Wordless Wednesday

Honfleur, France – March 2012

Chateau Gaillard, Les Andelys, France

After we left the magical Disneyland Paris we drove north towards the Normandy region.  Along the way we stopped at the beautiful Chateau Gaillard.  The castle ruins sit high above the Seine River and the small town of Les Andelys. A quick stop in town to grab some lunch and we headed to the ruins.

We arrived in the off season and the main building was closed but we were able to wander around the ruins for free and take in the beautiful view.  It is hard to not be in awe while visiting the fortress that was built by Richard the Lionheart.  The structure took a year to build and was finished in 1198.  It was built as a deterrent to the king of France to keep him from invading Normandy.  

If you click on the link in the first paragraph it will take you to a site with the complete but brief history of the castle. 

Paris!

While we were at Disneyland Paris we took the train into Paris for the day.  It is nearly an hour train ride into the city but the trains are efficient and there is a station right at the Disneyland entrance so it doesn’t get more convenient than that. 

Our first stop was the Memorial de la Shoah (the French do not use the word Holocaust which is Greek, they use Shoah which is a Hebrew word).  It is interesting to see how each country has dealt with this tragic part of their history and then decided to share the information.  We have been to museums in Poland, the Netherlands, Berlin and now Paris and each one has shared how events leading up to, during and after World War II has affected their country and it’s citizens. 

This wall had names of people who helped the Jewish during WWII.  It was a very long monument.  Below is the crypt and the only place inside where we were allowed to take a photo. 

The memorial was well put together with a lot of information and artifacts on display.  My girls are very well behaved while we visit museums but they do get bored so we don’t always get to spend as much time as we would like to thoroughly read over displays but we did get a chance to see everything.  I would highly recommend a visit to the memorial if you get the chance.  Admission is free and it is fairly easy to get to.

We also visited the Musee Marmottan Monet.  We had wanted to visit the Orsay but we didn’t plan well and purchase admission tickets ahead of time.  So we visited this smaller, less crowded, more focused museum and enjoyed it.  Of course we couldn’t take photos here, either, but I wanted to mention it since it was a nice museum.

After a late lunch we made our way towards the Eiffel Tower, where we did plan ahead and had a reserved time to take the elevator up to the second level.  We took some photos from across the river looking at the Eiffel Tower and these may be my most favorite photos from our entire trip!  I did not pose them, just asked them to stand there so I could take their photos!  I love these so much!

While you are sitting near the Eiffel Tower it looks tall, of course, but it feels soooo much taller once you go up.  The first we visited Paris we didn’t go up because one of the elevators were under repair and we didn’t want to wait in line or climb up the stairs carrying  2 and 3 year old kids. 

Once in the elevator the ride is quick!  I liked the “man” sitting on the outside.

And here is a view looking up from the observation deck.

I could take photos of the Eiffel Tower all day long and as we walked away I kept looking back over my shoulder so I could get just one more look. 

I love Paris!  The coffee is delicious, the macaron’s are ah.maze.ing!  The city is gorgeous!  I hope to go back someday and spend more time there.

Disneyland Paris 2012–Part I (finally)

My husband was looking at the blog and asked me when I planned on posting photos from our final trips in Europe, because, well, you know our trip to France was last March!  Gah!  I must confess that I haven’t even edited them let alone had them printed. 

I do have a few photos from Disneyland ready to be printed so I figured I would share some here. 

We had some fantastic weather and an amazing husband/daddy who splurged on a few experiences for us since this trip was the girls’ birthday present.  Our first night there we had dinner at Café Mickey.  The girls liked their food but the characters,um, they were not so sure.  You’ll see a few photos without Lolo because she was too scared to sit over there!

The food was good here.  We had read some reviews where people slammed it but we enjoyed it.  The girls had chocolate mousse for dessert and it was a huge hit!

Another evening we went to a dinner show, Buffalo Bills Wild West show.  Wow!  That was sooooo much fun!  We got cowboy hats to wear and we did a lot of yee-hawing!  The girls were so into this show and the food was delicious, too!  It was some serious cowboy food with chili, cornbread, chicken, potatoes and dessert. 

The show was super interactive and had cowboy games where you cheered on your team (based on the color of your hats) and our team won.  The show was for sure one of the highlights of the trip. Besides, little girls yelling yee-haw for days straight is too cute and a solid indication that they enjoyed the experience.

These photos are not great but we couldn’t use the flash because it could distract/startle the animals.

We had such an amazing time on this trip!  The girls were at a much better age this time and really enjoyed every moment.  I loved their enthusiasm and excitement at everything we did and it was contagious.

I’ll have just one more post on Disneyland Paris sometime this week and then I’ll share our visit to Normandy!  I feel in love with the Normandy countryside and our American history is so rich and intertwined with French history in that region that it was a true learning experience for us.