Love In Unexpected Places ✓

Chapter Four

The next morning we woke up to the sun shining in between the panels of the red curtains. We got out of bed and got dressed before heading to the hotel's lounge area for breakfast. This morning eggs and croissants were served. We each put a little on a plate and walked over to a table to eat. We bowed our heads to pray over the breakfast and the day we had ahead of us.

After breakfast, we decided to go to the Luxembourg Gardens which was our first stop on our first day of sightseeing. The gardens were a little over a twenty-minute car ride from the hotel. As we drove through Paris, I looked through the window and I marveled at just how beautiful Paris truly was.

When we finally arrived at the Gardens, we got out of the car and slowly made our way to the front entrance. The garden itself was free, but if we wanted to tour the museum we had to pay a fee. My parents had decided that while we were here we must go ahead and do it all.

The walk through the garden was peaceful. Beautiful flowers were lined in an entire circle around the front of the gardens. While walking through the gardens, we saw sculptures like a replica of the Statue of Liberty. We had to stop and take a family photo in front of, since seeing the real thing in person may be something that may not actually happen. There were around 106 different sculptures at the Gardens.

When we were finished making our way around the garden and marveling at the statues, we headed to the theater to catch a puppet show.

After the show, we went through the Musee du Luxembourg, which was the first French museum that was opened to the public in 1750. We were able to admire artwork by some artists we weren't familiar with.

We ended our trip to the gardens by my parents allowing me to take a pony ride, and then walking around the paths of the garden as we took in the beautiful scenery. The first place on our sightseeing adventure had turned out to be a lot of fun. I could see my mother's excitement as she kept clicking the shutter button on a camera, trying to savor every moment in Paris.

After spending a couple of hours at the gardens, we decided to go to the Champs-Élysées Avenue, where there were plenty of places to shop and places to dine that weren't far from the hotel. We weren't exactly hungry yet, but by the time we were done with shopping, I had a feeling we would be.

My mother usually has to start her day with coffee. She forgot to get her a cup this morning while we were at the hotel, so the first place we had to stop at was Starbucks so she could get her a coffee with cream and sugar.

The first stores my mother wanted to visit were big-name shops that people like us couldn't afford. Her curiosity got the best of her. Of course, no Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, Celine, or Chanel merchandise would be coming home with us. We walked through each store as her mouth hung open like members from the band called KISS do.

After she oohed and ahhed at the price tags of many items that she loved but couldn't afford, we headed to a restaurant familiar to us. One that we have back home. I had no idea that chain restaurants from the US were also in places like France. So for lunch, we decided on good ole Burger King. We had realized we were a little homesick, so eating at an establishment that we were familiar with helped ease our nostalgia.

After eating lunch, we finally found a few places that we could shop for souvenirs to take home with us after our trip concludes. I got a t-shirt and a stuffed animal, while my mother also got a t-shirt and a coffee mug.

We decided to head back to the Eiffel Tower to take our family photo, before heading to the hotel to put our souvenirs away. Then finally we went out to eat dinner before going to bed for the night.

When we arrived at the Eiffel Tower, we saw many other tourists doing the same thing we had come to do. Others were taking pictures in front of the iconic monument to document their trip to Paris. Most people don't believe that you went on such a trip unless they see it anyway. So we waited patiently while other tourists were getting their pictures in front of the tower.

When it was finally our turn, we stood in front of the tower picture ready, while waiting for someone to snap the photo for us. We came across a French mom and her little boy who told us she would be happy to take the photo for us.

After she snapped the photo of us, I noticed that the little boy that was with her was the same little blonde-haired boy that was in my dream. I had to rub my eyes a few times and pinch myself to make sure that I wasn't dreaming. I was almost certain that if this moment was playing out as it had in my dream that I must have fallen asleep.

After pinching myself I realized that I most definitely was not dreaming. Instead of saying anything to anyone, I decided to keep that a secret. I caught myself smiling in that little boy's direction as heat crept up to my cheeks. I turned my head in a hurry so that he wouldn't catch a glimpse of my scarlet cheeks.

"We must be going now. Thank you so much for taking our photo for us. It's one we will cherish for a lifetime," My father said, as he and my mother shook the hands of the woman who took our picture. She spoke English surprisingly well.

"De rien. You're welcome." She smiled.

As we walked away, I found myself turning back behind me to catch one last glimpse of that mysterious little boy from my dream. A smile pulled from the corners of my mouth. I must have developed a small little crush on him in the whole two minutes I saw him.

For dinner, we ate cuisine at a local restaurant that was recommended to us by the french mother.

My mother and father both ordered baguettes and ratatouille, while I ordered crêpe quiche lorraine.

"Je Vous remercie," my mother said, as the waiter handed our food to us.

"De rien," the waiter responded with a smile. He was impressed that my mother took the time to learn the language. Quite a few of the tourist spots have French people that can also speak English. It really helps those who don't take the time to learn French when they travel to France.

We said a prayer before eating our meal. We thoroughly enjoyed every bite of our French cuisine. It was something none of us had ever eaten before, although my mother had always keen on eating Ratatouille after watching the Disney movie.

After our dinner, we headed back up to the hotel. By the time we got back up to the room, our feet were hurting and our legs felt almost like jelly. We probably couldn't have moved another muscle even if we had wanted to. The day we had enjoyed had taken every bit of strength out of us. We had probably walked a couple of miles throughout the day.

We all took turns taking a shower before bed. The warm water was soothing to our aching muscles. Although the day we had was a tiring one, it was the best. I had no doubt that by the time our heads hit the pillow, we would be sound asleep.

After my shower, my mother helped me soak up the excess water in my hair and then blow-dried it. I was excited and ready to go to sleep because the next day was another day full of family fun as well. The day had flown by so fast that I was almost sad to think that our entire week would go by just as fast and it would soon be time to head home. I wasn't ready to leave Paris behind just yet.

I laid my clothes out for the next day. I decided to wear my tres belle shirt which I ended up finding out meant "very beautiful" in French. I paired that with a pair of jean shorts and my white jellies.

My parents helped me to bed and tucked me in. After saying the nightly prayer, I rolled over, and the thoughts of the little boy replayed into my mind. I was still in awe that the same boy I saw in my dreams, I saw at the Eiffel Tower. It had played out just like in my dream. I felt a smile creep up onto my face.

While waiting for my eyes to fall into a deep sleep, I could hear my parents in the background complaining about their sore feet, but also very excited to get out and see Paris. My mother kept reveling about the expensive jewelry, handbags, shoes, and clothing she loved but couldn't afford, and my father kept saying he wished he could give her everything she wanted.

The last thing I heard her say before my eyes got heavy and closed in sleep was that he already gave her everything that she ever wanted. He gave her the best husband she could have ever asked for, a daughter that she didn't think she could ever have, a roof over her head, food to be able to cook every single day, love, and this trip that she had always dreamed of taking.