Paris and 1st Grade Peer Pressure

Poor DS! On several occasions, she had mentioned that she was the "only one in her 1st grade class that hadn't been to the Eiffel Tower!" We just couldn't allow DS to endure that kind of peer pressure, so we decided we needed to get to Paris - and fast, since our time in Europe is coming to a close and winter is approaching!

We took advantage of a school holiday and left for Paris early on the morning of October 30th. Coincidentally, it was exactly a year ago that we went to France (Disneyland Paris, which is not really in the city...)

As luck would have it, the Eiffel Tower is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year! And in honor of this occasion, a spectacular nightly light show had begun for a limited time.

On October 22nd, the tower premiered its new light show, featuring LED spotlights that illuminate the tower with beautiful lighting and dancing colors, all set to music.

Just three hours from Brussels, we arrived at our hotel just on the outskirts of town, parked our car and took public transportation into the city. After a crowded "commuter" bus ride and two subway transfers later, we finally arrived at the Eiffel tower. The girls were extremely excited to finally see this world famous landmark in person!

Jo and I decided to take the Batto Bus, a hop-on/hop-off boat ride that takes you to many of the famous sites of Paris.



Cruising leisurely along the Seine, it allowed us to see many of the familiar Parisian sites from a slightly different vantage point.



We got off at the Notre Dame and the Champs Elysees (Arc du Triomphe) drop off points for the girls to see these sites in person.

Following a nice dinner on the Champs Elysees, we hurried back to the Eiffel tower to catch the first lightshow. And, although it had just started as we arrived, we were treated to a fantastic spectacle, and hopefully, a memory that the girls will have for a long time to come!

Afterwards, because of the late hour, all of the subway lines we took earlier had finished running, so we had to improvise an alternate way back to the hotel. When we finally arrived back at our hotel, the girls collapsed into a deep slumber.

The following day, we enjoyed a leisurely buffet breakfast at our hotel and decided to make a side trip to Giverny, to see the home of Claude Monet and the gardens that inspired many of his paintings.

It was here where Monet had lived his later years and painted many of his most famous artworks.

The gardens and lily pond that surround the home were his inspiration for many of his famous paintings. And of course, a great backdrop for some family pictures!

What a beautiful place this was!

Soon afterwards, we headed on home and got back in time for dinner and to prepare Jo for her Halloween night out.

At least, now DS can ask if her peers had seen the new Eiffel Tower light show!

Disneyland Paris, Part Trois...

It has been quite some time since we've hit the road and had a little get-away here in Europe (last trip was Amsterdam in December). So, spur-of-the-moment, we decided to make use of our annual passports and spend the weekend at Disneyland Paris!

We decided to start off our first day at Walt Disney Studio's Theme Park. The park was quite small, so after a few shows and a ride on Agrabah's Magic Carpet Ride, we decided to go to Disneyland Paris which we all agreed was much more fun. There was one ride, however, that DS is now tall enough to ride, "Crush's Coaster" at the Studio's which she is anxious to try. However, a 60-minute queue (that means "line" here in Europe) when we were all hungry for lunch made for a family decision to come back and ride it next time.

Although the weather was beautiful -- clear skies and lots' of sunshine -- it was very cold, about 2 degrees celcius! But it was tolerable being bundled up in our warm clothes. We even saw quite a few children and some adults, dressed up in ski attire! Now this is something you don't see at Disneyland California, that's for sure!

The cold weather didn't stop us from having fun at our 3rd trip to the Disney Paris theme parks. In fact, I think the girls could have cared less what the weather was like!

Joyeux Anniversaire (Happy Birthday) to Me!!!

Normally, I prefer my birthday to just pass with as little fanfare as possible. I've had enough of them over the years...



However, this year, I thought what the heck? We ARE in Europe...



So, Jo Ann and I decided to take full advantage of having visiting grandparents/babysitters in the house and took off for a quick overnight birthday celebration to Paris! (they did say they missed the grandkids, didn't they...???)




Jo and I boarded the Thalys high speed train on Sunday morning to start our visit to the "City of Light". The tickets cost about $100/ea and the train takes a little over 1 hour to cover the 300KM distance (180 miles) from Brussels to Paris.

After arrival at Paris' Gare du Nord (North Station), we headed down to the Metro subway to try and decipher the "spaghetti noodle" map of the French subway system. We were lucky to meet a very nice French woman who not only helped us with our ticket purchase, but also happened to be heading the same way...

We got off at Champs-Elysees and walked a few meters to the Paris Marriott (I thought it would be cool to stay at the "Paris Hilton", but alas, we don't have any Hilton points!)

After a quick hotel check-in, it was off to see the city. This was my first time to Paris, but it was a return visit for Jo. We hopped on the City Tour Bus and saw all the biggies - Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral and of course, the Eiffel Tower.

Built for the 1889 World's Fair, the Eiffel Tower was once the tallest tower in the world. Although it no longer holds this title, it is probably the world's most famous structure today. It is amazing to note that the tower was met with much public criticism when first built, and was called an "eyesore". In fact, it was almost demolished in 1909, because the original building permit only allowed it to stand for 20 years.

Today, it stands as the symbol of France and is the most visited tower in the world. And if you look closely at the picture below, you can see that the crowds still line up to enjoy one of the most spectacular views in the city.

I made it a point to stop and see Toyota's showroom display on the Champs-Elysees called Le Rendez Vous Toyota. I wonder if I can write this off now as a "business trip?"

Jo and I always make sure we enjoy the local cuisine wherever we go, and of course, Paris is no exception. We stopped and had a crepe/pancake at a small deli that, although good, was no match for our favorite Belgian waffle at the Grand Place.

We took frequent breaks to have drinks or cappuccinos at the almost endless number of outdoor cafes in Paris. My favorite pastime is to sit across one of Paris' crazy roundabouts and watch the endless parade of cars, taxis, buses, mopeds, bikes and pedestrians all try and avoid each other!

Jo couldn't wait to sample one of her favorite dishes, escargot, while in France. However, no amount of yummy noises she could make would entice me to have one...

Soon enough, it was Monday evening and time to head on back to Brussels and relieve the grandparents from babysitting duty. This trip to Paris was memorable and a lot of fun for us, mainly because we were able to enjoy spending time alone again.

It almost makes having another birthday kinda painless...

Click here for Disneyland Paris: Part 1, Part 2, and Part trois. Click here for A day at Mondial de l'Automobile.