When sisters Lyra and Nina Taner depart on their first overseas trip to Paris they can hardly control their excitement. However as they visit all the famous sights of Paris, they are being followed. Who is this man and what does he want from them? Follow Lyra and Nina as they see the Eiffel Tower, Euro Disney, Le Louvre and more Paris sights, whilst solving a major Paris crime in the process.
Copyright 2014 Kellena Taylor
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Table of Contents
Day 1 - To Paris we go
Day 2 - The Eiffel Tower
Day 3 - Montmartre
Day 4 - The Louvre
Day 5 - Euro Disney
Day 6 - A visit to the French Police
Day 7 - Galeries Lafayette
Day 8 - A reward
Day 9 - Euro Disney again
Day 10 - Goodbye Paris
About the author
Acknowledgements
Day 1 - To Paris we go
As the aeroplane landed Lyra could hardly contain her excitement. She was in Paris! Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would fly to the other side of the world to visit such a famous city. It had taken more than one whole day in two aeroplanes but they were finally here. She just couldn’t wait to start exploring.
Lyra Taner would miss her home in Melbourne, Australia but she sure had no problem with going on holidays, especially when it involved flying in a plane! She looked over at her sister Nina who smiled excitedly back. Lyra was 9 years old and in fourth grade at school. Her sister was 7 and two grades behind her. It didn’t bother Lyra that Nina was younger, they got along well together and it was great to always have someone to talk to and especially share adventures. Of course they did fight sometimes like all sisters do, but most of the time they were great friends.
Lyra collected her bags from under the seat and smiled at her Mum and Dad. Her Mum gave her a tired smile back. It was hard to sleep in the aeroplane, so they would all need a good nights sleep tonight. They had already written a list of all the things they wanted to do in Paris. Of course Lyra and Nina’s number one on the list was Euro Disney. However Mum and Dad had said that they would go there after the weekend so that it would not be so busy.
After getting a stamp in her passport, Lyra and her family collected their suitcases and piled into a waiting taxi. The streets were so full of cars. Their taxi driver weaved in and out of the traffic, ignoring the lines on the road. It was scary. Nina held on to her Dad’s hand while Lyra held tight on to the door handle. It seemed to take so long to get to their hotel. When they finally pulled up at the entrance to the Maxime Hotel, they could not get out of the taxi fast enough.
The Maxime Hotel was a fairly small hotel like many in Paris. With most buildings being only five storeys high, hotels were more homely than the big multi storey ones you normally see. The entrance had antique furniture and a lovely water fountain with lots of coins in the bottom. The receptionist spoke English with a French accent which made the words almost sing. After being given a room key, they dragged along their luggage, piled into the old elevator and pressed the button for the fourth floor. The old elevator creaked as it rose and then opened to a corridor with dark red carpet and cream walls.
The room was like a small apartment, with a separate room for Lyra and Nina to sleep in and a small kitchenette. It felt warm and cosy and their beds had crisp white sheets and old fashioned bed covers. There was even a television.
Lyra and Nina quickly unzipped their suitcase and changed their clothes. It was great to be able to wear something fresh again. Nina and Lyra had a whole suitcase just for them full of clothes. However her Mum and Dad had brought an extra suitcase that was almost empty so that they could go shopping and buy some French clothes. Lyra was especially excited about that as Paris is known as a fashion capital! She couldn’t wait to hit the shops!
Once they had all freshened up and changed, they decided to go exploring close to their hotel. From their hotel it was only a few metres walk to the famous Champs Elysees- the most famous street in Paris. The Champs Elysees was a very wide street with beautiful shops on both sides. Lyra saw coats that were more than one thousand Euro!!! Euro is the currency that is used in France and most of Europe. Lyra had even been given some spending money to buy herself something special. However clearly the Champs Elysees was going to be too expensive for her!
They all strolled down the street looking at the old buildings and in the shop windows. At the very end of the street they could see a huge arch - the Arc de Triomphe. Mum explained that Napoleon had ordered the arch to be built to remind everyone of his victories in war. The arch stood in the middle of a roundabout with cars driving all over the place around it.
Suddenly Lyra smelt something delicious - crepes! Her Mum and Dad had told her about some of the food you could find in Paris. There, on the side of the street was a cart with a man standing behind it. He was making crepes. Lyra stopped to watch. In front of the man was a small round black plate which was hot. On to the plate he poured some pancake like mixture and then carefully swirled it around with a wooden stick shaped like the letter T. He swirled the mix to the edges of the round plate so that it was spread thinly and evenly across the whole plate. After a few seconds he flipped it over using a spatula and let the other side cook. Once both sides were cooked, he sprinkled sugar over the crepe and folded it in half and then half again so that it was a triangle shape and popped it on to a paper plate and handed it to a waiting woman. Wow! It looked and smelt so good.
Lyra’s mouth watered! “Mum, can I have one please?”, she asked. Nina also wanted one, so Mum ordered two and they watched as the man made two crepes for them. He asked them if they would like chocolate, sugar, or lemon on the crepes. He spoke in funny English but they could still understand him. The crepes were piping hot and lovely and soft. They tasted delicious. Lyra and Nina had gobbled them down in no time. Crepes were definitely something that they would like more of during their stay in Paris!
They all continued walking further along the Champs Elysees until they felt tired and then turned to head back to their hotel. It was late in the afternoon now and they were all starting to feel sleepy. They had a quick dinner in the restaurant in their hotel and headed back to their room to get some much needed sleep. Lyra fell to sleep quickly, thinking of the sights she had seen that day and how Paris was going to be a wonderful adventure.
Day 2 - The Eiffel Tower
Lyra awoke the next morning and listened to the noises of the traffic outside. She looked across to Nina’s bed. Typical! Nina was already up, dressed and putting a thousand different clips in her hair.
They both had blond hair, like their Dad. Nina’s hair was just below her shoulders, thick and straight. Lyra’s hair was much finer, also straight but a little longer. So many people commented that they looked like twins despite their age difference. It annoyed Lyra that no one thought that she could be nine years old because she was so small. Her Mum was always telling her that she would have a growth spurt and catch up to all her friends, but she hadn’t so far. Nina
was only a few centimetres shorter than her - how unfair!
Nina looked at Lyra and told her to hurry up and get up. Lyra looked at the clock - 7.30 am. A bit early to be getting up on holidays but she was wide awake. The two girls tiptoed into the other room to peak at their parents. They were lying in bed but awake. Lyra and Nina jumped on to the bed and they all cuddled. It was great to be on holidays together.
Mum and Dad prepared some breakfast using the groceries that Dad had bought from the small supermarket across the street last night after dinner. They had some toast, juice and fruit. Whilst they munched, they discussed what their plans were for the day. First stop would be to visit the Eiffel Tower. Mum and Dad said that they would need to go by an underground train called the Metro. Neither Nina or Lyra had been on a metro before. Mum handed them a map and showed them where they were on the map and where the Eiffel tower was. Their mission for the day was to find the trains to take them there!
Lyra studied the map closely. There were coloured lines for each of the different train routes. To reach the Eiffel Tower they were going to have to change trains one time. First they had to walk to the Metro station and buy tickets.