Paris/London - Week 7

We've had a whirlwind week!

There has been more walking than I would have thought possible.  Also lots of rides on the metro...both Paris and London have amazing underground systems that we made great use of.

We had a 4am start by train from Cinque Terre to Pisa where we flew to Paris.

Our apartment was small but in a great spot.

The Eiffel Tower was everyone's favourite in Paris.  

It was spectacular...although a bit high for me.  

The Louvre was lovely but so, so big.  I don't know how anyone could ever see it all!  And it was super packed which the kids are getting a bit sick of.

One of my favourite sights was Notre Dame.  It is stunning but not as churchy pretty as the other ones we've seen...more sort of scary, gothic beauty which I loved.

We enjoyed how for the most part Paris felt so wide open and spacious and how gorgeous every building was.  We did find a few busy spots though.  

We watched several street performers along our walks and this guy was just spectacular.

The boys went a bit car wild while walking down the Champs Élysées.  

There was a Ferrari every few steps!

I'm sorry to say that Paris gets a tie for first place in the most disgusting bathroom category (the tie is shared with the train station washroom in Monterosso).  A Subway washroom we used was...well...there are no words.  It is so curious to me how a city so refined and beautiful can't clean up their bathrooms!  

I had some very sad moments on our walks as we passed so many homeless people...entire families sleeping on the street.  Every time we came across someone my kids all side glanced my way to see if I was crying.  

Our next stop was London.  

We were able to meet up with Michelle, my pen pal who lives in the north of England.  We spent 2 days with her checking out the sights.  

It was lots of fun.  We did a hop on hop off tour and also walked a lot.

We checked out Harrod's, 

as well as a really cool Starbucks I'd seen a video of online. 

 They had some pretty fancy coffee making equipment!

I even spied a Britsh Mr. Rooter, called Drain Doctor here.

Our house was pretty far from downtown but the metro got us back and forth perfectly.

We had so much fun and are all pretty tired now.  

Today we head to our final destination, Ireland! 

10 days to go!!!

Farewell Italy - Week 6

 Well, Italy didn't let us down.  Unless you include the toilets and teeny coffee.  And maybe the garbage, heat, smokers, crowds and rude people.  But the pros outweigh the cons by far.  We have loved the stunning beauty of this country.  It's history.  The lovely language and sweet hanging laundry.  The architecture and art.  The food and gelato and my new fav...prosecco.  The vineyards and olive groves and adorable villages.  The churches and beaches and ocean.  

Our final week started with a very quick trip to Pisa before dropping our van and catching a train to the Cinque Terre.  I won't include details of our drive over the mountains.  Let's say it was very similar to my first experience.

We arrived in Riomaggiore - our lovely home for the week.  

Our apartment was super.  It even included a work out program for free...just a steep hill and 3 sets of stairs to reach our door.

It was a wonderful rental - having air conditioning and 3 bedrooms is pretty huge.

We had so much fun swimming and hiking and hanging out.

We checked out the unique graveyard in our town as well as the church.  

I have loved being able to sit in the churches in Italy.  They are so beautful and peaceful.  

We planned to spend our last day swimming in our village but we were met with this at the beach...

So we sat and contemplated this gorgeous ocean.

We are so thankful for this opportunity!  It has been fantastic.

Ciao!

Next stop...Paris/London.