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Paris

I have been to Paris 2 times before this.  Once 20+ years ago on my first overseas trip with my friend Dawn (which included a quick, yet eventful day/night in Amsterdam as well as a few days in London).  And again a few years ago when Ryan started at his current job and had a training in Amsterdam.  I joined him at the end and we traveled a bit - including a night in Paris but not long enough to do very much.  So that is all to say that it has been a long time since I have been to Paris and it's all very exciting.  It also gave us a chance to meetup with more friends - Ryan's college friend Jay and his wife Mary Beth and 9 year old daughter Sylvia from Florida. 

More Paris photos here:

July 11:  After today Ryan has a lot of feelings about traveling by plane vs. train in Europe (he prefers trains).  I request anyone reading this to refrain from asking him about this unless you are prepared for a long and detailed Ryan-like explanation. 

After a delayed flight and a long and sweaty journey in to Paris we made it to our Airbnb.  This was the first time on the trip that we didn't have self-check in so we were greeted by someone. She did not speak good English but was compelled to describe things in detail, most of which were obvious. This was definitely a travel day that needs to be forgotten or else I would not want to plan future travel.

Oh also, really small and oddly laid out Airbnb. It was a test for our family to see if we could manage being on top of each other.  I guess we survived and therefore passed but marginally.

July 12:  Ryan is working today and Sam and I scored tickets to the Catacomb.  It was an interesting attraction but Sam and I had to share the audio (I guess kid's tickets don't include their own audio).  That did not go great.  It meant we had to be exactly aligned with our walking pace and volume requirements.  We were not aligned.  I assume the person in charge of these types of things at the Catacombs does not have children and does not understand that this is an impossible undertaking. Regardless, it is crazy how many human remains are here - so many skulls and femurs!

After the Catacombs we went to the Eiffel Tower for Sam's first look and found a playground.


Then on to my favorite activity in Paris or really anywhere - drinking champs at one of the many cafes while reading.  I have been preparing for how to occupy Sam while sitting at European cafes without resorting to Netflix (I definitely resort to Netflix sometimes).  It was decided that he would get Ryan's old iPad since it would be easier for me to carry around than his big kid's Amazon Fire tablet or books.  So he works on his digital diary, reads books, practices Duolingo and emails his friends and family while I am doing my own thing (which, as noted above, is drinking champs while reading).

July 13: Today we met Jay, Mary Beth and Sylvia for a Family-Friendly Food Walking Tour.  One of my concerns about traveling with Sam is that we would be limited on what we could eat if he was hesitant to try new things. We must have been successful in drilling into him that he should try new foods because he will try anything - even a snail on this tour!  I'll be honest in that I did not want to try the snail myself but I did.  I would say we will both pass on snail in the future. 

Back to the Eiffel Tower to walk up to the 2nd level which is about 700 steps.  Good news is that there is a bar in the first level for resting and also drinking.


July 14:  Maybe had a little too much fun yesterday - laying low today but more cafes!

July 15:  Sam has been wanting to do a big bus tour on this trip after seeing them in other cities.  So we did the"Tootbus".   I will just leave it at that. 


July 16:  Heading back to Amsterdam today before my next trip (just me meeting friends) to London later this week.  

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