Paris Times Deux - Touring Tuesday

Last fall I had the pleasure of going to Paris. 

Twice.

The two-hour Eurostar train ride from London's St. Pancras Station couldn't be easier.  If you book your ticket well in advance, you can get a round trip for £79 ($120).  Another bonus to the Eurostar is that when you disembark from the train at Gare du Nord Station, you are already in Paris and can get started with your touring immediately.  If you fly it can take well over an hour from Charles de Gaulle Airport to get into Paris via public transport.  No one has time for that on a short visit.

The first of my trips to Paris was with my mom.  She was planning to visit Paris with some of her friends, but unfortunately that trip fell through.  So Matt knew that she'd appreciate a short side trip when she came for a visit in September.  He booked us for one night at a hotel close by the Arc de Triomphe.  The goals of our trip consisted seeing as many iconic structures as our feet could handle and eat along the way.  We lucked out with gorgeous weather.  With our limited time we only went into the Musée d'Orsay, and I am so glad we did.  The museum is a beautiful old train station, and the art is gorgeous.  We liked the place so much we decided to have lunch in the cafe, and it was delicious.  

It may appear that a majority of our caloric intake was from sugar, but we did have four square meals while in Paris.  Breakfast in the hotel was standard European pastries, muesli, coffee, and fruit. One lunch was at a terrible cafe a few blocks off the Champs Élysées, but dinner completely made up for it.  We ate at a little place where we could see the chef cooking our meal and practically licked our plates. 

I can't share mom's trip to Paris without showing you this scary van.  Stay away children, stay away.

The second visit to Paris was with two mums (that's British for moms) from school.  This trip was planned for the first weekend in December.  It's not the most ideal time to go, but we were willing to take our chances with the weather.

The thing that was different about this trip........we went to Paris for the day.  

We left on the 6:30AM train and returned on the 10:30PM.  We did not tour any museums, but we sure saw a lot of beautiful spots.  Even though it was the first Friday in December, not all of the trees had dropped their leaves.

Notre Dame is a stunning building.  The bridges covered in locks are not as stunning.  I think the concept is a smidge overdone, but that's my opinion.  

The Christmas market was up and running along the Champs Élysées, and we made a pit stop for a glass of champagne.  It gave us enough buzz to keep walking to get to the  Eiffel Tower.  Once we made it to the spot in the photo above, our feet refused to move much further.  We hopped on the Metro in search of dinner.   

One of the moms talked to the French man sitting with us on the train to tell us where we should eat.  At first he thought she was joking, but when she wouldn't drop the subject he gave us a few places he liked.  It did not cross our minds that the places he recommended would not open until 8PM so that did not work for us to make our return train.  We stumbled across a restaurant that made us all happy, and our feet thanked us for the short respite.  

Our ride back to London was significantly quieter than our ride into Paris, but we made the most out of our few hours.    

Would I go back to Paris?  Oui.
Would I do a day trip again? Oui.

As if you needed another reason to why Europe is great.

A4 Update - October 2014

October was the most tame month we've had since moving here!

• The first few days of the month spent with Nana as she wrapped up her visit.
• Matt & Holly spent a weekend in Stockholm Sweden.
• Holly volunteered for two of Oldest Kiddo's school trips to the Victoria & Albert Museum and the British Museum.  Taking 20 kids on the Underground is exhausting.  
• The kids had their autumn half term break, and we kept the kids busy!

A4 Update - September 2014

We said goodbye to summer this month.

• The Kiddos returned to school at the beginning of September.  Oldest Kiddo gets to wear a tie with her uniform.
• Holly visited Buckingham Palace during the summer opening, and it was more spectacular than you could imagine.
• There was a spider invasion in London.  All windows were sprayed several times to discourage their entry into The Manor.  One got in, and I nearly had a heart attack.  
• The Duchess is going to have another baby!!!
• Nana visited for a few weeks.  We saw The Book of Mormon, visited many palaces (we visited all but Kew), went to Paris (!), and revisited the big tourist locations.

Tower Bridge - Touring Tuesday

I visited the Tower Bridge with my mom when she was here in May.  

The bridge plays a big part of London's history, as I'm sure you can understand.  Originally, the upper walkways were created so pedestrians could continue upon their journey instead of waiting for the bridge to open for river traffic.  By the time 1910 arrived, the walkways were closed because it was more complicated to travel to the top.  Today a quick elevator ride takes you to the top in a flash.  The bridge continues to open several times per day to allow for larger boat traffic along the River Thames, and it is a beautiful sight.    

Many sites in London were damaged or destroyed during the Blitz (1940-41).  However, Tower Bridge was spared because the Germans used it as a geographic landmark.  Pedestrians wait for the bridge to return to its horizontal resting place, and tourists spend time in the walkways above.  The views down the River Thames provide a quiet, peaceful aspect of the city.

Tower Bridge Experience Adults £9 (buy online for £8).  Opening hours are from 10am-6pm in the summer & 9:30am-5:30pm in the winter.  Your best bet is to take the Circle Line or District Line to Tower Hill for an easy walk to the bridge.

Crafty Touring - Touring Tuesday

Whilst my mom is in London, I'm trying to find activities that fit into her crafting hobbies.

She lucked out to be in London for the first Saturday of the month to visit the Sewing Machine Museum.  Whilst not on the top of most tourists' list, it's a pretty fantastic place.  It was a journey to get there from our end of town.  To top if off, it is located near a very immature Underground stop.

This museum is located on the second floor of an old warehouse-like building.  I think the man in charge of the museum held court with his cigars in his office on the ground floor.  The smell permeated the rooms above filled with oodles of vintage sewing machines.  

We could peek into what looked like a repair shop off to the side of the museum.  I guess the employees like to listen to the oldies while they wait for Ernestine to connect them with a few ringy dingys.  

This is one of many niche museums in London that makes this city so great.

A4 Update - May 2014

Youngest Kiddo & Grandpa - Chicago 2012

• Holly's mom visited for a few weeks.  She got a good flavor for all the walking we do in London.  Some of the touring highlights included: Westminster Abbey, Churchill War Rooms, Tower of London, The Tate Britain, and Tower Bridge. 
• Holly & Matt took a day trip to Munich.  It was a day filled with parks, schnitzel, churches, pretzels, and 9 miles of walking.
• We had a big blow to the family mid-month with the unexpected passing of Matt's father.  The family is healing, but we have a long way to go.  
• During the trip back to the USA our kids got to experience quality family time.  They have not seen family since November!  Oldest Kiddo made a visit to her old elementary school, had fro-yo with two friends, and played with an almost life-long friend.