Paris!!!

Josh had this past week off so we thought what better way to spend it than a trip to Paris! It is only a 4 hour drive from our house in the Netherlands.  So we were off and running after dropping Grace off at the pet hotel.  It's pretty amazing that you can drive through 3 countries in just a few hours.  We made it through the Netherlands, Belgium and basically to Paris without any crying :)

We must have arrived in Paris around rush hour and it really was just madness trying to find our hotel and a parking spot!!! So glad I was not driving!!! After a quick pitstop we were out and about on our first subway ride and on to the open top bus tour. 

The bus tour really was pretty amazing. We got to see the entire city in just a couple of hours.  Unfortunately, Jackson had pretty much had enough. He was super tired and not loving it!! We decided to let the others on the bus tour enjoy it and got off at the Eiffel Tour for a little break. 

Jackson had a serious blow out and was soooo tired.  Of course I forgot his pacifier so this just added to our chaos.   But hey how many people can say I had my diaper changed under the Eiffel Tower :)  we survived and had much needed room service back at our hotel!

Day 2 was much better!!! First we went to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo.  Tip for visiting Paris.  Have a stroller!! Baby or no baby, you get to bypass the incredibly long lines and go right to the front :)  The museums were incredible, it is hard to believe how many people are at these places and how old these paintings are.  You could spend days there!

Then we were off to the Orsay Musuem (no pictures allowed here) but we saw paintings from Van Gogh and Monet. After lunch at a little pizzeria we were off to Notre Dame.  Jackson was a huge hit here.  People were taking his picture like crazy, you would have though he was famous.  Apparently they thought he was so cute (but hey who doesn't) still a little weird.  Who knows how many photo albums we will be in around the world!!

After a little break back at the hotel we were off to the wax museum.  We saw a few famous people we recognized like Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Marilyn Monroe, Obama... but other than that they were mostly french people. 


Our last day we got to go up in the Eiffel Tower.  We were headed home right afterwards so we had to make the scary drive that we were dreading but it was much better than our first day and we made it in one piece.  We had a nice lunch of traditional baggettes under the Eiffel Tower and then we were off to ride the elevator!  Jackson just couldn't take all the excitement of spitting up on mom's feet under the tower and seeing all the people walking around, so he just had to fall asleep right before we got on the elevator.  The view was incredible, unlike anything you will ever see.  It's hard to believe how big the city is and just how old all the buildings are!

Then we were off on our 4 hour drive home that turned into 5 1/2 with all the road construction and traffic jams. Jackson didn't cry at all which makes me a little less nervous about our 8 hour plane ride coming up! 

Paris was amazing, and overwhelming!  We had a great time but are glad to be back in peaceful "slow paced" Asten. 

Next trip: HOME SWEET HOME in 19 days!! Can't wait!