Paris in October

We just got back from our 4-day Paris adventure, and we're all so glad that we went.  We had a wonderful time experiencing the Parisian culture, seeing the sights, and collecting artwork. Yes, at first there was a bit of culture differences to get used to...experiencing some stereotypical French unfriendliness, but most of our experiences were very pleasant especially as we got farther away from the Eiffel Tower.  Our hotel was a couple blocks away from the Eiffel Tower so we were able to see this world renown icon every day...such a treat, especially at night when it is lit up.  Also, every hour after dark, the Eiffel tower "sparkles" with flashing lights for about 5 minutes.

We took the Eurostar train from London right into Paris, which was a nice relaxing journey.

Upon arrival, we took the metro and then walked several blocks to our apartment.  This was our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower along the way.

We were all really excited to meet up with Nicki (Sean's sister) and Mike shortly after our arrival, and then we walked over to the Eiffel Tower area to have a look around.

Walking along the Rue Cler marketplace.

 Outdoor seating for dinner...Mia enjoys some watered down wine. The nice thing about Paris is that most of the restaurants have outdoor seating year round.  Even if it's cold, they have heat lamps to keep you warm.

 



Later we went back to the Eiffel Tower, and then took a River Cruise along the Seine.

 

FRIDAY:

 

We began the day with a tour of the Louvre...which was just amazing.  We had a fabulous tour guide that entertained the kids with a treasure hunt and kept them very engaged along the way.

Venus de Milo

The Mona Lisa

 

After the Louvre, we found some lunch and made our way over to the Eiffel Tower to ride to the top.  Avery was very nervous, he is very scared of heights. You have to take 2 elevator rides to the top.  Fortunately, at the top, the elevator puts you into an indoor room, which put Avery at ease, though we were able to go outside from that room.

It was a misty day, so the view wasn't as good as it could have been, but it was still pretty awesome.

 

SATURDAY:

We enjoyed much of Saturday just walking around and enjoying the city. We did some shopping in the St. Germain area.  We ended up in a French GAP that had some really adorable kids clothes...so the kids picked up some new "fashions."

Waiting for the Metro.

Two staples in the French diet...baguettes and crepes.  We loved eating baguette sandwiches and crepes filled with chocolate and bananas.

After shopping and lunch we went over to Notre Dame and took a walk-through.

 More shopping on the narrow streets.

More chocolate crepes!

We then went to Luxembourg Gardens to feed the birds.

A very cold day in the gardens...

SUNDAY, our last day:

Alexa and Mia showing off their new Parisian fashions with Aunt Nicki.

Sunday was a gorgeous day! We went to La Basilique du Sacre Coeur...church of the Sacred Heart in Montmartre, and then walked around the surrounding area where local artists sell their paintings.  We stepped inside a few galleries, and watched the artists at work in the streets.

The girls were mesmerized by the artists at work.

We enjoyed a final meal with Nicki....probably our best French meal. From there we said our goodbyes and then went back to our apartment to get our luggage, taking a walking route past the Tower one more time.  Au Revoir, Paris!

 

Legoland & Buckingham Palace

Last weekend we drove down to London for a little escape. The kids wanted to go to Legoland again and I wanted to see Buckingham Palace. We hit Legoland first on Saturday and mainly did things we hadn't had the chance to last year. The highlight was seeing the entire mini-land exhibit which included all the sites of London along with other European villages and a Kennedy Space Center replica....all out of Legos!

Before going to Buckingham on Sunday, we got to see the Lego version....don't think I got this good of a view at the real thing!

 

The kids were excited to ride in the Fiat Lego cars.  This year Alexa was old enough to drive and she was thrilled!

 Though there were quite a few traffic jams....

 This year there is a new Star Wars Lego exhibit which was a lot of fun to tour.

Saturday night we stayed in a lovely Bed & Breakfast near Heathrow airport and then took the Tube into London on Sunday morning.  Though we arrived at Buckingham Palace 45 minutes before the Changing of the Guard, there was already a huge crowd.  So it was pretty hard for Sean and I to see much.  But the kids took turns sitting on our shoulders, so they got a decent view.  They are responsible for the pictures that you get to see below.

Much of the activity took place inside the gates surrounding the palace.  Because we were not right up against the fence, we got lots of nice detailed pictures of the bars.  This one below is my favorite.

 

After watching the Changing of the Guard, we grabbed a quick lunch and scurried to our 1:00 tour of the Palace.  It was quite impressive, especially the Jubilee display of the Queen's diamonds.  I loved seeing all the diamond tiaras and crowns that have been passed from Queen to Queen  for 100s of years.  Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside the Palace.  We were able to take photos as we exited the back of the palace into the garden.

Overall, a very fun weekend....though it was hard to go to school this morning!

Latest Developments

We were really excited that Avery gets to be a Prefect for his house at school this term.  This is an honor for Year 6 boys only and the responsiblity is usually rotated with each term.  Avery was so happy when he came home from school a couple weeks ago to tell us the news.  Avery's main responsibilities in this role seem to be to act as a role model for the younger boys and encourage them to behave appropriately...the main thing he seems to mention is that he gets to tell the other boys to tuck their shirts in!  He's learning the names of all the new Year 3 boys now.  On Monday, all the Prefects got to meet with the Headmaster to share some biscuits (cookies).

 

He's excited that he gets to keep his Prefect badge even after his role as Prefect is over.  It will be a nice souvenier of his school days in England.

 

Last weekend was Alexa's Dance recital.  The theme of her show was "Divas".  Though we weren't allowed to take photos during the performance (the UK is pretty strict about that kind of stuff), we were able to take a photo of her before her performances backstage.

 Alexa before her "Locomotion" dance.

Alexa and big brother before "Stop" by the Spice Girls.

Alexa before her "Miss Piggy" dance...too cute!

A New Year at Derby High

OK, with all the craziness of the first day getting all three kids out the door, I failed to get a photo of the girls on their first day.  So here they are on their second day...Mia in her summer uniform, and Alexa in her PE uniform. Oh, how they've grown since last year. 

 

The girls are very excited about a new year of school.  Something different this year is that there are some new friends from the US that they'll be seeing every day on the playground.  There are 3 new girls from the US, not in their classes years but relatively close in age.  It's a nice change for me too...to not be the only American at the school gate, and I've really enjoyed helping these 2 new families get settled.

Year 6 at the Derby Grammar begins!

Avery was very excited to start his last year at Derby Grammar.  His class of 8 boys from last year has grown to 15 so there is much change to come.  School started on Thursday and on Friday evening the school held it's annual Cross Country.  We were all very excited to see how Avery would perform in the race.  He does love to run, but usually short distances. 

We told Avery to pace himself, to not come out in front right away and burn all his steam early. The race was probably about a half a mile long. Going against everything we told him, Avery took the lead right away, and continued in the lead for quite some time.  There was a moment when one of his clasmates started to pass him on the last lap and Avery got this determined look on his face that was priceless.

Avery continued on, out steaming his opponent and triumphantly finished first in the race!  We were so excited....it was the perfect start to his school year.

 Avery crossing the finish line.

 Avery amazed at his win.

The boys then continued on with the Tug-of-War, which Atkinson house placed 2nd in Year 6.  A very enjoyable evening for the Belangers!