We saw the towers of the Notre Dame long before we saw the door, or anything else for that matter. The statues gazed down at us and in to the distance. Some looked at the horizon indifferent to all who passed their stony charactures. Others gazed down curiously and benevolently, as if we were interesting and amusing things of a past world. Yet there was a small population which malevolently watched with evil grins, frowns and furious snarls permanently chiseled on to their cold and stony visages. Our breath caught as we stepped through the massive wooden doors. Overhead, arches soared and beams of colored light fell on the caring faces of stone saints and their flickering candle wishes, thanks to the abundance of stained glass windows. No window was more prominent then the glorious rose window, out-glowing all those who tried to compete for attention. But while many features were graceful, the stone was heavy set and condensed, bottoms of columns gleamed like metal with the rubbing of thousands of tourists and prayers. First lunch- Our first lunch took place in a quaint little bistro that was more than it appeared. The chef was the same for both it and the Tour d’Argent, which was across the street! And the meals were one fourth of the price too! We ate everything from crème brulee, to snails and duck. During the meal, all the kids told stories. Rachel told us about Claire the Pokeyfish, Sophie talked about a fish/frog with three wishes, Katherine did not tell a story, and I told scary stories about the two always hungry children, and a humorous and yet grim one about a man with an attack full of dolls, and how he played with them every day until they got annoyed. “But this is what happens when you through us out a window!”, as I’m sure Woody and Buzz would attest. We saw a white and black lump in the kitchen, and with further inspection one would find that it was an extremely obese cat! That kitty had the good life. He was plump, and sagged slightly when he wobbled over to our table and climbed on to the booth seat next to us. Sophie and Katherine could barely contain themselves at the prospect of, “HE’S THE CUTEST LITTLE BIG CHUBBY KITTY EVER!” They were very happy. The cat was named after the restaurant and seemed to eat a lot of his name’s supply of leftovers.  Eiffel Tower- “Every step I’m taking, my faith is shaking, but I, gotta keep climbing, always gonna be another step, always gonna be an uphill battle, it’s the climb!” Re-worked “The Climb, by Miley Cyrus” The Kahns wanted to climb the Eiffel Tower, so we went up a second time, the first being with Mrs. A a week or so ago. 669 steps, that’s how many steps we had to take to get to the 2^eme Etage, the 2^nd floor. Nous avons monte le premier trois-cent….oops, I mean… We climbed the first three-hundred steps easily. We were not to be deterred or discouraged. Sadly Grant and Sandy went up in the elevator so our party consisted of my family, Rachel&Sophie/Sophie&Rachel, and I. After the first 300 we slowed our ascent by 20 %, continuing as such.  Sophie and I became ninjas and fought up the steps while Rachel and Katherine sang behind us. Pastry class- Stir stir stir, slice slice slice, dice dice dice, shake shake shake, and bake bake bake! We entered the kitchen, washed our hands, put on our aprons and got to work. We sliced, and diced, stirred, and shook and baked our delicious masterpiece…FLAN! Sophie and Rachel had said that they did not like Flan, but hopefully they would change their minds in time for the eating. Eeeeeew! Might be your first response, but this wasn’t normal Flan that wobbled like un-appetizing ooze, this was a crust, filled with vanilla flavored flan, and raspberry sauce to dip it in. Hopefully you’ve gone from eeeeew, to aaaaaaah, but anyway… The recipe made 24 small flan pies. Since we were half the class, we went home with big smiles and 12 flans! Tuileries- We walked throughout the Tuileries several times, and although it was rather uneventful, we did get a handful of worthy pictures. Harry Potter- As the witches from Macbeth or students at Hogwarts may sing: Double, double, toil and trouble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble. Double, double, toil and trouble. Something wicked this way comes! Eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting, lizard's leg and owlet's wing. Double, double, toil and trouble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble. Double, double, toil and trouble. Something wicked this way comes! In the cauldron boil and bake, fillet of a fenny snake, scale of dragon, tooth of wolf, witches mummy, maw and gulf! We were going to see Harry Potter 7, the Deathly Hallows! Rachel and Sophie were BUBBLING over with excitement and we all TOILED inside as we walked to the theater. We entered the theater, and Rachel, Grant and I all went to the bathroom. After a rather annoying escapade with escalators and the hidden theater 1, we found our seats and had no further TROUBLE. The Dads retrieved the snacks and beverages, and we settled down to watch Harry Potter in a theater that looked like a theater that showed plays, but had a massive screen above an almost non-existent stage. The chairs were extremely comfortable, and we were all excited. The curtains opened, and the show began! Victor Hugo For a 30-minute activity we looked around Victor Hugo's apartment and the Place Vosges park adjacent to it.  Victor Hugo was the writer of the book Les Miserables which became the show that we saw in London.  His apartment had a great view.  Amazingly Victor Hugo wrote long pieces of literature and instead of sitting down as most of us might, he chose to write them while standing up at a should-height writing desk because he liked to walk around. Shopping- We also looked for souvenirs while looking at the Christmas windows of the Galleries Lafayette and their rival super-store of which I do not know the name…  We were all sad when we had to say goodbye to our friends, as we have been throughout our adventures. We wonder when they’ll visit us again…please?