Champs-Elysees Walk

July 24th--Since we didn't see a whole lot of the Champs-Elysees on Tuesday, we decided to go back today. Our first stop was the climb to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. We climbed the 284 steps up to the top where we got a great view of Paris. We clearly weren't as tall as the Eiffel Tower, but had a great view of it along with the Champs-Elysees. After coming back down from the top, we started our walk down the Champs-Elysees. We stopped off at Cafe Romain for a wonderful lunch. We enjoyed sitting outdoors and the weather was a little cooler today. After lunch, Shanda and I went into Guerlain perfume shop where we smelled a lot of different perfumes. Shanda decided on getting a few bottles for Christmas gifts which I thought was an excellent idea. While we were in the perfumerie, it started raining so the guys and kids had to escape into a local mall area. By the time Shanda and I came out of the store, the rain had pretty much stopped and everyone was waiting outside for us. Brent had a 5:00 conference call so we all decided to split up and meet back up at the apartment later. We continued our walk down the Champs-Elysees ending at Place de la Concorde. They were setting up the grandstands and stage for Sunday's final of the Tour de France. We went through the Tuileries Gardens to get to a side street with shops on it. We went inside some shops looking for a Tour de France shirt for Mike. After purchasing his shirt, Abby said that she wanted some hot chocolate. The rain had brought even cooler weather, so her request was very appropriate (even for July). Funny story coming up...Mike has a friend that lived in Paris for a while and had sent us some restaurant recommendations. Well, I had read her list earlier this morning and remembered seeing her mentioning a place that served the best hot chocolate. When I originally read it, I pretty much dismissed the idea because who would want hot chocolate when it's 70/80 degrees outside. But, when Abby mentioned it, I pulled the list out and found the information for Angelina's Tea Room. It said it was on Rue de Rivoli. We looked up and we were actually on Rue de Rivoli. We then found the street number and were only about 3 stores away from it. We looked up and immediately saw the sign for Angelina's Tea Room. So, we were basically standing right at it when Abby made her request. What are the odds? We entered into Angelina's, got a table and placed our order. The hot chocolate came in small pitchers with whipped cream on the side. It was basically melted chocolate, but was really good. We also got a Mont Blanc which is Angelina's famous dessert. It was in the shape of a cupcake, but the base was like a meringue cookie with chocolate icing on top. It was a great end to our day out so we headed back to the apartment on the Metro. Since we had a big lunch and late snack, none of us were hungry; so the rest of the evening was spent with the kids playing and the adults relaxing.

Notre Dame and Louvre

July 23rd--Today was our first day to explore Paris with the Jaye's. We were all anxious to see some major sights today. With 4 adults and 4 kids, we were a little slow to get going this morning, but once we did, we headed to Notre Dame Cathedral. We were immediately greeted by a lot gypsy's outside the church asking if we spoke English. Our standard answer was to shake our heads and say "no". Notre Dame Cathedral is 700 years old and full of history, but with 4 kids, it meant one thing...the search for The Hunchback! After checking the massive facade (and its ornate statuary), we ventured inside. The massive Gothic nave greeted us, along with the start of noon mass. We wandered around the altar and choir and then back out after not finding the Hunchback. We had planned to go up in the tower to look for him, but decided the kids were ready for lunch and we would have to save that for another day. After leaving the church, we walked along the Seine River toward the Louvre. We stopped at a cafe along the way for lunch. We sat outside at the street side cafe enjoying a traditional Paris lunch. Before going into the Louvre, we let the kids play at Tuileries Gardens. We thought it was best to let them burn off some energy before going into a huge museum. The crowds were pretty massive going into the Louvre. Shanda, I and the kids stood in line for the restroom while the men rented strollers. We decided to rent strollers in hopes that it would keep the kids contained during our visit. The strollers were great to have because the museum is really big (understatement) and there was a lot of walking. We navigated our way to the elevator and up to the Greek statues first. From here, we went to see the famous Mona Lisa. I had heard it was a little overrated and I guess it was a little bit. I had envisioned this massive painting of the Mona Lisa, but it's actually quite small. No matter the size though, I'm blessed to be able to say that I've actually seen the Mona Lisa painting. We walked the Grand Gallery admiring works from Italian Renaissance painters. We made our way to the Spanish gallery for Shanda to see some of the Spanish paintings. Shanda is a Spanish teacher and fan of all things Spain. It was fun for us also as we were able to see some of the same artist we first saw in the Prado in Madrid. We ended our visit to the Louvre by heading downstairs to see the Venus de Milo. On our way downstairs, we passed some of the paintings from the medieval times (1200-1500). It was neat to see some of the same alter piece paintings that we saw throughout Italy and be able to point out the evolution of 3D to the Jaye's. Even though we spent a couple of hours in the Louvre, we probably only "saw" about 1/5 of the museum...it is just huge! After our time in the Louvre, we left to go ride the Ferris Wheel. Everybody rode except me, I opted to stay on the ground. From here, it was close to dinner and the kids were tired. We headed back to the apartment to feed and bath the kids. After they were all situated, Mike and Shanda ventured out to go find the adults something for dinner. They came back with a great selection of cheeses, quiches, artichoke hearts and squid. We spent the rest of the night eating, drinking and talking.

Luxemborg Gardens

July 22nd--Lisa, Gabe and the boys left Paris this morning heading back to Stuttgart. So, after helping them get out the door, we got the apartment ready for the Jaye's to arrive later this evening. A little bit before lunchtime, we headed out and walked to Luxembourg Gardens. It is a short walk from our apartment and is a beautiful 60 acre garden. We immediately found the huge children's playground, but first stopped for a quick lunch that we ate in chairs right by the playground. The playground was great, even though we had to pay to get in, because it had lots of equipment and was in a fenced in area. After playing for over 2 hours, we heard a guy ringing a bell. We figured out that he was alerting to the start of a marionette show in the building next door. The show was Three Little Pigs and was in French. So while we did not understand a word of what was going on, it was fun for the kids nonetheless. After the show, we walked further into the gardens where we saw the Luxembourg Palace. We also sit down for a little while and listened to a concert performed by a high school band. Around 6:00, we decided to exit the gardens and headed to the Hard Rock Cafe. Paris' Hard Rock was by far the most crowded one we've experienced throughout Europe, but the food was the same nonetheless. We were also able to sit outside, cafe style, so it had it's on unique Paris feel. After dinner, we quickly headed back to the apartment for baths and bedtime. The Jaye's arrived about 9:00 and we spent the rest of the evening visiting with them.

Champs-Elysees

July 21st--We had a very slow start to the day because first all of everyone slept pretty late and we needed some time to recover from the long day yesterday. I believe it was about 10:00 before we saw Abby's beautiful face this morning. We all took our time getting ready and headed out about 1:30. We decided to take the subway to the Champs-Elysees and find a place to eat lunch. After coming out of the subway, we were immediately greeted by the Arc de Triomphe. We quickly took our pictures and headed down the Champs-Elysees. Our first pick for lunch was unsuccessful because there wasn't enough seats for all of us so we proceeded to the next restaurant. We all enjoyed a wonderful French lunch of quiche, salad, and ham sandwiches while sitting outside on the Champs-Elyssees. After lunch, we continued down the Champs-Elysees going into some stores. Lisa and I visited the Louis Vutton store and then we all spent some time in the Toyota store looking at some of the latest technologies. We made it halfway down the street when all the kids and adults were extremely tired. Mike and I had offered to watch the boys so that Lisa and Gabe could have a night out in Paris. So, at about 4:45, Mike and I took all 4 kids back to the apartment. We navigated successful back to the apartment and arrived about 5:30. We were all really hot at this point. The kids were begging for cold water and ice cream. So, we stopped off to pick those items up. After ice cream, all kids took baths, ate dinner, played and went to bed early. It was a pretty easy babysitting gig for us. We really enjoyed our alone time with our nephews and were thrilled to give Lisa and Gabe a much needed date night.

Disneyland Paris

July 20th--We left the apartment around 8:30 this morning to get on the subway. The subway took us to the RER that took us to the Disneyland Park. It is about 45 minutes outside of Paris. We arrived right at 10:00 and made the short walk to the park entrance. The entrance was overcrowded, but moved quickly. Thank goodness because we had some very excited children with us that could not wait to see Mickey and Minnie Mouse. After going through the entrance, we rented a stroller for Austin and were on our way for the day. As we were walking along Main Street USA, we were lucky enough to see the "Good Morning Parade". So right off the bat the kids saw Goofy, Pluto, Chip & Dale, Mickey and Minnie. It was a great start to the day. We walked down Main Street toward Sleeping Beauty's Castle and immediately into Fantasyland. We quickly made our way to the Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride since that is all Austin and Chance had been talking about. We stood in a fairly short line and quickly went flying with Dumbo. After that, we met up with the Jaye's and went to Peter Pan's flight..."we can fly!" By the time we finished up this ride, it was almost time for our special Cinderella lunch. We had booked the lunch to celebrate Ansley Jaye's 4th birthday. At lunch we were immediately greeted by Cinderella. The girls were in a fantasy world and the boys were so excited to see the "hot" princesses. Our lunch was a set price menu, but with incredible food. Both the kids and adults had an appetizer, main course and dessert with all drinks included as well. During the lunch, we were visited by many characters: Little Mermaid, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Prince Phillip and Cinderella's Mice. I do believe Austin was the most excited though. He barely ate any of his lunch because he had to meet every character that came by. In fact, Lisa took a roll and put some tuna in it so that Austin could have a sandwich, trying to get him to eat something. I asked him if he wanted to take a bite and he looked at it and said "No". I said "Why?" and his answer was "There's something in it." It was too cute and funny! The kids also had autograph books so were able to get all the character's autographs along with pictures. They really made it worthwhile with finishing it up with giving the girls wands and the boys knight helmets. So, off we went with our little princes and princesses to It's a Small World. Luckily, the line was really short and we hopped right on. It was neat for us to go through the ride recognizing so many places we have visited. From here, we walked over to Discovery land where we first rode Autopia. The kids really enjoyed their chance to drive a car. We then gave our try at the Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast and battled it out. We then were going to ride Space Mountain, but the line was too long so we got our Fast Pass to come back at 8:45. From here we contemplated on where to go next so we decided to walk over to Walt Disney Studios Park until we realized at the gate that the only way to take a stroller between parks was to put down a deposit. Well, we weren't going to do that. Since Lisa and Gabe had their own stroller, they decided to go ahead over there and meet back up with us. The Jaye's and us headed into Frontierland where we decided to ride Big Thunder Mountain. After standing in line for about an hour, we finally got on the runaway mine train roller coaster. Now mind you Austin was just tall enough to ride this ride so after it started, I started to think that it was probably a little too scary for him. It was a perfect roller coaster for us adults. When we got off the roller coaster, he said "I didn't 'yike' that ride". By now it was 7:00 and we headed toward the street where the Once Upon a Dream Parade would take place. We stood several people back to enjoy the parade. The kids were on our shoulders most of the time. After the parade, we met back up with Lisa, Gabe and the boys and headed to eat dinner. We ate at Cafe Hyperion in Discoveryland. It was a great choice because it had big screens with old Mickey cartoons on it. So between the cartoons and the Mickey hamburgers, the kids were highly entertained. By now, sitting down was a welcomed break before heading back out for a couple of more hours of fun. Space Mountain was next on our agenda, but the Jaye's decided to say goodbye at this time and exit the park. They had a car and were heading down to the Loire valley for the night. So, it was just 8 of us left. Since the kids couldn't ride Space Mountain, we decided to take advantage of the kid swap program where one couple would stand in line while the other couple watched the kids and then they would be able to come through the exit and get on the next ride. Mike and I went first entering through the Fast Pass line. All I talked about all day long was wanting to ride Space Mountain, but the closer I got to the ride, the more nervous I got. We got on the roller coaster and had to put the shoulder harness down over us. I knew it was going to be one big ride when the roller coaster got up the hill by way of a sling shot effect. (You know how roller coaster's usually make a slow climb up a hill? Well that didn't happen with this one) I'm having a hard time coming up with the words to describe this ride, but it's not the Space Mountain I remember as a child. I guess that's why it's called Mission 2 because this thing flipped us upside down and we did a corkscrew as well. I couldn't scream at all which is probably a good thing because I probably would have thrown up. I was very glad when the ride was over, but was very glad for the experience. Next was Lisa and Gabe's turn...when they finished we headed for Main Street to find our curbside spot for the electrical parade. Luckily this time we had front row seats where we could sit down. Mike stayed with the boys while the rest did a little shopping. I took Abby and Austin with me to pick out a treat from Disney. Abby got a "fancy princess" Minnie Mouse, Austin got Bolt, and I got an ornament. It was successful and back to our curbside seating we went. We all enjoyed the electrical parade. Abby had a good time telling Lisa and me who all the characters were from the many Disney movies. After the parade, we watched the fireworks done to the "Enchanted" music. It was absolutely beautiful! We closed down the park at 11:30 and walked with thousands of our closest friends back to the train station. The train departed about 11:45 and arrived back in Paris about 12:30. All kids were asleep at this point so we managed our way through the Metro station back to the apartment a little before 1:00am. We definitely experienced the "happiest place on earth" today!

Bonjour France Again!

July 19th--Leaving Amsterdam was a little more hectic than our usual experiences. There were 12 people who had to get all their suitcases packed and ready to go while cleaing up the apartment. We luckily got it all done in plenty of time to get to the train station. The Jaye's rented a car to drive to Paris. They are going to do some day trips outside of Paris before coming to the apartment on Wednesday. The rest of us traveled via the fast train to Paris. Mike, Lisa, Gabe, the kids and I all left the apartment a little after 11:00 to get on the tram to take us to the train station. Our train left Amsterdam at 12:26 and the best part was we were all sitting in First Class. The kids enjoyed watching Cars, coloring, eating, and playing the Leapsters. We also had free WiFi on board so we were able to surf the net. We were served lunch in First Class, but it was raw fish (not sushi). We all quickly passed on that and picked around at the remainder food available. It was unbelievable how fast the train moved. It was fairly normal from Amsterdam to Brussels, but once we left Brussels it was moving so fast, it almost made some of us motion sick. We got from Brussels to Paris in an hour, arriving at 4:30. Upon arriving in Paris, we gathered all our luggage, 4 kids and a stroller. We quickly found the Metro station and proceeded to buy our tickets. The metro station was not kid/luggage friendly. You had to go through a gate turnstile that opened and closed after each person went through...and it did not give you much time to pass through. The area was unattended and there was no disabled/wheelchair access. There was a luggage chute to push the luggage through, but our bags were too big. We did finally push the kids through the luggage chute though. We then proceeded to go through with our bags. Mike got our first bag and himself through and then the door closed on him. So I was on the other side with the other bags, plus the 2 bags I was carrying. Luckily a local man used his ticket to get Mike's other bag through and then helped me get through. Of course Lisa and Gabe were trying to get through with a stroller and their suitcase. It was quite an ordeal and absolutely the worst metro entrance that we have encountered anywhere. Once inside, we had to navigate stairs with no escalators or elevators. I don't know how a disabled person would ride the Paris metro. We finally made it through and arrived at our apartment a little after 5:00. We were greeted by Jean, the owner of the apartment. He and his wife and their children live in the apartment when it is not being rented out. So, it's another place that feels like a home; plus there are a lot of toys for the kids to play with. After getting settled in, we left the apartment to get something to eat. Since we had tired kids, we decided on a pizza restaurant close by. Chance was so funny though. He got really upset when we got to the restaurant because he actually thought we were going to Disneyland and didn't understand that that wasn't until tomorrow. He finally calmed down and we all enjoyed pizza. The best part of the apartment is our view. We have a direct shot of the Eiffel Tower. It was very impressive, but even more so when it lit up tonight. Wow!

Rainy day and beautiful night

July 18th--We woke up this morning to a rainy day (sorry folks back in Texas). So, most of us took it fairly easy this morning except for the Jayes. They headed out mid morning for a day of windmills and museums. Around noon, the rest of us walked down the block to the hole in the wall restaurant where we ate the first night. They have wonderful croquettes. So, we all loaded up on some food and brought it back to the apartment to eat since it started raining. After lunch, the boys went down for a nap so Mike stayed back with all the kids for the afternoon. I took Lisa and Gabe out to walk around the town and do some shopping. We took the tram to Leidseplein which is a popular square in Amsterdam. We walked up the street from there toward the Flower Market. We went through many shops along the way and finally found some wooden shoes for Chance and Cole at the very end of the market. By now it was almost 5:00, so we headed back to the apartment. We decided to take advantage of having a nanny so she was coming back tonight at 7:00 tonight. We had plenty of time to get the kids and us ready. Luckily, the rain had moved out during the afternoon and had left a beautiful, cool night. We all left the apartment about 7:30 and headed back to the Leidseplein area. After walking around for a while, we decided on an Italian restaurant that had outdoor seating. The food and company was excellent. After dinner, Mike, Brent, Shanda, and I went back to the apartment while Lisa and Gabe came shortly behind us after looking for a t-shirt for Gabe. We all then stayed up a while talking until we realized how late it was and went to bed.

Heineken Brewery

July 17th--We all hung around the apartment this morning waiting for Brent to arrive in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, by noon, he had not arrived yet so Shanda suggested that we all leave and then they would meet up with us later. So, we got on the tram and went to the City Market. We walked along the street doing a little booth shopping before stopping at the Restaurant Bazaar for lunch. The restaurant served a middle eastern cuisine. We all had a wonderful meal before walking to the Heineken Brewery. The Heineken Brewery offered a wonderful tour. We got to see the process of making the beer, ride Brew U where we felt what it was like to be a bottle of Heineken beer, bottle our own Heineken, and enjoy the Innovation Station. We were actually in the brewery way longer than we had anticipated so we had to rush back to the apartment. We had contacted the nanny of the family we were renting the apartment from to watch the kids for the night. We got back a little after 5:00 and quickly fed and bathed the kids. The nanny, Fiona, arrived about 6:00. We said goodbye to the children around 6:30 to head out for our night without the kiddos. We took the tram to the Dam square, near the Red Light District. We did a little wandering, gawking, and laughing before finding a Mexican food restaurant for dinner. It was "ok" tex-mex...but not great, and definitely not La Hacienda. It was great having some adult time to catch up and share some laughs.