Reunited in Paris...
We crashed, and slept well. I was on my own without my soldier husband to navigate the foreign country. I was pregnant and with 2 children... I got a map of the city while Aeris was still sleeping, and was not afraid to ask the concierge the easiest way to get to the Eiffel Tower. If Rick had been there he wouldn't have asked and may have ended up going in circles before we made it to the tower (I'll explain about that when I talk about our trip to Berlin). I spent some time in the wee hours figuring out the map and the train system. I didn't want to miss Rick at the tower, so we got ready and left. I didn't know how I was going to find him and that was my only thought, not that I was about to see and experience a huge icon of the world. I just wanted to make sure that I found Rick. We followed the crowd once we were out of the subway... and it didn't take long to be at the foot of the tower...
Again, my only thoughts were on Rick and how to find him, and not the magnitude of what I was then standing directly under. Aeris stood in awe and Elliot had a potty mouth. We walked around and back and forth the tower, and I was essentially pacing to find him. I didn't know what he was wearing and the more I looked around at the crowds I had NO IDEA how I was going to find him. Panic began to set in... It was busier than I had expected, why?, I guess I was just naïve... it is the Eiffel Tower. I was making my third pass with Aeris close by my side admiring the architecture, and Elliot was lagging behind, when I heard a faint scream and movement out of the corner of my right eye. I turned quickly and found Rick "stealing" Elliot away... Relief set in and I could begin to breath again. That's when I looked up and understood the gravity of where I was standing. The tower was MUCH larger than I could've ever imagined.... WOW!
Much of our trip was run of the mill... we went to the Louvre, walked around, went to the Arch de Triumph, Notre Dame... saw the basics... nothing too notable except for the stories below and then we went home.
Louvre--- first and foremost the Mona Lisa... OVERRATED! I mean Really?!?! Stand 15 feet away in a crowd to see a 15 X 18 painting... REALLY?!?!? but I can honestly say that I saw it.
Okay... this is a funny one. We were in the last room that we were going to visit for the day. It was not filled with any famous paintings or sculptures... so no guards standing over you. Rick and Elliot were looking at a painting of the same painting of the same painting... you know the ones that go on and on and on and on... well Rick picked up Elliot to get a closer look and I MEAN closer. This sound kept going off like an alarm but we didn't know where it was coming from... Rick insisted that Elliot was in the painting and they were just goofing off, when the alarms kept going on and off. Finally a guard walks in and goes straight to Rick and Elliot.... oh so that's why they alarms were going off...oooppps! Rick apologized and we quickly left the room and the museum. Good thing that was the LAST room or we may have never seen the Mona Lisa.
We saw the icons and had some time... there just happened to be an indoor water park the building right next to our hotel, so we thought... why not?!? We didn't pack out suits, but lucky for us there was a sports store right next door as well. The waterpark didn't allow "shorts" for the boys, so they needed speedos... he he he, and I had quite the pot belly so I had to get a maternity suit (which came in handy at other times too). Aeris and I picked out matching suits for Daddy Rick and Elliot... they looked so cute in their tiny little suits... What was really cool was that if you didn't have a suit you can purchase one from a vending machine at the park... yes, a vending machine.
It was a nice trip...
Friday, June 20, 2014
Okay... so I stopped writing for a LOOONNNNGGG time... and I can't remember specific dates of our adventures, but I do remember them. So I will write about what I remember.
Getting to Paris France...
It was sometime in April of 2011, and I was still pregnant with Leo, very pregnant. Rick made all the arrangements for the train trip there and the hotel reservations, but told me little about it (which proved to be a bad idea later). He had to work the day we were to leave, so the kids and I were to catch a train in Schweinfurt to get to Wurzburg and then transfer to Frankfurt to get on our train to Paris. I had ALL of the passports and luggage with me, and Rick was going to drive and meet up with us in Frankfurt (he was going to try to beat the trains there). I was a nervous wreck as this was my first true outing in Europe on my own and I had 2.5 kids with me. The kids and I got on the trains successfully, and waited patiently at the station for the train to Paris when I got the phone call from Rick... he wasn't going to make it. Uh... oh... now what? It was time to board the train... I had the tickets so I should be fine... do I wait and catch a different train and lose $$$$$? AHHHH what to do? Rick said he would figure something out, and to go ahead. He mumbled the name of the hotel and the address and I hoped that I got it right. We talked on the phone a couple times during the ride, as he discovered he couldn't fly because he didn't have his passport... so he had to take a train. We had an issue on the train because Rick needed to be there since he was the one who purchased the tickets...uh oh... are they going to kick us off? Who's idea was this trip anyway? ARRGGHHH! The conductor let us stay because we had Rick's passport with us, so thank goodness for that. We were on our way, not knowing how or when or if Rick was going to make it to Paris, and the whole trip may be on our own. I knew Rick was resourceful, so I knew he would make it somehow. My phone only worked in Germany so before we hit the border I got as much info from him as I could before I was left alone to deal with a foreign trip and 2 kids on my own...
I didn't know we had assigned seats, so I found a "cabin" with a table that we could just chill for the late evening trip. Another couple joined us in the cabin and they were American with a baby, so I chatted about European strollers, and "mommy" stuff, as Aeris and Elliot rested. It was nice to just relax for a little while before I had to figure out how I was going to navigate to our hotel knowing 2 phrases in French... Mercy buckets, and seafood plate... okay okay I knew a little more, but definitely not enough to figure out where to go and how to get there. When we arrived in Paris it was LATE at night and very dark and misty out. I found the line of cabs, took a deep breath, and walked toward them (I couldn't show the kids how scared and timid I was). The next cab driver in line didn't speak a lick of English... and seemed to take forever to get to the hotel, which made me nervous because who knows where he was taking us. I remember sitting in the back seat and caught a quick glimpse of the Eiffel tower in the distance on my left and nudged Aeris. It wasn't until then that the reality that we were in Paris set in. Aeris had a big smile on her face and we were happy.
We made it to the hotel, not some crazy place out in the middle of nowhere, and were ready to sleep. I didn't make the arrangements so I was not aware that the hotel had an occupancy limit of 3 people and therefore Rick was going to have to sneak in when he did arrive. We made it to our room, but my worries were not over. The kids and I made it, but how were we going to meet up with Rick? On our last call before the French/German border he told me he would meet us at the Eiffel Tower... that won't be so bad, right?
Getting to Paris France...
It was sometime in April of 2011, and I was still pregnant with Leo, very pregnant. Rick made all the arrangements for the train trip there and the hotel reservations, but told me little about it (which proved to be a bad idea later). He had to work the day we were to leave, so the kids and I were to catch a train in Schweinfurt to get to Wurzburg and then transfer to Frankfurt to get on our train to Paris. I had ALL of the passports and luggage with me, and Rick was going to drive and meet up with us in Frankfurt (he was going to try to beat the trains there). I was a nervous wreck as this was my first true outing in Europe on my own and I had 2.5 kids with me. The kids and I got on the trains successfully, and waited patiently at the station for the train to Paris when I got the phone call from Rick... he wasn't going to make it. Uh... oh... now what? It was time to board the train... I had the tickets so I should be fine... do I wait and catch a different train and lose $$$$$? AHHHH what to do? Rick said he would figure something out, and to go ahead. He mumbled the name of the hotel and the address and I hoped that I got it right. We talked on the phone a couple times during the ride, as he discovered he couldn't fly because he didn't have his passport... so he had to take a train. We had an issue on the train because Rick needed to be there since he was the one who purchased the tickets...uh oh... are they going to kick us off? Who's idea was this trip anyway? ARRGGHHH! The conductor let us stay because we had Rick's passport with us, so thank goodness for that. We were on our way, not knowing how or when or if Rick was going to make it to Paris, and the whole trip may be on our own. I knew Rick was resourceful, so I knew he would make it somehow. My phone only worked in Germany so before we hit the border I got as much info from him as I could before I was left alone to deal with a foreign trip and 2 kids on my own...
I didn't know we had assigned seats, so I found a "cabin" with a table that we could just chill for the late evening trip. Another couple joined us in the cabin and they were American with a baby, so I chatted about European strollers, and "mommy" stuff, as Aeris and Elliot rested. It was nice to just relax for a little while before I had to figure out how I was going to navigate to our hotel knowing 2 phrases in French... Mercy buckets, and seafood plate... okay okay I knew a little more, but definitely not enough to figure out where to go and how to get there. When we arrived in Paris it was LATE at night and very dark and misty out. I found the line of cabs, took a deep breath, and walked toward them (I couldn't show the kids how scared and timid I was). The next cab driver in line didn't speak a lick of English... and seemed to take forever to get to the hotel, which made me nervous because who knows where he was taking us. I remember sitting in the back seat and caught a quick glimpse of the Eiffel tower in the distance on my left and nudged Aeris. It wasn't until then that the reality that we were in Paris set in. Aeris had a big smile on her face and we were happy.
We made it to the hotel, not some crazy place out in the middle of nowhere, and were ready to sleep. I didn't make the arrangements so I was not aware that the hotel had an occupancy limit of 3 people and therefore Rick was going to have to sneak in when he did arrive. We made it to our room, but my worries were not over. The kids and I made it, but how were we going to meet up with Rick? On our last call before the French/German border he told me he would meet us at the Eiffel Tower... that won't be so bad, right?
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