Paris

This morning as I'm on the computer Andrew says to me, "Mom, I thought we were going to Paris". I only wish we were little man. Instead we are stuck in the armpit of America. (the above picture is Andrew on the Metro on the way to the center of Paris. He loves trains.)
(the above picture is Matt and Andrew inside the Louvre. It had been a long day)
And since he brought up the subject, I thought I would blog a bit abotu my last trip there. The first one was not so great. Andrew was sick, and I was with my mom and my brother. The brother part wasn't so bad, it was the mom part that was. The last time I went was with Matt and our kids, and my Grandpa Belliston and his wife Sharon. Since I'm still learning about how to put pictures on my blogs, the picture of our van that we were SUPPOSED to take to Paris is at the top. Long story short, Matt moved it closer to our building, and we were in a legal spot. Then an enormous moving van backs up and smashes the rear window. So our trip did not start on time. Then we had to find another car as we had reservations for a hotel. Which cost us more money. (we did not have to pay the rental company for the window. the moving company did. but it was such a nice van!! my grandpa had rented it for me to drive them around)
(the above picture is me and Lucy inside the Louvre. I look like a freak. but hey, I was in Paris, so that is way more important than how I look.)
So, we finally find another van, which was much smaller and not as nice as the first one. And because we are in europe, it is a manual. We did not start driving there until maybe 3, I can't really remember. We did not get to our hotel until extremely late. And the hotel had changed their name, so we were kind of lost until I ran into somewhere and asked where this hotel was, and they said, um Vous etes ici. (excuse the lack of a little hat like accent over the first 'e'. again, don't know how to add it on this blog) So we get settled, and the next morning we head over to the Gare (trainstation) to take our little ride into the center of the city.
(the above picture is us on our way back from Paris. again, I look like a freak, but you will soon find out why)
I have had some health, well, teeth problems for a while, and so I wasn't able to eat all that much that morning. So, the majority of the day I had an incredible headache, almost to where I thought I was going to throw up. Not exactly how you want to feel while walking down Le Champs Elyesees. (sorry about no accents) I had to stop and nurse Lucy also, which didn't help our progression. Le Champs Elyesees is an extremely long street and incredibly wide for a european street. Anyway, it took a long time to finally work our way down to Le Louvre. And since the one thing that Matt wanted to do while in Paris was to see The Mona Lisa we went inside. We spent way too long inside and as a result we didn't even make it to the Eiffel Tower. And also, Matt had reached his breaking point with the kids, and I think my Grandpa had had enough for the day. The one thing I would have changed about this trip is that I would have sent them back on the metro, and Sharon, Lucy and I would have gone to the Eiffel Tower. I was just worried about them on the Metro all by themselves. It ended up pouring down on us on the way back in the train, and some major thunder and lightning, so maybe it was good that we went back.
We drove home the next day, and stopped at a WW1 monument. It takes about 6 hours to drive from Heidelberg where we lived to Paris. (note: lucy was 8 months old at the time, andrew 2 1/2, and my grandpa was 82.)
I have already figured out what my next trip to Paris is going to be. I will not have any very small children with me. (the first time we went, I had to change andrew under the eiffel tower and since getting a stroller on and off the metro is almost impossible we all took turns carrying him. not so fun for me.) Also, I will stay for more than one or two days. I will be there for at least a week, maybe more. I will not have anyone that does not want to be there with me. No one will be allowed to be cranky. I will take my time everywhere I go, and I will take multitudes of pictures, and I will look much much better in the pictures. I would have included some of our first trip but those are on my other computer and I was also pregnant at the time.

I love the fact that Andrew knows what the Eiffel Tower is, and that he asks to go to see it occasionally. Also, I love that he says things like what he did this morning, about going to Paris. I'm raising them to love France. Yay!
Those that wish to go with me to Paris the next time I go, just let me know. I have already bookmarked websites where you can rent an apartment in the city instead of staying in a hotel. Not that I'm going to be able to get back there anytime soon. But, I can plan and dream, right???