La Nuit Etoile

 Freestone is pretending to hold the heavy door open with one finger, but it's chained to the wall behind him.  4th grade humor!  So this is the tale of our nocturnal Eiffel Tower adventure.  Freestone remembered the girls loving the Eiffel Tower at night, so he had to experience it too.  We went with Bill on the bus to the Trocadero.

 Ready for another outing

 It was going to be another 45 minutes before the tower sparkled again, so we sat in a cafe and had some hot chocolate, right on front of the Eiffel Tower.

 It's marketing genius to have the Eiffel Tower sparkle every hour.  Even though it's lit up all night, the sparkling effect makes it seem like a special occasion.  When it starts to sparkle, you know everyone around is thinking what you're thinking:  I can't believe I'm here!

 Back home on the Metro.  On one of our rides, All of us got on except Scott, who was pushing the stroller.  Tziporah and her stroller got trapped in the doors as they closed.  Everyone on-board was freaking out, screaming, "Le bebe!  Mon dieu, le bebe!"  Fortunately, the doors weren't nearly as strong as the stroller and Tizzy was giddily oblivious to the fact that she had just given twenty people a serious adrenaline rush, as she smiled at the crowd from her trapped stroller.  We got her and Scott into the car and there was a collective sigh of relief from the whole crowd.

 Franklin D. Roosevelt Metro stop on Line 1.

 Bill coming out of the Metro

 This is one of the Turkish/French guys at our favorite crepe stand.  They loved making Freestone Grand Marnier crepes and flabe-ing them.  Since Freestone was so quiet and has such a weird name, they thought he said his name was "Chrisophe."  So every time we went there, we had to call him Chrisophe.  Returning from the Eiffel Tower, this guy invited "Christophe" behind the counter to make his own crepe.  He made a Nutella crepe and even got it for free, since he worked for it!  These guys were so nice.  I wish I knew their names.  The one in the picture had a day off, and when he came back he said he had spent it with his six-year-old daughter.  He looked a little sad, and I got the feeling he didn't get nearly enough time with his little girl.  I know he works long and late hours because he and his co-workers run that crepe place from early in the morning until late at night.  These are the same guys who made the crepe for the homeless man.  They run a simple business, but they make their work worthwhile with their kindness. 

 And with that, we called it a day on our starry night.