Paris- Days 1 & 2

Ahhhh...Paris. What an incredible city. I have so much to write about... I hope I don't bore you. And, we took a little over 200 pictures while we were there. I'll try to limit the blog to just the best ones.

Anyway, we took a train last Thursday from a local city called Leeds to London, and then the speed train from London to Paris. Besides having trouble figuring out what our tickets meant (they gave us 6 tickets, but only 3 reserved seats!??), everything went pretty smoothly. When we got to Paris, we took the Metro to our apartment.

Stepping out of the Metro station was a great feeling, not only because we were just minutes away from getting rid of our luggage, but because when we looked up, we could actually see the top of the Eiffel Tower. Wow! It was so cool.

We rented an apartment through an American company I found online called Vacations in Paris. Their rates seemed to be cheaper than the hotels, and we were excited to be on our own. The apartment was small... one bedroom, living area with a sleeper sofa for the kids, teeny kitchen, and a bathroom I could hardly turn sideways in. But, it worked out great, AND it was in an incredible area.

Once we settled in, we went hunting for dinner. We quickly learned that our American dollar wasn't going to go far here. We ate at a small restaurant called "Le Petit Cler." Fortunately, we had a waitress who spoke perfect English. Unfortunately, Maddie was in melt-down mode. She was flopping under the table, being loud, you name it. I was starting to question our decision to bring the kids, and was nearing melt-down mode, myself. But, after a nice steak and omelet dinner, followed by an incredible chocolate sorbet, we were all feeling much better. Also, as we were walking back from dinner, we were able to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle, which it only does on the hour at night. It was great.

Day 2- Friday, Our 10th Anniversary

We slept in a little on Friday, and then Tim and I got dressed and found the closest "Patissier" (pastry shop). We had fun practicing our French, requesting "un croissant, du pan a chocolat (croissant with chocolate in it), et un this one (something with little chocolate chips, or "petit chocolat"). Merci boquet!" Eating that pan a chocolat was a great way to start my day!

• The street that our apartment was on. We couldn't get over how quiet it was!
  

We decided to start our vacation by heading to the Eiffel Tower. It was only a 15 minute walk from our apartment! Here are some of our best shots. (Note: We tried to get a nice family shot, but Maddie, in perfect Maddie fashion and timing, refused to look at the camera. So, we have a nice shot of 3 of us, and Maddie's backside.)We spent a little while admiring the Eiffel Tower, and sizing-up the lines to go up it. It looked like a long wait, so we decided to skip going up, and instead, we walked along the River Seine, made reservations for dinner, and then found some lunch.

After a much-needed nap that afternoon, we walked in the other direction from our apartment towards the Hotel des Invalides (less than 10 minutes from our apartment). The Hotel des Invalides was built in the late 1600s by King Loius XIV for wounded and homeless veterans. It was really majestic. But what the kids loved most was climbing on all of the centuries-old cannons.

• I thought this was cool. These are the windows along the top-- they look like knights!
  

Housed just behind the Invalides was the Dome Church containing Napolean's Tomb. Wow! They really pulled out all the stops for Napolean! We didn't feel like spending the time (or money) going in, but here are some shots of it.After our tour of the Invalides, it was time to go back to the apartment and get ready for our anniversary dinner. Ina had recommended a place that she loved for us to go to called, Au Bon Accueil. It has an incredible view of the Eiffel Tower from its terrace, and great food too! Again, we were so grateful to have a waiter who spoke English. He translated the menu for us, and we dined on cold potato soup, salad with parmesan and walnuts, lobster risotto, steak, and white tuna. It was delicious, and fun to try some new things. We finished up with an assortment of three desserts, passing plates, and practically licking them when we were done. Perhaps the best part of our dinner was that the kids actually behaved themselves, and had fun practicing their French... "Merci boquet!"

• Here is a shot that Tim took of Ethan and I at our 10th anniversary dinner.

We finished up our day by taking another stroll near the Eiffel Tower to see it at night. And, again, we got to see it sparkle. A great end to a very special anniversary.