West Texas Meets Paris: Part 2

Thursday was a forgettable Thanksgiving Day.

Osvaldo and Philip were both very sick, and the fact that we were in a foreign country that doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving far removed from family made it a day I want to forget! Yet (even though this is not a Thanksgiving Day post), there is SO much to be thankful for. There’s nothing like going through pictures of our trip to Paris to visually remind me of a few of the many things I am thankful for this year — the opportunity to have visited so many wonderful places and having friends and family come to see us are just two of those things.

So here’s a peek into our second day out in Paris!

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The night before (after we had walked several miles to go to dinner, see the Arc de Triomphe, and back home) the ladies decided they wanted to see Paris from the top of a tour bus. So we began day 2 by taking the metro over to the Arc to catch the Big Bus Sightseeing Tour. It was lovely to see the Arc in light and ride around the huge (and crazy) roundabout allowing us to see the Arc from all its angles.

And here are some beautiful things we saw on our way.

Our first stop we got out at was at Trocadero and the Eiffel Tower. The day was cold and windy but we were thankful for no rain. In between  the two places was a beautiful two-story carousel. Philip rode it a couple of times while we enjoyed fresh crepes with nutella. It was a perfect Paris experience!

 

After hanging out around the Eiffel Tower for a while, we hopped on the bus again and headed over to the Notre Dame. We got out at the Notre Dame and went to an Italian place for lunch. I made the mistake of asking what was the best or favorite to order, and the response was, “Everything is a favorite here.” One thing is for sure, they take pride of their food in Paris!

After lunch we walked to the Latin Quarter, past the Sorbonne University, to the Jardin du Luxembourg. At the gardens we rented a boat for Philip to push around the huge fountain then went to the park to play. I love the parks in Europe, but this park was probably the most amazing one out of all the ones we have visited thus far.

We had a wonderful (and crammed!) day in Paris, and it is fun to look at these pictures and remember that day and to give God thanks for it.

Stay tuned for more pictures of Paris!

West Texas Meets Paris: Part 1

Before mom and Wanda came to England we had many discussions as to what we should see while they were here. We finally decided on Paris since it is so close and would be cheaper to see it with accommodations being split 3 ways.

So two days after they arrived, we took a taxi to the train station, a train from Cambridge to London, and the Eurostar train from London to Paris.

My mom brought a lot of little surprises for Philip for all of our long journeys. She would have him close his eyes and hold out his hands. This quickly became his favorite thing to do, but was a problem when she ran out of surprises!

 

Left: Once we arrived in London at King’s Cross Station. Right: After we arrived in Paris!

We found an apartment on a website called Airbnb. The apartment was in the 8th arr. and had 3 bedrooms — big enough for the 5 of us to share. In the end, splitting it 3 ways was cheaper than each of us paying for a hotel room for 3 nights.

When we arrived, however, there was a miscommunication and we had no way to get into the apartment. We ended up waiting about 20 minutes before the landlord was able to get to us. But once inside, we were blown away by the beauty and size of the apartment!

 
Left: Wanda, Philip and Mom riding the little elevator up to the top floor as the apartment was actually a penthouse! Right: Everyone waiting patiently to get into the place.

 
Left: You entered the apartment into a big foyer. Ahead to the left was the living room, ahead to the right the dining room, the top right a long hallway with bedrooms, laundry room and a bathroom off of it, to the bottom left (not seen) was a hallway leading to two toilet closets and the kitchen. Right: Looking from the dining room into the foyer and living room. Every room had a fireplace.

 
Left: The kitchen. Right: Wanda’s bedroom.

 

Left: Osvaldo and my bedroom. Right and below: Bathroom that Wanda and Mom shared.

The book coffee table.

 

Left: Our view from the living room, dining room and our bedroom. Right and below: The view from our kitchen.

Unfortunately we did not get a picture of Mom and Philip’s room other than the one of Philip at this little desk, but they had a queen bed and a single bed with lots of room to spare! They also had a lot of little cars to play with which made Philip very happy!

We all agreed later that one of the best parts about our trip to Paris was the apartment itself. It gave us what felt like an authentic Parisian experience.

After settling into the apartment, we went out in search of dinner. In Paris, dinner doesn’t start until 7, 7:30 or 8, depending on the place. We ended up at a Lebanese restaurant, and the food was amazing!

We then walked to the Arc de Triomphe and down the famous avenue, Champs-Elysees. It was fun seeing the place all lit up at night, and yet it was very busy!

 

Above right and below: Osvaldo and I went out onto this narrow place in the center of Champs-Elysees to get a good view of the avenue.

Before going to Paris we had heard that the city did not provide many public bathrooms and if so, the majority of them charged for use. That first night walking down Champs-Elysees we tried and tried to find a bathroom for Philip to no avail. Poor Philip had a bad tummy ache and while Osvaldo was carrying him he pooped in his pants and fell asleep. We still had a long walk home and with no bathroom in sight, the four of us gathered around Philip and changed his dirty diaper on the streets of Paris! Luckily for us and everyone else, there was a trash bin close by. And believe it or not, Philip slept through the whole ordeal. Perhaps one day he will appreciate that story!

And that was the ending to our first day in Paris.

Here’s one last picture of Philip from our apartment before we headed out for the night.

Stay tuned for more from their trip!

West Texas Meets Cambridge

We were so excited and blessed to have my (Kristen’s) mom and her good friend, Wanda, travel all the way from West Texas, Big Spring to be exact, to see us in Cambridge at the end of October.

They arrived on a Tuesday after a very long flight from Houston and an hour ride from Heathrow to Cambridge in a London taxi. My mom helped me pick Philip up from the nursery (preschool) behind our house, and it was so fun to see the shocked but excited look on Philip’s face when he saw his Nonny. The rest of the visit those two were inseparable.

On Wednesday we tackled Cambridge. It was a beautiful but cold day! On our way into town, we stopped by Magdalene College where C.S. Lewis was a professor. The porters once told me that his apartment was on the second floor in the building behind us in the picture below.

After leaving Magdalene we went punting down River Cam, one of the must dos if you ever come to tour the city. As you can see, we were so thankful for the warm, Scottish blankets in the boats!

St. John’s College from the Backs.

King’s College and Chapel from the Backs (River Cam).

Once we were done with our punt ride, we met up with Osvaldo, ate lunch and walked through town. Cambridge is such a cool city with cobbled stone roads and lots of small, hidden passageways.

After lunch, we toured King’s College and Chapel.

 This was my (Kristen’s) third time to King’s Chapel, and for the first time I noticed graffiti from hundreds of years ago. I’m guessing these were signatures of former students. Some things never change!

After leaving King’s College, we went for dessert at a Cambridge landmark called Fitzbillies. Fitzbillies is known for its sticky chelsea buns (which, in my opinion, are similar to cinnamon rolls but with a different flavoring).

After leaving Fitzbillies, we walked to Pembroke College where our supposed ancestor, Sir Christopher Wren, designed its chapel.

Leaving Pembroke we walked into town to its market (one of my favorite things!) and stopped by the church where the first openly Reformation sermons were given in England.

Our last stop of the day was Trinity College before walking home through town.

And that was Day 1! Most of these pictures were taken by my mom on her iPhone 6. Stay tuned for more posts (with LOTS of photos!) covering their visit.