My family returned from Amsterdam on Tuesday. I was still in Ireland, so David entertained everyone without me (again). Grandma and Papa had done France and Italy with us ten years ago during our first big family trip, so on Wednesday they left to get back to Minnesota. I was so glad they were able to come all the way here to visit us and see England and the Netherlands. We’ll see you again at Christmas!
On Wednesday afternoon my parents and Carrie and Elizabeth went to Abbey Road to try to recreate the famous Beatles zebra-crossing pic. The picture didn’t turn out so great (probably because there were no Asians around to take it) but they had fun trying! Then they headed to Trafalgar Sq. and the National Gallery and made their final stop at the British Museum.
A quick side note about this trip for the girls – this was a marathon for them! They had to learn how to function and physically walk miles and miles a day on less than ten hours of sleep. See, during the summers they’re used to sleeping in until noon and hanging out in the pool all afternoon. So waking up around 10AM was considered early for them. Oh, to be young again!
So on Thursday, my dad decided to let all the ladies sleep in while he ventured to Wimbledon. David and I have not been to Wimbledon (yet!) but we didn’t have high hopes for him getting tickets. And standing around in the rain for hours with thousands of other people didn’t sound like very much fun… which shows how little we know!
By some miracle it DID NOT rain on Thursday and it turns out the Wimbledon line itself is an experience. When Dad arrived they told him he was number 2,000-something in line. Yet people had brought champagne, picnic baskets, and of course the signature dish of Wimbledon – strawberries with cream. Everyone socializes and relaxes in the grass until the gates open at noon. So Dad bought a book on the event to keep himself occupied and even made some new friends!
A small section of the queue at Wimbledon
And at noon, even though there were over 2,000 people in line in front of him, Dad still managed to get in! So for a 20 pound ticket, he had access to the lower-level women’s matches and the grounds for the remainder of the day.
Watching a match - LIVE!
But the best part is that after the first match was over and he was heading out to meet back up with my mom and the girls, an official stopped him to ask if he was a single. He said yes, so the official let him know they had one seat available for the Venus Williams match in center court.
“That’s great, but I’ve got to take my wife and kids to the movies. Thanks anyway!”
I AM NOT KIDDING.
Dad GAVE UP a priceless Venus Williams center-court Wimbledon ticket to take his family to Pirates of the Caribbean. But at least now he can say he went to Wimbledon and watched a match…. I guess.
I got back from Ireland on Thursday night and much like a couple of weeks before, dumped out my suitcase full of work clothes and repacked with fun vacation clothes. And now you can better understand why I need to make packing lists!
We all rolled out of bed a few hours later at 3:30 in the morning for our early Eurostar train to Paris!
Even though David and I live in London and had to been to Paris just a few weeks before, we love seeing each of these places over and over again through our guest’s eyes, especially the ones that have never been to Europe before.
Elizabeth and Carrie were constantly cracking us up with their naivety. For example, the first time we got on the tube Elizabeth asked, “So is this the Eurostar?” Oh boy! But don’t worry, she was an expert by the time she left! Another evening, we had taco night. Part of the meal consisted of salsa, queso, and seasonings all brought back from the states. When the girls found out you can’t get these foods in Europe, or other staples like Kraft mac n cheese or PopTarts, they were so thankful to us for sharing our precious commodities… except the PopTarts.
Sarah doesn’t share PopTarts!
But anyway, back to Paris!
When we arrived, we waited in line FOREVER to get a cab to the hotels. Yes, plural. David and I were big procrastinators and waited to book our hotel until the last minute so we weren’t able to stay at the same place as the rest of the family. But it all worked out because our hotel was literally across the street from the Kurzweg’s.
Once we checked in, we walked to the Palais Garnier, or Paris opera house. This time, we all bought tickets to get inside. Last time I was inside was six years ago when I studied in Paris and they had the main auditorium closed off, but this time some of the box seats were open so we were able to sneak a peek inside. So I finally got to see the famous chandelier that inspired the opening drama of Phantom of the Opera.
After the opera house, we walked through the Place de Vendome, past the famous Ritz hotel to the Tuileries. We had lunch of baguettes and crepes at an outdoor café in the park, and then headed inside the Louvre. Again, Elizabeth made me laugh by asking as we walked through the park, “What’s everyone doing just sitting around?” I explained that in Europe, especially Paris, a favorite hobby is people-watching. Plus it’s nice to just sit outside sometimes and enjoy the warm weather, unlike in Texas where you might actually melt sitting outside for longer than fifteen minutes.
At the Louvre, we saw the ancient medieval foundations, the Egyptian collection, and of course the Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa, Victory of Samothrace, The Wedding Feast at Cana, and Napoleon’s Coronation.
Winged Victory
How I managed to snap this photo without a
gazillion tourists in the background, I'll never know
We finished our tour on the top floor viewing the Dutch artists like Rembrandt. I had never been up to the second floor before, but it was really quiet and had great views of the park and Eiffel Tower.
View of the Tuileries Gardens and Eiffel Tower
from the top floor of the Louvre
Then we walked down the Rue Royal so I could introduce everyone to the gloriousness of French macaroons at Laduree. We enjoyed them on the steps of the Madeleine. We tried to go inside, but the church was closed for choir practice, which was unfortunate because it was also closed the last time my family was in Paris.
After quick naps back at the hotels, we met up and headed to the Eiffel Tower. The top of the Eiffel Tower was also closed last time my parents were in town. But we had really, really good luck this time because when we first arrived, the top was closed due to heavy congestion. But by the time we walked (yes, walked) to the middle section, the top was reopened!
Then Dad kept stalling so we could see the sunset, but what he didn’t realize was the sun sets at like 10 PM. So after a long day, we headed to dinner while it was still light outside. We ate at the same café behind La Madeleine that David and I had lunch at a couple of weeks before. David had stayed behind to finish the work week, so his train arrived around that time and he was able to meet us for dinner of croque monsieurs (my favorite)!
We started the next day at the Dome church and Hotel Invalides so Dad could see Napoleon’s tomb. I’d never been there before either. It was a beautiful church and the tombs were interesting to see.
David and me in the courtyard of the Hotel des Invalides
Napolean's enormous tomb - he really did have a complex!
We went to Notre Dame after that, but unfortunately it was closed due to some kind of festival.
We walked down Ile da la Cite towards my old stomping grounds, the Latin Quarter. When I was studying in Paris, we loved coming here for cheap drinks and food, like gyros! They have the best gyros outside of Greece at the stands in the Latin Quarter.
After grabbing our Greek lunch, we headed to Montmartre. First we stopped at the Moulin Rouge theatre and then walked through the narrow, art-filled streets of Montmartre to the funicular and stairs.
We opted to take the stairs to get up to Sacre Coeur. Since Notre Dame was closed, everyone and their mom had the same idea as us and headed to Sacre Coeur. It was really crowded, but still beautiful. To get away from the crowds and get a great view of the city, we climbed to the top. That was A LOT of stairs. Around 600… almost as much as the Eiffel Tower. But it was worth it.
The front facade
View from the tippy top
After walking through the empty (and boring) crypt, we walked back down to the Metro stop.
This is where I broke Rule #5.
First, I asked a young man to take our family’s photo. Before he or I could react, his older father snatched the camera out of my hand and offered to take the picture instead.
Noooooooo!!!
Poor old man… he kept “pressing the button” without actually ever pressing the button. Obviously my picture did not turn out, so instead, here’s a picture of the church that I took:
After Sacre Coeur, I told the group I’d show them where I used to go to school, which happened to be near Pere Lachaise Cemetery. Pere Lachaise is “home” to lots of famous people like Chopin, Edith Piaf, and Jim Morrison. Dad really wanted to see Jim Morrison’s grave, so we headed there first.
He is still one popular guy
The cemetery is a really interesting place, but it’s also kind of sad to see a lot of the tombs in total ruin. Mom's theory is a lot of the graves are hundreds of years old and eventually families move away, or die off, so there’s no one left to take care of the maintenance. They should establish some kind of foundation that looks after that kind of stuff!
A row of some of the better-looking tombs
After walking around the cemetery and enjoying an impromptu concert by Will.i.am (Dad was convinced this crazy man rapping on the rooftop of his apartment was Will.i.am – trust me, it was NOT), we headed down the street towards my school. Problem was, I only went to school there four days a week for a couple of months over the summer six years ago. So… I had some trouble remembering which building was my actual school. Finally, I spotted it! The one with the big blue doors. Dad wanted to take a picture, so I looked as studious as possible and posed.
As we kept walking down the street, I noticed another building that looked strangely familiar. Oops! That would be my real school. The one with the big green doors, not blue! I was positive I had it right that time (mostly because the name of the school was written on a plaque next to the door), so I posed again.
Then Mom and I had to have a fruit tart snack break, so we grabbed some from the nearest patisserie and got on the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe. Again, we walked up the 300 steps there (what a bunch of troopers!) and rested at the top for… a long time. See, we lost Dad. We kept thinking he was taking his time snapping photos and enjoying the view but after about half an hour we realized he was no longer on the roof. And sure enough, we got back down the stairs and there he was, chilling on a bench waiting for us.
My feet were KILLING me after all those stairs. I hadn’t exactly worn the most comfortable shoes that day, but I thought my Dr. Scholl’s gel pads would protect me. Not so much. I could barely hobble back to the hotel.
Before we stopped at the hotel for the night, we ate dinner at a nearby café. I’ve never thought the French were snooty at all, but it is true that they appreciate you at least trying to speak the language. A case in point: All day, David had been working on Elizabeth’s French with her and she was getting more and more confident. So at dinner, it was Carrie’s turn! Carrie was having none of it though. So since she refused to speak French to the waiter, he refused to serve her. Really. At first we thought it was a mistake that he had forgotten her drink, but then her meal didn’t arrive. After she was finally served dinner, it was another struggle to get her dessert out to the table. But we made it!
As we left the café, Elizabeth stopped and gasped, “WAIT! We forgot that I need to see the Eiffel Tower at night!! I have to see it lit up! I have to!” David was nice enough to offer to take the girls, so they wouldn’t be Taken. But Dad said he’d do it instead. What a good dad, skipping out on Wimbledon matches and trudging through Paris in the middle of the night for his kids! The rest of us are not so good, and went back to the hotels to get some rest before we headed out to Rome the next morning.
Elizabeth is becoming quite the photographer!
No comments:
Post a Comment