Party in Paris

Amazing, right!

Beautiful night photo.

After saying so long to Rob's family, we hopped a taxi for Manchester airport, winged our way to Paris, and were dumped off at what can only be referred to as the "arm pit" of the airport.  Our driver was waiting though, and after another 40 minute drive, we were dropped at the front door to our home for the next few days.

Chillin

While the apartment wasn't to be mistaken for a palace, it was cozy, and in a really nice neighborhood.  It was already late afternoon, so we dropped our bags, and headed out for the Eiffel Tower.  We were all a little hungry so we spotted a cool little place on the street and stopped for beer and food...in that order.  After that we found our way by foot to the Tower.  To see it for the first time in person is really amazing!  An experience that I thought I would never have.  We hung out on the lawn as twilight approached amongst all the other revelers, some with baskets of bread and bottles of wine to usher in the lighting of the tower.  As darkness approached, the tower became lit up with twinkling lights!  We didn't know this, but they do it every night when it gets dark.  It's an amazing sight!

The day's travel was catching up to us, so we piled in a cab, and headed back to the apartment to have some wine and cheese.

Blue hair bus ride

From the Eiffel Tower

This is classic King family

The next morning we were up and out early to get to our four hour tour.  The weather was ok as we left the apartment, but after the three train trip to get to the start of our tour, the skies opened up and the rain came down hard!  This was good and bad.  The good thing was that we were on a bus for the first hour of the tour.  Once we were unloaded for our trip up the Tower, we got pretty wet though.  Visibility was pretty poor from the second level of the Tower, but it was easy to imagine how spectacular it would be on a clear day.  Once down, we were considering blowing off the boat tour that was part of our package, and doing it another day, but we sucked it up, and the rain cooperated (kinda) for the next hour plus.  The cruise along the Seine is amazing!  So much history and architecture!  It was truly something I will always remember.

After the boat ride we got a little street food, then walked back to the apartment, stopping along the way for more wine, bread, cheese and fruit, which made up our dinner....that and the 9pm sushi run to the restaurant on the ground floor of our building!  Yum (with the spice prince of India's accent) Some of you will get this.

It happened

Birthday beer

September 10, 2013!  Thankful that I lived long enough to celebrate my 50th birthday.  And how does a man of my dignity and class celebrate such an occasion?....I went to Disneyland! 

Up early to catch a series of trains that would land us in Mickey's playland. We hit the park hard and didn't stop until we were exhausted and on the verge of losing our cookies.  The Paris Disney has some of the same rides as the two in the states in name, but are very different in their design.  Space Mountain was off the hook, and Indiana Jones is an outdoor roller coaster that does an extremely tight loop. (we did it twice)  Mark took the prize for highest score in Buzz Lightyear, but I think they let me win on account of the birthday thing!

The turtle crush ride is a roller coaster that spins!  The car actually spins in circles.  I got off that feeling a bit like Nemo!  We raced of to the rocking roller coaster and waited in line for 30 minutes for our turn.  We finally loaded in the car and were bracing ourselves for another wild ride.  And we waited, and waited, and waited.  It soon became clear that there was an issue with the ride, and we were asked to step out of the car.  Not wanting to be the crash test dummies once they got it running again, we exited the building.

We were winding down.  It had been a fun day, but we decided to grab a bite and hit the train for the long ride back to Paris.  On the walk back to the apartment we got more bread and wine and fruit, and had another amazing snackfest.

Lou and Craig had sent money along with Cody for a birthday round of cocktails, so after chilling for awhile, we went across the street to a nice restaurant and bar.  The language was a bit of an issue here, and after some awkward exchanges they agreed to let us sit inside for a round of drinks.  Thanks Tates!

At the Louvre

A kid with a monster heart

Parental Abuse!

Our host is the artist

Our final full day of vacation arrived with dry weather, and a list of things we had to do and see before leaving Paris.  Number one on our to-do list was to get Cody to the Moulin Rouge.  After two or three trains we exited the underground, and there is was, in all it's glory!  Well, really not that much to look at, but Cody got himself a sweet poster from the gift shop.  He has alway been a fan of the movie.

The upside to our trip to the Moulin Rouge, is that it sits in a very cool neighborhood!  We started walking, and after dropping a couple Euro in a cup so that I could pet a pygmy goat, we were surrounded by cheese shops, sweets, outdoor eateries and all sorts of interesting sights.  We wondered through, but it wasn't quite food time so we headed underground, and to our next stop...the Louvre!

We didn't have the time to do the Louvre properly, so we were happy just to mill around the courtyard and admire the architecture of the palace turned museum.  From there we walked down to the bridge that is literally covered in locks.  After snapping some great photos, we hopped a train to get us near the Hard Rock, so that we could get Tater a guitar pin.

Now it was lunch time, and we love the Moulin Rouge neighborhood so much that we went back and copt a squat at an outdoor eatery and munched on some grindage with wine to wash it down.

After some cheese shopping trained it to the Champs de Elysee to snap some photos, and stroll the boulevard, then headed back to our neighborhood and picked up wine and bread for our evening snack attack.

All good things must come to an end (hate that saying, but seemed appropriate)  We were up way too early the next morning, and due to a broken elevator had to lug all of our luggage down five stories.  Our van was waiting, and after hugging Cody good bye, we headed home to Abu Dhabi, where Kayleigh and Rob would be waiting at our apartment!  But thats another blog all together!

The Big FIVE-OH Vacation Part One

My beautiful, talented daughter Kayleigh maintains a blog that chronicles her adventures around the globe.  She was sweet enough to allow me to pirate her recent blog post so that I could share the first  leg of our two week adventure to England and France with our friends.

I've added pictures and some text (in green), but the bulk of the credit goes to her.  Please take a minute and check out her blog at http://8iheartearth8.wordpress.com



Prior to August 30th, I hadn’t seen my father in person (thank goodness for Skype) for nearly a year and a half!  Disgusting!  And I hadn’t hugged my mother since the beginning of June.  And the last time we were all together with my brother as well??  Try 23 months ago!  So it was time for a reunion, and what better place for it to be than in the UK?!

We could show them parts of the city that we already loved and experience new things with them as well.  Instead of providing a long, drawn out explanation of everything, I figured it would be best to list them in bullets since we did SO much!

• Sandeman’s Walking Tour (FREE) – we had done this before but it’s different with a different guide

Site of the Olympic  beach volleyball events.  I could feel the presence of tiny bikini's from the past.

Changing of the guard

• National Portrait Gallery (FREE) – a beautiful and diverse display of portraits that date back hundreds of centuries.  The one I was most interested in viewing?  You may have heard of him once or twice – Mr. William Shakespeare.  Did you know that he had one of his ears pierced?
• National Gallery (FREE) – another stunning display of paintings ranging in age and subject.  Some were so beautifully preserved that you would have sworn they were rendered in Photoshop.  I was most excited to see a portrait by none other than Leonardo DaVinci.
• Waxy O’Conners Pub (FREE, but not if you want to munch) – a humble underground pub in the heart of Chinatown housing a large petrified tree planted 250 years ago in Ireland, and plenty of tucked away seating perfect for enjoying a pint.
• Evensong at Westminster Abbey (FREE) – a rare glimpse into the choir performances and sermons delivered at the famous church.  I even walked past Sir Isaac Newton’s tomb on the way out!  There is a separate entrance for this on the side.

Westminster Abbey

• New Sandeman’s Grim Reaper Tour – this was an interesting new experience for us.  From the same company that does the free walking tour, this one took place in the evening and focused on the dark parts of London’s history.  We even learned that Jack the Ripper claimed his first known victim 125 years ago, on the very same day we did the tour…creepy…  Did you know that to this day, they have never identified the serial killer?

• Royal Observatory – so it turns out that it can be quite expensive to stand over the Prime Meridian, where Greenwich Meantime begins.  So we didn’t stand over it but we had a look at the gorgeous view beyond the hill at Greenwich Park, gawked at the largest telescope I’ve ever stood by (it’s free to go into the dome to see it), and browsed through the gift shop. 

• Greenwich Market – a lovely collection of local artisans, butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers.  Free to browse but pricey yet unique for goods.

• London Bridge – it’s unclear how many stood on this site before it was constructed in the 70’s – enough to warrant a playful song about the failures of the previous ones I guess.  It’s a great walk over the Thames, with a beautiful view of the famous Tower Bridge

• The Monument – just off London Bridge and around a corner stand tall The Monument, a memorial column constructed in honor of the Great Fire of London.  Its height represents the distance from the column to where the fire started in 1666.  Built just a decade later on the site of the first church the fire engulfed, it’s a beautiful dedication to disastrous event.

• Museum of London (FREE) – houses a wonderful display of artifacts from early human existence in the area, as well as goods and clothing from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.

• British Museum (FREE) – I can’t believe this place was established so long ago – 1753.  That’s even before the US was established!  This museum houses a great collection.  My favorite wings hold the Egyptian exhibits which house impressive statues, relics, and even mummies.  Cleopatra lies in the upper Egyptian exhibit and the actual Rosetta Stone is encased in the lower exhibit.  Sure, they should be in an Egyptian museum, but it’s pretty incredible to be in the presence of such historically significant artifacts.

• Camden Market – this is probably my favorite place in London!  I love these stables and horse hospital-turned market stalls.  Great food, great crafts, great vibe, and truly eclectic.  It’s free to explore if you can get out of there without purchasing anything – good luck!

• Green Park – a beautiful walk through the park on our way to Buckingham Palace.  It’s named Green Park because it houses only green trees, no colorful flowers…creative.

• Buckingham Palace – we didn’t go in.  Pretty bland on the outside if you ask me.

• Borough market – a true gem located under the south end of London Bridge.  This market, that sells food from around the world, has had successors dating back to 1000 years ago, pretty cool!

• Southwark Cathedral – we stumbled across this beautiful building on a walkabout and were lucky enough to catch a piano performance in the meantime.  This place has been around for SOOO long!  Shakespeare actually attended there and that wasn’t even during the cathedral’s early days!  So historical.

Statue dedicated to William Shakespear

From there we headed north to Burscough, where my family and the fiance's family would FINALLY meet!

Lunch with family and friends at the local pub

Stuart and Annette Nicholson...oh, and Dexter the Dog

At the Lakes District

The Ladies

The Men

We had an amazing time visiting with Rob's family and are extremely grateful for their hospitality.  We had a couple adventures in northern England that I'll share separately.  Off to Paris for some Vin Rouge now!