After eight months of roosting in our hometown, we finally flew the coop and headed to one of our favorite parts of the country, coastal Virginia. With our van packed to the brim and work and school books in tow, we split the eleven hour drive in two days because we have come to accept
After two months abroad, we are home. Our trip home began with a four a.m. alarm in Paris, a taxi ride to the Orly airport, a 2.5 hour flight to Lisbon, a 3.5 hour layover followed by a 9 hour flight to Chicago, culminating with a four hour drive home. Over 24 hours of continuous
As much as we have loved exploring a different neighbourhood in Paris, no trip to the City of Lights is complete without a walk from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower. Fortunately, our agenda this trip did not include entry into the famed museum because it was closed due to the strike. A stroll through
Needing some peace and quiet, we left our software engineer in solitude in order to embrace the French love of cinema. Ready to immerse ourselves in over four hours of the French language, we headed to the large MK2 cinema to view two American movies, Les Incognitos and Frozen 2. Had you told me this
Embracing the neighbourhood vibe and foregoing traditional museums this trip, we signed up for a Street Art Tour that began at the Place d’Italie, just around the corner from our apartment. We were greeted by our guide, Victor, a classical art historian with interest in the Street Art movement prevalent in the 13th arrondissement. Not
The skies were grey, there was drizzle in the crisp air. Our plans for playground time were becoming less and less appealing; so, we took to plan B, a movie at our favorite one-room theatre in the fifth arrondissement. Only a 1.5 mile walk from our apartment, the kids and I started a brisk walk
Sunday in Paris. Paris on strike. No metros. Infrequent buses overflowing with people. Bumper to bumper traffic. Taxis with static red lights. We had done our research. The bus stop was directly outside the front of our building. We checked times. We arrived and waited. 14 minutes later the bus arrived with room for a
Ryan Air. Lauda. Wizz Air. The three discount airlines we have flown throughout Europe. What can I say? They weren’t bad. They weren’t great. They were cheap and transported us to where we needed to be. For our flight from Nice to Paris, it seemed as if we were living in the lap of luxury,
At last, we are on the final leg of our journey as we wave au revoir to Nice and greet our last city with open arms. The last few days in Nice were spent on the beach, on the promenade, and on the playground. Of all our city visits, Nice has been our absolute favourite,
The last few days held enough tension and activity for quite sometime. Today was boring and that’s okay with me. The kids and I have all been fighting a sore throat, achy ear, runny nose, headache, fever virus since Saturday. Each day, as one of us felt the symptoms subsiding, another’s would intensify. Fortunately, my
