I Love to Travel!

Today is all about trains. We got up early this morning to take the
Chunnel train to London. We changed to Kings Cross Station to catch
the train to Scotland. As you can see, the kids got the luggage
trolley half way through to Platform 9 3/4 before it got stuck.
Nathan is mad because we missed the Hogwarts Express. We are 10 days
late. This would have been his first year at Hogwart's, as he turned
11 this summer. But I am afraid that not getting through the barrier
confirms that he is a Muggle after all. We are now on a non-express
train and have ridden all the way through England from south to north.
We have just passed through New Castle, which all Jane Austen fans
know as where Wickham got transferred to after he married Lydia.
I love to travel! I love everything about it. I love the planning and
anticipation. I love flying. I love the fact that I can get on a
plane and a couple of movies, dinner, and a nap later and...voila! I'm
in another country! I love meeting new people, trying new foods,
exploring new places and revisiting old favorites. I love it for the
things I have learned and experienced...the way it makes everything
more real. Mostly I think I love it for who it helps me to become. It
helps me to be my best self. Priorities become clearer, life gets
simpler. I focus on what is truly important. I become inspired. I
think this is true for the rest of my family as well. They are amazing
to travel with. Everyone seems a little kinder, a little more
patient, more flexible and adaptable. Maybe they aren't different,
maybe it's just me, but I enjoy it either way. We are approaching
Edinburgh. Only 2 more trains today and we will be with our friends! I
love this!

Day 5 - Lille

Today is our last day in France.  We went to our first Catholic Mass today.  The church was beautiful and I really enjoyed the music.  After lunch we went and walked around Lille.  It is a really pretty city with beautiful buildings.  Besides this Blog I am attempting to record this trip by watercolor.  This is a picture of the LaPointe's house that I did today.  We have had a wonderful time here.  We have felt very comfortable.  The food has been wonderful.  Nathan has enjoyed the food as much as anyone and definately more than he usually does. Raven is not very happy right now because she just found out that we have to leave tomorrow.  I am trying to reassure her that we will see Victor and his sisters again.  I admit that I am sad to see this part of our trip  end as well.  David leaves us tomorrow to fly home. We will miss him.  I think he has mixed feelings.  I am sure he will miss us, but he has probably missed work even more!  One consolation I  have is that we are going to meet more friends in Scotland tomorrow.  Until then, au revoir!

Day 4 - LaPointe Family

We left Paris by train this morning and went to Lille to meet our new
friends, the LaPointe family. They have a beautiful home which is
everything you think of in a French Chateau. We had a nice French
lunch on their patio and then drove to Calais. It was a bit too hazy
to see the cliffs of Dover today. We also went to a museum nearby.
It was an old Batterie built by the Germans during WWII. They built
several along here because they believed that this was where the
allied attack would come from. It was full of interesting artifacts
from the war. We spent a lovely evening at their home after our day
out. The LaPointe's have been very generous hosts. It has been great
to see Victor and Agathe again and to get to know the rest of the
family.

Day 3 - The Louvre

We spent several hours at the Louvre Museum today. We got to see the
Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and lots of other paintings and
sculptures. This picture is of the kids in front of the Venus de
Milo. I'm not sure what the guy in the background is doing. We found
a sculpture of Voltaire that looks just like Grandpa Flynn! Nathan's
favorite part of the museum was checking out the views of Paris from
the windows.

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Day 2 - Eiffel Tower and Pastries

We went to bed early last night, so we were all awake at 5:30 am.
Since we were awake we decided to go watch the sunrise at the Eiffel
Tower. Then we had breakfast at a cafe. We had pastries, crepes, and
hot chocolate so thick it was like melted candy bars. We came back
to wait for my Mom to arrive, and everyone slept so long I'm afraid
we'll be awake all night. When my mom arrived, we went back to the
Eiffel Tower and went to the top. We had good views even though it
was a bit cloudy. Next we went to the Arc de Triomphe and finished
the day with more pastries at a patisserie on the
Champes Elysees! Cest la vie!
Sent from my iPhone

Viva la France!

We made it to Paris! We got up at 3:30 am on Tuesday to start our
journey. It is now 5:30 pm Wednesday Sept 5 in Paris and we have not
slept much since then. The kids were awesome on the flights. We had
personal entertainment units on the plane but the sound wouldn't work
on Raven's, so she and London cooperated the whole flight by plugging
both headsets into London's and then agreeing to watch the same movies
and then timing the start of both screens so the sound would be
right. The gentleman sitting behind them complimented me on having
well behaved children at the end of the flight.
After we found our apartment and communicated with our landlord who
speaks as much English as we do French, we headed out to explore
Paris. Our first stop was Notre Dame. You can see it in the
background of this picture of David and the kids. Next we discovered
a great little bookshop called "Shakespeare and company". Then we
went out to Versaille. We did the palace tour and saw the famous Hall
of Mirrors and walked all over the extensive grounds. By this time
jet lag is starting to catch up with us and we are ready to head back
to our apartment. Now that we are here, everyone seems to have
gotten a second wind and we are all Writing in our journals. We are
off to an excellent start on our adventure!