Tuesday 12 August 2008

Arriving in Paris


Well we have been in Paris a week now, and have all fallen in love with the city. There is so much to do here that we get up in the morning and have a big discussion with the maps and tour books about where we will go. Of course we have been to see the Eiffel tower but havent braved the huge lineups to get up to the top as yet ... soon. Yesterday we went to the Notre Dame Cathedral, and braved all of the hundreds of winding stone steps to the viezing area. The gargoyles are fantastic up close:


We finally got a picture of the whole family together, standing in front of the bell that Quasimodo rang in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". The view was magnificent. We also explored some of the left bank, visited Montmartre, and strolled along the Seine and many other places, but one of my best memories is just going to the patisserie in the morning, pulling my little shopping bag, and getting baguettes for breakfast!







Friday 8 August 2008

Cote d'Azur


We managed to make it down to the Cote d'Azur for a mini vacation on the beach. We headed to Marseille first, and spent a night and wonderful day taking a cruise and exploring the old city.

Then we went on to Montpellier, and ended up driving down south to the Grande Motte beach, which is a wonderful, silky sand beach that goes on forever. We spent 2 great days playing on the beach and generally doing those touristy things that people do at beaches, including riding a ridiculously big blow up whale. (Note the european bathing suit on Steve ... no comment!)