Thursday, April 3, 2014

Take Me To Paris - Day 2

Stop 2 - Marche aux Puces de la Porte de Vanves Flea Market: After reading rave reviews about the Parisian flea markets, we figured we couldn't pass up a chance to visit them in person. The market was dreamy with goods ranging from vintage toys to antique jewelry. Maeli was especially intrigued by a bucket full of baby doll eyes one vendor was selling. (She has actually mentioned the bucket on multiple occasions since being home.) After scouring all of the dealers' tables, Maeli ended up picking out a little vintage dress for her baby doll. She dressed her baby in it as soon as we got home and regularly admires the doll in her new wardrobe.







Stop 3 - Notre Dame Cathedral: In preparing for the trip, we watched Disney's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" with the kids. After watching the movie, Maeli wrote a letter to Quasimodo and drew a picture of a princess to go with it. We rolled the letter up and left it for Quasimodo at the top of the bell tower at Notre Dame Cathedral. Maeli was a bit disappointed that she didn't get to see Quasimodo but after we explained that he was scared of all the people, she seemed to be satisfied. 









Stop 4 - Pont de l'Archeveche (Love Lock Bridge): Next we headed over to the Love Lock Bridge to lock down our love. Maeli enjoyed getting to secure our lock and toss the key into the canal.





Stop 5 - Jardin du Luxembourg: After the bridge we rushed over to Luxembourg Gardens to see the "Little Red Riding Hood" marionette puppet show. Although the dialog was in French, the kids totally loved the show! They especially loved when the marionettes would run around and hit one other.




Stop 6 - Jardin du Luxembourg: In the center of Luxembourg Gardens sits a small pond where visitors can rent a toy sailboat for just a few euro. After watching the puppet show, we grabbed a boat and sailed it around the pond for a bit. The kids thought it was so cool and Maeli loved running around the pond pushing the boat back towards the center with the big stick. Milo preferred just to walk around with the stick and take a bath in the dirt. He acted as if he had never seen dirt before. (Apparently we've been away from Arizona for a little too long.)







Stop 7 - Eiffel Tower: By the time we got to the Eiffel Tower, the kids were completely exhausted. But even the exhaustion couldn't keep them away from the carousel at the base of the Eiffel Tower. Talk about a great way to end an awesome day!



Read more...

Take Me To Paris - Day 1

Stop 1 - The Louvre Museum: After dropping our bags off at the hotel we first headed off to the Louvre Museum. Our main goal was to see the Mona Lisa which ended up being easy to spot due to the large crowds around it. We were shocked to see how small it was as we were expecting a grand display for the famous piece of art. We actually found the architecture of the museum itself to be the most impressive part of the museum.




Read more...

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Rainy Day Naps

There's nothing better than a morning nap on a rainy day. 



Read more...

Sunday, March 23, 2014

County Laois

Rock of Dunamase






 Stradbally, Co. Laois

Timahoe Round Tower
  



Slieve Bloom Mountains

Read more...

Friday, March 21, 2014

Hello Blue Eyes


Read more...

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Going Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Emerald Isle! A few things we've learned this holiday season...
1. It's only an American tradition to pinch someone if they're not wearing green.
2. The actual colors of the holiday are green, white, and orange.
3. Most Irish have not eaten corned beef and cabbage. 
Note to self: Do no pinch strangers...even on St. Patrick's Day. :-)




On the morning of St. Patrick's Day we took the train into Dublin to watch the parade. We could barely see the parade with the large crowd so the kids got on our shoulders to get a better view. Maeli and Milo loved waving their Irish flags and accidentally whacking us in the face with them. We felt a bit under-dressed as everyone was decked out in costumes and green gear but we agreed that if we're still here come next St. Patrick's Day, we'll be sure to go more prepared in our Irish garb! 



One weekend a year, Dublin's most iconic buildings "Go Green." 

Read more...

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Exploring Waterford

Yesterday we explored the county of Waterford. The day consisted of seeing the cities of Waterford, Dungarvan, and Lismore while exploring beaches, rolling hills, and the Mount Congreve Gardens, Dunhill Castle, Lismore Castle, and Ballysaggartmore Towers.

Mount Congreve Gardens





Dunhill Castle




 Ballysaggartmore Towers







Read more...

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Eyes Wide Open

This kid is definitely the most alert baby we've had so far. He always wants to be awake and loves any attention he can get.


Read more...

  © Blogger templates Psi by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP