Paris

With our backpacks repacked for the next leg of our adventure, I awoke in the wee hours of the morning to make sure we were ready. We walked from our house down to the train station, stopping at the bakery for breakfast. Tony was able to join us just for the day, but I am so glad he was with us for even a short time. Upon arriving, we navigated to our flat, waited for the owners and checked in. It was in a very old building, the wooden steps creaked and groaned under our feet as we climbed to the third floor. It was definitely a quaint flat, harkening back to a much earlier era. We then headed out to meet my sister and her family at the Louvre. We said goodbye to Tony and went to find dinner and strolled past the Eiffel Tower. Then back to the flat to get some sleep.

Our second day started out a little rough. I could not get the wifi to work, nor would my phone work. I decided to shower and try to not stress. I went to plug in the hair dryer that was at the flat, only to discover there were no outlets in the bathroom. None. So I blindly dried my hair in the hallway. I walked down the street to the small grocery store to get some breakfast food and juice. I put some bread in the toaster and walked into the bedroom to start getting the kids up and moving. Therese wanders in about then and tells me the water is boiling for my coffee. Only I didn't put water on to boil. I walked out to find smoke pouring out of the toaster! We opened all the windows to air out the flat and hoped that this was not an omen of how the rest of the day would go! We started out at St. Chapelle, then Notre Dame, and then the Orsay Museum. After some food, we went to the Luxembourg Gardens, stopped in at the Shakespeare and Company bookstore, and finally made our way to the Eiffel Tower. To say that I was exhausted is a gross understatement! This day also coincided with the Northern Ireland soccer team making it into the final round for the first time in 34 years. They were quite a lively bunch. I had been worried about possible problems with all the sports fans there, and as we got on the subway that night, I was questioning out loud if we were on the correct platform. The Irish fans not only made sure we made it back to the flat, but serenaded us all the way there and gave the children their flashing headbands to boot.

Our last day in Paris, I got us packed and ready to check out. We dropped off our luggage at the management company of my sister's flat and then walked to the Sacre Cour, which was only a five minute walk from our own flat. While I walked back to turn in the keys, Olivia stayed there to let the kids ride a carousel. We stopped at a pub for lunch, strolled to the Moulin Rouge, and then found a playground to give us all a rest before heading to the train station. There was a debacle getting on our train, and all I will say is that Eurostar has terrible customer service.

Now for the photographs....