Christmas and New Years in Paris!
Devin and Heather left New Orleans, Louisiana on Dec. 22, 2013 and we left Saudi Arabia on Dec. 23rd. We arrived in Paris on Dec. 23 and Devin and Heather arrived 15 minutes after us. Couldn't have asked for better timing with our flights. We got our luggage and was waiting for our scheduled driver. He wasn't there yet so Marty and Rachael left me and Hannah with our luggage waiting for our driver while they went get Devin and Heather. We couldn't use our cell phones so we had no way to contact Devin or Heather. Marty and Rachael took the airport shuttle to the terminal where Devin and Heather were and then they came back to meet me and Hannah. By that time our driver had arrived so we loaded the bags and we were finally on our way to the houseboat. I couldn't wait to take a nap since I hadn't gotten any sleep since the night of Dec. 22nd because of all the packing that needed to be done and I wasn't able to sleep on the plane. The nap didn't happen because the owner of the houseboat, Ms. Nelly, a very sweet 68 year old lady, wanted to explain things to us and she offered to take us grocery shopping. The guy that picked us up at the airport was also very nice. He stayed with us about 1 to 2 hours translating everything that Ms. Nelly wanted to tell us because she spoke very little English. He also helped set up the wifi access which made the girls very happy. Ms. Nelly wasn't quite sure how to do that. All of the girls did get to sleep while Marty and I went grocery shopping. Everyone was so tired, Heather and Devin got a taste of what it's like to take those long flights, now they will understand when we travel home why we have jet lag. Marty found a website called Paris Attitude to book our 16 night stay and transportation to and from the airport. We chose to rent a houseboat because it had 1500 square feet of living area, 2 bathrooms and the price was more reasonable than many smaller apartments. The houseboat was located about 3 miles down river from the Eiffel Tower on the Seine River. It had plenty of space for a family of seven and was very comfortable. It worked out perfect for our family because we were able to cook, wash clothes and have 2 bathrooms.
This is the Houseboat!
This was our view from the kitchen and living rooms.
Off the kitchen was a small balcony with a view of
the Eiffel Tower in the distance.
The up stairs view. We enjoyed watching all the river traffic.
Our view of the river from downstairs.
Down stairs living room
with a port door to master bedroom
Master bedroom and bath
December 25, 2013, Christmas day we decided to go see the Eiffel Tower. The girls were so excited! Because it was Christmas Day we were not able to buy tickets online so we had to stand in line to get tickets. We would have done it another day if we could have gotten the tickets online but none were available for the next couple of days so we all decided to just go do it. The good thing about being in Paris in December is that the area around the Eiffel Tower has a christmas village set up for Christmas shopping and there was also an Ice skating rink and carousel. In the 2 pictures below you can see the white cabins that were set up. We had to wait in line for 2 1/2 hours to get to the Eiffel Tower but the girls were able to go shopping while Marty and I waited in line. They met us just before we got to the entrance so it all worked out and they had fun. Marty and I had a good time standing in line and watching all the people. After all, we were in Paris so how bad could it be?
This is a view from the Eiffel Tower.
The 2 curved buildings are the Trocadero museums.
The Eiffel Tower lights up at night.
Every hour on the hour it twinkles for 10 minutes.
December 26, we went on the hop-on, hop-off bus tour to get a quick and easy tour of the city. We thought it would help us decide what we would like to do on the rest of our trip. Plus, I have always wanted to ride a double decker bus. It's a fantastic view from the top deck of the bus and a great way to get some good pictures. You get individual headphones to listen to the commentary in your language that takes you through the centuries and tells you about the history the of Paris and the richness of the city's cultural, architectural and artistic heritage. We stayed on for a couple of hours until we were able to get off close to the Hard Rock Cafe' which is where the girls wanted to eat dinner. After dinner we hopped back on the bus to complete our tour and to see the city at night.
Everywhere we travel if there is a Hard Rock Cafe',
we have to eat there and
Marty can buy a souvenir hurricane glass.
It was really cold so we decided to go inside the bus to warm up. Later we were able to go back to the top of the bus and got really good seats in front which had a glass shield that protected us from the wind. Paris is really beautiful at night with all the Christmas decorations and lights. Holiday Magic!
I enjoyed the city lights at night.
December 27, we stayed on the houseboat to recover from our last two days of touring and to rest up for the next couple of days events. While chilling out we had to go to a couple of local shops. This gave the girls a chance to try to learn some French. You know Devin and Rachael's personalities, they weren't afraid to try to talk to people in French. If they messed up they would just giggle. Heather, Hannah and I were not so brave. I guess we were a little more embarrassed but it is fun to be around Devin and Rachael. They make life interesting!
A day of shopping on Champs-Elysees street. At Christmas time this street sets up a Christmas market. Hundreds of small wooden chalets line both sides of the avenue selling all kinds of things and food. There are lots of fun activities for the kids to enjoy. There's an Ice-skating rink, carousel and displays of both mechanical and real animals. After 6pm, there's also a little show every 30 minutes where a "real" Santa rides in a sleigh with not-so-real reindeer on a zip line above the market. The French call Santa, "Père Noel" which means Father Christmas. It has an old time feel to the market.
At the end of Champs-Elysees there is a giant ferris wheel.
It was a beautiful view of this part of the city.
Devin trying to get warm!
It was a very cold day,
Overcast and drizzling.
Can you tell that Heather is afraid of heights?
This is what you get when Devin & Heather are together.
More shopping!
This is a little bakery that we stopped in to buy french bread or a baguette as it's called in french which literally means stick. Devin and Heather would laugh at how many people they would see carrying their loaf, (stick) of bread in their arms while walking home. French people must go to buy their bread in a bakery daily. The bread was hot and we devoured it on our walk to the metro. Their window displays are so cute too.
An artist selling his work on the street.
Just like the ones we see in the french quarter in New Orleans.
The Metro was our main mode of transportation.
We took the Metro everyday and this map was our life line. Marty took a picture on his iPad and he would use it to find out which way we needed to go, what line to use and the name of the exit we needed to get on or off.
The girls really got the hang of using the Metro. We let them go back to the houseboat without us. They told us that we would have never let them do that without us in New Orleans and they are right.
This was the metro exit that was closest to the houseboat that we would walk to and from everyday. It was about a 15 minute walk. That doesn't seem like much until you do it a couple of times a day.....everyday. The walk home from the metro seemed so long after you have walked all day. Most locals walk everywhere and take the metro. I saw some adults on scooters and at first it surprised me and I chuckled to myself because it's the small kind that we buy our children as a toy but after walking in their shoes for 16 days I now think it is very smart of them. I also think it made the girls really appreciate their cars and being able to drive.
Notre Dame Cathedral
Notre Dame Cathedral is a historic Catholic Church and is characteristic with the history of French Gothic architecture. Solomon's temple was used as a correspondence for the measurements used in building gothic cathedral churches. The west front of Notre Dame has 13th. century carvings. These carvings tell stories, Christ appears in majesty above Michael, the Archangel with the resurrected dead souls. There is the Virgin Mary with the child Jesus and the nativity scene which are all easily recognizable.
Check out this website ...
It explains these incredible carving and the stories they portray throughout church history and a lot of other details about the cathedral.
Marty and I lit candles in memory of our dads.
The picture above is of the grand organ
unfortunately we did not get to hear it play.
The wall of the apostles
The extraordinary architectural details of this cathedral make it beautiful from every angle.
I was sitting in the back courtyard
of Notre Dame and the girls were
shopping of course.
Sunday, December 29, we tried to go to the Louvre Museum for a couple of hours because I had read that some museums are free on the last Sunday of the month after a certain time. We got there and we were able to go in but the museum was actually closed but there was a strip mall inside the Louve where we were able to enjoy a little shopping. The Louvre Museum building itself is a masterpiece. It's huge!
Because we couldn't tour the Louvre Museum Sunday night we made plans to go the next day. Our plans quickly changed once we got there because the Museum is closed on New Years Eve. So we decided to walk the streets, maybe try to go to Musee' d' Orsay which is a museum that was originally a railway station. This museum houses french art including painting, sculptures, furniture and photography. When we got there it was very crowded with long lines. Probably because everyone that wanted to go to the Louvre had to find something else to do. So we walked the streets of Paris, stopped at a Cafe' for coffee and dessert, we walked through Tuileries Garden, (known as an open-air sculpture museum) and then made our way to the Galleries of Lafayette. It was a beautiful walk admiring all the decorations and window shopping. The Galleries of Lafayette is a huge mall and it was also closed on New Years Eve. It was time for some Starbucks!
These two pictures are to show how huge the Louvre Museum is.
They were taken from across the Seine River and this is less than half of the entire building!
Tuileries Garden
Christmas time in Paris everything is decorated and lit up with holiday Magic!
Devin and Heather were making fun of some of the displays in the windows.
Another amazing building.
Look closely at the sculpture on the left in the picture above.
The girl on the right is holding a mirror and in it is a sculptured reflection of the man below.
So cool!
The side and back of the Oprea
Paris is a lot like New Orleans. This street performer reminded me of New Orleans. The window displays open and close to perform a show.
Once we got to the Gallery of Lafayette I was able to see the Christmas window displays with mechanical dancing dolls and bears that I had read about. These window displays at the Galleries of Lafayette put on a genuine fairytale: First you enter an enchanted forest, and meet Lilly, Martin the Bear and their amazing animal friends. At the Printemps Haussmann, the window showcases have been decorated by Prada. Between fashion and traditional Christmas scenes, the eleven showcase windows dusted with snow contains the fashion designs of a luxury house. Where else but Paris!
This is a picture of some of the window displays
form across the street.
As you can see the windows are pretty big.
It is huge!
New Years Eve we stayed at the houseboat playing cards and watching all the party boats travel down the Seine River. People on the boats could see us and they would wave and even try to get us to dance with them. We thought about going to the Eiffel Tower if there would have been fire works but they only do a light show and it was very cold and drizzling.
New Years Day everyone slept in. Stayed at the houseboat all day just to get a little rest before Chelsey arrived and we would start sightseeing again nonstop. We did take a little time to visit a few local stores.
Devin and Heather were dancing on the
street while I was in the pharmacy.
We saw this picture of the lady with the Eiffel Tower on her head everywhere. In the airport, on billboards, on busses, and on brochures. Devin just had to!
On January 2, 2014, Marty, Hannah and I went to pick up Chelsey from the airport while Devin, Heather, and Rachael went shopping at the Galleries of Lafayette. Devin and Heather said that the Galleries of Lafayette mall only had designer shops. Not a good place for college students to shop! After we all made it back to the houseboat we celebrated Christmas with Chelsey.
The first thing Chelsey did in Paris was find a dog to pet on the street!
We had to let Chelsey see the Eiffel Tower. This time we bought the tickets ahead of time online to tour it with her on January 5 at 1:30 pm.
More Shopping!
On Chelsey's first day we took her on the hop-on, hop-off bus tour. We wanted to give her the opportunity to get a quick look at all the beautiful sights of Paris. The excited look on her face was priceless. She was amazed at the architecture of the buildings of Paris. I also think she was glad to have the experience of riding at the top of an open double decker bus.
The Arc de Triomphe
Celebrating the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Empire. Since Nov. 11, 1923, the flame of the Unknown Soldier has flickered here, in memory of all the brave, anonymous heroes of the First World War.
We hopped off the bus at Notre Dame for Chelsey to tour it and we were hoping to be able to buy tickets to go tour the top of the bell towers. I really wanted to see the tower bells, gargoyles, and a view of the city from there. It was only 2 in the afternoon and they stopped the line. The website said to be there before 5 pm but this was our second try and we were very early. I guess it wasn't meant to be. Little disappointed that there wasn't a way to find out better information and that they choose to close at whatever time and for whatever reason.
The second time visiting Notre Dame we got some different pictures
and we took time to visit the treasury
which held many christian artifacts.
A confessional
The stained glass windows also tell Biblical stories.
We were able to witness a mass
going on while we were touring.
going on while we were touring.
The back of the Cathedral from across the Seine River.
There are a few bridges that are the called the Lovers Locks bridges. We stopped at the bridge behind Notre Dame for the girls to put locks on the bridge. You write your name and the name of your loved one on the lock, lock it onto the bridge and then throw the key into the Seine River below in order to symbolize your unbreakable or undying love. You have to do this because Paris is such a romantic place.
We put a lock on the bridge representing
the undying love of the Durapau family.
We let Rachael and Hannah put the lock on
the bridge and throw the key in the river.
the undying love of the Durapau family.
We let Rachael and Hannah put the lock on
the bridge and throw the key in the river.
After hanging the locks, we went eat at a little Cafe' on the street. I say little because they are very small, and crowded. Marty and Chelsey wanted to try Escargot cooked in a lemon butter sauce. I have to admit it wasn't bad. Almost like eating raw oysters.
There are some great souvenir shops by Notre Dame
and these outdoor markets remind me of
the French Quarter in New Orleans.
and these outdoor markets remind me of
the French Quarter in New Orleans.
We hopped back on the double decker bus for Chelsey to see the sites at night.
On Jan. 4th. we finally got to tour the Louvre Museum and see the famous Mona Lisa painting.
This gives you an idea of the size of the Mona Lisa
compared to the other paintings in the room.
This is a cool painting that appeared to be 3D.
A view of the Louvre from inside looking out of the windows.
This Museum is huge!
On January 5th., we toured The Eiffel Tower with Chelsey. We were really glad we got to tour it again because we saw things that we couldn't see on Christmas Day because it was so crowded on Christmas. We went to the Eiffel Tower Post Office to mail post cards to our family but we couldn't mail them because we didn't have the change we needed in order to purchase the stamps. The guy there wasn't much help and didn't look like he wanted to work. I was a little disappointed because the girls had written and addressed cards the night before. They wanted to wish family and friends a Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas) from the Eiffel Tower.
The tower elevator
At the top!
This is a picture of the lights on the Eiffel Tower
that make the tower twinkle at night.
Took the stairs down, it had a cool view!
For dinner we ate at one of the little huts
in the Christmas village market. The food was very good.
Hot Wine or as it's called in Paris, "Vin Chaud", and
delicious hot Chocolate really hit the spot and takes the chill out.
delicious hot Chocolate really hit the spot and takes the chill out.
Surprisingly I really liked the hot wine.
The girls were tired and wanted to go back to the houseboat. Chelsey wanted to do some souvenir shopping so Marty and I spent the evening walking the streets of Paris with Chelsey while the other girls went back to the boat to rest.
Walking Champs-Elysees Street in Paris!
This was an ice skating rink and an animated animal display in the Christmas Village Market on Champs-Elysees street. There were several other life sized animated animal displays.
We really wanted to find LaBorde Street for mom.
We walked for miles and took a few metros but we found it.
LaBorde Street
This is what was at the end of LaBorde Street.
The street itself was not much but when we got to the end
these buildings were breath taking.
Looking back down LaBorde Street.
January 6th. Euro Disney! We purchased a day trip to Disneyland Paris with a company called CityRama online.... http://www.pariscityvision.com
It included transportation to and from Disneyland along with a 1 day- 2 parks entrance ticket. The transportation was very comfortable in an enclosed double decker bus. It was a 45 minute ride to Disneyland and the girls were able to sleep both ways.
Gigantic Christmas tree on MainStreet.
Heather standing under it shows how huge it was.
Chelsey's favorite Disney movie when she was a little girl.
Their 2 favorite rides!
Pirates of the Caribbean
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Alice's Curious Labyrinth...hedge maze
and Mad Hatter's Tea Cups
and Mad Hatter's Tea Cups
Space Mountain
Absolutely the worst ride ever!!! It was so rough!
I can't believe I trusted Chelsey. lol.
I can't believe I trusted Chelsey. lol.
My girls on Hollywood Blvd.
A gigantic world where you're the size of a toy.
The toy soldiers parachute drop was closed
because it was too windy.
Slinky Dog Zigzag spin
RC Racer - Andy's favorite racing car
Heather and Devin being Goofy with Buzz.
Sleeping Beauty Castle
This was the coldest day we had on the entire trip.
It was cold, overcast, windy and drizzling.
It was cold, overcast, windy and drizzling.
January 7th. was our last day. We did one last shopping trip and I was hoping that Rachael would get a chance to ice skate. We went to Champs-Elysees but the Christmas Village Market was closed and the huts were being taken down. So we went to the strip mall on Champs-Elysees. We had to go in the Disney Store. After a while we did find some really nice souvenir shops and our shopping trip was a success.
Tiffany & Company
My soccer girls!
On our way home from Disney in the Metro we ran into our friend, Shadi. He is actually from Israel and we met him on our first day in Paris when we went to the grocery store where he works. He helped up cart our groceries a couple of blocks to the houseboat. He was very friendly and very helpful.
We made plans to get together with Shadi for dinner our last night in Paris. He wanted to spend time with us and show us around. He met us at the houseboat after he got off of work and we let him decide where we would go to eat so he took us to a small Turkish restaurant. It was very good. He also wanted to bring us to tour a church but the girls decided that it was too late and they were too tired so they just wanted to get back to the houseboat to pack and prepare to leave in the morning.
The girls enjoyed feeding the birds, ducks and swans.
These swans must have weighed close to 20 pounds each.
We saw several canoe teams passing by.
This paddle wheel boat was named Mississippi
and reminded us of Mom.
and reminded us of Mom.
Just a few final thoughts... My girls each got to walk the streets of Paris arm in arm with their dad and Marty told the girls to remember that their Daddy was the one who took them to Paris! Shopping is something the girls did everyday. Things that surprised us was having to pay for shopping bags. Devin almost had to fight an old man over a shopping bag. In many places you had to pay in order to use the restroom. My first time hearing about hot wine. Dog poop on the sidewalks and a special motorcycle person riding around to vacuum up the dog poop. The locals were friendlier than I expected because I was told that if you didn't speak French that they would be rude to you especially if you didn't speak french. The police cars really have that warble sound like the ones in the movies. The weather wasn't bad either even though it was December/January and the forecast predicted 70% to 80% chance of rain almost everyday.
So I bet you feel like you spent 16 days in Paris after reading this long blog?!?!?
One last look!
Au revoir, Paris!
Au revoir, Paris!
