TeeTee's Big Adventure

Before Larry left Elle gave him a little bird that she bought at the Children's Museum. She named the bird TeeTee after the name of one of her imaginary friends from when she was 3 years old. Larry has taken TeeTee on a few adventures in Dubai. Look for more of TeeTee's adventures in the future. 

TeeTee by the Pool TeeTee by the pool at night TeeTee where she sleeps

Day 9 in Paris - coming home :(

We left for home on Friday, April 18. We had an amazing visit! The beer was expensive, the wine was cheap, the cheese and bread were wonderful and the company was truly amazing. In hind sight I hope that every vacation that we take could be like this one. Having friends living there, they know how things work, plus in the evenings you get to hang out with them. The kids have more fun the way and so do the adults. Plus we got to see Larry. Its been very hard being apart. 

Saying goodbye at the airport was extremely hard. I don't think that we realized how hard it would be to be apart for a couple of months. And to think that our first plan was for Larry to go to Dubai for 6 months alone, the girls and I would join him for a year, and then he would be alone again for 6 months. I am very glad that we will now be together for 2 years. 

Day 8 in Paris - Catacombs, D'orsay and Rodin

Hurray, the catacombs opened up before we had to leave! They have been closed for several months for renovation. Its kinda creepy I suppose, but I love that kind of stuff. You get to experience the energy of all of the people burried there - 7 million of them. 

Next we went to the Museum D'Orsay. Unfortunately a museum guard strike was going on so only the first floor was open. I was bummed, but hey, these things happen. We will go back some day. I came home and bought the book from Amazon. Sure the book isn't the same as seeing the real thing, but its better than nothing. At least we did get to see many great works of art on the first floor. 

Near the end of the day we met up with Karen, Bret and the girls at the Rodin museum. It was a challenge to get in. There was a special exhibit going on for Camille Claudel - amazing sculptor with a very interesting life. 

Interesting Links (You Tube)

Getting lost in Paris catacombs Part 1 Part 2

Camille Claudel

Rodin

Day 7 in Paris - Disney

After so many museums we wanted to do something fun for the girls. We decided to go to Euro Disney for the day. It was typical disney, much like Magic Kingdom in Florida. Except that they were only running at about half capacity. The lines could have been much shorter. All in all it was a great time. The parade at the end was our favorite part. 

Day 6 in Paris - Versailles

We took a day trip out to the Palace of Versailles. The girls were excited to ride the double decker train. We sat on top and had a nice view as we rode outside of the city to Versailles. The hall of mirrors was very cool. I can’t image palace live. Marie Antoinette might have had a bad rap, but she had the right idea to get out of the palace! She created an estate all her own. We enjoyed that the best. There was a theater, gardens, a cave, a farm and lots of play areas of the kids of Marie Antoinette's time. We had an awesome family day here. We were very tired from all of the walking, but it was well worth it. 

I think this was the night that we drank absinthe too. Good times with good friends! :) 

Day 5 in Paris - Paris soccer fans are wild!

It rained... we walked down Champs Elysees in the rain. We walked down to the Arc de Triomphe. We didn't go up inside. We were cold and wet and the girls were ready to be back home for a while. 

Later that night Bret, Larry, Camilla, Dani and Elle went to a soccer game. Oh my!!! So different than the states. What an experience they had. The crowds are so into the game, yelling, chanting, setting off flares. 

Day 4 in Paris - The Louvre

Sunday - We spelt in today then when to the Louvre around lunch time. There are so many amazing places in Paris. I would have loved to see every inch of the Louvre, but when traveling with kids you have to temper the amount of time. I think they had more fun running in playing in the gardens in front of the Louvre! But that's ok. It was still an amazing experience. The picture is Camilla, Elle and Dani in front of the Mona Lisa. 

Interesting links (YouTube videos)

Testing the Mona Lisa

The Louvre