My older daughter spent her 8th birthday at the base of the Eiffel Tower. How cool is that?! We had a picnic in the gardens in front of the Eiffel Tower and the girls had a great time running around playing tag and watching the light show on the Eiffel Tower.

We rented an apartment right across from the Eiffel Tower. The view never got old. No matter how often we would look out and see it, the Eiffel Tower was still as amazing and mesmerizing. Each time the girls looked outside, they’d say, “Hello Eiffel!”

Our apartment was beautiful and luxuriously equipped. We rented the apartment from Paris Perfect and it’s the only way to experience Paris. A perfectly located apartment, fully equipped with everything you need including free wi-fi in the most sought-after neighborhood beats out a room in any swanky hotel.

Each morning, we would go outside to the local patisserie and get our fresh rolls and breads. We would head “home” after a long day exploring and take a nap before heading out again for dinner around the neighborhood.

The girls let us experience Paris a whole different way than if we had gone without them. In addition to the famous sights, we stopped at parks to let them play, ate more often (not a bad thing), had some coffee and crepes while they rode the carousel and ate more ice cream in the few days we were there than I would in a year. We even took a walking tour of Il Saint Louie with a local guide who deconstructed Hunchback of Notre Dame to include the girls in the tour.

One of the highlights of Paris was renting out bicycles and riding them throughout the city. These bike rental stations are found all throughout the city and you can rent them for a few minutes or hours. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon as we took them for a ride to get a good overall view of the city.

Experiencing Paris with the girls was fantastic. Can we go again please? (whining)