The books that I read as a child hold a special place in my heart and one of my most beloved book series from my youth are the Eloise novels, written by Kay Thompson and which featured the illustrations of Hilary Knight. They followed a mischievous six year old girl named Eloise who lived at the Plaza hotel in New York City and her many adventures. My favorite book in the series was, without a doubt, Eloise in Paris. After reading the marvelous tales of Eloise in the city of lights, I became enamored with the city, and immediately longed to travel there myself one day. For the last three months I have been studying in London and I knew that a trip to Paris was a definite must before I headed back to the states. Once I found a travel buddy to accompany me I was off to visit a city that I had been dreaming about for years. Paris was magnificent and it turned out to be even more than I imagined. Every moment of my trip was filled with moments of wonder as I stood next to monuments and buildings that I had been picturing and I couldn’t help but view them in childlike wonder. Although it seems silly, this book that I read as a young girl made up the image that I had of city and it also shaped the way that I viewed it while I was there.
