Thirty-Second Week In Germany
New Years Day we hung around the house. The only thing of note to mention, especially to the Florida fans out there, is that University of Michigan took them to town in one of the best bowl games ever. Being that it was Lloyd Carr's last game in coaching the team, the players carried him off the field. I think the only other time I'm quite that emotional is when I'm watching, "Rudy." I threw that bit of comedy in there for Brent Kearney's sake. Needless to say, it is a good thing our internet was fixed and Greg did not miss the game.
We took off for Brussels the next morning. I was really pleasantly surprised by the city. The picture to the left is of the Grand Place (town square). I had been there before but didn't remember how cool it really was. We tried to get to the Waterloo museum before it closed but we were unable to make it. We still got to see the
monument on the hill overlooking the battlefield, however. We had the best waffles I have ever had at the Carrefour grocery store there. We stayed one night at a hotel outside of Waterloo (Greg caught us dancing in the hotel room) and started out the next morning bright and early for Paris. This trip was a must as my nephew said the only thing he really wanted to see in Europe was the Eiffel Tower.
We arrived in Paris in late afternoon, after checking into the hotel, buying our train tickets, and taking the train about 30 minutes into the city. We went first to L'Arc de Triomphe where most of us made the trek to the top. Caryn, Bryn, and I stayed behind. Bryn had a better time running around the tunnel. After a car ride and then a train ride, she was ready to run. We then went to La Tour Eiffel (which is what Evan had been waiting for). The line was pretty long and we decided to have dinner and climb to the top the next day. On the way back to the train station, we got to see the Tower lit up. It was really something to see. The times before when Greg and I had been to France, we had never seen the Eiffel Tower at night.
The next morning we split up for a bit. Unfortunately, my sister and her family misplaced their three-day train tickets and had to buy new tickets for the second and third day. That is always a bummer. While they went to the Eiffel Tower, we thought we would take the girls to Sacre Coeur and Montmartre. Bailey is all into being an artist, we thought it might be cool for her to see artists in action. Both Bailey and Avery found a small original piece they liked very much. We went to L'Orangerie to see Monet's "Nympheas." It is one of my favorite museums in all of Paris - small but poignant. We walked through the Tuleries to the Louvre (grabbing a chocolate crêpe on the way) but just to see the outside. We met my family at the Hotel des Invalides where we let the kids run and play for a bit. We had dinner close to the hotel that evening.
Our last day in Paris we went to Notre Dame on the way to Versailles. Notre dame is just so beautiful.
It doesn't matter how many times you see it, there is just something about it that is breathtaking. All along the trip my sister kept waiting for a castle that was ornate. We delivered. Versailles was by far her favorite part. We spent a good part of the day there. On the way back to the train station, we stopped into McDonalds to grab a bite to eat on the train on the way back. We actually missed the first train because my sister's family took forever to get several milkshakes. It reminded us of our Salt River Canyon trip together for a brief moment. We drove back to Germany that night and returned quite late after several mishaps with exits being under construction and Greg passing a couple of bathrooms. It was still nice to get home and sleep in our own beds.
My family's last day in Germany was very mellow. The kids played. Greg, my mom, and Matt went for a walk around Bad Godesberg. Caryn and I read and talked. We took them to a hotel that night so they would be closer to the airport. All in all, I think we had a good time together and hopefully they got to see a few things that they otherwise wouldn't have seen.
We took off for Brussels the next morning. I was really pleasantly surprised by the city. The picture to the left is of the Grand Place (town square). I had been there before but didn't remember how cool it really was. We tried to get to the Waterloo museum before it closed but we were unable to make it. We still got to see the
monument on the hill overlooking the battlefield, however. We had the best waffles I have ever had at the Carrefour grocery store there. We stayed one night at a hotel outside of Waterloo (Greg caught us dancing in the hotel room) and started out the next morning bright and early for Paris. This trip was a must as my nephew said the only thing he really wanted to see in Europe was the Eiffel Tower. 
We arrived in Paris in late afternoon, after checking into the hotel, buying our train tickets, and taking the train about 30 minutes into the city. We went first to L'Arc de Triomphe where most of us made the trek to the top. Caryn, Bryn, and I stayed behind. Bryn had a better time running around the tunnel. After a car ride and then a train ride, she was ready to run. We then went to La Tour Eiffel (which is what Evan had been waiting for). The line was pretty long and we decided to have dinner and climb to the top the next day. On the way back to the train station, we got to see the Tower lit up. It was really something to see. The times before when Greg and I had been to France, we had never seen the Eiffel Tower at night.The next morning we split up for a bit. Unfortunately, my sister and her family misplaced their three-day train tickets and had to buy new tickets for the second and third day. That is always a bummer. While they went to the Eiffel Tower, we thought we would take the girls to Sacre Coeur and Montmartre. Bailey is all into being an artist, we thought it might be cool for her to see artists in action. Both Bailey and Avery found a small original piece they liked very much. We went to L'Orangerie to see Monet's "Nympheas." It is one of my favorite museums in all of Paris - small but poignant. We walked through the Tuleries to the Louvre (grabbing a chocolate crêpe on the way) but just to see the outside. We met my family at the Hotel des Invalides where we let the kids run and play for a bit. We had dinner close to the hotel that evening.
Our last day in Paris we went to Notre Dame on the way to Versailles. Notre dame is just so beautiful.
It doesn't matter how many times you see it, there is just something about it that is breathtaking. All along the trip my sister kept waiting for a castle that was ornate. We delivered. Versailles was by far her favorite part. We spent a good part of the day there. On the way back to the train station, we stopped into McDonalds to grab a bite to eat on the train on the way back. We actually missed the first train because my sister's family took forever to get several milkshakes. It reminded us of our Salt River Canyon trip together for a brief moment. We drove back to Germany that night and returned quite late after several mishaps with exits being under construction and Greg passing a couple of bathrooms. It was still nice to get home and sleep in our own beds.
My family's last day in Germany was very mellow. The kids played. Greg, my mom, and Matt went for a walk around Bad Godesberg. Caryn and I read and talked. We took them to a hotel that night so they would be closer to the airport. All in all, I think we had a good time together and hopefully they got to see a few things that they otherwise wouldn't have seen.
Comments