Europe - Paris

Paris was our final stop on the trek across Western Europe. Our former neighbors from Virginia, the Cliatt's, were the perfect hosts. Their place was centrally located, their kids were perfect playmates, and their beds just right for recovering from a long day of site-seeing. Our first night in, the Cliatt clan took us on a 15 minute walk from their place to Trocade'ro to see the Eiffel Tower lit up for the night. Every hour over 20,000 lights flash for 5 minutes to make it "Sparkly" as Ellie said.

The next day, with a little help from Steve, we took a short ride on the RER out from Avenue Foch to Versailles (see if you can find it on the map). Ellie slept through most of the tour, but the rest of us enjoyed it. It is easy to see how France became the center of power in Europe during King Lois XIV reign. Although I have to say, he comes across as having a bit of an ego. Self styled as the "sun king", his nobles ritually greeted him each morning as he rose from bed to shine his light on his subjects.

After Versailles, it was back to Eiffel Tower. We climbed up to the first level, Dave carrying Ellie. From Level 1 - 2, everyone, including Ellie, climbed the stairs. That's us celebrating our victory. It was late, so we hoofed it back to our home base, the Cliatt's.

Tyler and Ellie had a great time playing with Carter and Charlotte. Steve and Sara Beth graciously watched our kids that night while Melissa and I had a late dinner. First, we walked the 5 minutes to the Arc de Triomphe. Yet another climb to the top, but it was worth it. First, the view down the Champ-Elysees at night was spectacular. Even more entertaining was watching the traffic in Paris' most famous, and dangerous, round about. No way you could convince me to drive in that mad-house.

The next day, after tearing the kids away from playing, we managed to drag them to the Louvre. Keep in mind, living in DC for 10 years, with National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian, and Corcoran, it takes a lot for a museum to impress me. I was impressed. That place is gigantic! We did get to see the Mona Lisa (the kids got front row!) and a couple of Michelangelo's statues. After a quick bite for lunch, it was off to the Notre Dame Cathedral. While I couldn't find touch-down Jesus , I did find at least one guy watching us. Something about the way he looked told me it was time for us to head out.

That is exactly what we did the next day. Again with help from Steve, we took ourselves and all our luggage via the Metro to the train station. Just in time to catch a bullet train from Paris to Brussels.

We spent the next day recovering in Brussels before having a fabulous dinner out with the Robinson's and their friends. The next morning, it was off to the airport and the long flight home. I will leave you with humorous pic taken at the airport featuring our friend and beloved mascot of Brussels, the Manneken Pis.