Our Days in Paris

Our days in Paris were short but we made the most of them by filling them with loads of fun.  We visited many museums--some planned like the Louvre, but others randomly picked during our many walks like the City of Paris museum.   Enjoyed carnival rides.  Took a boat tour of the Seine River.  Ate crepes, falafel and poached eggs in wine sauce (a traditional and MOST DELICIOUS French dish).  Explored the amazing neighborhoods.  Learned the train system.  Went to the top of the Eiffel Tower (bummer it was a cold, rainy day...but we did it!).   Took in local markets (why can't we have these markets at home:-().  One of my favorite things in the world is to pick up market goodies and have a picnic in a nice patch of grass with gorgeous flowers and architecture---Paris was perfect for that activity!

Play time

Caterpillar roller coaster ride at the Tuilleries Park

Ham and cheese crepe...yum!

One of those random picnics

To be honest, I don't remember. the building..but it was beautiful.

Our boat ride

Stinky feet at the Louvre

At the Louvre

Chilly Eiffel Tower Day with Uncle Paul and Aunt Connie

Our crepe guy!

A little navigation time at a museum

M's first escargot...she liked!

Ferris wheel ride

A bridge in Paris

Notre DAme with Uncle Paul and Aunt Connie

I love the Metro signs!

The Louvre

A street artist

M's Mona Lisa sighting ...it's there in the far back, really!

ARose's Mona Lisa sighting

Our grand finale on the last night was to grab Lebanese take away and a bottle of French Rose for our viewing of the 11 PM Eiffel Tower light show.  We were beyond exhausted at this point but our efforts were rewarded by the magical lights that twinkled before us.  A perfect way to end our Paris adventure!!

Will we return?  Well, Mia informed us on this trip that she would like to come back to pick out her wedding dress.  So....:-)! 

Bonjour, Paris!

Au Revoir, Avignon

Avignon Carousel

Our last night in Avignon was spent walking the streets, stopping at a hole in the wall restaurant for kebob take away, having a picnic under a tree in one of the squares and playing on the carousel.  That's Avignon---beautiful, calm, relaxed.  We loved every second of it!!

Provence: A Few Images

Provence: Roman Amphitheater in Orange, France

We couldn't get enough of ancient Roman ruins so we found another one-- the Théâtre Antique d'Orange.  The theater was built early in the 1st century and is one of the best preserved of all Roman theaters. The majority of entertainment was mime, pantomime, poetry readings and comedy.   Today the theater is still used for all kinds of events--dance, opera, rock concerts, musicals,  etc.  Cool.

We finished our tour of the amphitheater at a charming little "salon" with some light french food + nutella crepe Delicious!

The Camergue Horses

The Camergue horse is an ancient breed indigenous to the Camargue area in southern France--the marshes and wetlands of the Rhone delta.  It is considered one of the oldest breeds of horses in the world.  The horses are born brown but turn white as they age.  

Given M's love of horses, visiting this area was a no-brainer.  This was M's first horse ride and ARose's first pony ride.  I've never seen M so excited when she saw us pulling over at the horse stables.  She was so relaxed on that horse!  (I wish I could say the same for me:-))  After the ride she said this was the best day of her life.  So sweet!!  For the last 3 years all she has talked about is living on a farm when she gets older with her best buddies with horses and all sorts of other animals.  ARose was excited about the pony ride too.  She lasted about 10 minutes:-)

Abruzzo: Lost Pics from Capestrano, Italy

I stumbled upon these lost photos from a day trip we took a few days ago.  We visited the town of Capestrano.  We didn't realize at the time but unfortunately this small mountain village was hit really hard by the earthquake 4 years ago.  And, like most things in Italy, the rebuild and approval to reopen takes TIME and not to mention money.  It was a bit sad to see the town in such a state.  On the bright side, progress is being made so hopefully they will be up for tourist soon.  The people were so kind to us, talking with us about the town.  We ate some gelato and had the castle all to ourselves.  I am not sure if we were supposed to but we climbed up the watch tower where we were treated with gorgeous views of the rolling hills and valleys.

A perfect day!