Paris, France

On Thursday we decided to take it easy and get all our ducks in a row for Christmas. I took the family to the mall. I use the term mall very loosely. It is essentially a row of stores that are covered so if it rains you don’t get soaked until you try to get back to your car. Don’t get me wrong…I am grateful for the opportunity to shop even if it isn’t a mall by US standards. Trust me, I still found a way to spend my money.

Thursday was our big trip to Paris. When Matt and I went to buy the tickets at the train station she had a few special tickets left. Since we were taking kids on the train, it was cheaper for us the buy kinderspecial tickets for 1st class than it was for us the travel 2nd class. We had great seats all together (except for Helmut who was fogged in at the London airport and couldn’t buy his ticket until the last minute for fear he would never make it back to Holland). We made a few stops along the way, but we never had to change trains which made the whole trip hassle free.

We arrived at the train station and had to figure out how to buy a Metro ticket to our hotel. Nothing was in English and we could not find our Metro stop on the map (I am pretty sure Helmut thought I had made the stop up and was not happy about it). Matt, Helmut and I were walking all over the train station trying to figure it out while Mom, Dad and Maria were trying to keep the kids from going crazy. The train station was full of people and I had my first rude Frenchie experience. I accidentally walked right into a guy and he just stood there and stared (about three inches from my face) at me as if it was my entire fault. I did not back down, I held his stare until he walked away and then tripped his roller bag for good measure.

We did find our Metro stop with the help of a nicer French woman and arrived at our hotel after a quick tram ride. We set out for the Eiffel Tower. Due to a political protest of some sort, the line to go up the tower was relatively short. We waited in line about half an hour and then took the elevator up to the top. It was SO COLD! I could not stand the motion of the tower swaying back and forth and could only stay at the top for a few minutes. We went down to the 2nd level and looked around some more before we went back down. By the time we came down the sun had set and the tower was lit up. As we walked away from the tower, the small lights started to flash. It was one of the prettiest sights I have seen.

The next morning we woke up and ate at a delicious bakery for breakfast. We walked down to the Champs Elyse and the Arc de Triumphe. Maria and I went into the Louis Vuitton store but when I couldn’t find a purse for less than 600 euros, I realized I am more of a Coach Outlet kind of girl. Sadly the only shops we bought anything at were the Disney Store and the Gap. I know, how pathetic. There are no Gaps here in Holland and it was a sight for sore eyes. Judge if you want, I don’t care.

After a quick lunch, we headed for The Louvre. I did not realize what an enormous museum it is. There is no way you can see the whole thing in one day. I would venture to say you would need at least four days to be able to see it all. Sam was not into it and that hindered my perusing quite a bit. I hit the high points…Mona Lisa, Venus di Milo, Napoleon apartment, etc. It was pretty amazing and I would like to go back some time.

We had a great time and Paris ended up being all that I expected it to be. I wouldn’t say that traveling there with all the kids in tow made it feel like the “city of love” but I loved it all the same.