Christmastime in Paris

BONJOUR PARIS!

Just two days after we officially moved, the whole family hopped on an early morning train for a few gleeful days in Paris. We met my sister CK there and had a fabulous time touring the place. I must say that most of my previous Paris experiences have been negative, but they've been getting better and better and this one was the best. I think it's because every time I've been to Paris before, I didn't speak any French, which doesn't help with the proud Parisiens. Although my French is not great, it was nice this time to at least be able to get around the place by speaking the Parisiens' language. Another smart thing we did, was to lower our expectations and limit our plans. Rob wanted to see only four things -- the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay and Versailles. But, surprisingly, we also made quite a nice walking tour of the city by default -- we were forced to walk in order to get the girls to nap in the stroller. I must say, the lights of Paris at Christmastime are magical -- and classy. (Even the flashing lights of the Eiffel Tower somehow escape the tackiness associated with similar lights in Vegas.)

Our hotel was nicely located near the Hotel des Invalides and the Eiffel Tower -- so we headed off to the Eiffel Tower (Anna's favorite) first thing. Of course, we couldn't just take the traditional photo--and this was the best view of the Tower!

Anna Claire with her stylin' Aunt CK.

Here we are strolling around the Louvre. We went on a Friday evening, which was a perfect time to avoid the crowds. However, we didn't avoid the picture-taking tourists. Anna and Mariah became tourist attractions themselves, with at least a handful of people stopping to snap photos of them. Strange, because they won't even pose for us!

Anna Claire, pondering the grace of Winged Victory.
The Mona Lisa was nice, but this place is HUGE and I'm exhausted.

This is the way to tour a museum, being carted around by Daddy!

VERSAILLES!

I love it! Miles and miles of park and lots of gravel to get my hands into.

The gang in the Hall of Mirrors. Mariah is more interested in a piece of cheese than in all the glitz and gold.

Anna Claire got most of her historical information from the audioguide.

Sisters -- in front of Notredame.

Chillin' outside Notredame.

Moving Chaos

Believe it or not, we are in the middle of moving again. Yes, this will be the 7th time we have moved in our 4.5 years of marriage. I just wanted to tell the world (as I do each time) that I hate it! Moving isn't just the one or two days our stuff is actually getting moved, it includes all the packing, sorting, tossing and determining whether strange bits and bobs lying around the house are just junk or some absolutely essential camera part. And afterwards, it includes the unpacking, settling in, multiple trips to IKEA to purchase and assemble furniture pieces with incomprehensible directions and infinite trips to the garbage dump. Despite all my experience, I'm not good at it, and I certainly seem to collect a lot of junk. Just ask my husband!

Anyhow, we have to do it -- and the reward is that we'll be settled into our own sunny apartment surrounded by our cheery old furnishings (that have been languishing in storage the past year) and, most wonderfully, our own temperpedic bed. Aaaaah, it almost seems worth it. But I must tell you not to expect a Christmas card from us anytime soon, what with all this moving stuff!

Our trip to Santa's Village

Yesterday, we took a cogwheel train from Montreux to Rochers-de-Naye to see Père Noël (Santa Claus). It really looked like we were headed for the North Pole. As we headed up the mountain, the green grass quickly changed to white snow. At the top, we wandered through a grotto filled with Santa's elves and reindeer, before finally reaching Santa. We were happy to discover that Santa spoke four languages -- French, English, German and Italian. (Only in Switzerland.) Anna Claire was a little scared and refused to sit on his lap, but at least she posed for the picture (sort of). Mariah missed the whole thing. After screaming the whole train ride up, she finally crashed from exhaustion when we arrived.

Anna Claire with her friends Mason, Leo and Elin.

Check out the stunning views from halfway up.