"I'm Proud to be an American!"

One last stop!  London.  We arrived at around 8:30 am.  We caught a bus to take us to our hotel and drop off our 6 pieces of luggage.  Yes, we had expanded by one over the 6 weeks!  We took the bus back to Heathrow Airport and caught the tube to our first stop.  The Tower of London.

Another country!  The UK!

Just getting there was exciting for the kids because they felt as if they were in a Harry Potter film!  Everyone around us had an English accent!  They were on a double decker bus!  They were on the tube!  Simple pleasures!

The top of the double decker bus!

By the time that we reached the Tower of London, everyone was getting hungry.  Being up at 4:30 am will do that to you by 11:30.  Excellent!  Fish and chips with malt vinaeger at the first pub that you see! 

Now, in France you can’t swing a loaf of bread around without hitting a boulangerie.  Here, you can’t swing a loaf of bread around without hitting a pub!  The kids were excited to try fish and chips…mildly.  I however, felt as if I were back in college eating out with Joeli!  What a time warp!

We were conservative and ordered only 2 orders.  Guess what…they LOVED it!  I could not believe it!  We had to order more! 

No one touched the peas, but loved the rest!

"I just have to figure out which tube line we have to take to get to Kings Cross Station.  Hmmm...what else can we fit in to see in our 11 hours here?"

The Tower of London on a full stomach with 3 tired children is much much better!  I could not believe how huge it was!  We were lucky enough to arrive just as one of the “Beefeaters” was starting a tour.  We jumped all over that, and were not disappointed.  He had some great stories and history of the tower, and was extremely entertaining to listen to!  He showed us the obese ravens (they do this on purpose so that they cannot fly away because it is believed that would be bad luck), the Bloody Tower where the two young princes were murderd, the place where Anne Boleyn spent her last week of life, where she lost her head (Soren was loving this!), and finally where we would find the crown jewels.  He also showed us where he lived, as all of the “Beefeaters” live here!

Bloody Tower 

Changing of the Guards

No pictures inside, so this is as good as it gets for photos of the crown jewels!

Anne Boleyn was kept on the top floor the week before she was beheaded.

Where Anne Boleyn and other "friends of the king" lost their heads.

Our "Beefeater" lives in the second blue door to the left.  The guard is stationed at the "Queen's House" should she ever stay here, but hasn't.

The Crown Jewels were incredible!  Just in that one exhibit alone, there is so much history and tradition that is still used today!  In fact, we learned that much of this exhibit will come out when there is a new King and/or Queen of England!  I am sure that you are all wondering about the royal future, but worry not.  I talked to several of the docents and now I know.  So, I will share this information with you.

First of all, it probably comes as no surprise to any of you that no one wants Prince Charles to be King.  They simply don’t appreciate how he has lived his life and the choices that he has made.  (Being that Makenna is planning on marrying into a French royal family, she is really going to have to watch her behavior going forward so as not to threaten her potential position)  They want Prince William to be the King and Kate to be their Queen.  Now, this was news to me.  Kate can be Queen even though she does not have any royal blood in her.  (Of course they reminded me that her family is very English and has been for as long as they can trace back.  I guess that is the next best thing)  Not only that, but she could be the Queen even if (God forbid) William were to die!  Now, this is where it gets a little cloudy.  I am not sure how much power that she would have.  I will find out and get back to you.

So, the English expect that Prince Charles will renounce his throne soon.  They don’t know if he will do this while his mother is alive, or after she has died but they absolutely expect it.  “It is the proper thing to do.” 

That being said, we saw the crown that Kate will wear and the one that William will wear!  His is much much more bejeweled than hers, but I would take hers if I was given no other option!  Plus, his is likely to give him a nasty headache as the thing must weigh a ton!

The next thing on the kids high priority list was a trip to Kings Cross station.  This is of course, where Harry and his friends boarded the train to Hogwarts at platform 9 ¾.  They actually have the luggage cart going into the wall, and so this was an absolute must for our little muggles. 

I guess that grownups can't get in!

We threw a little more culture in by going by Hyde Park and then Buckingham Palace.  They were a little disappointed after seeing all of the French chateaus.  I reminded them that this is a royal palace that is being used right now!  It is not a chateau.  OK.  Just knowing that there was royalty there at that time sufficed them.

Buckingham Palace

Now, it was time for tea.  We had all been looking forward to this and had chosen a place that had been recommended to us.  Well, the one that we would have loved to have gone to would have taken a lot more time and would have cost us almost 40 pounds per person.  Now, I love tea and scones, but we just couldn’t swallow the $300-$400 tea.

Well, at least I got my English tea.   Honestly.  How do you run out of scones in London?????

Things were going just fine.  We had been given out silver pots of tea, which were strong enough to take the enamel off of your teeth (still…when in Rome do as the Romans do!), the cream that they use in order to tone it down a bit, the sugar cubes that the kids love and our sandwiches.  I was holding back a little as I waited patiently for my favorite part.  The scones with clotted cream and raspberry jam.  My mouth was watering as I sat back thinking of what was to come when the waitress approached our table with “terrible news.”  No.  “We are out of scones.”  Pause.  No one spoke.  You could hear only silver spoons drop.  I swear to you, I thought that I was going to cry.  Could this even be possible?  Out of the very food that England is known for?  Seriously?  Well, what are you going to do?  I guess that it just wasn’t meant to me, but it definitely put a little chink in my armor of "I love London!"

Now it was time to get some snacks (Jeff and the kids found a scone in the store and got it for me.  No clotted cream and jam, but it was such a sweet gesture!) and go to the Lion King! 

The play was fabulous, and the family loved it!  What a lively and fun production to see!  When it was over, the family that had gotten up at 4:30 that morning was quite pooped.  So, we got onto the tube and then the bus that took us back to our hotel.  I had to face it.  The trip was now over. 

I just love the look of these classic pubs!

Wait…we would still stop in Chicago for a long layover the next day and try to get into the city!  OK.  I could hang on to the dream for just a little bit longer!

Well, we didn’t quite make it into the city as it would turn out because our plane got stuck just 50 feet from our gate as the airport closed for close to an hour due to bad weather.  The plane that was at our gate could therefore not get out, and we could not get in. 

But, we did take a taxi to the closest pizza place outside of the airport.  We had to have Chicago style pizza!!!  Now, we have had a lot of pizza in France believe it or not.  Pizzarias are everywehere and were a quick and inexpensive meal option for us many times.  But, that pizza could not hold a candle to the pizza/pie we had in Chicago!  Cheese, cheese, cheese.  It was excellent!  Now, I don’t feel like I can have pizza again.  Not after this one.  It was worth the taxi ride over and then some!

As we sat and waited for our pizza to be prepared and baked, we had some time to discuss what our favorite parts of France were, what we would like to bring back from their culture, and what we looked most forward to getting home to.

For all of us, it was difficult to pick out our favorite place in France.  They were all just so different, and so as we went around and talked about the trip, we literally decided that we simply loved it all, and that it felt like an injustice to pick a favorite.  Rather, we talked why we loved all of the different places that we had been.  We loved and will miss the adventure of seeing something new so often, and the pleasure of being able to just sit down and take it all in while we were there.  We will miss the history of the different places that we visited.

"You know Mommy, I did not think that I liked history, but actually I love it!"

"I cannot believe that 67 years ago, people were fighting eachother on this very beach.  I will not forget June 6, 1944.  That was a very sad time."

"I can tell you so much about the Roman civilization, the leaders, the people, the currency, and the kinds of things that they invented and built.  But, now...to see it...it all makes sense and is even more amazing!"

We will miss learning about and experiencing the differenced in the culture.  We will miss the people, and their genuine relationships.  We will miss the language and the challenge of learning more.  We will miss the beautiful cities, the rolling hills, the cobblestone streets, the stone houses and of course, the cows!  We will miss the bakeries, the baguettes, the pain au chocolate, the cheese, the quiche and the incredible variety of dinners.  We will miss the food!

"I like how people here are formal and polite."

"It seems like the people here are not in a rush, but they are on time if they say that they will be somewhere at a certain time."

"People in France ask for and accept help from others."

"I love how people will sit in a cafe or in a park, and really talk to each other."

"I love how the people don't interrupt each other because the conversation that you are in is the most important thing at the moment, and that people don't get impatient waiting because they understand and respect that."

"People in France talk quieter."

"I love that they don't worry about time or clocks."

C'est complet!  This trip was a dream born from the desire to show our family a different culture, a different language and different history.  We wanted to show them that the world is such big place, and that people are different and the same.  We hoped to open their eyes to different ways of doing things, and realizing that just because they are different, they are not wrong.  Just different.  We hoped that they would be able to appreciate those differences and to learn from them.  We also hoped that they would return home with a new appreciation for all that is wonderful and good (and different) here.

And, there is so much wonderful and good here!  We all looked forward to getting home to our wonderful family and friends!  That alone would be enough.  We feel so blessed to have such incredible relationships in our lives.  It is by far, the thing that we missed the most while in France.

People ask if I could live in France.  For the culture and the landscape, yes.  For the lack of family and friends, no.

We look forward to our backyard and our pool.  We look forward to our own beds, our garbage disposal and our bathrooms!  Of course, we look forward to our dog!  We cannot wait to get back to our dog!  We look forward to people smiling openly as you pass by, and simply saying hello.  We look forward to the service that you get in restaurants and hotels in America.  We look forward to being able to communicate so easily in our own language!  We look forward to Trader Joe's.  Not just for the store and the products, but how the people there are so kind and open to talking to you!  We look forward to our beaches that have good waves for body surfing and boogie boarding.  We look forward to our library and bookstores.   We look forward to easily being able to talk to and see our family and friends!

We look forward to coming home.

California coast...ahhhh!

It has been the trip of a lifetime.  One that has forever changed us.  A literal dream come true.  

Check, check, check

Our last day in France.  It has gone so fast!  We would not leave before seeing Giverny, the home of Monet for the last 40 years of his life and the subject of many of his most well known paintings. 

His gardens seemed to reflect him and his painting style.  Bright colors splashed around without any perfect order, but complete balance.  As we roamed through the gardens of magnificent color, we could almost imagine him doing the same and simply basking in their beauty.  He had a wife and 8 children that lived here with him, and so we could also imagine children running through laughing and playing hide and seek or tag.

The part that I was most excited to see was the Japanese inspired garden where the famous water lilies live!  This garden was so different from the last!  Maybe it is just the water that seems to evoke more quiet.  It was mesmerizing.  He had designed this garden so that you meander through greenery, splashes of color, past babbling brooks and ponds filled with yellow and pink water lilies.  There are benches along the way and bridges that cross over just begging you to sit and be quiet for a time. 

That we did…with our last French lunch.  Baguette sandwiches from the local boulangerie.  I am going to miss this.  The picnics, the time to sit and just be, having my whole family to myself, and of course…the baguettes!

It was time to go.  We really wanted (despite Jeff’s requests to reconsider) to go back to Paris.  We needed to finish 3 more things.  Shopping, escargots and ice cream.  As it turns out, and now I can tell you for sure, the best ice cream that I have ever had. 

“Well.  We are done touring France.”  Rachel said as we got into the car to head back to Paris. 

Soren cheered, Jeff sighed, Makenna said nothing, and I felt like I was going to cry.  It has been such a magnificent trip.  There is nothing that I would do different, and I have no regrets.  We saw everything that we wanted to see, and had time to relax in between.  What more could I ask for?  Yes, it was time to go home.  I am ready, but I will miss the dream.

But wait…there is more!  We still got to go back to Paris, and then London!

Jeff’s reluctance in going back to Paris rested solely on the fact that he would have to drive in Paris.  The one thing that everyone tells you not to do!  After 6 weeks of driving in France however, we were confident that all would be well!  I am not so sure that he felt that way!

As we approached the city, we got more excited!  Jeff got more nervous.

“Oh crap!  Is that the Arc de Triomphe????  Are we on Champs-Elysees?”

Ooops.  Yep!

Jeff just held the car steady as motorcycles which Jeff referred to as Ninjas and little cars whizzed past us!  I think that I actually heard Jeff scream, but it was hard to tell because the rest of us were laughing so hard that we had tears coming down our faces!

Well, after he made it through the 50 point round about (or what seemed like 50 points but was actually 12) we made it to the parking structure at the Printemps and the Galeries Lafayette.   Thank goodness for anti-persperant! 

Once here, it felt almost as if we had come home.  We chose to walk so that we could go back by so much of what we had seen 6 weeks before.  The biggest difference this time from 6 weeks ago was the fact that we felt surrounded by English speaking Americans.  I much preferred being here when we heard no Americans.  It just felt so much more real.  Now, I felt like I was at Disneyland!  I thought to myself…it’s time for us to go home.

Not before we accomplished what we set out to do first however! 

Makenna found a very cute leather jacket that will suit her very nicely in high school.  Can’t you hear it now?  “Oh my gosh Makenna, that jacket is soooo cute.  Where did you get it?”  “This?  Oh, I got it in Paris.”  You gotta love it!  Rachel and I found a couple of little things that we are secretly hoping someone will ask us about so that we have the joy of giving the same response! 

We walked by the Opera Garnier, we walked by Place du Palais Royal, the Jardin des Tuileries, and the Louvre.  We walked along the Seine and saw the “beach in Paris” where they bring in tons and tons of sand, chairs, and umbrellas along the Seine in Paris.  It is the city dwellers beach!  Finally we crossed over the river to a great little spot called “Ile St. Louis.” It is here that we settled in for our last French meal.  Soup a l’onion, steak hache and frites, salad vert, and of course escargots. 

There were 6 shells on the plate.  I am not sure that the kids expected to have to work for their food from something that looked like what they are accoustomed to pulling out of their Nana’s garden.  Not only that, but they were smothered with “green stuff!”  I know that is the only thing that will make these little things edible.  It is a garlic butter basil sauce.  To the kids…it might as well have been snot.  Oh to see their faces!  But, none of them wanted to go back to the States without saying that they tried them!

Makenna went first, then Rachel and finally Soren.  The reactions to the delicacy started out mild and by the time that we got to Soren we thought that he might just puke.  However, the mission was accomplished!  They had done it!  That being over, they enjoyed the rest of their meal and the minute the last bite had hit their little palates, the cries for the ice cream that drove us back to Paris commenced.  I must admit…I was probably the first one to cry out!  After trying ice cream all over France, Italy and Spain (and I know that you all know that I did!) I was convinced that this was truly the best!

The famous shop is called Berthillon, and it did not disappoint.  Being that it was our last night here, we all agreed that a double scoop was in order.  The man at the window had to suffer through an order from an obnoxious American just before us, and somehow must have known that we might speak some French and so he insisted that we order in French.  He was delighted when Rachel enthusiastically replied in French with her order, and then Soren and Makenna.  The best part (as far as I am concerned) is how they responded with no hesitation and with excellent accents!  It was a proud moment for me and the man serving us was full of smiles!  I know that you want to know what I got…ok I will share.  I got a scoop of that chocolate that I talked about in one of the very first blogs…you know, the one that tastes like dark chocolate melted and then cooled into a scoop of creamy, melt in your mouth ice cream.  On top of that I got salted butter caramel.  OMG.  Flavor explosion!

We took our ice creams down by the river so that we could sit in the sun, gaze over at the Notre Dame and savor our last hour in Paris.  What an incredible time.  What an incredible trip.  What a great day!  It is hard to be too sad about leaving when we all felt so fulfilled.