On May 6th, I left Toronto with my two kids aged 19 and 23 to Israel. Im turning 50 this year and thought that I should celebrate this year and return to the country I was born in and haven't been back to for over 29 years. As an added bonus, I decided to add a stop over in Paris France to reconnect to the city I grew up in when I was betweenthe ages of 8-12.
On the way to Israel, we had a stop over in Paris of just over 5 hours. Wanting to take advantage of this opportunity, I decided to jump on the train for the 45 minute ride into Paris. When we found out that the cost was 49 Euros return ($75), my children questioned whether it was really worth it. I said, sure - we only live once and that's what money is for.
It was 12 am Toronto time. We jumped on the train and stopped at the Arc de Triomphe. We walked around and decided to walk over to the Eiffel Tower where we came across an open air market. My kids each bought a crepe made fresh and continued on to the Eiffel Tower. They were smiling from ear to ear. They were besides themselves with joy about being in Francing, tasting delicacies and taking advantage of every moment. We were exhausted by the time we had to hop on the train to return home (3:00 am) but that wasn't going to stop us from the satisifaction and inner joy of eating a crepe at the Eiffel Tower.
I am so glad I decided to take advantage of this stopover, teach my kids to enjoy each moment and experience the glow and satisfaction of the moment.
