Paris - Part Deux

Since we are having a slow week at Chateau Leveille due to EOG testing, I thought I would finish up the Paris trip.  First I will have to re-read what I have already posted!

OK, now that I am refreshed, let me continue!

On Saturday, we decided to drive to Versailles.  WOW.  What a palace.  The gates are made of gold (and many other things as well)!  We toured around the inside of the palace that was built by Louis the XIV We saw the hall of mirrors, the gardens, and a whole lot of expensive stuff.  Sorry I can't be more descriptive, I'll have to let the pictures do my talking for me.  After, we had lunch at a little Italian cafe and then headed back to the hotel.

We all needed a nap, due to the pace at which we went the day before.

We decided to head back into Paris that evening to see the one monument we had not yet been to, The Arc de Triomphe.  We took the subway, and even though I had done my research and knew we needed to get off at the Charles de Gaule station, I allowed myself to be doubted and John talked me into getting off at a stop further down the line.  We then had to walk about 8 blocks back to the the Arc.  The Champs E'Lysee was crowed with tourists, it was hot, and we wore ourselves out.  When we made it to the Arc, I looked to my right and directly next to it was the subway station we should have gotten off at.  At this point, I just laughed...We sat down on a bench and took a needed rest.  We were all extremely burnt out at this point.  We walked around a bit and tried to find a place to have dinner but all the restaurants were crowded.  We decided to head back to La Defense and have dinner there.

We had a lovely evening just strolling around our own little part of Paris.  I highly recommend staying a little outside the city.  It's less touristy and much quieter. 

Paris is a very busy place.  We had less crowds on Friday so a trip during the week is probably better if you don't like being stuck in lines and walking through lots of people.  If you would rather stay in Paris center, choose a small, family run hotel.  They really do give the best service and are very helpful.  We have stayed in two such hotels, the one in Paris and one in Venice.  They have been the most memorable.  They are usually older buildings that have been converted into hotels and are very charming.  You don't need to know too much of the language, many Parisiens speak some or very good English.  It is helpful to study the subway system before you go, we did not do this and it is more complicated than the one in London or even New York for that matter.

I will be returning to Paris at some point in my life.  I will take things a lot slower next time and soak in the atmosphere by sitting in sidewalk cafes and watching more than doing!

I hope you enjoy the pics
Cheers or should I say Au'revoir!

Haifisch!

I know absolutely no German!  I did ok in France and Italy with the little of the language I knew but Germany was a whole different story.  Luckily, we had wonderful hosts and tour guides that translated for us.  A running joke between the families was the word haifisch which is German for shark.  It is pronounced hi fish.  So, we would greet each other with hi fish and giggle.  It took on it's own life and we even started saying bye fish!

A little background: When Kimberly was 3 and went to preschool, we met a wonderful family from Germany that was living in Raleigh.  Kim and Emma were in the same class and became very good friends.  Our families started spending time together and we formed a wonderful relationship.  After Evie was born, Herman and Sabine had to head back to Germany with their family for Herman's job.  We didn't see them for 7 years though we kept in contact by email and the occasional Christmas card.  Last summer they came back to the states for a visit and they contacted us.  We had a wonderful evening at our home in Apex.  When they left, we really thought it would be many years before we would see them again.  When we found out we were coming to England, we contacted the Schaffers and asked if we could come for a visit.  They graciously accepted and opened their home to us for our visit.  Now that you are caught up, I'll continue with the blog!

We arrived in the small German town of Ettlingen, in the south of Germany, on Thursday evening.  We drove from England and took the Chunnel (the tunnel that goes under the channel) back to France.  We then proceeded to drive through France, Belgium, a little bit of the Netherlands, and Germany.  It was a very long drive for John since he is the only that can drive, the kids and I didn't mind it so much!

On Friday we drove into Stroussburg, which is right over the border of Germany into France.  It is in the Alsace region and the culture is very much German inspired.  We took a tour through the city on a boat to see all of the history and beautiful architecture.   Stroussburg is the home of the European Parliament which was pretty cool, although Parliament was not in session at the time.  We had a cafe au lait in an outdoor cafe and strolled along the cobblestone streets peeking into the shops and tasting the local fare.  After picking up a few souveniers, we headed back to Ettlingen.

Saturday was little more laid back.  We walked into town center to the farmer's market.  We bought fruits and vegetables and a little meat to have for dinner that night.  We feasted on the best pretzels I have ever had, played in the local park, and finished off with an ice cream before heading back.  We spent the afternoon playing games and talking and of course having a beer or two outside on the patio.  Dinner was fantastic.  We each cooked our own little meal over an open stove that was set up outside.  The kids had a great time and I was proud to see them try things they had never had before.  Jack however, made a meal out of bread and strawberries, which is not unusual even in the states!

Sunday was Easter, and the kids had a candy hunt out in the yard.  After breakfast, we headed to the Black Forest for a day out in nature and lots of fun.  We toured some old farm houses that had been homes to locals that had lived in the forest a long time ago.  The houses had all been moved to one location to create sort of a museum.  It was amazing to see how folks lived back then.  After, we headed towards a favorite destination of the Schaffer children, Barefoot Park!  We took off our shoes and proceeded through trails of mulch, stones, pebbles, sand, seashells, a freezing pond, and some mud!
OUCH!!!!!!!

My favorite part of Sunday was dinner!  We stopped at a local restaurant for dinner and I had SCHNITZEL!!!!!!  If you hadn't guessed, I LOVE SCHNITZEL!!!!!!!  It was the perfect way to end our visit to Germany.  I also left with an affinity to certain kinds of beer!

The Schaffer family is heading to Edinburgh in June and we are hoping they will make a detour to the south of England sometime during their trip!  If not, we definitely plan on seeing them again, even if we have to make the sacrifice of traveling back to Germany!

Enjoy the photos, the Schaffer children in order from oldest to youngest are Emma, Karla, and Emile.

Cheers! and Bye Fish!

An Unexpected Visit

I know this blog was supposed to finish the Paris trip, but I need to move on for now.  I will return to Paris later, during a week when there isn't much going on.

Joey left on Monday the 11th of April.  On Tuesday, we found out that Chris wanted to bring Jake over for a visit for his birthday.  We decided not to tell the kids and surprise them with a visit from their favorite person in the whole world!  He arrived on Saturday and the children were in a state of bliss for  five days. 

John took Chris and the kids to Stonehenge Saturday afternoon.  Our running joke now that John has been there 3 times is, upon their return I ask, "How was Stonehenge?  Is it still there?" 

We went into London on Sunday, the movies Monday and back to Windsor Castle (third time) on Tuesday.  We met the McDermott's for dinner on Tuesday and then Jake and Chris headed back to the states on Wednesday.  WHEW!

However, we do not seem capable of staying in one place, let alone one country for long.  We packed up the car on Thursday to go to Germany to visit dear friends that we met when they were living in Raleigh.  (More on that trip later.)


Here are pics of Jake's visit, hope you enjoy them.  Notice the look of extreme happiness on all the kids faces, priceless!

Cheers!

Black is the New England

I made an observation the other day as I was walking through Reading. Everyone around me was wearing black or gray (grey? ...whatev). At first I thought I was imagining it. Then I started really looking for someone with some color in their clothing. It became almost comical in my mind, "OK, the next guy I see when I round this corner will be wearing ... nope it's gray."

At one point I crossed this open shopping street where I could see about 100 people at a glance. There ... amidst the grayscale crowd ... a pink jumper (that's hoodie or sweatshirt to you colonials). I laughed. She reminded me of that scene in Schindler's List where they colorized the one little girl. It was quite strange.

Sure, there are jeans, lots of them, and they are blue. But I am serious when I say that you can leave the house and never see a green shirt or a red coat on anybody. Just forget about chartreuse, turquoise, or whatever the heck aubergine is -- they didn't make it through customs.

J'Adore Paris!

Yes, it is easy to love Paris!  I think the best part of being in a different country is letting the culture soak in slowly.  Unfortunately, our trip to Paris wasn't slow or laid back.  We tried to hit the highlights in two days and wore ourselves out!

Thursday morning we packed up the car with me, John, Kim, Jack, Evie and Uncle Joey and headed to Dover to catch the ferry to Calais.  It is a 2 hour drive to Dover through beautiful English countryside.  We arrived in Dover about 1:00 and got right onto the ferry, we were a little early so we were able to take an earlier ferry (insert song from School House Rock here).  Of course the bonus of going this route was seeing the White Cliffs of Dover!

It takes about an hour to cross the English Channel at this point.  There are many different areas where you can cross the channel, but this one is the cheapest!  We had some lunch on the ferry and before we knew it, we were in France!

Poor John, he had to drive a right sided car on the right side of the road!  He had to keep telling himself to stay on the right!  Of course, all the signs were in French so I had to dust off the high school French classes and put them to use.  We were able to get on the correct highway to Paris and headed south to our destination.  Purchasing the software for the Garmin was also a good investment!  We have maps for not only England but all of Europe! Yeah John!

It was about a 2 and a half hour drive to Paris and we arrived around dinner time.  We checked into our hotel which was absolutely the best part of the whole trip.  We stayed in La Defense which is actually the business district for Paris.  It is a bit outside the city and away from the crowds and the hustle and bustle.  We had dinner at a local Italian restaurant and then back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.  John and I had our own room with the 3 kids across the hall and Joey a couple doors down.  It was heaven.  The concierge at the front desk, Oliver, was fantastic. He spoke very good English and constantly asked if everything was to our satisfaction.  In the morning, we went downstairs to breakfast, which was included in price of the room, and ordered a cafe au lait.  There were croissants and ham, bacon and eggs, cereal and yogurt, it was delicious.  We parked the car in a parking deck a few blocks away and headed off on foot to the metro station to take us into Paris!

Five stops and one change of trains and we arrived at the La Tour Eiffel!  (it was extremely easy to get there, don't be fooled by having to change trains, it was very easy!)

The Eiffel Tower is magnificent.  We bought tickets to the top and started our assent up, up, up!  You have to stop at the second floor and get on a different elevator to the top.  Could not believe the view.  It was a bit cloudy but not too cold and we spent about a half an hour just looking out over the city of Paris.  When the top started to get really crowded, it was time for me to head back down.  I make no secret of my issue with crowds, hate them with a passion!  I started to feel claustrophobic and knew it was time to go!

Once back on land, we decided to take a boat cruise down the Seine.  It was one where you could get off and back on again at different points.  We knew we wanted to see the Louvre next and riding down the Seine was a relaxing and beautiful way to get there.  The Louvre is massive!  The kids get in free so that was a plus.  Highlights of the Louvre;  The Mona Lisa, Venus di Milo, the Coronation of Napoleon, Saint Michael Overwhelming the Demon by Raphael, and a few paintings by Carpaccio that are worth seeing while there.  The best thing to do is list your must sees and go on a big scavenger hunt.  One could spend the whole day there and not see what you're looking for, it is that big!

After the Louvre, we walked back across the Seine to take the boat to our next stop which was Notre Dame.  Another beautiful church and we were able to take pictures this time!  We were there in time for Mass, but the children were tired and cranky so we decided it best to head out. 

We hopped back on the metro for La Defense and back to the hotel.  Oliver, our friend and concierge recommended a nice restaurant for dinner.  The meal was very good and the wine was even better.  John and I had a bottle between the two of us plus a glass of champagne when we sat down.  I basically ran back to the hotel to fall into bed!  I was so tired! 

So, that was our first day in Paris.  I'll add some pictures here and stop for now.  I will hopefully post our morning at Versailles and our long stroll up the Champs Elysee in my next post!

Cheers!