Day 3 in Paris - Eiffel Tower

I wish that I would have taken the time to post every day while in Paris. Its hard to recall what we did each day. But even now I should be working on a paper for class - 2 more weeks and I will have my MBA. No more papers for me for a while!!! 

Saturday, April 10 we went to the Eiffel Tower. We walked up to the first level then took the elevator to the 2nd level and then all the way up to the top. Its amazing what you can see up there. After that we had some lunch and then split up for the afternoon. Larry and Bret took the girls to Luxembourg Gardens and Karen and I went to Clignancourt market. 

Karen and I also walked around Montmartre, an artsy residential neighborhood. We had a beer at a small cafe which used to be the home of the son of a female writer - I need to check my facts with Karen. Picasso, Degas, Van Gogh, Toulouse Lautrec and more used to hang out in this neighborhood. 

Check out the live webcams in Paris. 

Day 2 in Paris - Notre Dame and Pere-Lachaise

On day 2 we met Karen and Bret at St. Suplice to start the day out. It was only a block and half from our apartment. The pictures are from the beautiful fountain in front of the church. Next visited Notre Dame. It's such an amazing place! Talk about having a religous experience when you walk thru and enourmous cathedral like that. Then we spent a couple of hours walking thru Pere-Lachaise. 

The Hartshorn's Meet in Paris

We planned this trip to visit friends who are living there over a year ago using frequent flyer miles. Then the Dubai move came up. So now it appears we are some jet setting family going all over the place. Who would have thought...

We rented an apartment that was about 10 minutes walk and 2 metro stops from our friend's place. Here area few pictures of it. 

Our first day was a little hectic. Our flight was late getting in. We were tired. We had to find Larry at the airport and our cell phones weren't working. But it all worked out. We 

took t

he metro to the apartment and found Bret and Karen there waiting for us. 

Later that day we picked up Samantha and Camilla from school, walked thru Invalides where Napoleon is burried, and while walking to the Bowin's apartment we got to see a rare treat - Paris police in riot gear. A student protest was going on, something to do with needing more teachers and space in schools as well as celebrating an historical protest. We did

 not have the camera that day but I did find some pictures that I borrowed

 from other blogs that give a good idea of what the riot police look like. Protest info

Living in Dubai

Well, this is my first post from Dubai. I have been in a hotel for 9 days and am very ready to get out. I hope to move into an apartment Tuesday, April 1. It is in a quaint walking village area called Old Town Island. Here are some photos of the area. The village is in the shadows if the Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world.I miss my girls and can't wait to see them in Paris! We video chat plenty, but it is 'not quite the same' as Elle has so appropriately stated.

Easter

Our first make holiday without Larry. :( 

My and the girls day started with them looking for their Easter Baskets and soon after we talked to Larry on Skype. We played a game and then hung around the house, cleaned and got ready to go to my friends Tracy's parents for dinner. It was fun - much like a holiday with my own family. How nice is it to have friends who share their family with you! Its now 6pm. We are home, tired and a bit crabby. Its been a hard, emotional week. Hopefully we will start to adjust to a new rhythm soon. 

Today Larry looked at a couple of apartments and then went to work. He should move into an apartment soon which will make his daily life more normal since he will be able to cook for himself rather than eating at the hotel or mall. 

Well that's all for today. I am beat. I'm going to take a short nap, make some dinner, get the girls in the shower and early to bed. Then I need to focus on school for a few hours. 

Larry is safe and sound in Dubai

Larry is staying at the Raffles Hotel in Dubai. It is close to one of his offices. The hotel has an Egyptian theme. We've talk to him several times computer to computer with voice and video - its worked great and we all get to see each other. 

Larry leaves for Dubai

Ever leave for a trip but forget something? Ever forget the most important thing that you need on the trip? Well...  We kept the girls out of school on Wednesday to take Larry JFK airport. We departed around 6am, had a quiet and sad drive to New York. We drop Larry off with lots of tears. He and his several pieces of luggage head inside and the girls and I head home. After a few minutes on the road we get a call from Larry... he can't find his passport. He continues to look and we continue to drive. He calls back, no passport. So we turn around and go pick him up and head home to find the passport. Luckily Larry was able to get on the night flight to Dubai and hire a car to take him back to the airport. The nice thing was that we got to spend more time with him!