Jolly Ol' England!

"There's nowhere else like London.  Nothing at all, anywhere."  Vivienne Westwood

At this point in our trip, exhaustion was starting to set in.  We had seen so much; done so much; loved so much that we weren't sure how much we had left in us.  London made it clear that we could still soak it all in and marvel at all of this beauty on the earth.

We arrived to London by Chunnel which was pretty amazing(mentioned in previous post) . The kids slept the whole time.  Billy and I took ridiculous selfies to show how nervous we were when we were under water.  Ha.  After we arrived safely, we rented our car and took off for our hotel in London.

Blake had the opportunity to attend a Chelsea soccer camp.  What's Chelsea, you ask?  Only the top ranked team in the Premier League in England.  Blake and I both love this club and he was pretty excited when we signed him up.  However, the day of the camp was a different story.  Little Blake didn't know a soul at the camp and he did NOT want to do it.  We basically had to force him in.  We weren't allowed to stay and watch but upon returning at the end of the camp, someone  (named Blake) didn't want to leave. He had a WONDERFUL time and he received some pretty high praises from the coaching staff.  It was such a unique experience and I'm so glad Blake got to be a part of it.

Blake was worn out but we drove straight into downtown London, across the magnificent Tower Bridge and walked that city like nobody's business.  Parliament is breathtaking.  I can't even think of any other way to describe it.  It's beautiful, you guys!  Big Ben is awesome.  Westminster Abbey is amazing.  Billy wanted to do the London Eye but we didn't want to spend the money (life regrets...).  We walked by the Globe (Shakespearean) Theater (English major's dream).  We walked across the London Bridge (and sang the song), hung out in Trafalgar Square, and ate delicious food!  It was a fabulous day.  We moved to a different hotel (MARRIOTT) for the next night. You know how I love my Marriotts!

There are several more days in England coming up!  Get ready! :):):)

Je t'aime, Paris!

Oh hey!  I know I was supposed to blog five times last week.  I forgot to factor in Derby week here in Kentucky.  Sooooo I'm a little behind.  I have to catch up before my next trip (coming up in just over a month).  I'm back at it tonight....writing about our last day in Paris.

Paris, day one (which I blogged about last time) was an amazing and perfect day.  Paris day two was also pretty spectacular.  It started with our trip to the Eiffel Tower.  We opted to get the tickets to walk the stairs (instead of the more expensive elevator ride to the top).  No big deal.  Just 668 steps (gulp). We were a little worried about Lola (who was 6 at the time) but she made it through like a champ.  I had a few moments of panic where my life flashed before my eyes.  It gets a little scary the higher you get.  But we made it.  The views were amazing.  We even stood on a glass floor and looked at the tiny ant-like people below.  I ate macaroons.  They were delicious.  We spent a lot of time enjoying the city from our view on high.  It's breathtaking.  Paris is one of my all-time favorite memories from our European vacation.  If you have the chance to go, please do!  We took it all in and then we hoofed it back down those 668 steps.

There are a lot of swindlers around the Eiffel Tower.  We fell victim to some fellas from Africa who made string bracelets that are supposed to bring good luck.  It wasn't very lucky that we had to PAY for those bracelets that we didn't want.  And they took off very quickly when we paid what little we had as a couple of police officers were approaching.  We wore those darn bracelets.  When I wasn't wearing it, I kept it in my carry-on luggage.  I was so mad at the time that we spent money on those things.  But I secretly still keep mine in my luggage and I'm (kinda) convinced that it is, indeed, lucky. :)

After being pan-handled, we made our way to another soccer stadium.  We wanted to see where PSG plays even though it was being remodeled. It was pretty fun to see.  We took some photos of the kids, walked around and then went back to Luxembourg Gardens.  We couldn't get enough of it on day one.

Luxembourg Gardens was our last stop.  Then we had to head back to our Airbnb to pack our stuff. Our next stop was England.  How did we get there?  Chunnel.  I have to say that I was a little scared of speeding through a tunnel under water.  But we made it to the other side alive and well and ready to take on England.  You have to wait until my next blog to hear about our adventures in London!

We'll Always Have Paris!

"They say that when good Americans die they go to Paris."--Oscar Wilde (from A Picture of Dorian Gray)

Oh, Paris.  I have to say that our first day in Paris was the most perfect day of our whole European trip. Everything went smoothly.  We never got lost.  Can you believe it?  HA.  The people of Paris were kind and helpful when we looked a little perplexed (but remember....NOT lost).  We were pros of the Metro.  If you're in Paris, download the app and you will also be a pro!  It was easy to understand and we navigated ourselves perfectly around the city!

Our perfect day started bright and early at the Louvre.  We wanted to get there before a massive line formed and we basically succeeded.  We still had a line but it was way better than the line was when we left.  When we got inside, we booked it to the Mona Lisa.  It was top priority. And we got there and were able to get pictures with her before it got SUPER crowded.  We LOVED the Louvre.  I'm honestly not much on museums.  But this museum is amazing. There are so many wonderful things to see there but of course Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo were a couple of our favorites!

After the Louvre, we ventured over to the locks of love bridge.  We engraved our lock and found a place for it with all the other locks!  Sadly, all the locks have since been taken down.  Big bummer. Oh well.  :(  Anyway, we then found our way to Notre Dame.  We didn't go inside but we spent a lot of time wandering the grounds.  It's magnificent.

Then we went to our first major line of the day....Sainte-Chapelle.  The kids were the actual worst because they didn't want to wait in that line.  If you have unruly children, it's kind-of a downer.  But don't let them keep you from getting into this amazing place.  UHHHHHH-mazing, I say.  You've never seen stained glass like you will see inside Sainte-Chapelle.  It will take your breath right away. No big deal, just 1,113 stained glass windows.  Oh, and those kids of mine got in free.  You can't beat that!  I think maybe they were just hangry.  So we finished our tour and then found lunch at the very BEST place right across the street. L'Annexe.  If you're in the area....go.  We had real French fries and they were delicious.  We also had quiche.  My mouth is watering thinking about this place!  YUM!

With full bellies, we made our way to Luxembourg Gardens.  Spring in Luxembourg sure is beautiful. I didn't take enough pictures there.  But trust me.  It's worth going. We just walked around a bit and enjoyed the beauty. Then we sat around and watched people!  The kids loved and it and so did we.

After a lovely time in Luxembourg Gardens, we went to Sacred Heart Basilica.  I'm telling you this. Our first day in Paris was nothing short of amazing.  Everything we saw was beyond beautiful.  I can't even properly describe it.  Sacre-Coeur is one of those sights.  The day itself was breathtaking with beautiful blue skies which only added to the wonder.  We were quickly mesmerized by a soccer performer doing some pretty cool tricks (pictured below).  We made our way into the church during mass.  We were all in awe.  We spent a lot of time there and I would love to go back again!

We were close to Moulin Rouge so we quickly passed by.  It's not the best part of town...although the currency exchange rate was on point! ;)  I had to go, though, because I love the movie and I just had to see that windmill!  It was quick and then we wanted to see the Eiffel Tower.  We didn't go up that night because we had done SO much that we just wanted to wrap it up.  So we walked around the grounds and marveled at the Eiffel Tower which is a wondrous sight (much more on this tomorrow). Then we went to Champs-Elysees.  Blake got a soccer ball there to prepare for a soccer camp he was doing in England.  He has since lost that ball and it made me very sad.  :( We finished up in that area at the Arc de Triomphe.  Fun times!

As you can tell, our day was PACKED.  It was fun.  It was full of the best memories.  I love writing this because I'm filled with the emotions I experienced there.  Paris is magical.  It is.  If you haven't been there, I cannot tell you enough times that you NEED to go.  We stayed at an Airbnb and it was kind-of sketchville.  We weren't sure what part of Paris we should stay in but where we were, was not what I had envisioned.  Ha ha.  We were lucky in that we had access to a washer and dryer so we could do our laundry. But that's about the only positive I have for that particular place.  Actually, the place itself wasn't bad, it was just the area.  Alas, we had no problems and we had the BEST panini street vendors really close.  Yes, we ate a lot of paninis and A LOT of crepes while in Paris.

I will stop now because this it turning into novel status.  I promise (I think) that the conclusion of our Paris adventures (my blog tomorrow) will be shorter!  Now I will go to bed and dream of all things Parisian.  :)

Pictured below:  Crepe eating, the Louvre, Locks of Love Bridge, Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, L'Annexe, Sacred Heart Basilica, Moulin Rouge, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe.

Austrian Pit Stop!

**Hey!  Just so you know, these posts are written in the order of which we visited Europe and the countries along the way.  So go back and read the other entries, if you haven't already!**

We were sad to leave Munich but our German adventure wasn't over yet.  We just took a little detour. Salzburg, Austria is only an hour and a half away from Munich.  So we couldn't miss the opportunity to check it out.  Also, I sort of (TOTALLY) love the Sound of Music and just had to see some of the landmarks featured in the movie.  Oh, and Lola loves Mozart like nobody's business.

First let's talk about the autobahn.  Ever driven on it?  If not, get to Germany and drive on the autobahn.  You can go fast....really fast.  And people know how to drive.  If you aren't going like 120 MPH, get the heck out of the fast lane.  For reals.  I guess I should mention that I was merely a passenger on the autobahn.  Billy was the race car driver.  He liked it. No, he looooooved it.

Aside from flying down the freeway, the best part of the trip was the view.  Holy ALPS.  Have you seen them?  You must in this lifetime.  It was pretty overcast on our drive but the mountains took my breath away.  Sometimes I see things and I wonder if it's real life.  I can't believe such beauty exists in this world.  This was one of those times.

We didn't have a ton of time in Salzburg because as this post's title suggests, we were just taking a pit stop.  We decided to maximize our time by taking a hop on/hop off bus doing a Sound of Music tour around the city.  First of all, I love doing hop on/hop off tours.  They take you to all the tourist attractions in a given city.  You can get on and off at your leisure and enjoy all the city has to offer.

We meandered around the city all morning until we had to leave in the early afternoon.  We did some shopping,  We ate at a delicious Austrian bakery.  We saw all things Sound of Music.  We saw Mozart's birthplace.  We saw the zoo.  We ate delicious pizza for lunch.  The kids still talk about this place.  If you're in Salzburg, definitely go here!

We had to mosey on down the road to Nidderau (a lovely town outside of Frankfurt) to visit some awesome friends!  The drive was also filled with beautiful sights.  Blake pretty much slept EVERY time we got in the car, so he missed out on a lot.  But that's beside the point.  We arrived around dinner-time and enjoyed a lovely evening with our friends.  We planned out what we would do for the following day and decided on a boat tour along the Rhine.  Have you ever heard of the legend of Lorelei?  Look it up.  I love the story of this beautiful young maiden!  Anyway, you can learn all about it on the boat tour.

We got up early and despite the realllllly rainy day, we still wanted to see all the castles on the Rhine. So we drove to our destination and boarded the boat.  Lovely, eh?  Lovely until we realized we had gone past our exit on the tour.  OOPS!  We got off at the next stop and figured we could just pay the difference and get back on the boat toward our car.  Ummmmm......when you miss your stop on a boat tour, make sure you then get off on a stop on the SAME side your car is on.  We got off and realized we couldn't get back on a boat for 4-5 hours. And we couldn't get back across the Rhine.  I contemplated swimming over but, nah, that would be too much work.  So what did we do?  We walked a couple miles down the road until we found a ferry that would take us across to the RIGHT side of the river.  At the time, I was so frustrated and mad that we kept making all these dumb little mistakes.  But the boat tour had been amazing!  And once we started walking, aside from my really sore feet (I didn't wear the right shoes for schlepping a couple miles up hill...in the rain), it wasn't bad.  We made it back to our car and arrived back to our friend's house MANY hours after we said we would return.  Alas, we made it and we enjoyed our last night with them.  We sure enjoyed seeing them and we appreciated their hospitality.

Sooooo.....there it is.  Germany had come to an end for us.  We were sad to leave.  I would love to live in Germany one day.  I've even been studying German using my Rosetta Stone so that I'm ready when I move! If you go, go to Bavaria.  And hit up Salzburg because it's so close.  Take hop on/hop off tours.  Stay awake while driving to your destinations because everything you see will blow you away!  Where did we go next?  Tune in tomorrow, oui oui?

Pictured below:  Alps, sights of Salzburg (gardens, Billy and I, the fortress on the hill, the zoo, Mozart's birthplace, our favorite restaurant), and more mountains!

Here are the pictures from the Rhine boat tour!

 This is pretty much the best picture ever.  We saw this sign on our way to Nidderau.  Ummmm....ok?  HA HA HA HA!

 Our hosts in Nidderau!We had such a wonderful time!

 Frankfurt skyline!