Things finally fell into place and I was able to tag along with Steve on a business trip to France. My Mom flew up to stay with our girls while we were gone. Thanks Mom! We took over 800 pictures and after weeding through them we have posted our favorites. Just a warning...this will be a long post!
Day 1
Sitting in the United Airlines Lounge waiting for our flight to leave Seattle.
A great shot of Mt. Rainier as we were leaving Seattle.
One of the many perks of having a husband that travels for business is having access to the lounges at the airport. Here I am in the United Airlines lounge in the Washington Dulles airport waiting for our connecting flight to Paris. I had fun snacking on all the free food and drinks.
We landed Monday morning around 8:00 a.m. and after clearing immigration and getting my first stamp on my current Passport Steve picked up the rental car and our first stop was the Eiffel Tower. This was my first time seeing the Eiffel Tower. I was amazed at how big it was. We took two elevators up to the very top to the observation deck. The view of Paris was spectacular.
A view of Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Another view of Paris.
On our 2 1/2 hour drive down to Bourges where Steve's work meetings were we stopped off at a gas station to get some munchies so that we could stay awake for the rest of our drive. Here I am with our zippy rental car. Oh it's an adventure driving in a foreign country! It was fun be out in the country side to see how the people in France live.
After checking into our hotel room we walked into town and had some dinner. At this point we had been up for about 28 hours and had gotten to bed late the night before our trip! So we looked pretty wiped out and were definitely ready for some sleep.
Day 2
Steve had work meetings Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning. Tuesday and Wednesday he left the hotel around 8:00 a.m. and got back around 8:00 in the evening.
The hotel we stayed in had a nice buffet breakfast. I felt like a queen ordering my own personal hot chocolate in this delicate tea pot made of fine china. It was so yummy. After breakfast I would walk into town. The little city we were in was so cute and quaint with its cobble stone streets. There were small sidewalk cafes and bakeries everywhere, where I would stop in for an afternoon snack. I had fun ordering a croissant or pastry and my diet coke and using my Euros to pay for it. I enjoyed sitting and watching people and listening to them speak French. It's such a beautiful language. It was fun to be in town when school got out in the afternoon. There were kids everywhere and it was fun to watch them. Most of the cafes I went to had free Wifi (pronounced Wee Fee in French) so I would get on my iTouch and check my e-mail, play on facebook and text my girls, my mom and my friends back at home. I also had fun downloading some of my favorite TV shows that I was missing back at home off of iTunes and watching them on my iTouch. I would head back to our hotel around 4:00 and then would sit and read until Steve got back from work. Each night after he got back we would go grab some dinner.
Our second night in Bourges we went to a place called "Le Guillotin"! We had a very interesting meal! When you can't read the menu because it's written in French you just do your best!
We had a very tasty salad to start off with. It had greens, some sort of cheese, tomatoes, thin slices of duck fillet and on top of the salad was an egg that was barely cooked. Steve thought the salad was delicious and would dip his french bread into the raw egg yolk and eat it. I managed to dig around the salad and only take small bites of lettuce and tomatoes!
We had a very tasty salad to start off with. It had greens, some sort of cheese, tomatoes, thin slices of duck fillet and on top of the salad was an egg that was barely cooked. Steve thought the salad was delicious and would dip his french bread into the raw egg yolk and eat it. I managed to dig around the salad and only take small bites of lettuce and tomatoes! 
Steve ordered a steak and I had fish. The best part of the meal was the homemade hot sliced thick potato chips. They were yummy!
Day 3The hotel we stayed in used to be an Abbey and a church at different times in history. The dinning room was so cool - felt like you were dining in a castle. Here I am in the dining room for breakfast.
Here is one of the buffet tables with different breads and croissants. They also had fresh fruit, cereal, yogurt, eggs, ham, sausage and all kinds of cheeses and meats.
One of the stores in town was an H&M. We have an H&M store in Seattle and Mackenzie and Brooklyn love that store so I did a little shopping there for them.
That night we found a fairly new Italian restaurant owned and run by a cute couple. The food was really yummy.
Day 3
Here is one of the buffet tables with different breads and croissants. They also had fresh fruit, cereal, yogurt, eggs, ham, sausage and all kinds of cheeses and meats.
One of the stores in town was an H&M. We have an H&M store in Seattle and Mackenzie and Brooklyn love that store so I did a little shopping there for them.
That night we found a fairly new Italian restaurant owned and run by a cute couple. The food was really yummy.
Day 3This picture was taken inside our hotel just outside of our room. It is looking out into the dinning room. Isn't it beautiful?
Steve finished up his work that day around noon . After we checked out of our hotel we had fun exploring the city of Bourges before we headed back to Paris.
I loved all the cute streets and old door fronts to their homes.
This is the Bourges cathedral and was built in the 1200 - 1300 AD time frame. It is beautiful and similar in many ways to Notre Dame in Paris.
Inside the church.
While we were inside the church I thought it might be good to take care of a few things... :-}
We have almost been married for 25 years and all this time I thought Steve was perfect! I guess not!
Steve loves this stain glass window. It portrays the parable of the good Samaritan and shows various parts of the story in different sections of the window. This very stain glass window was mentioned in an article in the Ensign magazine some years ago. It was sunny that day and the colors in the stain glass were brilliant - pictures just don't capture it.
This is what the streets look like in Bourges. So cute!
We made the 2 2/1 hour drive back to Paris and checked into our hotel. This hotel is really tiny and the only elevator that they have is this teeny tiny two person elevator! Or one person and one suitcase - it took us all the way up to our 4th floor room - way fun!
That night we went back to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up. While we were there the strobe lights came on. It was so pretty.
On our walk back to our hotel we stopped off at a sidewalk cafe and shared a hot fudge sundae. We sat outside and could see the Eiffel Tower from where we were sitting. What a perfect way to end a perfect day.
Day 4
Steve finished up his work that day around noon . After we checked out of our hotel we had fun exploring the city of Bourges before we headed back to Paris.
I loved all the cute streets and old door fronts to their homes.
This is the Bourges cathedral and was built in the 1200 - 1300 AD time frame. It is beautiful and similar in many ways to Notre Dame in Paris.
Inside the church.
While we were inside the church I thought it might be good to take care of a few things... :-}
We have almost been married for 25 years and all this time I thought Steve was perfect! I guess not!
Steve loves this stain glass window. It portrays the parable of the good Samaritan and shows various parts of the story in different sections of the window. This very stain glass window was mentioned in an article in the Ensign magazine some years ago. It was sunny that day and the colors in the stain glass were brilliant - pictures just don't capture it.
This is what the streets look like in Bourges. So cute!
We made the 2 2/1 hour drive back to Paris and checked into our hotel. This hotel is really tiny and the only elevator that they have is this teeny tiny two person elevator! Or one person and one suitcase - it took us all the way up to our 4th floor room - way fun!
That night we went back to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up. While we were there the strobe lights came on. It was so pretty.
On our walk back to our hotel we stopped off at a sidewalk cafe and shared a hot fudge sundae. We sat outside and could see the Eiffel Tower from where we were sitting. What a perfect way to end a perfect day.
Day 4A view out the window of our hotel room in Paris. There are shops all up and down this street - one shop sells only cheese, another meat, one fruit and vegetables , another fish and a bakery with awesome bread as well.
Another view from our room.
Here we are at the Louvre. That place is huge! We saw so many amazing pieces of art.
I was excited to see the famous painting of the "Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci. As you can see, she was happy to see us as well.
Our next stop was to see Notre Dame. Is that Steve or the Hunchback of Notre Dame?
Here I am with Quasimodo in front of Notre Dame. He was kind enough to pose with me for a few Euros...
Inside of Notre Dame.
Across the river and looking at the back side of Notre Dame.
Just across the street from the Notre Dame a man was selling fresh crepes. Here is Steve ordering one for us. It was so yummy.
We had so much fun riding the Paris subways. Here I am with my subway ticket going through one of the ticket gates.
After a long and fun day of sight seeing we went back to our hotel. Here I am getting ready to ride up to our room in our teeny tiny elevator.
Our room in Paris was so so tiny. We barely had room around the bed to walk. And the bathroom was really funny. The shower was so small you couldn't really turn around in it. But we didn't care. It had a lot of personality!
Day 5
We checked out of our quaint Paris hotel and then flew a short 1 hour flight from Paris to London. London was way cool. We loved it.
After checking in to our hotel we went down to Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square where they have a place that sells discounted tickets to the musicals and plays playing that day. We were able to get a great deal on a matinee showing of Grease. The show was awesome - the dancing and singing was really good and it was fun!
Found out that our daugther Brooklyn was the lead character in a new book...just one of the many posters they have advertised on the walls of the underground subways.
We headed over to the King's Cross train station hoping to see Harry Potter and Hermoine Granger, but they had already boarded the Hogwarts Express. Steve tried to follow them and got his cart half way into platform 9 3/4 and changed his mind. Here he is trying to get his cart back out. 
Small world - a couple days before going to London we discovered that a great friend and sharp young girl that used to babysit our girls when we lived in Huntington Beach, CA was going to be in London at the same time with her husband. He is now stationed in Germany with the U.S. Air Force. We were able to hook up and visit with them one evening and we also saw them at church and at Buckingham palace the next day. It was way fun to reminisce and catch up. Thanks Matt and Sara for taking the time to see us.
Day 6
Another view from our room.
Here we are at the Louvre. That place is huge! We saw so many amazing pieces of art.
I was excited to see the famous painting of the "Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci. As you can see, she was happy to see us as well.
Our next stop was to see Notre Dame. Is that Steve or the Hunchback of Notre Dame?
Here I am with Quasimodo in front of Notre Dame. He was kind enough to pose with me for a few Euros...
Inside of Notre Dame.
Across the river and looking at the back side of Notre Dame.
Just across the street from the Notre Dame a man was selling fresh crepes. Here is Steve ordering one for us. It was so yummy.
We had so much fun riding the Paris subways. Here I am with my subway ticket going through one of the ticket gates.
After a long and fun day of sight seeing we went back to our hotel. Here I am getting ready to ride up to our room in our teeny tiny elevator.
Our room in Paris was so so tiny. We barely had room around the bed to walk. And the bathroom was really funny. The shower was so small you couldn't really turn around in it. But we didn't care. It had a lot of personality!
Day 5We checked out of our quaint Paris hotel and then flew a short 1 hour flight from Paris to London. London was way cool. We loved it.
After checking in to our hotel we went down to Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square where they have a place that sells discounted tickets to the musicals and plays playing that day. We were able to get a great deal on a matinee showing of Grease. The show was awesome - the dancing and singing was really good and it was fun!
Found out that our daugther Brooklyn was the lead character in a new book...just one of the many posters they have advertised on the walls of the underground subways.
We headed over to the King's Cross train station hoping to see Harry Potter and Hermoine Granger, but they had already boarded the Hogwarts Express. Steve tried to follow them and got his cart half way into platform 9 3/4 and changed his mind. Here he is trying to get his cart back out. 
Small world - a couple days before going to London we discovered that a great friend and sharp young girl that used to babysit our girls when we lived in Huntington Beach, CA was going to be in London at the same time with her husband. He is now stationed in Germany with the U.S. Air Force. We were able to hook up and visit with them one evening and we also saw them at church and at Buckingham palace the next day. It was way fun to reminisce and catch up. Thanks Matt and Sara for taking the time to see us.
Day 6We went to sacrament meeting at a church close to Hyde Park. It is always wonderful to attend church in other places and feel the same great spirit from the members there.
We then went to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards.
It was interesting - the British flag was flying so that meant that the Queen was there.
Very formal and exact. I really got a kick out of the guards. 
For our hotels in London we used Steve's hotel points that he has accumulated over the past number of years with business travel. We stayed the first night in a Hyatt out near Hyde Park. Then we stayed our last two nights at the Waldorf Hilton in the center of London. Here we are in a quaint taxi moving to the Waldorf. These cabs are so cool.
Here's our room at the Waldorf Hilton. I loved the artwork on the walls and got a kick out of the funky light in the center of the room.
In London we got around by the subway, which they call the "Tube" or "Underground" and by these cool double decker buses.
Here we are looking out from our favorite seat - the front row on the top deck of the bus.
Here's a shot from where we were standing on the London bridge looking out at the Tower Bridge.
And here's a shot of Big Ben.
This was taken looking towards Big Ben from Westminster Abbey. You can see the big "Eye of London" ferris wheel in the background.
Here we are at the Tower of London - this was one of Steve's favorite places. We saw the crown jewels and learned about the history of this castle that had also been used as a prison for many famous people down through the ages.
This is a place where the soldiers would shoot their cross bows through - they could see out at their enemies and yet their enemies would have a tough time shooting through the narrow slot. Steve thought this was pretty cool.
Here's Steve coming up the stairs inside one of the castle towers.
Here I am with one of the "Beefeaters" or Yeoman Warders - the guards of the Crown Jewels and our guide on our tour of the Tower of London. He was funny and it was quite interesting.
Once again I got a kick out of the guards. They had a changing of the guards while we were there - it was way cool.
Not sure how he does this hour after hour and day after day, but it was cool. This particular soldier is protecting the building with the Crown Jewels inside.
Yes, of the 800 pictures we took Steve thinks that 1/2 of them were of the guards! Maybe I need to get Steve one of these outfits to wear while he watches over all my jewels! :-)
Ahhhh, this sounds good right now. Friends had told us that the Fish and Chips in London were awesome and we totally agree. We had fish and chips at a place called Tower Diner - just up from the London Tower - it was sooooooo good. The fish was so tender and the batter was so good. We loved it so much we went back the next day before we flew home. 
Just had to get a picture in one of these cool phone booths. We never did see anyone using them except to take pictures.
Steve figured that these booths would be a great place to get away from the wind and cold while he sent a text!
And we just had to do the tourist trip to the famous Harrods department store - it was huge - everything you would find in a mall and more under one store...but way -way out of our price range!
We were excited to be able to get tickets to see Les Miserables - on the ninth row from the stage - it was sooo good. I think that many of the actors were the same people that we had seen perform when we saw it in Seattle some years ago. It was a great way to top off an awesome day.
Day 8
We then went to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards.
It was interesting - the British flag was flying so that meant that the Queen was there.
Very formal and exact. I really got a kick out of the guards. 
For our hotels in London we used Steve's hotel points that he has accumulated over the past number of years with business travel. We stayed the first night in a Hyatt out near Hyde Park. Then we stayed our last two nights at the Waldorf Hilton in the center of London. Here we are in a quaint taxi moving to the Waldorf. These cabs are so cool.
Here's our room at the Waldorf Hilton. I loved the artwork on the walls and got a kick out of the funky light in the center of the room.
In London we got around by the subway, which they call the "Tube" or "Underground" and by these cool double decker buses.
Here we are looking out from our favorite seat - the front row on the top deck of the bus.
Here's a shot from where we were standing on the London bridge looking out at the Tower Bridge.
And here's a shot of Big Ben.
This was taken looking towards Big Ben from Westminster Abbey. You can see the big "Eye of London" ferris wheel in the background.
Day 7
We were surprised to find out when we checked into our hotel that they would include breakfast in the dining room at no charge. It was quite the spectacular room and breakfast. 
Ummmmm. So many choices... It was fun. You could choose from the buffet or order from the menu. This is a big difference from the bowl of oatmeal that I have every morning at our home most days.
Ummmmm. So many choices... It was fun. You could choose from the buffet or order from the menu. This is a big difference from the bowl of oatmeal that I have every morning at our home most days.
Here we are at the Tower of London - this was one of Steve's favorite places. We saw the crown jewels and learned about the history of this castle that had also been used as a prison for many famous people down through the ages.
This is a place where the soldiers would shoot their cross bows through - they could see out at their enemies and yet their enemies would have a tough time shooting through the narrow slot. Steve thought this was pretty cool.
Here's Steve coming up the stairs inside one of the castle towers.
Here I am with one of the "Beefeaters" or Yeoman Warders - the guards of the Crown Jewels and our guide on our tour of the Tower of London. He was funny and it was quite interesting.
Once again I got a kick out of the guards. They had a changing of the guards while we were there - it was way cool.
Not sure how he does this hour after hour and day after day, but it was cool. This particular soldier is protecting the building with the Crown Jewels inside.
Yes, of the 800 pictures we took Steve thinks that 1/2 of them were of the guards! Maybe I need to get Steve one of these outfits to wear while he watches over all my jewels! :-)Ahhhh, this sounds good right now. Friends had told us that the Fish and Chips in London were awesome and we totally agree. We had fish and chips at a place called Tower Diner - just up from the London Tower - it was sooooooo good. The fish was so tender and the batter was so good. We loved it so much we went back the next day before we flew home. 
Just had to get a picture in one of these cool phone booths. We never did see anyone using them except to take pictures.
Steve figured that these booths would be a great place to get away from the wind and cold while he sent a text!
And we just had to do the tourist trip to the famous Harrods department store - it was huge - everything you would find in a mall and more under one store...but way -way out of our price range!
We were excited to be able to get tickets to see Les Miserables - on the ninth row from the stage - it was sooo good. I think that many of the actors were the same people that we had seen perform when we saw it in Seattle some years ago. It was a great way to top off an awesome day.
Day 8We got up early and enjoyed another great breakfast and then headed down to Westminster Abbey. We had visited St. Pauls cathedral earlier in the week and it was more beautiful and yet as we listened to the audio tour of Westminster Abbey it was amazing to hear and feel the history within this place.
Here we are sitting in some new seats in a United 767 ready to come home. Another perk of having a husband who travels way too much is being able to be upgraded to business class with Steve. The entertainment system was so cool - you could choose from tons of movies. But we decided to purchase a special cable to connect my iTouch to the video system and together we watched an episode of Survivor and Amazing Race that I had downloaded onto my iTouch a few days earlier. That was fun and made our trip home go a lot faster.
Here we are sitting in some new seats in a United 767 ready to come home. Another perk of having a husband who travels way too much is being able to be upgraded to business class with Steve. The entertainment system was so cool - you could choose from tons of movies. But we decided to purchase a special cable to connect my iTouch to the video system and together we watched an episode of Survivor and Amazing Race that I had downloaded onto my iTouch a few days earlier. That was fun and made our trip home go a lot faster. We had a great time exploring France and London and it was so fun to have time together. We were so happy that everything worked out so well. We were sad that our trip had come to an end but we missed our girls and were ready to come home too. What fun memories.
7 comments:
What a fun trip! I can't believe you got to see so many things!!
Wow!! I almost felt like I experienced it with you!! Thanks for sharing! Looks like you had a blast! I am so glad that you two finally got to go have some fun just the two of you!!!
Looks like you two had a great time! What fun places to visit!
I am so happy that you got a turn to go on a business trip . . . sounds like it was a fabulous time!!! Thanks for sharing all the wonderful photos.
What a neat trip! Thanks for sharing your fun pics! Definitely makes me want to go as well!
I love the photos of you two at confessionals.....to funny! When we were there they offered confessionals in various languages, I got a good chuckle out of that!
So happy you and Ralphie had a fabulous trip!
Thanks for sharing other parts of the world with us!! Looks and sounds like you had a AWESOME time, so glad you were able to tag along with Steve!! You are one lucky women!!
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