3 April 2014 - On our way to France!
We got onto the train in England at 6:45 and settled in, playing with stickers and pens. Alizalyn was really excited to ride the train again! When we bought the train tickets in January we didn't know that part of the train line would be washed out by winter storms, so we had to take a bus for part of the trip, which made us miss the train connection, but a very nice train attendant helped us jump onto another train headed to London that would get us there in time for our Paris connection. Thank you train lady! You saved our lives!
We finally got to London (train-->bus-->train) but still had to get to a different train station for our Paris connection on the Eurostar, so we rode the Underground across London. (train-->bus-->train-->tube)
This is Kings Cross station in London, the Harry Potter station.
Connected to Kings Cross is St Pancras station, where the international trains depart. We had to go through airport style security and get passport stamps.
Platform 9 3/4 - It's real!
We got on the train in London and got off in Paris at about 5:00 pm! It was a cool idea that we went under the English Channel (in the Chunnel!) but in reality it was pretty boring. It was just like going through a mountain tunnel for like 15 minutes and that was it! The rest of the 2 hour train ride was above ground.
And then we were in Paris!
(train-->bus-->train-->tube-->train-->metro) phew!
Alizalyn had a little bed all to herself, but it was up against ours in our cute bitty Paris hotel. She loved snuggling up to Papa in the mornings!
We enjoyed sampling the local cuisine!
A giant chocolate elephant! A steal at only €250
Beautiful buildings were all that you could see. It is truly one of the most lovely cities in the world.
The Arc de Triomphe. It is actually a massive structure! Paris really surprised us in scale- it is quite a bit bigger than it looks! And yet it feels very intimate and cosy. It was full of people but didn't feel at all crowded, and everything was within walking distance.
The Eiffel Tower! This is when it really became real- we were in Paris.
This is the flame from the Statue of Liberty in NYC.
Ahh Paris...
play this song for a little amience...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I4CgKW5JvQ
Eco friendly Paris on the way to the Eiffel Tower
Puppy loved Paris as well, and Alizalyn did a great job of keeping it safe.
Puppy stayed with her through the entire trip and is safe and sound in her bed again! Pretty impressive for a three year old!
Perfectly square manicured trees.
Ahh, these girls...
We were pleasantly surprised at how child friendly Paris is. There are parks and playgrounds all over the city, and since we were there with a newly-turned-three year old we got to spend time in just about every one of them!
There was a pretty little carousel nearby too. Alizalyn was all giggles.
Sweet ride monsieur!
I told Adam that I wanted to buy this "Cute little pink house" across the way from the Tower. I think we could call it home! :)
The French flag flying above the Grand Palais
And was it Grand!
CHEESE! FROMAGE!
It was difficult to decide where to eat everyday with so many fun little cafes and restarants to choose from. We had lots of good food- confit du canard (duck) beef bourguignon, tender steaks, french fries of course, and crepes to name a few.
The Jardin du Tuileries, a huge and beautiful park on the Seine, had trampolines! Oui oui!
More of the park...
This is the Louvre, the worlds largest museum. At least this is part of the Louvre... it keeps on going!
This is also the Louvre...
and this...
this...
this...
still more...
still the Louvre. The thing is amazing!
Please take a moment to enjoy these roller-blade cops. I thought Paris would take us back in time, but I didn't expect it to be to 1991!
This is "Love Lock" bridge, where you can lock your hearts together forever and throw the key into the Seine.
We went to the city islands, tow massive islands in the centre of Paris in the Seine. Notre Dame cathedral is on one island and lots of restaurants are on the other.
Here are some remnants of the pretty old castles.
Quelle heure est il?
It was really amazing to be here, there was a beautiful catholic service happening and we got to walk through while the children's choir was singing. It was lovely to hear and the incense smelled good :)
This is our only picture of all of us together in Paris, and the whole time we were thinking about the stranger taking it "please don't steal the camera!"
Really amazing, enormous echoing stone building. You can still feel the love that the generations of builders had for what they were creating.
Again, Paris is very child-friendly. This little park is in the cathedral's back yard!
Hi-larious.
We had gelato for Grandpa Taylor's birthday. Sorry we ate it all before we could find a post office to send any to you. We had hazelnut, specula and almond flavours.
The pretty apartments for millionaires.
This is Montmartre, the 'artsy' side of Paris. Tons of booths and shops and people out painting little watercolours.
We accidentally took a really long walking detour and saw the very old part of north Paris on our way to the Sacre Coeur, one of the oldest buildings in the city. It is another very beautiful cathedral. The French sure know how to make 'em!
Yum! French bread is even better in France!
It was really fun to spot the Eiffel Tower from wherever you were in the city. Hard to believe it was built to be temporary, it is such a symbol of Paris now!
oh me oh my, all the pretty macarons! I would eat them all if they weren't €1 a piece! They make them in every flavour you can imagine, the most popular are chocolate and vanilla of course, strawberry and pistachio. We really loved the raspberry and lemon too!
Another one of Paris's great playgrounds!
SNAILS! They were actually delicious! I would eat these anytime.
Alizalyn liked them too! She especially liked playing with the special shell-holdy tongs.
Bon apetite!
And of course she loved her special glacee' chocolat!
And we loved our "Ile flottante" or floating island dessert too!
Strawberry tart on the lawn of the Louvre? Paris, I love you.
Another belle jardin.
T
his one is especially for Sarah Taylor! The flagship store on Champ-Elysees!
The Eiffel Tower has a light on top that shines all over the city at night. And the whole tower is covered with lights that sparkle and make patterns. It is pretty spectacular.
We found it! (But we made sure to look during the day! :)
Notre Dame in the background, the sound of bells in the air.
For Josh Taylor! They like them in France too!
We finally made it inside the Louvre. It is a huge and intimidating museum! Plus we wanted Alizalyn to be asleep...
The most famous lady in the world lives in Paris. We got to spend a little time with her.
Where's Waldo Adam?
We also got to visit one of the most beautiful women in the world.
After an AMAZING time in Paris we got on a train again, this time to the south of France. Here are the pre-Alps!
This is Nice, on the southern coast. It is still very French but also really beachy! Such a fun mix. The weather was great- just what we needed on a holiday away from rainy England.
We spent the afternoon on the beach in Nice and then we rented a car to drive into the Alps du Maritime to the village of Seillans. Alizalyn was happy to see that the rental car had her favorite colour chair ready for her!
Seillans is a very old village, and very pretty. It was cool and dry in the mountains, and felt very Mediterranean.
There was always fun stuff to do!
France is very very beautiful. We will always love the time we spent here.
The buildings are all old and tall, and built right up the side of the hills with tiny lanes between them.
This is the lovely villa that we stayed in, hosted by Ann, Adam's classmate Emma's mother. It is a pleasant and pretty villa, with lots of space and sunshine- and it is rentable ;) but likely completely booked for 2014. We were there to work in the gardens and get the grounds ready for the summer rentals.
Mmmm french ice cream... so good!
An ancient aqua-duct or a swimming pool? Alizalyn don't care!
The "TEAM"
One day we visited Lac de Saint-Cassien and had a picnic of foods from the morning market in Seillans. We rented a peddle boat!
Macarons again. So many pretty little cookies.
Alizalyn was worn out every day! Here she is catching some car trip zzz's.
On our last day in France we visited Cannes and Nice again. Cannes is really beautiful, no wonder they have the famous film festival there! Maybe someday we will go...
12 April - Time to go home to England
We flew home out of the Nice airport. It was a really pleasant flight over France and the English channel. What an amazing trip and a great opportunity to see and try so many new things. In all we spent 10 days away and rode the train-->bus-->train-->tube-->train-->metro-->bullet train-->rental car-->airplane-->bus-->train--> and were finally home.
Alizalyn likes to fly!
We landed in Bristol UK, and after we got across town we waited for a few hours at the train station for our ride home. Alizalyn had some good old English comfort food, beans and chips. Jolly good!
