Today was fun. Very kick back. We got up, did breakfast, and headed out to the end of line 1 of the metro to Chateau de Vincennes. It was really fun, and quite big. It was Charles V's castle back in (if I'm remembering correctly) the mid 1300s. His son, Charles VI, also lived there an improved it. It was huge (it was has 1100 meters of wall around it) with a moat around it. There is a nice, cool cathedral there, a neat keep with its own walls and moat, and lots of cool little rooms, etc. Louis the XII (I think) and Louis the XIV (I'm pretty sure) lived there as well, but expanded the living quarters far beyond the existing keep to include more Versailles/Louvre looking and feeling buildings*. Overall, it was fun because it was huge and impressive, but also far less busy than many, or I should say all, of the other places we visited. The kids could run around and yell and not disturb anyone!
*I'm sure there's a much more formal name for that style of building, but it's far beyond my limited knowledge of history and architecture.
After visiting the chateau, we stopped for lunch at an Italian place just outside the gates. It was really tasty food, but slightly confusing to order because the menu was in Italian, with French also in there.
We headed home to relax a bit, swam some, had a bit earlier dinner, and got the kids to bed at a somewhat decent time!
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Winding Down
Yes, our week in Paris is winding down. Tomorrow we need to start thinking about packing and getting ready to head up to Amsterdam.
Today started a bit more kick back. It seems like we're sleeping later and later every day we're here! We had a leisurely breakfast, cleaned up some and then everyone kind of just felt ready to go, so we did (we had previously considered spending the whole morning "in").
The first stop of the day was Sacre Coeur. That was interesting. Cyndie and I had both remembered it having more of a plaza/park around it, but it's largely in the middle of the city. It's at the top of Montmarte, a big hill in the northern part of Paris. We also remembered there being a lot more street performers there. Crazy. The actual church is very impressive. There was a service going on inside as we walked through. Emma commented to me that she really liked the music (it was the normal, I don't even know what the correct term is, "Catholic" singing).
After that we wandered our way to the artist's square. That too we remembered differently. I thought it was much bigger. There sure were a lot of people crammed in there! We had lunch in the square, and then Cyndie had a drawing of Emma and Timmy done! The next stop was a small Salvador Dali museum. It didn't have any of his more famous works, but it was interesting to discuss Surrealism with the kids.
After Montmarte, we headed over to the Arc de Triumphe and jumped on the open top bus for a bit of a tour. We took that down the Champs Elysees and then over by the Eiffel Tower. There we jumped on a Seine river cruise which took us down and around the island on which Notre Dame rests. It was neat to get another, different look at the many famous landmarks and buildings we'd already seen along the Seine. It was also a very different perspective on Paris since, with both the open top bus and the boat, it was 100% tourists and we had previously spent a lot of time with more typical Parisians (on the metro especially). We both decided we were glad that we didn't spend any "money" (because the bus and the boat were part of our Paris Pass) on the two tours. They really were just not hands on enough and, frankly, a little boring. The kids ended up spending most of the boat tour reading!
So that was our day in Paris. Tomorrow we're probably going to hit the pool again and go just outside of Paris to a castle called Vincennes. We may go to Notre Dame for an organ recital too.
Today started a bit more kick back. It seems like we're sleeping later and later every day we're here! We had a leisurely breakfast, cleaned up some and then everyone kind of just felt ready to go, so we did (we had previously considered spending the whole morning "in").
The first stop of the day was Sacre Coeur. That was interesting. Cyndie and I had both remembered it having more of a plaza/park around it, but it's largely in the middle of the city. It's at the top of Montmarte, a big hill in the northern part of Paris. We also remembered there being a lot more street performers there. Crazy. The actual church is very impressive. There was a service going on inside as we walked through. Emma commented to me that she really liked the music (it was the normal, I don't even know what the correct term is, "Catholic" singing).
After that we wandered our way to the artist's square. That too we remembered differently. I thought it was much bigger. There sure were a lot of people crammed in there! We had lunch in the square, and then Cyndie had a drawing of Emma and Timmy done! The next stop was a small Salvador Dali museum. It didn't have any of his more famous works, but it was interesting to discuss Surrealism with the kids.
After Montmarte, we headed over to the Arc de Triumphe and jumped on the open top bus for a bit of a tour. We took that down the Champs Elysees and then over by the Eiffel Tower. There we jumped on a Seine river cruise which took us down and around the island on which Notre Dame rests. It was neat to get another, different look at the many famous landmarks and buildings we'd already seen along the Seine. It was also a very different perspective on Paris since, with both the open top bus and the boat, it was 100% tourists and we had previously spent a lot of time with more typical Parisians (on the metro especially). We both decided we were glad that we didn't spend any "money" (because the bus and the boat were part of our Paris Pass) on the two tours. They really were just not hands on enough and, frankly, a little boring. The kids ended up spending most of the boat tour reading!
So that was our day in Paris. Tomorrow we're probably going to hit the pool again and go just outside of Paris to a castle called Vincennes. We may go to Notre Dame for an organ recital too.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Pictures from the Louvre
Our first entrance to the Louvre, through the pyramid.
The fabled Mona Lisa ("it's smaller than I thought" is a typical quote).
Snack in the Louvre ... espresso, yum!
Sailing model boats just outside the Louvre.
Ice cream in the Jardin du Tuileries
While the Eiffel Tower Sparkles
Yes, I'm sitting here on the patio of our flat watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle. It does that every hour on the hour after dark for five minutes. It's quite neat.
So, it's pretty late, and therefore, I'm going to make this one a short one.
We went to Versailles today. This involved getting train passes to go out to the suburbs (Versailles used to be the hunting lodge for French royalty, and eventually turned into the main palace of Louis the XIVth. Now it's just in the suburbs). Anyway, we had two memorable moments. First was went we got off the Metro at the train station and tried to buy tickets at the automated machine. It had a nice big Visa logo on the machine, but didn't take any credit cards. Nice. Nor did it take "regular" cash. Double nice. Only coins (and we needed almost 20 Euros in tickets). So we walked around and guess what? Banks, or at least all banks, here don't carry coins. They just have ATM machines which dispense cash, not coins. So we ended up buying a bunch of little things at a market and getting the coins we needed. Lame, but memorable!
Versailles was good.* It was very crowded inside. The Hall of Mirrors was outstanding. The gardens were even better. They are just huge, and unending. We walked around some, and then rented a golf cart to explore more. Emma decided that there was going to be a drawing held this year and that the winner would get to live in Versailles (complete with servants) for a year and would get $83 million (which later expanded to $83 million gazillion and then still later "all the money in the world"). She was pretty excited about that.
* The most memorable part of Versailles you ask? Well, let me tell you. That would be when we, not once, but twice, were forced to evacuate the cafeteria because of fire alarms. Crazy.
On the way home we found out another interesting fact regarding France. Restaurants don't open for dinner until 7p. We had walked by an Indian (Indien) restaurant on the way from the train to Versailles, so we returned to have dinner. It didn't open until 7p. It was 5:30p. So we hopped on the train and headed back home (and toward another Indian place we had looked up). We got there at 6:35 p. "Please come back at 7". So we headed across the street to a bakery and had dessert first. Back to the Indian place at 7p. Ate. Headed home with bellies full.
Our other discovery today was these great black out shutters which are helping the kids fall right to sleep tonight!
So, it's pretty late, and therefore, I'm going to make this one a short one.
We went to Versailles today. This involved getting train passes to go out to the suburbs (Versailles used to be the hunting lodge for French royalty, and eventually turned into the main palace of Louis the XIVth. Now it's just in the suburbs). Anyway, we had two memorable moments. First was went we got off the Metro at the train station and tried to buy tickets at the automated machine. It had a nice big Visa logo on the machine, but didn't take any credit cards. Nice. Nor did it take "regular" cash. Double nice. Only coins (and we needed almost 20 Euros in tickets). So we walked around and guess what? Banks, or at least all banks, here don't carry coins. They just have ATM machines which dispense cash, not coins. So we ended up buying a bunch of little things at a market and getting the coins we needed. Lame, but memorable!
Versailles was good.* It was very crowded inside. The Hall of Mirrors was outstanding. The gardens were even better. They are just huge, and unending. We walked around some, and then rented a golf cart to explore more. Emma decided that there was going to be a drawing held this year and that the winner would get to live in Versailles (complete with servants) for a year and would get $83 million (which later expanded to $83 million gazillion and then still later "all the money in the world"). She was pretty excited about that.
* The most memorable part of Versailles you ask? Well, let me tell you. That would be when we, not once, but twice, were forced to evacuate the cafeteria because of fire alarms. Crazy.
On the way home we found out another interesting fact regarding France. Restaurants don't open for dinner until 7p. We had walked by an Indian (Indien) restaurant on the way from the train to Versailles, so we returned to have dinner. It didn't open until 7p. It was 5:30p. So we hopped on the train and headed back home (and toward another Indian place we had looked up). We got there at 6:35 p. "Please come back at 7". So we headed across the street to a bakery and had dessert first. Back to the Indian place at 7p. Ate. Headed home with bellies full.
Our other discovery today was these great black out shutters which are helping the kids fall right to sleep tonight!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Yeah, finally some pictures ...
Here's Tim ... the first thing we did was Notre Dame, the thing he most wanted to see!
Looking like the like each other near the back of Notre Dame where there are flying butresses.
With their new friend Kailyn, the daughter of our friends, at the top of the north tower near a gargoyle.
With Kristin (and baby Natalie).
Cyndie is looking at some pictures from today and her comment was (there are a lot of pictures of the Mona Lisa, at least 8). And I'm guessing that's just from one camera (of the three we're actively using).
The kids stayed up late (until 10p) tonight to see the Eiffel Tower sparkling!
Next up!
Yes, we're about midway through the Paris leg of our journey. Counting today, we've spent three full days touring around plus the part day we were here and zonked out. We have three more full days ahead and a partial day/travel day. It's been great so far!
So, today.
We started by browsing through a farmers market that was on the sidewalk just outside of our flat building. There were many stalls with produce, meat (fish laying out, etc), clothes, etc. It was fun to walk through. I could totally see getting much of my "stuff" at a place like that if I lived in a city like Paris.
The highlight of the day was the Louvre. Man, that is a spectacular place. I had forgotten that it started out as a hugh palace. It's a huge horse shoe (essentially) with this huge courtyard in the middle and even some other big courtyards built into the interior of the building. Of course there's the very famous glass pyramid as well that is a much more modern addition. We saw lots of the biggies (Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, some Michaelango sculptures. And in between those, we saw lots of other paintings as well. There was a pretty neat exhibit in the basement talking about the Louvre as a palace in the middle ages. We also liked the wing that had been restored to look like it had when it was the apartments of Napolean III in the early mid-19th century.
After the Louvre*, we walked out through the big courtyard into the Jardin des Tuileries. It was the first public garden in Paris (1500s) and has a bunch of big fountains/ponds in and amongst the sculptures and trees. The kids enjoyed renting some miniature sailboats at one of the ponds and sailing them around for a half hour or so. It was great for them after having had to walk slowly and sedately around the Louvre.
*Oh, it wasn't right after the Louvre. Immediately after the Louvre we went to McDonalds. How's that for you? We're in Paris and eating McDonalds!?! But we were starved and it was the only obvious restaurant right there and the kids really wanted it. It was fairly similar to the US. But they served beer, there was no sweet tea (peach tea instead), the burgers tasted slightly different, and they had other menu offerings. Cyndie's meal was, get this, a "McBaguette". Hilarious.
After the break sailboating, we headed to the Musee de l' Orangerie ... an impressionist museum. It was great. MUCH smaller than the Louvre, but had MANY more recognizable paintings/artists. Fun.
After that, we were pretty much spent, so headed home.
Observations from the day ....
So, today.
We started by browsing through a farmers market that was on the sidewalk just outside of our flat building. There were many stalls with produce, meat (fish laying out, etc), clothes, etc. It was fun to walk through. I could totally see getting much of my "stuff" at a place like that if I lived in a city like Paris.
The highlight of the day was the Louvre. Man, that is a spectacular place. I had forgotten that it started out as a hugh palace. It's a huge horse shoe (essentially) with this huge courtyard in the middle and even some other big courtyards built into the interior of the building. Of course there's the very famous glass pyramid as well that is a much more modern addition. We saw lots of the biggies (Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, some Michaelango sculptures. And in between those, we saw lots of other paintings as well. There was a pretty neat exhibit in the basement talking about the Louvre as a palace in the middle ages. We also liked the wing that had been restored to look like it had when it was the apartments of Napolean III in the early mid-19th century.
After the Louvre*, we walked out through the big courtyard into the Jardin des Tuileries. It was the first public garden in Paris (1500s) and has a bunch of big fountains/ponds in and amongst the sculptures and trees. The kids enjoyed renting some miniature sailboats at one of the ponds and sailing them around for a half hour or so. It was great for them after having had to walk slowly and sedately around the Louvre.
*Oh, it wasn't right after the Louvre. Immediately after the Louvre we went to McDonalds. How's that for you? We're in Paris and eating McDonalds!?! But we were starved and it was the only obvious restaurant right there and the kids really wanted it. It was fairly similar to the US. But they served beer, there was no sweet tea (peach tea instead), the burgers tasted slightly different, and they had other menu offerings. Cyndie's meal was, get this, a "McBaguette". Hilarious.
After the break sailboating, we headed to the Musee de l' Orangerie ... an impressionist museum. It was great. MUCH smaller than the Louvre, but had MANY more recognizable paintings/artists. Fun.
After that, we were pretty much spent, so headed home.
Observations from the day ....
- I'm not sure if Timmy spends more time looking at art or taking pictures of art. I don't think he feels like he's really experienced the place unless he's taken pictures of 50% or more of it!
- Tim also informed me that there were 22 huge chandeliers in Napoleon III's apartments.
- Emma is the consumate bargain shopper. Every time she sees a gift shop, she's there looking for a deal. I think we've finally helped her understand that it's not always quantity. That sometimes quality counts too!
Tomorrow, Versailles.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Tour Eiffel
So, let's see, I think this is Wednesday? I'm losing track between being on vacation and the travel and everything. But that's a good thing! We had another great day today.
The high light was the Eiffel Tower. Long before we came, we knew that one of the lifts was broken, which meant that they had ceased to sell reserved, pre-visit tickets, which means that there are LONG lines to take the lift up. Fortunately, we hung out with our friends Kristen and Nolan yesterday, and they had been to the tower the day previous to that, and had walked up to the second level with their kids. So we knew that a) you could walk up and b) you could walk up with younger kids. So we decided to do that because the wait was significantly shorter. So we got to the tower around 8:50. The tower opens as 9:30, so we had a little wait, but not bad.* Cool thing #1: we were first in line! So we walked up. It was no problem at all. The total climb (we did two legs; first to the first floor, around 75m, then to the second floor, another 75 or so meters with a total of 600+ stairs) didn't even really work us that bad. It was fun. And Timmy did very well (we had been a bit concerned because he's definitely got some heights issues ... he mostly just stayed to the inside of the stairway which was a bit more shielded from the view). At the second floor (about halfway up the total height), we switched to the lift and rode to the top. It was a slight bit foggy, but not too bad. The only bad thing is the fog really washed out our pictures. Whatever. After spending a little time up there, we went back down to the first level and had some lunch and relaxed a little. It was very nice.
* Side note. The metro rides are not at all bad. We have week long passes, so we don't have to purchase tickets daily, which is nice. Navigating around is really easy. And the trip from our flat to where ever, has been no problem at all ... 10 - 20 minutes, depending upon destination and number of transfers. Yea!
After the Eiffel Tower, we walked through the Tracadero and grabbed a metro up to the Arc de Triumphe. That was fun. We walked under the big 12 lane roundabout to the center, and then up to the top of the Arc. There were great views there, down all twelve boulevards that radiate out from the Arc.
After the Arc de Triumphe, we walked down the Champs Elysees a bit. We stopped for a break at a little cafe, ordered some goodies, and sat in the little chairs/tables on the Champs Elysees and ate our goodies and watched the people. Fun stuff.
Then we hopped on the metro again and went back down near Notre Dame to see the Conciergerie. The Conciergerie is a building that started as a palace and later became a government building and jail. It is the jail that held both Marie Antoinette and Maxmillian Robespierre prior to their executions during the French Revolution. It's supposed to be one of the better examples of secular gothic architecture in Paris. Anyway, the kids thought it was cool because it reminded them of the great hall at Hogwarts (Harry Potter) and because it was a jail.
After that, we were all beat so we headed home for dinner, baths, and bed time.
That's it for now ... from Paris with Love!
The high light was the Eiffel Tower. Long before we came, we knew that one of the lifts was broken, which meant that they had ceased to sell reserved, pre-visit tickets, which means that there are LONG lines to take the lift up. Fortunately, we hung out with our friends Kristen and Nolan yesterday, and they had been to the tower the day previous to that, and had walked up to the second level with their kids. So we knew that a) you could walk up and b) you could walk up with younger kids. So we decided to do that because the wait was significantly shorter. So we got to the tower around 8:50. The tower opens as 9:30, so we had a little wait, but not bad.* Cool thing #1: we were first in line! So we walked up. It was no problem at all. The total climb (we did two legs; first to the first floor, around 75m, then to the second floor, another 75 or so meters with a total of 600+ stairs) didn't even really work us that bad. It was fun. And Timmy did very well (we had been a bit concerned because he's definitely got some heights issues ... he mostly just stayed to the inside of the stairway which was a bit more shielded from the view). At the second floor (about halfway up the total height), we switched to the lift and rode to the top. It was a slight bit foggy, but not too bad. The only bad thing is the fog really washed out our pictures. Whatever. After spending a little time up there, we went back down to the first level and had some lunch and relaxed a little. It was very nice.
* Side note. The metro rides are not at all bad. We have week long passes, so we don't have to purchase tickets daily, which is nice. Navigating around is really easy. And the trip from our flat to where ever, has been no problem at all ... 10 - 20 minutes, depending upon destination and number of transfers. Yea!
After the Eiffel Tower, we walked through the Tracadero and grabbed a metro up to the Arc de Triumphe. That was fun. We walked under the big 12 lane roundabout to the center, and then up to the top of the Arc. There were great views there, down all twelve boulevards that radiate out from the Arc.
After the Arc de Triumphe, we walked down the Champs Elysees a bit. We stopped for a break at a little cafe, ordered some goodies, and sat in the little chairs/tables on the Champs Elysees and ate our goodies and watched the people. Fun stuff.
Then we hopped on the metro again and went back down near Notre Dame to see the Conciergerie. The Conciergerie is a building that started as a palace and later became a government building and jail. It is the jail that held both Marie Antoinette and Maxmillian Robespierre prior to their executions during the French Revolution. It's supposed to be one of the better examples of secular gothic architecture in Paris. Anyway, the kids thought it was cool because it reminded them of the great hall at Hogwarts (Harry Potter) and because it was a jail.
After that, we were all beat so we headed home for dinner, baths, and bed time.
That's it for now ... from Paris with Love!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
That's more like it!
Yep, that's more like it.
We had a great day today. Let's see, what's the scoop. Last night after posting, Emma and I investigated the swimming pool (swim caps and pre-swim showers mandatory), but didn't partake. We came back, and Emma "watched" a Scooby Doo to unwind before bed. I say "watched" because she fell asleep before the show finished. Cyndie was also in bed by this time. I was just wrapping up some reading and thinking of heading to bed when Timmy started stirring (it was around 8:30 p by this time. He'd been asleep since around 4). So I went over there and rubbed his back and tried to get him to go back to sleep. No dice, he was up. So I made him a little dinner, and let him watch a little bit of Scooby Doo. Emma stirred a bit during this time, and talked some random non-sense, but stayed asleep (thankfully). Timmy ended up going to bed fine after the show. Cyndie woke up during this time and was a bit refreshed, so we made some tea, and drank it in bed, looking at the Eiffel Tower as it lit up. It was great!
This morning we got up fairly early, ate some breakfast, and then headed out to Notre Dame. It was very cool. While there we met up with our friends Nolan and Kristen Isaac (friends in Engineering with me at JBU. Cyndie and I came with Kristen to France in 1995 to help her missionary parents with a project) and their three kids. Their oldest, a girl, is Tim's age, so Emma, Tim, and Kailyn played really well together. So we did Notre Dame, Saint Chappell, had lunch in the Spanish Quarter, visited the Jardin du Luxembourg, and hung out together. It was great! We decided by about 4p that everyone was pooped, so we split ways and headed home.
When we were talking at dinner about highlights of the day, I decided that mine was probably going up the towers of Notre Dame, something we had not done last time we came to Paris. Cyndie really liked the stained glass at Saint Chappell. It was a much smaller church, but had a TON of stained glass windows all packed together. It was about 3/5ths through a restoration process, which really highlighted the difference (in clarity and brilliance) between the old and the new. It was pretty cool. Emma liked climbing the little spiral staircases (400 or so steps) in the towers of Notre Dame. It was interesting to see how worn, some as much as a half inch or more, the steps were with use. The cathedral is celebrating 850 years next year. Timmy liked the stained glass and the gargoyles (which we learned are scary creatures who function as rain spouts) and chimeras (which are just general, non-rain spout scary creatures).
So there you have it. Paris, Day 2, just, or mostly, as planned!
We had a great day today. Let's see, what's the scoop. Last night after posting, Emma and I investigated the swimming pool (swim caps and pre-swim showers mandatory), but didn't partake. We came back, and Emma "watched" a Scooby Doo to unwind before bed. I say "watched" because she fell asleep before the show finished. Cyndie was also in bed by this time. I was just wrapping up some reading and thinking of heading to bed when Timmy started stirring (it was around 8:30 p by this time. He'd been asleep since around 4). So I went over there and rubbed his back and tried to get him to go back to sleep. No dice, he was up. So I made him a little dinner, and let him watch a little bit of Scooby Doo. Emma stirred a bit during this time, and talked some random non-sense, but stayed asleep (thankfully). Timmy ended up going to bed fine after the show. Cyndie woke up during this time and was a bit refreshed, so we made some tea, and drank it in bed, looking at the Eiffel Tower as it lit up. It was great!
This morning we got up fairly early, ate some breakfast, and then headed out to Notre Dame. It was very cool. While there we met up with our friends Nolan and Kristen Isaac (friends in Engineering with me at JBU. Cyndie and I came with Kristen to France in 1995 to help her missionary parents with a project) and their three kids. Their oldest, a girl, is Tim's age, so Emma, Tim, and Kailyn played really well together. So we did Notre Dame, Saint Chappell, had lunch in the Spanish Quarter, visited the Jardin du Luxembourg, and hung out together. It was great! We decided by about 4p that everyone was pooped, so we split ways and headed home.
When we were talking at dinner about highlights of the day, I decided that mine was probably going up the towers of Notre Dame, something we had not done last time we came to Paris. Cyndie really liked the stained glass at Saint Chappell. It was a much smaller church, but had a TON of stained glass windows all packed together. It was about 3/5ths through a restoration process, which really highlighted the difference (in clarity and brilliance) between the old and the new. It was pretty cool. Emma liked climbing the little spiral staircases (400 or so steps) in the towers of Notre Dame. It was interesting to see how worn, some as much as a half inch or more, the steps were with use. The cathedral is celebrating 850 years next year. Timmy liked the stained glass and the gargoyles (which we learned are scary creatures who function as rain spouts) and chimeras (which are just general, non-rain spout scary creatures).
So there you have it. Paris, Day 2, just, or mostly, as planned!
Monday, May 7, 2012
Best Laid Plans
Well, right. Best laid plans and all.
Here I am, sitting in the flat blogging again for your reading pleasure. Cyndie and Emma are out hunting for groceries. There's supposed to be a "normal person" grocery store up around the corner, so they are off. The original plan was for all of us to go. However, Timmy hit a wall when we tried to wake him up from his nap on the second flight. He made it back here to the flat okay, but is now zonked out on the couch. So we're hoping to be able to wake him up for dinner and maybe the pool tonight, and then get him back to bed for a normal get up tomorrow. You know, best laid plans and all!
The flat is nice. Cozy. It's very clean, not very big, but with an awesome view. We've already seen the Eiffel Tower as a result of that view. Since I have a little time to kill, here are a couple of pictures I just took ...
Okay, best laid plans and all. For some reason my computer is not acknowledging the SD card from the camera. You're out of luck on the pictures!
Here I am, sitting in the flat blogging again for your reading pleasure. Cyndie and Emma are out hunting for groceries. There's supposed to be a "normal person" grocery store up around the corner, so they are off. The original plan was for all of us to go. However, Timmy hit a wall when we tried to wake him up from his nap on the second flight. He made it back here to the flat okay, but is now zonked out on the couch. So we're hoping to be able to wake him up for dinner and maybe the pool tonight, and then get him back to bed for a normal get up tomorrow. You know, best laid plans and all!
The flat is nice. Cozy. It's very clean, not very big, but with an awesome view. We've already seen the Eiffel Tower as a result of that view. Since I have a little time to kill, here are a couple of pictures I just took ...
Okay, best laid plans and all. For some reason my computer is not acknowledging the SD card from the camera. You're out of luck on the pictures!
Back with a bang!
So here I am, sitting in the Dublin airport waiting for our flight to Paris. The flight over didn't go great. I think Cyndie may have slept an hour, and the kids and I didn't sleep at all. We'll see where that takes us. So far we're doing okay at least. The kids both spent some of their money getting stuff here. Emma a souvenir key chain (she's decided that she's going to get key chains from everywhere she goes and decorate her backpack ... a pretty creative idea if you as me). Tim wanted to get some cookies like he'd had at the Irish lunch at school that they had for St. Patrick's Day. And he found those. So, so far so good! Hopefully we'll all at least cat nap a bit on the second leg (I think it's only about an hour and a half), and then run on adrenalin to get to the flat and get some groceries and get to a fairly decent bed time!
More as it happens ...
More as it happens ...
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