Cheerio & Au Revoir

It's hard to put into words how much I loved this family trip we took with the kids. I loved almost every aspect of it (minus having to pay for it); from planning it for 8 months, to actually experiencing it all, and now reflecting back on it.  I'm not sure why but the memories seem to be the sweetest part and that's when I feel like every penny was worth it.  I'm glad we waited to take them until Sydney was a little older.  Luckily Mike loves exploring new places and cultures as much as I do and sharing that with our kids brings me a lot of joy! 

 London

When we first arrived in London after taking the Red Eye and getting hardly any sleep, we boarded the tube with all of our luggage and then had to walk a few blocks to our flat, ready to collapse, only to find it wouldn't be ready for another hour. The porter was an unsavory gentleman who didn't seem to like us much and was very unhelpful.  Luckily we found a Starbucks across the street so we went inside and waited.  Jackson laid out on a bench and took a nap while the rest of us drank some hot chocolate and tried to keep our eyes open.  After finally getting into our place and taking a much-needed nap, we took off to Leicester Square and took in some of the sights and sounds of London. We were still so exhausted we ended up grabbing dinner and heading back to our flat to sleep!  

The Tower of London/Tower Bridge

The next day we felt energized and ready to take on the city.  The Tower of London was one of our favorite sites the first time Mike and I came to London, so we took the kids there first.  We were lucky to get such a spectacular Beef Eater for our guide.  He kept it interesting for the kids and called out Jackson for chewing gum and said he must be from America.  ha ha The history in that place is amazing!  Then we braved walking over the glass floor in Tower Bridge, in fact, we were so brave we laid on it and took selfies. 

  

Westminster/Big Ben

Luckily we made it to Westminster just before it was closing.  That place never disappoints. We're so glad we made it there because the next day was when the terrorist attack happened and everything was closed.  This photo below is the exact place where the man who plowed down the pedestrians was killed after he had stabbed a police officer. We were there 24 hours before.  A little spooky! We ended the day at Proper Burgers right by our flat.  It tasted soooo good after a long day of site seeing! 

Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studios 

The next day we ventured out of town to see the magical movie set of Harry Potter.  The kids argued and debated over who is the biggest Harry Potter fan.  They quizzed each other as we stood in line and I think we decided Paige won, although Jackson would probably disagree.  We all loved it, but it was a little disappointing for them because they realized the magic wasn't real.  It was all fake and Hollywoodized.  But most of them said this was their favorite thing we did.

Windsor Castle (Eton)

Our last day in London we set off for Windsor Castle.  This was a first for all of us.  Jackson got really sick and threw up right before we were going to leave so he stayed behind at the flat, which is where he wanted to be that day anyway.  I loved seeing this place!   It made Mike and I want to come back again to see more of the countryside in England. It was fun being with the girls and seeing them interact with each other. 

Les Miserables

Our last night in London we dined at the Spaghetti House and then saw a production of Les Mis.  It was so good, like always, and I think we made everyone a fan of it except for maybe Jackson.  He just doesn't have the patience for them singing every word.  But by the end, he said it was "pretty good", which means it was amazing coming from him.  

PARIS

The next morning we took the Eurostar train from London to Paris via the "Chunnel."  It was such a nice train and made me want to come back to Europe and see other cities by train.  We got our first taste of Paris on the metro when Jackson had his iPhone stolen in the first 10 min.  Apparently, they have a lot of pickpockets there and we looked like sitting ducks, aka, dumb tourists with all of our luggage and looks of confusion on our faces.  But we didn't have a lot of time to spare so once we figured out where we were going we dropped our bags off at our apartment (which was much nicer than our London flat and right next to the Eiffel Tower) and took off to the Orsay and Louvre.  They are both incredible museums.  I didn't get to spend near the amount of time I would have wanted to in either place, but we vowed we wouldn't overwhelm the kids with art and museums so we kept it short.  

Versailles

We took off to Versailles the next morning, excited to see this place that so many people told us we shouldn't miss.  McKell just wasn't feeling like waking up early so she stayed behind.  We made sure to find a bakery so we could get some famous French food.  I was left to the task of ordering in French all of our pastries: chocolate croissants, quiche, and macaroons.  I kind of think it's fun to try and speak another language and I did better this time than my first attempt years ago in Southern France.  It was soooo good!  Our only regret was we didn't have time to find more.  As we approached Versailles we noticed the humongous line of people out front.  When we found out the wait was 3 hours we kindly took ourselves out of line and went to the gardens!! We were a little disappointed that there were no flowers or fountains there either.  If it weren't for our amazing pastries it would have been a bust.  But the layout and massiveness of the place is impressive.

 

 The Seine and Notre Dame

One of my favorite things in Paris was our boat ride on the Seine.  I really think that without seeing Paris from the river you haven't really seen it.  Notre Dame is also an amazing site.  We just didn't have enough time here, but I'm sure we will be back.  We decided the food in Paris was better than London, but the transportation and language barrier made London most of the family's favorite spot. I'm still undecided because I feel like we didn't get to see all of Paris.  It was too quick of a trip.

 

  

 Eiffel Tower

Our last spot was going to the top of the Eiffel Tower.  I didn't tell Mike that I bought tickets to the top.  He wasn't too excited when he realized we were going to the summit.  He has a real fear of heights so the kids were talking him "off the cliff" on the elevator ride up.  There isn't a lot of solid building to the Eiffel tower, it kind of looks like an erector set,  and when we got to the top it was really windy, so it was a little unnerving for him. But I was proud of him for doing it.  I told him we can't come all the way to Paris and not go to the top!