Day 22 - Brugge, Belgium

We went to Brugge today.  It was a little over 2 hours on the trains.  We didn't have much time but it was worth it.  Brugge is a very beautiful, charming city.  One of our tour books refer it as a "little Venice".  For lunch the kids had Belgium waffles while we drank the Belgium beer.  Afterwards, we took a horse & carriage tour.  We all enjoyed it because it showed us all of the historical sites.  Jackson thought the horse smelled too much.  We spent a long time at the chocolate museum, Choco Story.  The kids learned the entire process of making chocolate from cocoa beans.  At the end, there was a demonstration & tasting.  The most amazing thing at the museum was a solid chocolate statue of President Obama.  Afterwards we did some shopping.  There wasn't much time.  We had dinner on the train; it was a Thalys train.

Day 21 - Riding the subway

As we begin to wind down in Paris, we are trying to do our wish lists.  Jackson's was to ride all the Metro lines.  Since it was a very rainy day, we decided it was a great day to ride all of them.  Over breakfast, Jackson got out the Metro map and planned ll transfers before we could take a break at Musee de l'Orangerie.  We started our adventure around noon and exited the Tuileries stop at 2 pm.  We meet Jack, Nana and Papa at the Musee de l'Orangerie.  The art work in this museum is from the art dealer Paul Guillaume.  It is amazing collection and a good bridge between Impressionism and Modernism.  One the main floor is Monet's Water Lilies (Nympheas) in 2 oval-shaped rooms.  It was extremely impressive.  One felt like one was walking along the banks of the pond.  I found it to be very relaxing.  Afterwards we headed to Angelina's to try their hot chocolate, claimed to be the best in Paris.  The hot chocolate was very good but I don't think it was better than the ice cream shop on Ill St. Louis.  The service was awful.  We had to make one more transfer to complete our Metro excursion.  We ended up at our apartment and celebrated the Bauer's 46 wedding anniversary with dinner.  

Day 20 - Nana and Papa arrive in Paris

We had the morning to explore Aix-en-Provence.  We went to the fruit and vegetable market.  We moved very slowly but we did get some bread and olives for the night since we were returning to Paris and everything would be closed.  We spent most of the day traveling (see video of the TGV's state-of-the-art technology).  We had dinner at our apartment with the Bauer's.  Jack got Chinese.  I think Jackson ate 4 serving sizes of vegetable fried rice.

Day 19 - Avignon, Le Pont du Gard and Les Baux de Provence

Today we did a bus tour around the Provence area.  Mary and Sophia decided to stay at the hotel while PJ joined us in our adventures.  We started by going to Avignon and toured the Palais des Papes.  A humongous palace that 7 popes and 2 anti-popes lived for 70 years.  They believed in living the materialistic good life.  The kids didn't really enjoy it but they liked the attention the students gave them.  After lunch, we went to Le Pont du Gard to see an aqueduct built by the Romans in the 1st century AD.  It used to carry water to Nimes.  Not only did we walk up to it, but we went through the tunnel that carried the water.  It was impressive.  The engineering achievement of this spectacular structure was awe-inspiring.  Today, the area has become a place to bath in the sun and jump off the cliffs.  The kids loved running through the aqueduct and dipping their feet in the creek.  Our last stop was Les Baux de Provence, a medieval fortress located on a rocky plateau in the Alpilless mountains.  Its claim to fame is a descendant of Magus Balthazar, one of the 3 wisemen, built it.  It was very beautiful and different from all the other towns that we have seen.  Jackson and Jack went to Baux Citadel and climbed to the top of the fortress.  It gave them excellent views of the surrounding area.  There were many ruins from the medieval times including a trebuchet.  A trebuchet is a device used to defend the castle in the Middle Ages.  It catapults stones that weigh more than 100 kilos.  Jackson enjoyed using the audioguide on the tour.  Gracie and I went shopping and tried different olive oils which the area is known for.  We reconnected with Mary and Sophia at the hotel for dinner.  We ate in the hotel courtyard and had some of the goodies in the day tapenade and roasted red peppers.  We had wine from Chateauneuf-du-Pape, the same winery that Popes of Avignon used.  It was good, a combination of 30 grapes.  It was a busy day.

Day 18 - Aix-en-Provence

The program is going to Provence for the weekend.  After getting about 4 hours of sleep, we head to the Gare de Lyon to catch a train by 7:30 am.  The Minnillos are joining us with the rest of the group about 40 people.  The kids were very excited because we took the TGV.  Aix-en-Provence is a very touristy town with lots of high end shopping, many cafes and charming markets.  We had a tour guide who gave us the history of the town and we walked the same places that Cezanne walked since he was born here.  A very interesting catherdal is in the town.   

Day 17 - Celebrated Mom and Mary's birthday

Today was our last day to enjoy our visit with the Fixlers and Mom.  We met them at the Musee Rodin.  We found Maddie and Paul taking pictures of "The Thinker".  Although, I never made it inside the museum, the outside gardens were lovely.  Many of his sculptures are outside surrounded by beautiful flowers and trees.  It was easy to get lost with time.  Later, Maddie, Francis, Kit, Mom and us headed to our apartment to prepare for a birthday dinner.  While Maddie took Mom to a jewelry store, the rest of us went to Lenotres for chocolate.   They didn't sell truffles but it was very good.  We picked up some fresh ravioli stuffed with spinach and cheese at Ravoli's on Rue Cler (10 dozen).  Cousin Bill came to dinner so we had a total of 16.  Mary and PJ brought the cheeses and wine for appetizers.  The cheese were very good.  One was a mild blue cheese, another was a strong goat and lastly a brie.  For wine we had both red and white.  Joan and Bob brought the desserts:  a chocolate cake, strawberry tart and a fruit cream cake.  There were no leftovers.  At 9 o'clock, Bill, Mom and PJ went home but a second party was just beginning.  The rest of us went to the Eiffel Tower.  It was packed with people.  We decided if we wanted to go to the top we needed to walk up to the 2nd level.  The kids enthusiastically climbed all 640 steps.  I learned that one shouldn't wear a Tinkerbell dress with wings when doing this.  It is hard to prevent stepping on the dress.  After waiting in several lines, we finally made it to the top at around 11 o'clock - just in time to watch the tower twinkle.  It was beautiful and worth the wait.  

Day 16 - Versailles (Daddy,His class and I)

(the title was from me and last space from me was after(the following writing will be from Mommy.).)Today Daddy and I went to Versailles with his class. Mommy and Grace stayed home. RER C wasn't connected so we went to M 6 to Gare Montparnasse for a SNCF.(M=metro.) Outside Versailles(Inside the property) there are 8 mazes. Daddy and I went through 1 of them.(the following writing will be from Mommy.)    I could tell Gracie was feeling better because she wanted to do some shopping.  We found a chocolate store, Le chocoat par Michel Chaudun, near our apartment.  We ate the best tasting truffle we have ever eaten.  For dinner we meet up with my family at the Louvre.  Mary and PJ went to eat at Le Souffle.  They said it was delicious.  The rest of us ate at a restaurant on Rue Des Petits Champs.  We went home with Mom while the Fixlers and Sophia headed for the Arc de Triomphe.