Two days in Paris

     I was too wiped last night to write so I will speak of two days. Yesterday morning the rest of our group, Marla and Kyra, arrived from North Dakota. We entertained them with our local fresh market at Bastille. It was full of the vendors you expect. Cheese, meat, food, flowers, antiques, and junk. We snacked on pastries and the vendors handed out cherries. We used these treats for our lunch of a large salad and market paella. 

     Our new jetlagged people napped while SPCL walked through the Marais neighborhood. We saw La Place des Vosges, The Picasso Museum, and the Pompidou. There were lots of fantastic shops. We got rained on while sitting in the courtyard of Pompidou. We wandered back home for a dinner made from fresh pasta from the Bastille Market and left over beef from the previous night. We them walked down for the Seine for the sunset and gelato at Berthillon. 

     Today we were refreshed from our best night's sleep. We took the Métro to the Musée d'Orsay. Riding the train in Paris is more difflucult then London but not impossible. At the Musée we saw fantastic Monets, Renoirs, Cezanes, Degas and many more. It is a great use of an old train station. We had a French Café lunch on the sidewalk under the awning while it rained. I had confit de canard that was so yummy, Cael is a convert. Marla had a huge steak tartare. Stephanie had salmon over fresh pasta with a mushroom sauce. We stopped by to see Napoleon's Tomb. Then we wandered down Rue Cler. We went to The Cheese Shop and bought eight different cheeses. I will work on the official list later. Lumia picked out a pretty red dress. Then we walked to the Eiffel Tower. Finally we had a great dinner of leftovers and a cheese plate in our fantastic apartment. Now the moon is rising over Paris and we will soon go to bed. Go see our photos!

Paris

     I did not think I needed to elaborate on the title of this post. We arrived today in Paris. Travels went well. We tubed to King's Cross Station for our obligatory Platform 9 & 3/4 photo op. The station immediately next door was where we caught the Eurostar to Paris. This is a fast train. It topped out at 230 k/hr. Everyone has been very helpful when my very poor French fails me for example a Parisian who spoke for me when we could not figure out how to get through the luggage gate at the Métro. 

     It was raining in Paris when we arrived so we took the Métro to our new neighborhood where we met our lovely hostess who name is currently escaping me. The apartment is beautiful. It is a large, light-filled artist's studio on the 4th floor of a little alley in the middle of Paris. An oasis.

     We walked around our neighborhood which was not very crowded. Lots of European kids are still in school so this is a good time to travel. We went to A la Biche au Bois upon Mark and Karen's suggestion and were thrilled. We sat at a tiny table by the window next to a gang of Boys winding down Pride Week. We had the menu of the day which included country paté, potato salad, two kinds of beef, bordeaux, raspberry sorbet, and a cheese selection. I got a lump in my throat when Monsieur brought out the cheese plate. Seven choices. We had three and they were delicious. It was a very French restaurant in the very best ways. 

     Then we walked the delirious kids along the Seine for sunset and now we are home for a night cap and bed. I can't imagine that it gets better but this is only the first half day. Paris has been tres magnifique! Bon soir.

Yes it rains on vacation

     London did not disappoint. In fact it showed off all its weather options from brilliant blue skies yesterday to pouring down rain with mugginess today. It did not, however, slow down the Intrepid Explorers. We brought our rain coats. 

    We had a great breakfast in our neighborhood at Pimlico Fresh where we chatted up a young couple vacationing from Victoria BC. Then we caught The Tube to The Tower of London. I learned that Lumia does not know her east from west. I will have to work on that. Small world around Stephanie hit as we ran into friends of friends at the tower ticket line. So the kids had other kids to talk to and we had parents to smile at while the Beefeaters shared their ribald humor - he told tales of old and new leaders who seem to think that building walls keeps the ruffians out. It didn't work then; he wasn't convinced that it will now. We saw the Crown Jewels and toured the old White Tower. 

     We walked across the Tower Bridge to the Burrough Market for lunch and window shopping. The market came well recommended and did not disappoint. We had yummy sandwiches, Lu got a giant meringue, and we looked at cheese and charcuterie and juice and olive oil and truffle and baked goods shops - amazing! We got a shot at the filming site for the supposed entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. We walked along the Thames and saw the Old Globe, the Tate Modern, and the Millenium Bridge.

     Then we supped with Stephanie's long-time friend Amy Warburton who lives up north. She regaled Lu with stories about when they were younger. Lumia loves stories like that. Hopefully our jet lag is fully done and we will sleep tonight. Paris tomorrow. Cheers!

Day two in London

     We slept half way through the night. Had a break for Harry Potter then slept for a few more hours. When we got up we had a Beautiful Day in London. It took Cael a bit to wake up this am. Look at his grump face.  We walked to the Thames by way of the Tate Britain. We walked along the far side to see Westminster. The queue at the Abbey was too long to make it to our lunch reservations. 

     We walked up into SOHO, fun neighborhood, for lunch at Yotam Ottolenghi's reasurant Nopi. I'm a poor hipster as I did not take photos of the food. Fortunately my companions were photogenic. It was very delicious. We had courgette fritters, green beans with asaparagus and peas, the jicama, a blue cheese cake with beets and almonds, scallops, and the sirloin with a seaweed salad. Steph and I like the savory cheese cake, Cael liked the jicama, Lumia like the fritters. We all agreed that they had super cool bathrooms. Not my picture follows.

 

     I'm sure Cael will tell you that the best part of the day was finding a killer sale at the Addidas store for a Aresenal jersey. Then we wandered further north to the British Museum where we saw anchient Egyptian,  Assyrian, and Greek works of art. Sadly the reading room was closed. If you heave not seen it, it is one of the most beautiful libraries in the world. Not my picture follows.

 

     We wandered through Fitzrovia near the museum and upon a suggestion by a few locals we went for pizza. Then the kids had their first Underground ride. Now we have our feet up and are ready for bed. Good first full day of our trip. 

     There is a link to the right for our Flickr page where you can see the corresponding photos. Cheers!

Pimlico

     Posting in the early morning from Pimlico. Our travels went well with two planes and one train even if we did not sleep very well. 

     We are now just south of Westminster Abbey in the neighborhood of Pimlico. Sunday afternoon in London neighborhoods are full of Londoners of all types enjoying their town. We enjoyed the 'best fish and chips in London since 1965' where our friendly waiter drew out a little map of our walk on the back of our receipt. We saw the Abbey, Parliment, 10 Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, and Buckingham Palace all on our walk as we tried to stay awake till a decent hour. The long parade street in front of Buckingham Palace was closed to traffic allowing us a great view. Walks with an 8 & 12 year old are much easier.  

     We made it till 7pm Greenwich time then quickly crashed in our tiny room. There was only a little grumpiness, a blister, and a very early wake up. Steph is reading Harry Potter then we will try to nap a little more before heading out for more London! 

     Don't for get our pictures at the flicker site https://www.flickr.com/photos/caelstephpaul/

Almost Packed!

     Looks like we are going on the road again! I even got a new suit case. Stay tuned on these pages for the newest adventures of The Intrepid Explorers. Expect posts from London, Paris, and Munich.