More trip

So just now getting to posting some more pictures from our trip since throughout the trip we just put a few up. Mostly for my journal keeping. We took around 1500 pictures but I won't put all of them up. 3 days after we got home Chris broke his collar bone while mountain biking with the young men. 2 days later he had surgery to fix it and is on the mend. It's been a crazy week.

So in catching up with my "journal" I'm going to start from the first few days of our trip again.

Sophie did really well on the flight it was 11 hours long but was direct from SLC to Paris. I loaded up the ipad with all her favorite movies and tv shows and packed some new coloring books and activities for her. Turns out her favorite thing was a sticker book with about 200 stickers. She about used them all and by the end of the flight had them all over her arms and legs, face and hands. She like to show them off to the flight attendants. We landed at 3am our time (11am Paris time) and she finally fell asleep just as the wheels touched down.





After getting through customs, picking up our car and getting to the hotel it was early afternoon, we slept a few hours then got up around 6pm to go get some dinner. We were staying just outside of Paris in the suburb near Disneyland Paris. They had a huge shopping mall/outlet center and food court where we got dinner and wandered around until it was late enough to go back to the hotel and try to sleep through the night. The mall had a carousel that Sophie had fun riding. Also here is a picture of the little train that is the exact same train they have out our local mall. It was so weird seeing that thing. I kept thinking am I still in Utah?

The first night was a little rough, Sophie woke up at 3am wanting a snack, then fell back asleep till 7am. We then decided to head out to Fountainbleau Chateau which was about 30 minutes away just south of Paris.

Inside Fountainbleau - Chapel

The Ballroom

Card playing room or anti chamber

Library

Queens Bedroom

Kings Chamber

Outside the Front of the Chateau - Soph's pretty jetlagged

We wandered around the gardens a bit. Soph perked up when she saw the ducks and swans in the pond.

After touring the Chateau we went into town to get a picnic lunch. Of course Sophie spotted the Carousel.

After Fountainbleau it was about a 40 minute drive to the town of Chartres known for it's famous Cathedral. Chartres is perched up on a hill so we had to park below by the river and hike up lots of steps to the cathedral and town.

Backside of the cathedral. I love the herb gardens.
Having a rest in the shade from climbing all those steps.
Side of the Cathedral
Front of the Cathedral
We decided to climb another 300 steps to the top of the Cathedral tower and take in the city views.

Sophie didn't want to climb down all the steps so dad carried her all the way down.

Inside the Cathedral. The rose windows are my favorite.

After touring the Cathedral, Sophie fell asleep. We then wandered the town a bit. It was a fun little town all pedestrian so no cars allowed. It was too bad Sophie fell asleep, they had some fun water fountains and a carnival going on. We then just went back to the hotel and made some dinner there since we had a little kitchen in our room and tried to go to bed early. The next day was Disneyland Paris!

Au Revoir Paris et Europe

It's been a couple of days since I posted last. Gets tough at the end of the trip. You're always so tired at the end of the day and truth is, I wonder if anyone reads this stuff.

It's too late to post anything of real substance. It's really late and we have to get up really early (for us) at 7:45 to get going to the airport.

So, here's a quick recap.

From Interlaken we went to Lucern.



Pretty little city with a picturesque, long wooden bridge (reproduction of a 600 year old one since the real one burned down about 18 years ago). Went to a powerhouse little museum of Picasso's. Loved it.

Might have gotten my first robo-cop speeding ticket. We'll have to see. I just know that at about 20 miles per hour over the speed limit I got flashed somewhere out in the French countryside. I may have just evaporated a few hundred Euros in an instant.

Went to Zurich the next day. Rained most of the day. Walked around the city for a couple of hours. Hemorrhaged a bunch more Swiss Franks. Zurich wasn't all that. So, we got a wild hair up our you-know-what and decided to head to Paris one day early. So, 6pm we left Zurich in an astounding downpour and drove 6 hours to Paris. Got in to the hotel at 2am.

Was Bastille day in Paris. Went to the Eiffel tower

So did everyone else.

So, no trip to the top this time. Did make it to the top of the Arch du Triomphe. Great view, less people.

In general, Paris was a madhouse. We opted to stay well into the night and catch the fireworks. We missed our 4th of July in the States so we celebrated with France on the 14th of July.







Today we went to Disneyland, again. We did Disney when we started the trip and then again today. It proved to be excellent book ends to a really good trip overall. Sophie was a trooper. There were countless times she just wanted to stay in one spot and play and we'd tear her away in tears. So, this second trip to Disney was to thank her for being so good and to hope she'll forgive us for interrupting her life so much over the last 14 days. She, and we, had a wonderful day. Weather was perfect. Park wasn't too crowded. Sophie just got to go from ride to ride, all at her whim. Dropped a wad of cash there, but it was worth it!










This trip, as with others, has left us with great memories full of wonderment, laughter and a few tears (Sophie's). It also makes us grateful for all that we have and for where we're from. The world is a big place and it's always a thrill to experience another part of it.

So, with this post it's good bye for now. Hopefully we'll be back soon.

Chris, Anneka and Sophie