Disneyland Paris

If you're in it for the pictures and not my long descriptions, I'll save you a scroll.  ;)  

Here's a slideshow from our trip.

Watch Slideshow on YouTube here.

When deciding what our next European excursion could be, I thought Disneyland sounded fun, kid-friendly, and like just a little taste of the US.  Richard Carey agreed so we booked it over Louis' birthday week.  In order to book online and get train tickets from Amsterdam, I had to book it from Disneyland's Netherland's site which happens to be in Dutch.  I booked it just fine, but then all the correspondence came to me in Dutch.  In hindsight, I should have just called them and asked for them to switch my language, but I didn't.  I would just go to the UK site when I wanted to know something and get my answers there in English.
The day of our trip arrived so we woke the boys early, ate a hearty breakfast, and lugged the luggage (ha!) and the boys down the stairs.  We walked a block to the tram which took us to Amsterdam Central Station where we boarded our train.  It was a really easy process up to that point.  About an hour into our 3 hour train ride to Paris, Richard Carey asked what we were going to do once we got to the Paris station.  I told him all the information I had read from the UK site: A Disney representative was going to come to our seat with our packet of information, get us checked into our hotel, give us our luggage tags for the luggage service, and give us our park tickets.  He seemed a bit skeptical.  He asked again what we were going to do when we got to the station.  How were we  going to get to Disney?  I told him that the train brought us all the way to the park.  He asked for the tickets.  He then showed me on the tickets that our train brought us to Paris North, not the Disneyland stop.  I told him again that the representative would be coming and would give us all the information we needed, including any information about transfers.  He was still skeptical.  He started doing internet research on his phone and I started to get a little worried.  What if he was right?  What if no one showed up and we arrived in Paris with no plan?
Well, that is precisely what happened!  The train dropped us off in the bustling Paris train station.  Toddler in stroller, preschooler on foot, a Daddy, a Mama and two rolling suitcases.  Hmmm.  So we start walking.  Looking.  I mean, there's going to be a big sign that says DISNEYLAND THIS WAY, right?  Wrong-o.  In Richard's internet research on the train, he knew that a certain line would take us to Disneyland.  We just had to find where it was and buy tickets for it.  Eventually, after trying a few windows and kiosks, we bought tickets.  We finally found a way down to the tram and our first connection arrived.  Compared to other people just zipping through the city, we had quite a load so we were the last ones to board the car.  Richard got on first with the boys and I got on next carrying the two suitcases.  The problem was the door closed on my arm with one suitcase hanging out the train.  Luckily, Richard and a few Parisians nearby pried the door open and I was able to pull the suitcase inside.  We had one more transfer at the next stop and we were on our way to Disney.  All the while, I was so confused about what had gone wrong.  Hadn't I read everything there was to read?  How did this happen?  Well it turns out that the train from London is on a different line than our train and it does indeed go straight to Disney and comes complete with a little representative that comes to your seat.  The Amsterdam route requires a transfer and it was all written out for me in the packet of information I received.  In Dutch.  Moral of the story?  Learn Dutch or move to London.
We arrived at our precious cowboy hotel and we all settled down from the exciting day long enough to get freshened up and head to the park.  Our hopper pass ticket was wasting away!
We had a lovely couple of days captured best, I think, in the photo slideshow.  It was really neat to celebrate Louis' birthday there.  He got a phone call from Mickey Mouse in the morning wishing him a happy birthday, and the cast members at the park gave him a Happy Birthday sticker so several others wished him a happy birthday, too.  The parks had their own character, but were still very much like the two American resorts.  All the hotels had US themes.  So overall, once we were there, it was very comfortable.  We stayed there four nights, which seemed a good amount of time to be relaxed with our pace but still pack in a good bit of rides and shows.  Bateman's favorite ride was Dumbo and Louis' was tied with the carousel and tea cups.  Daddy got a thrill ride in on Space Mountain, which is a little boosted in Paris.  My favorite event was the Fall Festival parade which was just beautifully done.
Our return tram/train story was much less eventful except for the fact that we arrived at the Paris station 9 minutes before our Amsterdam train departed.  So we were running furiously through the airport to successfully board the train on time.  The train had started on its way before we had located our seats.  Phew!  We are so grateful for such a wonderful trip and celebration of our sweet and beautiful Louis.

Postcard from Paris-in-a-day!

Over Labor Day weekend, we took our first excursion to Paris.  We decided to rent a car instead of taking the train, as the prices from the train go up significantly close to the travel date and we waited too long.  Not the best of ideas as the train takes 3 hours and our car ride took a total of 7 due to car accidents and traffic.  Now we know!  

We arrived at our hotel in time to check in and grab some dinner.  We used our best "bonjours" and "mercis" but let's be honest, we didn't try too hard to use French.  We're pretty spoiled by the fact that 95% of Europeans speak English.  So we had our first real french fries with our meal and then did a quick walk around the beautiful Arc de Triomphe (a memorial for soldiers who fought in french revolutionary and napoleonic wars) and down the Champs Elysees (famous shopping street) before retiring for the night.  

The next day, we walked straight to the Eiffel Tower (dubbed the Beautiful Tower by Bateman).  It's amazing to emerge from behind some random buildings to see the grandeur of the tower and everything around it.  Everything in Paris is just so grand.  The courtyards, fountains, sculptures, and bridges along the way all have such design and craftsmanship.  It's such an artistic display.  The boys totally appreciated the art as they tried sliding face first down the wide banisters.  Boys!  Then we took the boys to ride the carousel at the base of the tower.  They loved that!  We then found a beignet stand that satisfied us all!  Next we hopped on a water taxi which took us down the Seine River under some amazing bridges, including one "lock bridge" filled with tons of padlocks with lovers names on them.  The idea there is that you lock your love together or something.  There are so many layers of locks.  It's pretty neat.  Next we went inside of the grand Notre Dame Cathedral.  I don't even know how many side chapels it has, but it is absolutely stunning.  The details everywhere.  I don't even know what to say about it except that it is a work of art well fit for a place of worship.  After the cathedral, the boys were displaying signs of fatigue, if you know what I mean, so we started walking back toward the hotel.  This seemed like it was going to be a short trip back so we decided to walk.  Walking allowed us to pass several street vendors, go through the courtyard of the Louvre, take in more beautiful sculptures and buildings, and traverse the Champs Elysees again, but we had some pretty exhausted campers by the time we got back.  

That night we hired a babysitter to stay with the boys while we had a dinner out in Paris.  After our lovely dinner, we walked up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and were able to see the Eiffel Tower in the distance which "sparkled" on the hour.  It was spectacular.

The next morning, we found Mass at an English speaking parish- the priest was from Baltimore!  Europe is way too easy for Americans.  :)  After Mass, we packed up the rental car and headed back home.  I must add that on the way back, we were really hungry but had trouble finding a side-of-the-highway eating establishment that looked appetizing.  Give me a break though, I was having lots of early pregnancy food aversions.  So all I wanted to find was something familiar, like those golden arches.  Sometimes McDonald's is just what you need.  Unfortunately, there are no billboards counting down to the next one.  When we did spy some golden arches, Richard had to cross three lanes to exit, but it was all for the cause!  We had our fill and the boys enjoyed stretching their legs in the playground.  So that's it... Paris in a day (and a half).

Arc de Triomphe

Notre Dame Cathedral

Waiting in line for Notre Dame

Date Night in Paris

The sparkling tower, although you can't tell here the lights are all blinking.

Play and Learn

The boys are so amazing.  What a gift it is to watch them grow individually in their personalities and talents.  Bateman has such an imagination and loves any type of musical or dress-up play.  Louis loves to play with cars or any little toy that will fit in his pocket.  It is also neat to see them learn how to play together and become the best of friends.

Before we received our shipment from the US, we were getting pretty crafty with toys.  Here's a cardboard guitar that Bateman rocked with!

Fortunately we brought a few cars with us so Louis could do his thing.

Here are those bikes that I mentioned.  The boys are having a blast riding them around the plein/courtyard in the center of the street behind our apartment.  When we first bought Louis', it was a little too high for him so we actually took the seat off so he could just walk it.  He has grown, though, so we put the seat back on and he is cruising.  He is as fast as Bateman is on his bike.

While we were in Paris, we saw a bride in front of Notre Dame taking artistic pictures with a really big veil.  The next week, Bateman wanted to take bridal pictures, too.

 And he wanted Louis to want to take pictures, too.  If you see Louis' face, you can tell he wasn't as into it.

Earlier in October, we took a morning bike cruise about 30 minutes to the Amsterdam Expo for the Pixar 25 year exhibit.  It was inspiring to see all the drawings and just an inside view of all the planning that goes into those pixar movies.  So creative.  There was also a documentary about the 25 years of Pixar that was so interesting.  It was nice that it was in English, too!

At the end of September, the boys started attending a Dutch preschool two days a week.  They're learning Dutch and making friends while Mama is getting things settled and scheduling appts, etc.  It's going really well and I'm amazed at how much Dutch Bateman has already picked up.  We've decided to send Bateman to Dutch school starting in March (they start the month they turn 4 here) so now's a great time for him to learn!  He's corrected some of my Dutch pronunciations already.  Smartie.

 I can't forget to mention Little Gym!  Within the first few weeks we were here, I was desperate for something on the schedule to help structure our week.  I decided to try out the Little Gym, and I can't say enough how much the boys look forward to it each week.  Daddy came with us one Sunday for a make-up session and he had fun too!

Green Family Update: Through the story of bikes

It all started July 28 when we arrived in Amsterdam.  We immediately went to the bike shop to get... the rentals!  Those were great, but we only had them 5 days and it was time to look for our very own.

 Daddy found his bike first.  He needed wheels to get to work.  He bought a pretty shabby bike, but the saying here is cheap bike, expensive lock.

 After a miraculous find on the internet, we bought a Mama bike to ride the boys around.  It was lovely until one night we left the keys in the back wheel lock, and it was taken the next morning.  Sigh.  You understand why the saying is cheap bike, expensive lock.

For Daddy's birthday, we decided to turn his bike from shabby to spiffy with a front basket, a new "ding dong" bell, a new seat, and saddle bags!  He was especially grateful for the new seat. 

We then ordered a new bakfiets bike for Mama.  It rides like a dream and Mama and boys love the freedom it provides.  It actually has 3 locks on it.

It was soon time for the boys to have their own bikes.  They each got a balance bike to ride through the park behind our house.  And the story would be over here except that...

We have to get a new seat insert for the front of Mama's bike because we're expecting a baby in April!!  We are so excited to welcome little Greenie into our family.  Mama is 11 weeks along and just started to feel Greenie moving about.  We thank God for the gift we have received.  We welcome your prayers for sweet Greenie!

So that's the end of our Green family update for now.  Tot ziens!