AAAH the Rides

There are really sweet rides:

I LOVED the Teacups!

Some not so sweet rides:

Max and John on "Wild Thunder Mountain"

Some particularly terrifying rides:

John Almost Lost His Lunch on This One

And one particular ride I wouldn't put my worst enemy on:

Hollywood Tower Hotel a.k.a.
"Twilight Zone Tower of Terror"

Why is everyone but the little lady in the middle smiling?

The Most Afraid I've Ever Been

I'm thinking of selling the rights to this photo to Disney.  They can use it to promote what this ride is actually supposed to make you feel like! In an old rickety service elevator that drops you countless times (like once wouldn't be enough) from a height of seven stories. Can't believe I let the boys talk me into it!

Disneyland Paris!

October 7th and 8th, 2013

Well, what can I say?  What an experience! Only about a half an hour from Paris and you arrive at:

Entrance to the Park and Hotel

and are greeted by:

Walt andMickey!

We had a truly amazing two days. The weather was perfect - sunny and warm. The hotel was almost too good to be true. Everything beautifully and lavishly decorated. I don't know how they do it, but everywhere inside the hotel smelled like baby powder.  

Hotel Lobby from Grand Staircase

It was kid-friendly to the max, but you could have a cocktail at the check-in desk if you wished. And wishes do seem to come true here. Everything right down to the smallest detail was pure Disney magic.

Everywhere there were beautiful little girls in their princess outfits.  If they didn't have one when they arrived, I can assure you they went home with one!  They were for sale in every shop and there were MANY shops.  Little Buzz Lightyears and Peter Pans were running around, too amidst the rides and cartoon characters.

Max wearing his "American Kid" Costume

QUUUUUIIIIIEEEEETTTTT Day!

October 6, 2013.  Everyone pretty subdued today. Great weather - sunny and warm. Max is catching up on some homework and John and I went to Gare Austerlitz to pick up train tickets to Amboise for Thursday of next week. Max and I are going it alone. It'll be a lot like "The Amazing Race"except I won't be running.  As we won't have our interpreter with us,  I am learning the French for "Is this the right train?" and "Please help us we are lost". 

We are leaving for our trip to Disneyland Paris tomorrow morning.  We will be staying overnight and returning late on Tuesday. May not get a chance to post until after we return. I'm thinking I'll leave the laptop behind. 

LOOOOOOONNNNNGGGGG Night!

Still October 5, 2013.  Once a year Paris hosts an event called "Nuit Blanche" and as luck would have it, it was last night.  Most of the museums and attractions are open all night and free to the public. We prepared ourselves with a long nap and ventured out at about 10:30 pm.  It was a really wild scene.  We went to Notre Dame where they had set up stadium seating and there were continuous concerts. We had a VERY late dinner acroos the street from the cathedral (Max and yet MORE escargot)...

Didn't Even Offer to Share!

and then to the Pompidou Center for some people watching and more entertainers.  You can't even imagine how many people were out and about.  Seniors, young parents and their children, young adults - all having the best time ever.  No trouble noted and if there was a police presence we sure didn't notice it.  Everyone was just out to have a great time. I LOVE Paris!

The Stravinsky Fountain

Pompidou Center on Nuit Blanche

LOOOOONNNNNNGGGG Day!

Saturday, October 5, 2013:  Up early and off the the Sci-Fi Convention at Porte de Versaille! What a scene!  Tens of thousands of people - mostly young adults - waiting in line to view (and buy) the latest merchandise in the Sci-Fi realm/meet their favorite characters/and display their really inventive costumes.  Max went as a Mindcraft Creeper.

Minute View of Entry Line

Our Little Mindcraft Creeper

We met three really nice young boys in line (after a few hours they were like family) who offered us two VIP passes they had as extras.  Once we all were allowed inside, the rest of the line entered yet another holding area to be admitted and we just sailed up to the VIP desk and were allowed to enter before the masses.  We were among the first to have access to the celebrities and Max was able to meet Sylvester McCoy - a past "Dr. Who" AND "Radagast" in the Hobbit movies - a really sweet guy.  Spent some time speaking with Max and I and even said he was sorry to hear about the flooding in Boulder. Apparently he loves Colorado. Who knew (ha, ha, ha!). 

Sylvester McCoy

Max and Dr. Who?

I wish I had taken more pictures of the kids in costumes, but it was so crowded that you didn't have room to raise your arms.  We managed to do some shopping and saw pretty much all there was to see.  I learned a lot more about anime than I cared to, but it was just so much fun to see all the young people having a great time and being so excited about everything.  Max said it was the best day of his life!

While Max and I were at the convention, John went to the Cluny Museum - one of the few we managed to miss on our trip last year. The "Maiden and the Unicorn" tapestry was on loan to Tokyo, but there were others to see.

Cluny Museum

Cluny Museum

Rodin and Rue L'eclair!

Last evening we had dinner at our favorite restaurant - The Cafe Renoir - where Max had his first taste of escargot! 

First Snail Ever!

While initially he was not that impressed, he did end up having three and asking if we were planning on ordering more.  Sadly, "Max" the chef's dog passed away this last year, so we missed his cheerful little presence.  

Played "Shanghai" back at the apartment for a couple of hours and then off to bed.  We had a spectacular thunderstorm in the middle of the night that woke us all up. The lightening rivaled the display at the Eiffel Tower.

We had breakfast today at the apartment and then headed off via the Metro to Rodin's Garden.  It was a beautiful warm day - just perfect for viewing the magnificent sculptures.  The roses were still in bloom and somehow they have managed to pipe in music throughout the garden.  Max - "Am I crazy, or are the trees singing?"

Le Penseur

Max and Le Penseur

Another famous and fabulous sculpture:

Max and John at the Gates of Hell

After the garden we walked over to the Rue Cler for some window shopping, lunch, and people watching.  Stopped at the best chocolatier in Paris and saw the infamous Rue Cler eclair!

After resting up a little this afternoon, we plan to stroll over to the Pantheon and check out the student cafe scene. Dinner at Guy Lessac and then hopefully get to sleep early.  We are going to a SciFi Fair tomorrow (not our idea!) and will need to have our wits about us in the land of the nerds.

Our First Few Days in Paris!

Well, we are here!  What a great feeling to be back in this beautiful city.  The apartment is really nice and fairly roomy by Paris standards.  It is in a great little neighborhood about a block and a half from Luxembourg Gardens.  There are all sorts of shops and cafe's on our street and a school not far from here so lots of students.

We are all still a little jet-lagged, but the fog is finally lifting.  In between naps we have visited the Musee D'Orsay, dined in the Latin Quarter, walked over to Notre Dame, made it to the top of the Eiffel Tower - at night it was just incredible -, visited Mona at the Louvre, and spent the evening in a cafe with the locals watching the soccer match between Paris St. Germain and Italy.

Max at Notre Dame

Max and Mona

Just Following the Sign!