Zut! Alors! Eloise in Paris by Kay Thompson

One teatime this telephone is ringing its head off and oh my lord, it was the front desk saying, "Eloise, there's a cablegram for you here!"

It was a cablegram from my mother.

"OH, my lord, we are going to Paris, France!"

Eloise has to tell everyone at the Ritz--the Porter, the Bell Captain, the Housekeeper and General Manager. And she and Nanny must get shots and of course, sit for their passport portraits, where Eloise's poses require many exposures!

(I am rawther photogenic.)

Then they must find an airline that allows Eloise to fly with her turtle, Weenie.

"When you get to the French border, you have to parler Francais!"

Nanny and Eloise are whisked to their hotel by her mother's lawyer's chauffeur, Koki, where Eloise learns there is no bell captain and no elevator. The proprietor calls her nanny Nahnee, which Eloise adopts for the duration. She also learns a new, all-purpose French phrase right away which means many things, like "Never mind" and "You're welcome" and "Forget it!"

"Pas de que!'"

Every morning Eloise leans from the balcon to greet the Seine. She learns also that there is beaucoup de traffic. And she learns that you cawn't get a proper cup of tea in Paris.

"They simply do not boil the water!"

But there is cafe' latte, and champagne with peaches in it, the Louvre, les croissants, the Eiffel Tower, la tarte mirabelle, Notre Dame, and Dior's, (where Eloise gets a personal fitting overseen by Christian himself) and dinner at l'Escargot.

"J'aime beaucoup Paris!"

But... Eloise admits ...

"Oh, I absolutely miss the Ritz"

It's a whirlwind tour of la belle Paris, for Eloise and Nanny, seeing all the sights and hitting all the famous sites, before they fly back to New York, in the new edition of Kay Thompson's Eloise in Paris (Simon and Schuster, 2020 ed.) complete with Hilary Knight's timeless illustrations of the illustrious Eloise. These recent new editions bring back the original spoiled little rich girl for proper introduction to a new generation of young readers. For more of the pampered Eloise, see the new edition of Eloise Takes a Bawth (read review here)