Gavia

It is always a little bit awkward when you are staying with people that you don't know very well and you are not sure what their routine or preferences are and they are not sure what yours are. It is even more difficult when everyone is trying to be accommodating and so no one will make a decision. We got up and were trying to decide if we should go out for breakfast or get something and eat at the apartment. In the end Lisa and Sebastian went out to the grocery store and got some things for breakfast. Sebastian makes a really good breakfast, we had about five different types of buns, regular cream cheese and a cherry paprika cream cheese, some meat and cheese, eggs, yogurt, orange juice, grapes, it was a real feast! ... read more

Well we finally got up early for once, had breakfast and made our way to Montmare all before 10am! This metro has been the farthest station that we have travelled to and it takes us above ground. There are a lot of tourist shops along the walkway up to Sacre Coeur. When Bev, Ed & I were here the last time there were a number of con artists running a shell game. (Where there are three shells, or cards, or cups, and you pay to guess which card is the queen or which cup has the ball). This time there were just the usual tourist shops, nothing caught our eye so we continued up to Sacre Coeur. Mike didn't want to take the funicular (basically an elevator up the side of the hill) so we walked ... read more

Well our morning start has gotten faster, although not by much. We had a fabulous omelette for breakfast, made even better thanks to the leftover meats and cheese from last night. After a quick stop back at C&A to get our tax refund (which we couldn't get yesterday because we didn't have our passports on us), and an even quicker stop to Galeries Layfette who wouldn't give us a tax refund form because the shoes were bought on a different day we boarded the metro to the Musée de l'Armée Invalides. There was a singer on the train, one door down from us. After she had finished her song she pulled out a money collection purse and a person or two around her gave her a coin or two, then she came over to where we, ... read more

Today was a beautiful day! We got up at a decent time, but between trying to get everyone ready, having to make two trips to the grocery store (just beside the apartment), one trip to get a couple last minute things for our breakfast and a second trip to get a new lighter so that we could get the gas stove working. We ended up having a late breakfast (10:30am) of an omelette and French croissants. After breakfast we headed to the Metro station to catch the metro and head to the Arc de Triomphe. Dad took his first selfie with the Arc in the background! We then walked down the Champ de Élysées, a famous street in Paris. Last time we were here it was rainy and overcast so instead of strolling along we had ... read more

We have made it to Europe! Our first plane ride was a bit cold and it was long, but it wasn't too bad, there were a lot of movies and tv shows to watch. Not very good plane food, the flight attendants had cinnamon buns, but they didn't share with the rest of us! I watched The Walk, which being about a Frenchman and half in French I am now really excited to land in France. We have a two hour layover here in Amsterdam and after getting a breakfast from McDonalds we are off to wander through the shops and find our gate for the flight to Paris.... read more