Early Life

Chanel was born on August 19, 1883. She was the second daughter of traveling salesman Albert Chanel and Jeanne Devolle in the small city of Saumur, Maine-et-Loire. Coco was born in a poorhouse. Her birth was recorded the following day. Two employees of the hospice went to city hall and declared the child female. The hospice employees were illiterate, so when the mayor François Poitu wrote down the birth, no one knew how to spell Chanel so the mayor improvised and recorded it with an "s," making it Chasnel. This misspelling made the tracing of her roots almost impossible for biographers when Chanel later rose to prominence.

Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece the "Mona Lisa" was attacked with a mug earlier this month, but the world's most famous painting -- protected by thick glass -- emerged with its enigmatic smile undimmed.

French police say a woman "not in her senses" lobbed the mug at the 500-year-old painting, which hangs in the Louvre gallery in Paris.

So you’ve decided to take the big plunge:  take the kids to Paris.  You can’t wait any more.  Life is short.  Who knows what next year will hold.  After all, there are children living in Paris, right?  Right.  But now comes the hard part:  keeping the children entertained while visiting the most beautiful city in the world.  We have reviewed a few books to help you optimize your time in Paris with little ones.

So you’ve decided to take the big plunge:  take the kids to Paris.  You can’t wait any more.  Life is short.  Who knows what next year will hold.  After all, there are children living in Paris, right?  Right.  But now comes the hard part:  keeping the children entertained while visiting the most beautiful city in the world.  We have reviewed a few books to help you optimize your time in Paris with little ones.