Hi to those interested in our trip. I'm writing about the first 2 days of our journey on the evening of Tuesday July 22. I have recovered from jet lag and am able to stay up a little while after getting the kids to bed...
We started our trip Sunday July 20 at 8 am when we left WS for GSO airport. We were still a little tired from the fun day we'd had at swim finals the day before. We arrived in plenty of time for our 11:30 flight. The kids were very excited. They were looking forward to the plane ride and getting to France and seeing Lucas (8) and Elanor (4) Moore. Lucas and Elanor, along with their parents, Steve and Megan are our good friends and travelling companions/cruise directors. Steve and Megan lived in Paris for 3 months and have a great knowlege of Paris and travelling in general - plus, they know the language, which is, of course, very,very helpful. The Moores had arrived in France on July 17 and had been staying in Lyon with friends of Megan's from her days as an exchange student in Germany. They met up with us on our arrival in Paris.
The initial leg of our journey was fine, except that it was in a little plane with a lot of turbulence. I sat beside Caroline, who did not want to open the window to look out. So, I was a little queasy by the time we reached Newark. We had a 4 hour lay-over in Newark, which was not bad with the portable dvd players available. We were glad to finally board the plane. Of course, this was a much bigger plane and had lots of built in entertainment. Also, the 2 seats beside John, who was behind me and the kids, were vacant. So, we had 6 seats for the 4 of us. What luck! So, when it was time to sleep, each kid got to stretch out over 2 plane seats. The kids slept well. John and I did not.
We arrived in Paris at 8 am local time, but 2 am to us. Then we needed to navigate to the apartment to meet the Moores. We took the RER train into the metro station, then made our way on the metro to the apartment. The metro was a little dicey with both kids and 80+ lbs of luggage, but we made it nonetheless. John navigated for us using his remote memory of Mrs. Connor's High School French Class and about 30 minutes of sleep.
We met up with the Moores, who, mercifully, had already located/checked in to the apartment. They took us straight there, where we showered, had lunch, and went to sleep. The plan was to wake us at 5pm local time so we could sleep that night - which was good because had they not woken us, we'd still be asleep. The kids rallied and we had a quick dinner in the apartment, then - off to the Eiffel Tower.
The weather was beautiful and sunny and in the 70's and our quick walk to the tower, which can be seen from the terrace of our apartment building, was breathtaking. Paris is a beautiful place. The children were ready to go up the Eiffel Tower, and since the lines were not too long, we willingly obliged. Caroline and the boys were very intent on going to the top (the highest of 3 levels). When we arrived at the window to buy our tickets (after waiting about 30 min) the wait to go all the way up was 30 min more, so we decided to go to the 2nd level. The boys were a little grumbly at first, but were fine with it once we got up there. It's a good thing we didn't buy tickets to the top, because as soon as she saw the elevator, Caroline got scared/weepy. She rallied and went up (clutching my hand) and was comfortable once we arrived on the second level, but she would not get close to the railing/fence through which we all peered out at a beautiful view of the city. So, all my pictures of her at the Eiffel tour are with her back against the center walls, or of her standing and the ground in front of it.
Steve pointed out the great landmarks of the city: The Louvre, Notre Dame, the Hotel National des Invalides, the Seine River, and many others.
On the way home, we stopped and got dessert for the kids - Caroline, Lucas, and Elanor had some soft ice cream, while Wyatt had a croissante. Megan got a great picture of them with their chosen treats.
We arrived back at the apartment - which is lovely. 3 bedrooms and a pull out couch. John and I got the choice accomodations this time, with our own bedroom. The girls have a room with twin beds as do the boys. There is a nice common area with a table and TV (which we've yet to turn on) and a door out to a small terrace. We also have a nice kitchen in which to prepare meals, which has been great.
Once we got in, the Hoyles were still tired and a little jet lagged, so we called it a night.
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