Paris!
Yes! You were all right. We took a family vacation to Paris this week. I have always wanted to go there, and it was incredible. I'm going to share the memories in list form:
Things I want to always remember:
- Taking our time to get there and back. It is only a four hour drive, but it probably took at least six hours each way with bathroom breaks, Grayson's nursings, diaper changes, etc. But it was so nice to not be in a hurry and enjoy the trip. I am so proud of Morgan for driving in Paris. Most people recommend avoiding that part of the experience, but he is a very able driver, and is used to driving in big cities all over the world.
- We have a family tradition of saying "wheeeeeee!" (on this trip we said "ouiiiiiiiiii!") as we drive through tunnels. The tradition was started by Braden when we lived in Monterey, California, every time we went through the long tunnel there. We don't go through many tunnels in Germany, but there were several as we entered Paris, so Liam was able to join in the tradition. He was so cute with his deep voice, and he caught on by the second tunnel!
- The food! French food is to die for! It is so different from German food. While we were there we had crepes, quiche, sandwiches on real french bread, croissants, omlettes, and lots of Orangina. Yummmmy!
- Our apartment. Traveling in Europe is not always geared toward large families. (side note: Coming from a family of eight children, I never thought of four children as being a particularly large family. But sometimes I think we might as well have four heads for the looks people give us!) Hotels here generally don't allow more than four people per room, so you either have to pay for two rooms and split up the family, or sneak your children in. The other option, though, is to rent an apartment for your stay. We stayed in a beautiful old Parisian apartment building on the Rue du Louvre, just a five minute walk from the Louvre! I loved the apartment because it had so much character. I felt like we were able to experience Paris more fully than if we had stayed in a Marriot or Hilton.
- The Grevin Wax Museum. This wasn't on my list of "things to see in Paris" but it was right next to where we picked up our Paris Passes, and it was included in our passes, so we decided to go. It was really interesting, and not creepy at all.
World Leaders. Doesn't Morgan fit in well? - The Eiffel Tower!!! I have always wanted to see it. It was really beautiful. But what kind of a nerd am I that all I could think of was Superman rescuing Lois Lane?
- Cruising the Seine.
- The Louvre.
I was so excited to see the Mona Lisa. I have seen many of those beautiful works of art in books, but it was amazing to be in the same room with the actual objects that were touched by the masters who created them. I don't know what I was expecting, but I was surprised that the Mona Lisa was encased in glass, and cordoned off. I guess I always just pictured her sitting in a quiet hallway of the Louvre. Instead, she sat there, forever posing for flocks of tourists' pictures that would put Brangelina to shame. 
I found it quite funny that in the Mona Lisa room some tourists stopped to take pictures of none other than my Liam! 
It was so cute! - The irony of covering up to discretely nurse Grayson on a bench in the Classical sculptures section, just a few steps away from Venus de Milo.
- The Parisians. They were lovely. Don't believe what you hear about them being rude.
- I was so proud of Morgan's French abilities. We still haven't learned much German, so it was nice to be in a country where at least one of us could communicate! Next, we need to go to Romania or England, where we will both be able to speak the language.
Mother and Child
I love the Etruscans! This is the Sarcophagus of a Married Couple. I told Morgan I want us to be buried in one of these!
Winged Victory
Lest I make traveling in one of the busiest, most-visited cities in the world with four small children look deceptively easy, here is one more list:
Things I hope we'll forget in time, leaving us with only the memories from the above list:
- Sore shoulders.
- Being trapped in line at the Eiffel Tower for 30 minutes with Liam screaming his head off in the baby backpack. Once we finally reached a point in the line near the front, where we were able to escape, he stopped crying and fell asleep! We were all too traumatized and exhausted to go back in the long line, so we bought 4 Euro (roughly $6) slushes, and took a break. We never did get to go up the Eiffel Tower.
- The cost. The exchange rate is pretty bad for Americans in most of Europe. That, combined with the elevated tourist prices made this trip pretty pricey. If you think gas prices in the States are bad, you should see how much it is here. We normally buy gas on base, where we get American prices. But we needed to fill up in France for our return trip, and 3/4 of a tank cost 90 Euro!! That's almost $150! Crazy!
- Whining. It is always hard for parents when they go to a lot of effort and expense to do something fun with their kids, and their kids don't appreciate it the way they had hoped. I am not mentioning this to point the finger at my children, who were, after all, just being kids. They had no way of knowing how much I have always wanted to go to Paris. They were actually really well-behaved, but my expectations were hard to meet with four small children. As much as I could have spent days rambling around the Louvre, it just wasn't as fascinating to my kids. I think they are due for another trip to Legoland!
Despite the difficulties (and really, what family vacation is perfect?) we had a great time, and made precious memories. We feel so blessed to live near so many countries and cities with such rich histories and cultures. Vive la France!
