Last day in Europe.

This morning we took our time getting up and having breakfast.  The weather didn't look promising, so after breakfast, Axel cleaned up cuttings in the garden.

Bob spent the morning playing chess with Mark and reading books to Annie in German!! Sooo funny to watch. Too bad I can't post pictures of the children with Bob.  

Here are some pictures of the garden in the sun. 

Hedgehogs and ducks.

Bob.

Plants.

More plants.

Bob introduced the children to the concept of outlining bodies -- namely, his!

The children added a face -- now he was Alien Bob.

Mark's flotilla in the garden. He's obsessed with dinosaurs and knows so much about them!!

Steffi made a delicious risotto with sugar peas, asparagus, seaweed, and shrimp.  We had some white wine as an accompaniment, and then we sat outside after the children were put to bed.  It had turned into a lovely afternoon and evening weather-wise.  

I went up to do some more packing at 10:30.  Bed at 11:00.

We left London at 10:15am and arrived back in Philly by 1;30pm. With Global Entry it took about a minute to go through customs -- worth the aggravation up front, I guess.

A Busy Day in Richmond

We awoke earlier than usual because today was German school day for the 5-year-old, and Axel had playground duty.  Bob and the boys went to the school first, and the girls and I followed a bit later.

The school is actually an International Baccalaureate school, but Mark is only here on Saturday morning for 2 hours. We watched the kids play and enjoyed the beautiful day. After class we walked to the Thames and watched a little bit of a regatta taking place that day,

We also ate lunch at a beer garden along the river.  Then we walked back, experiencing the meltdown of both children before we got back to their home.  Too much walking for sure, and they only wanted their mama!

Back home, calm returned, and Bob played soccer with Mark while we all sat around and continued to enjoy the lovely day,  I helped with bath time, and we stayed outside until about 11:30pm. 

Back to London.

Our last breakfast in Paris was at 7:00am -- we were the only people awake in the hotel besides the staff, I think!

The view from our room.

We trudged down the hill to the metro stop Chateau Rouge and arrived at Gare du Nord soon thereafter.

The station has a cool charger -- you pedal a stationary bike while your electronic device is charged! However, French irony found the bonbon shop right next to the charging station....

After a quick cup of coffee, it was time to board the train. Quite a civilized experience. There was plenty of room for luggage, and we looked out the window and read for the 2 hour and 20 minute train ride.

Some views.

The train arrived on time, and we made our way to the tube to drop off our luggage with our German "son" in London. It took us a while to head in the right direction, but we finally made it and spent a few minutes catching up with him. Then it was on to lunch with two former students!

Nick and Dan went to Temple together -- Dan is studying at the Royal Academy of Music and Nick is working in film in LA.  

They met us at a tube stop, and we walked to Côte restaurant. We talked about music and literature, and Bob told an inappropriate story or two about himself and me!

We went back to Axel's office, retrieved our luggage, and headed for Richmond. We met up with the rest of Axel's family at about 6:30. We chatted with them and had a light dinner when Axel arrived an hour later. This famiily also does not allow pictures of the children, so the blog will be somewhat shorter for this day and the rest of the weekend. Tchüss for tonight!

Last Day in Paris

 We awoke at 9:15 and made our plans for the day. Bob listed his top museum choices. I thought the museum of Music looked like a good candidate, so off we went. This time we found the place quite easily. It was part of the Paris Conservatory of Music and was across the street from the metro. We used the audio program to listen to music as well as hear explanations of the different periods and instruments.

Theorbe from Cyrano

Clavichord 

Flutes.

Bassoons.

The place was huge. Good choice, Bob! And in the metro were clefs and musical notes!

The next part of the afternoon was spent in search of shopping. We ate along Rue de Lafayette at Corso. Bad choice. The grilled calamari was thick and chewy. The fried calamari was too breaded. Disappointing.   

We continued down the street to the Galerie Lafayette. Buses were parked along the street as we neared the store -- it should have been a hint as to how crowded the store would be! I made Bob go to a cafe and relax as I braved the crowds. I bought him a belt, came back to the cafe and had a beer, and then we both went to the store to see if the line at Longchamps had lessened. Did I mention there were big sales? Anyway, I was able to buy a gorgeous purse. We traveled back to our hotel, and I went on Google maps to see what restaurants were nearby. I found Sacree Fleur, a short distance away. The place had received good reviews on various websites. It was a perfect way to end our last evening in Paris. We had foie gras and escargot for appetizers, beef tartare and pork medallions, and shared a flambéed  Apple tartin. 

Our room!

 The place was charming, the food delicious -- icing on the cake of our stay in Paris.

Museum Pass Day.

We awoke with a start this morning. Bob looked at the clock and it was 9:45am -- breakfast ended at 10:00!! We quickly threw some clothes on and ran downstairs.  Made it just in time. We talked to another couple about their plans. They were celebrating an anniversary and were from Atlanta. They had already been to the Eiffel Tower and were trying to decide what to do next. I told them about the places we enjoyed. I also took a picture of the lobby -- quite a place.

The steps.

Bob in the lobby.

Today we had decided to go to Gare du Nord to buy a 2-day museum pass. We didn't arrive until after  12:00 -- and the tourist booth had run out of them. So we went on to the center of Paris, hoping to get the passes in town.

We first stopped at Saint Chapelle, but it was closed (for lunch?). We found success at La Conciergerie, the prison where nobles were held during the height of the Reign of terror.  It was the place where Carton switched places with Darnay in A Tale of Two Cities.

A representative cell.

Marie Antoinette's cell.

The building is the oldest structure of its kind in Europe.

Looking for one of the famous cafes on the Boulevard Saint Germaine, we stumbled upon a favorite place, La Jacobine! The girls and I have eaten there pretty much every time one of us has been in Paris. We had another tasty meal.

And a lovely day on the Seine.

Bob had looked at museums on the pass list and wanted to see the Métier Museum. We followed Google's directions and took a 15 minute walk in the wrong direction. But we now know where the sketchy shopping-sex toys area is....

We did make it to the museum -- Telstar!

There were lots of machines that Bob loved -- sort of a Parisian Deutsches Museum. The Parisians apparently invented many things.

By this time we were exhausted, so we returned to the hotel and rested. I found the bateau website and got a 25% discount on tickets. We decided to take the 10:00 ride. The views were so luminous!

More Eiffel Tower!

LIghts and more lights.

What a lovely ride. We had a light snack afterwards -- bed at 12:30am.

Pere Lachaise.

Today we slid into our morning -- breakfast at 9:15 and then a leisurely stroll to find the sushi place and boulangerie a student had mentioned on Facebook.  Everything in this area pretty much involves a bunch of steps.  At least these we only had to go one way -- down.

We found both the restaurant and the boulangerie as well.

Bob is holding his first baguette of the trip.

We had some coffee by the bottom of the aforementioned stairs and just watched the world go by.

Then it was time for our first foray on Le Metro.  We took a trip to Pere Lachaise, the famous Parisian cemetery.  Getting the metro was no problem, and we didn't have to change subways to get there.  We spent over 2 hours meandering around looking at famous people's graves. It was actually pretty interesting.

First there was Rossini.

And then a famous mathematician, Poinsot

Haussmann, city planner of Paris.

Jim Morrison of the Doors

Edith Piaf

Gertrude Stein

Oscar Wilde

Frederic Chopin

This place was surprisingly peaceful and calm. No sense of sadness for us. 

We had a quick meal nearby with Bob tempting fate by having raw beef.

Returning  to our hotel in time for afternoon tea, Bob then took a nap while I gathered our things for the evening's concert of Gregorian chants at Notre Dame. 

We stopped for beers and photo ops along the way.

Suzie came along for the evening.

The concert was fascinating: 6 singers and their director. They made use of different parts of the church acoustically. And what a gorgeous setting.

Those iconic windows.

And more.

After the concert there was a lovely sunset.

We ate a light meal with Belgian beer!! along the river.

And crepes and Salad Niçoise.

Our metro line was steps away from the restaurant--home by 11:30pm.