Smith Family European Family Vacation--Days 7 and 8: Hello, Paris!

I'm a little behind, since we've been busy living.  Luckily (note the dripping sarcasm), Lucy threw up twice this morning, and I'm not feeling so hot either, so we stayed home from sightseeing today.  The upside is that I cleaned the whole apartment and have time to catch up on my blog posts.

We got up on Saturday and prepared to go for a nice, long loop around the city.  Every time Aaron and I have been to Paris, we do this loop and we love the sights and people watching that it affords.  All told, we walked about 6 1/2 miles that day, which is an extra big deal for little kids like Sawyer.



We started from our apartment and walked to the Arc de Triomphe, then headed down the Champs-Elysses.  We did some shopping at H&M and Petit Bateau.  Petit Bateau has just about the cutest, best quality children's clothes ever--and price tags to match.  Given that 80% of my kids' wardrobes are normally bought at thrift stores, I felt even more sticker shock.  But we bought some really special clothes that they will love for a long time.

Sophie, Lukas, Sawyer, Lucy and I spent a little while waiting for the others.  We had separated to shop.  Without thinking, I let one of the boys who went with Aaron use my phone.  We opted to enable international texting on our phones for just such eventualities, but it doesn't work if you don't have the phone in your pocket :).  Anyway, the younger kids and I parked ourselves on a bench and watched the parade of nationalities and personalities and fashion ideas come on down the road.



Just about the time I started wondering how to file a missing persons report in France, we finally found each other, and continued on to the Place de la Concorde.  I didn't know this until this trip, but this was the "Revolutionary Square" where many of the beheadings of the French Revolution took place.  To transform the meaning of this place, Louis-Phillipe decided to erect a 23 meter granite obelisk, given to him from the king of Egypt. It took two years to transport it from Egypt to France.






The day we were there, an energetic brass ensemble were playing music at the foot of the obelisk, so we stopped to listen.  Lukas and Sawyer ran up and put money in their open case.  Those two love to give money to musicians--pretty much anyone who asks for it.  There are a lot of people begging in Paris.  Many of them hold out a cup.  The first time Sawyer saw this, he said, "Mom, is that guy thirsty?"  That made me laugh, but also feel sad.

Damon doing some photo bombing.

We walked across the Seine, and then along the river and across a few streets to the Eiffel Tower.  We will go up in the next few days, since the line is really long if you don't have reservations.

Sophie and I being silly under the Eiffel tower.

Then we hiked home.  At this point, everyone was hungry and it started to feel like a death march.  It started to rain.  Several of our shopping bags started to disintegrate because they were so wet, so we had to stop and consolidate so nothing would get ruined.  Sawyer finally blurted out, "I'm so hungry I could eat all the people in the whole world!"  Since we didn't want to have to resort to cannibalism, we stopped at a fast food place near our apartment and bought a few Margharita Pizzas and Doner sandwiches.  We took the food home and inhaled it.  Then Aaron and I retreated to our room while the kids messed around taking funny pictures of each other.

I don't even know how to caption this picture...

Cute Sophie.

Blue steel.

Bottoms up.

Apples are a good modeling prop.

Aaron and a few of the kids went back to the Champes Elysses for more shopping.  The rest of us just lumped around watching garbage on TV (or working on blog posts, as the case may be).  But the TV was in French, so I'm pretty sure it was a cultural experience.  At least now the kids know how to say "sponge" in French.  That should come in handy.






On Sunday, we had to get up early (7 a.m.) to get ready for church.  The church building is over near the Hotel de Ville, so it took a few metro changes from where we are staying to get there.  We listened to someone translate the service into French for the first half of the services and the children went to Sunday school, where other children translated for them.  However, then the translator's microphone went on the fritz.  Since we weren't getting anything out of the meeting anymore, we decided to cut our losses.  We went to the Notre Dame and toured it.  They had a mass going while we walked around, and the music and atmosphere was amazing.  I love organ music in cathedrals.

Walking out the gate from the church courtyard.

The church building is the ground and lower ground floor of this building.  Cars park haphazardly in the courtyard.

Joan of Arc statue in Notre Dame.

Intricate stained glass in the cathedral.

After that, we had lunch along the banks of the Seine.  Then we went home.  A few blocks away from home, we realized that we both (Aaron and I) forgot our keys to the apartment.  I was doubly sad, because I had decided to wear attractive vs. sensible shoes to church, and said attractive shoes were not making my feet happy.  Although they did look fabulous, it must be said.

Damon and I went out to figure out how to call the property manager.  We didn't pay for a calling plan on our phones because we have a phone in our apartment.  Although, that only works if you can get into your apartment...

We went to three different convenience stores, and ended up at this little kiosk that sold cigarettes and pay-as-you-go phones, as well as (luckily!) calling cards.  Then we tried to call the number we had, but after several attempts, we couldn't figure it out.  We were just leaving the phone booth in frustration, when Aaron found us and let us know that the building supervisor had let us in.  Hallelujah!  My feet were so happy to come home and chill out.

Memorial honoring fallen soldiers at the base of the Arc de Triomphe.

Detailed stone carvings on the Arc de Triomphe.

After napping and eating dinner, we headed out (in sensible shoes for me, this time) to climb the Arc de Triomphe.  Well, in all fairness, Lucy, Sawyer and I got to cheat and take the elevator to the almost-top because of our stroller.  The view was beautiful, and we were up there when they turned the lights on the Eiffel Tower and to watch the sunset.  Magical.  Aaron and I tried to get Brendan to take a picture of us kissing, but he insisted that the first picture he took was good enough.  So it is not quite as artistic (or well-focused) as I would like.  But what can you do?  Knowing that you got to kiss the one you love on the top of the Arc de Triomphe in the City of Love helps to compensate for any photographical deficiencies.

Lukas looking at all the sights of the city from his vantage point on the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

Lights on.  Periodically they sparkle and flash.

With my love.

Then we went home and crashed.  The great thing about having such busy days is that we all sleep like logs.

Bon voyage!

Smith Family European Vacation--Days 5 and 6: Salzburg and a Road Trip

Fountain near the Dom in Salzburg.

On Thursday, we got up fairly early and headed out to Salzburg, Austria.  It was about a 2 and 1/2 hour drive from where we were staying in Germany.  At least half of the drive was spent on two-lane highways.  You could go at least 60 mph on all of them, but the real problem was that if you got behind a truck, you were hosed.  Unlike in the States where trucks or other slow-moving vehicles are required to pull over if a certain number of cars build up behind them, in Germany there would be a row of 15-20 cars behind a truck going half the speed limit.  A car or two would speed up and pass when it was (somewhat) safe to do so, and periodically the single lane would expand to two and let fast-moving cars pass through.  Overall, however, it was a rather frustrating section of the drive.

Germans seriously have the best looking woodpiles I've ever seen.  Somehow they cut each piece to exactly the same length, and then split them to exactly the same width, and then stack them perfectly.

We arrived in Salzburg all in one piece and found parking in a parking garage that was literally tunneled out of the mountain.  The boys dubbed it the "bat cave."  We walked to the Salzburg Dom.  It is another lovely church.





I have to admit that much of Salzburg for me was about looking for Sound of Music sites.  Initially, I was planning to do our own Sound of Music tour.  However, about five minutes after we got there, it started to rain.  The forecast had predicted it would be warm with a slight chance of rain so we dressed accordingly.  Instead, it was cold and very rainy.  I have decided that I am a fair-weather tourist.  If I get wet and cold, I get a little bit cranky.  Aaron would probably chivalrously deny it, but it is sadly true.







After the Dom, we went into a restaurant and had a delicious lunch.  It was nice to dry out and warm up a little.  Goulash and potato dumplings for me.  The little kids had pesto pasta, which they loved.  We tried the Apfel Strudel again, and I didn't like it as well as the stuff we had the day before, largely because they included raisins.  I am not a fan of cooked raisins.  Plus, they served it with a smallish scoop of ice cream, and it was much better with the custard sauce.  On the up side, a picture on the wall attested to the fact that Rick Steves had been there. So that must mean that we have fabulous taste in restaurants.

A door in Salzburg.  Catholic families write on their doors with chalk to mark Epiphany.  It says:" 20*C+M+B*13".  It is the year, with the CMB in the middle, which stands for the Latin phrase that means "Christ bless this home."

After that, we walked through the Getreidegasse and did some shopping.  Aaron bought Sawyer some "handsome clothes" (Sawyer's words) at H&M.  We also bought Lucy a cute boiled wool jacket, which she immediately started prancing around in.  Heaven help us with a little girl who is so aware of her own charms.



Strangely, the store where we bought it (full of traditional Bavarian/Austrian clothes like lederhosen and dirndls) gave us a bag with a picture of Pamela Anderson in a "sexy dirndl" on it.  It was sort of hilariously incongruent.

Red Bull was apparently created in Austria, so they have a whole store devoted to Red Bull merchandise.  Not their finest contribution, in my opinion.

Sweet fashions in Red Bull world.

Lovely display in a shop window.

Sawyer showing off his treat from the bakery.

After shopping, we took the tram up the hill to Salzburg Castle.  The views from the hill were spectacular, including a few Sound of Music sites, such as the manor on the lake where the "backyard" scenes were filmed, and the cemetery where the Von Trapp family hid from the Nazis.  We could see all across the valley and down into the city below.

With all of that, some of the best views were actually a little closer to hand.  I love my sweet and crazy kids.  Some of them held still long enough for me to take some pictures.

Sophie.

Brendan.

Lucy.

Speaking of crazy, I'm pretty sure that Sawyer and Lukas consider all castles (and city streets, for that matter) their own personal par cour courses.  They've both had some near misses (and many a disapproving look from the natives) as they heedlessly careen down city streets.  We are trying to keep them in check without completely killing their joy.  It's a delicate balance.

Sophie and Brendan in the cemetery where part of the "Sound of Music" was filmed.

We then went back to the Bat Cave and got our car.  The screen on the machine that took our parking ticket as we excited said "Gute Fahrt!", which means, "Have a good drive!"  I read it out loud, and we all got the giggles.  Being cold makes me a little loopy :).

We were all glad to get back "home" and relax.

Incidentally, it was really fun to be able to hang out with Aaron's parents.  They are such nice people that they willingly spent four days with our crazy group and even acted like they were enjoying themselves.  We are lucky to have them!

The kids with their grandparents.

Friday morning, we got up and hit the deck running to pack up our car and leave the house clean and tidy.  In case you were wondering, this is what it looks like when a family of 8 goes to Europe for two weeks:

The back of our van packed to the rafters.

I took a few pictures of the house before we left.  It was a great place to stay.

Our front door.

Our kids had a great time on the swings during our stay.

Our landlady's home, with attached barn around the corner.

The drive itself was fairly uneventful, other than some crazy weather.  It definitely felt looooong to all of us.  It took nearly 11 hours for us to drive from Southern Germany to Paris.  Refer to the description above concerning two-lane highways to understand in part why it took so long.  That is a pretty long time to be in one car with six children.  Suffice it to say, these were some oft-heard phrases:

• "Knock it off!"
• "You're being a jerk!!"
• "I need to go to the bathroom."
• "Give my (insert favorite object) back!  Now!"
• "When are we stopping to eat?"
• (sobbing) "Three more hours?  I thought you said it was only an hour and a half!"

You get the idea.  Family car trips, without our usual DVD player, are not for the faint-hearted.  Aaron and I kept our cool most of the time, which is about the best we can possibly hope for.



We stopped at IKEA near Strasbourg for lunch because we knew it would be cheap and that we would be able to find something that everyone would like.  Plus, with any luck, we figured we'd be able to eat some of this:

Kidding, kidding.  IKEA was an inspired choice--everyone was happy, and they had some really good things that IKEA in America doesn't.  Most notably, they serve vegetables with the mashed potatoes as a matter of course (carrots in this yummy creamy sauce and zucchini).  They also had some delicious desserts that we don't get in the states, like chocolate eclairs.

We meant to stop in Strasbourg and walk around the city center, but realized that we were running late to meet the property manager for our apartment in Paris, so we just stopped for lunch and drove on through.  Hopefully we'll be able to hit it on the way back.



We were very happy to arrive in one piece, unpack a little in our cute apartment and fall into bed, exhausted.

Bon voyage!