Giverny, France

Our last stop on our long weekend in France is Monet's Garden in Giverny. 

It was really beautiful.  I imagine it's even more beautiful in late spring.  Luckily, we got there before the hordes of bus tours arrived.  And it was definitely one of those places you could spend as little or as much time as you wanted.  I definitely WANTED to get better pictures of two little girls, but it just wasn't really happening.  They get tired of the camera.  I guess I can't blame them.

For more pictures, check out my album: Monet's Garden

Chartres, France

Next we visited the town of Chartres, France to see Chartres Cathedral. 

Chartres Cathedral is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The current cathedral, mostly constructed between 1194 and 1250, is the last of at least five which have occupied the site.

We attended a guided tour within the Cathedral, hosted by a British man who has lived in Chartres for years, and has basically devoted his life to educating people on the church.  It was interesting, but hard to keep the little ones interest....as you can imagine. 

The town itself also turned out to be amazing.  So quaint.  

A river running through...

Timbered buildings....

Just a beautiful place to visit.  For more pictures from our day in Chartres, here is a link:  Chartres

Next up....Monet's Garden.....

Versaille - Day Two

On our second day at Versailles, we did the Gardens and other Chateaus on the grounds.  We walked over 9 miles!!!  They gave the girls a kids activity book and map, and we followed along that tour for some of the things.

There were a lot of hidden gardens and fountains, and at certain times of the day, they choreographed the fountains within the secret gardens to music.

It was one of those unpredictable weather days that is so much the norm in this part of Europe....

Marie Antoinette's Hamlet....an area on the grounds she built to replicate her native country.

Look at how BIG Versailles is, and how far away it is....and this all still the grounds of the Chateau.

So yes....after all that walking, ice cream was very much in order!

Here is a link to all of our Versailles pictures: Versailles
Up next....Chartres, France.

Versailles - Day One

We broke our visit up to Versaille into two days.  On the first day, we stuck to the Chateau and only the periphery of the gardens.

The Chaeau from afar...

The Golden Gate

For size, my tiny girls in front of the ginormous golden gate.

The only one willing to pose

The Hall of Mirrors

Appeased with the audio guide.  Versaille Palace, fail.  They do not have a children's audio guide.  Not cool.  And therefore why Matt and I heard NOTHING.

Happy in the Hall of Mirrors.  I told them that they will learn about this place in a history class in about 10-12 years and have pictures to prove they were there!  Super cool.

The Family.

And again.

On the edge of the gardens....with an imposter St. Louis arch.

And this is what we will concour tomorrow....  all 9 miles, 2 additional palaces, and a hamlet of it.

Paris - Day Four - Saint Sulpice

Sunday was our last day in Paris, and our train didn't leave until late in the afternoon, so we squeezed in a few more things.

We started the morning with mass at Saint Sulpice.  This church was featured in The Da Vinci Code.  The Rose Line (I SAW IT) runs right through the center of the altar.  They also have a fairly famous organist, who gives concerts after mass, and allows you up into the organ loft for look see. 

The girls were angels in mass.  Maybe they liked it better in French?  I'm not sure, but they were great.  We received several compliments.  It was funny to look around and spy all of the Rick Steves or English language guide books during mass.  After mass, we listened to the concert, and then Matt and Grace stood in line to go up into the loft while I chased Audrey around.  It took quite awhile, so I had to eventually take her outside, as the next mass was starting.  There were a few homeless people camped out in front of the doors of the church, and Audrey like going up to them and sitting down with them.  It was quite a sight, as I tried to politely shoo her away.  It was a yucky rainy day, so we tried to stay out of the rain while we waited.....

Finally, Matt and Grace were done.  I think Matt was glad he got to go up and see.  But sadly, the pictures didn't turn out that well.  He didn't want to use the flash up there, and so they are dark.

Afterwards, we ducked into a little sidewalk cafe while Audrey snoozed and had some lunch.  I think it was my favorite lunch of the whole trip.  It was just little open faced sandwiches, but so delicious!

We then headed back to our hotel, packed up and got on our train for Brussels.  It's only a little over an hour train ride!  We had only bought seats for Matt and I, but on both legs we were kindly moved to seats for 4!  On the way home, we even had our own enclosed cabin.  Which was perfect.  We just let the girls loose.

Here is the last album of pictures from Paris.  Day four pictures.  4 days and 300+ pictures.  We had a really nice time.  I think we surprised ourselves.  We didn't think it would be easy and/or fun with two toddlers, but it worked out perfectly.

Paris - Day Three - Le Tour Eiffel

On Saturday morning, we were up bright and early to head to the Eiffel Tower.  It was a grey and drizzly day.  :(  But oh well....

We took the bus to Trocadero Square, and this is the view we were greeted with!

Of course I wanted the girls picture, and FORTUNATELY, we got one with a cooperative Audrey.

We walked over to get in line to go up.  I think it opens at 9:30am on Saturdays, and we were definitely in line by then.  We didn't have to wait too long.  Here is a shot of the line, and the machine gun armed military patrolling it. 

 Probably less then an hour before we were on our way up.  We only opted to go to the 2nd floor.  Supposedly the views are the best from the second floor anyway.

The views were pretty incredible.  Here's the shot featured in European Vacation where Rusty threw his beret off and the dog jumped...... notice all the brides walking across the grass..... it was a big bridal portrait weekend.  We saw them at every major site.

We eventually made our way down.  And as we were walking away, Audrey proceeded to throw a HUGE temper tantrum.  She hates the baby carrier.  So I was letting her walk for awhile before throwing her back in the stroller.  I was holding her hand, but let go to take some pictures.  And I don't know what about that set her off, but she just threw herself down on the ground, writhing around, screaming for all to see.....  I am trying to ignore her when she does stuff like this because I know she is just doing it for attention but I was getting some seriously dirty looks.  So I bent down to pick her up and the camera around my neck swung and hit her square in the mouth.  So the Level 3 temper tantrum quickly escalated to Level 5.  And I felt like one completely horrible Mama.  And then it started pouring.....   it was just ugly.  We quickly decided to do a Seine River boat cruise at this point to get in from the rain - it's an enclosed glass boat.   We grabbed some lunch beforehand.  And fortunately, Audrey finally calmed down to eat.  I think Matt and I had grand plans for both girls to nap on the boat.....but oh no!  That was not going to happen!

The boat cruise is probably money better spent to START your introduction to Paris, but it worked just fine for us.  An hour sitting out of the rain, cruising along looking at beautiful buildings and listening to the tour worked out fine. 

And then amazingly after the cruise, it stopped raining.  So we decided to stroll the Champs-Elysees. 

Hello Arc de Triomphe.

Hello, Obelisk.

Hello, Mr. Blinding Sunshine!

And then we were back at the Tuileries Gardens again....just on the other side, and Matt found this perfect picture taking spot....

Daddy and his girls....

And a sneak peak at what will most likely be featured on this years Christmas card.....

Sorry to ruin the surprise.  But I couldn't do this post without this picture.  It may even become my new blog picture in the header.

We finished off a long day eating dinner at a sidewalk cafe near our apartment.

Here is a link to all of the pictures from Eiffel Tower Day in Paris:  Day Three Pics