Last Day continued

Mary in the dress she made especially for Paris

at the Cafe du Marche

Sean is feeling better!  Today Kirk and Mary went to the Orsay Museum and then Mary went back there with me later.  She was enchanted.  Especially by Renior.  Next we had a nice meal at a sidewalk cafe to cap off a wonderful trip.  Thanks for going along for the ride with us.  We will fill you in on the details when we get back! Love to all! 

Where's the bunny? final edition

Last Day in Paris

Bonjour everyone!  I'm not sure if I will have another chance to post before we leave so I will do it now.  Sean and I are in the hotel while he is recuperating.  Kirk and Mary are going to the Musee du Orsay to see the Impressionist, Van Gogh, etc. paintings.  When they come back we will see how Sean feels.  One thing that we really hope to do is to walk over to the Eiffel Tower after dark to see it sparkle.  (it sparkles on the hour)  We have really enjoyed Paris.  They eat a lot of croissants and baguettes here.  You know how much I love bread, mmmmm.  I wish you could have seen Mary and I on the metro yesterday.  It was a real adventure.  We even made it through a "sardine" situation!  

Poor Seanny

Mary's bag from Le Bon Marche with the pins that she has been collecting

The Segway tour had to be cancelled because Sean is sick (crepe poisoning?).  Now he may have to wait a long time to be "white and nerdy".  Mary and I went shopping today.  First we went to "Le Bon Marche" the oldest department store in Paris.  Then we went to the Champs Elysees.  Mary really enjoyed the shopping there and we found a store that was having a good sale.  She loves how the Parisian women wear skirts and dresses and always look so pretty.  So she bought a dress and sweater to remind her of Paris.

Paris day two

crepe shop

facade of Notre Dame

Napoleon's Tomb with garden and Army Museum

Bonjour!  Today in Paris we went to the Army Museum at Napoleon's Tomb and saw the fabulous World War II exhibit.  It is one of the best on WWII in the world.  Very interesting with lots of large screens playing footage of the various events including D-day.  It was sobering and made us proud of our American soldiers.  Then we went on another bus tour to the Sacre Cour area of Paris.  We just had to stop to shop a little and get some Ben and Jerry's...it was hot today!  We also found out that a Big Mac costs $9.50 in Paris!  (didn't buy) We went to a little crepe place near our hotel for dinner.  We have been there a couple of times and are getting to know the owner a bit.  He has a strong faith in God.  Sean and Kirk are going to take a Segway tour of Paris tomorrow.  I'll be sure to get a picture of that!

Paris

at the Louvre

We are enjoying Paris very much!  When we arrived yesterday, we took a stroll to see the Eiffel Tower.  We walked along the park there and observed the Parisians at their Sunday play.  Lots of dogs and ball games of different sorts.  Today, we toured the Louvre and took a bus tour.  It was a beautiful evening as we rode around the city.  Paris is very clean and pretty. 

Jet Lag Moments

There are a couple of incidents that happened earlier in our trip that the kids are still giggling about....While we were riding the ferry from Iona to Mull (before we went to Tobermory) Kirk and Sean were standing on the deck of the ferry taking in their last views of Iona and then Kirk said to Sean: "Well, say good bye to Tobermory, Mary."  And then another time, while we were trying to stay awake in the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh, I took out my folded paper map to get my bearings and started searching for a "You are here" spot.  I made the mistake of telling my son about what I was doing....he will never let me forget it..... 

Where's the bunny? third edition

Sherlock Holmes

The Thames river with Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament

The Thames

Tonight while Mary and I were resting, Kirk and Sean went to the Sherlock Holmes pub for dinner.  It was a magical experience for Sean because on this trip, Sean has become a fan of old Sherlock radio shows.  There was a room set up to look like Sherlock's room on Baker Street complete with various props from the different stories. Sean recognized many of them and told us all about them when they returned.  As you can see, the sky was stunningly beautiful and they got some great photos.

Phantom of the Opera

all ready for the show!

Her Majesty's Theatre

Mary and Sean in Trafalgar Square (National Gallery behind)

Today Mary had a dream come true when we went to see The Phantom of the Opera here in London.  She enjoyed it very much!  I'm glad she got to have a little fun in London after feeling so poorly.  It made my trip to see her so happy and feeling so well.  All four of us went to the National Gallery before our show.  The highlight for me was seeing Rembrandt's self portraits and Van Gogh's "Sunflowers".  Sean loved the painting by an unknown artist called "cognoscenti in a room hung with pictures", Mary loved Jan van Os' "fruit and flowers in a terra cotta vase" and Kirk loved Paul Rubens' "the watering place".  The kids also enjoyed Judith Leyster's "a boy and a girl with a cat and an eel".  Tomorrow we will take the "Chunnel" train to Paris!  We miss you all very much.  Have a great time in China, Mo!

The Tower and a bus tour

The Tower of London

Tower Bridge on the Thames

St. Paul's Cathedral

Yo! sushi-your meal comes by on a conveyor belt!

Westminster Abbey

Trafalgar Square

Today Kirk and Sean went to the Tower of London.  They really enjoyed the tour by a Yeoman Warder and told Mary and I all the grisly stories.  By the afternoon, Mary felt well enough to go on a sightseeing tour on a double decked bus.  The pictures you see on this post are of our bus tour.  Tomorrow is our last full day in London.  We'll let you know what happens! 

Kirk and Sean's day in London

animated t-rex at the Natural History Museum

The British Museum

Since Mary and I were in the hotel today (Mary is recuperating after being quite ill), Kirk and Sean had a really good time going to the British Museum and the Natural History Museum.  Sean says they saw a lot of mummies and dinosaurs.  They enjoyed navigating the Underground trains.  It was an adventure.  

More Pictures

I added more pictures to some of the posts.  You can scroll down to see them or click on the words "older posts" at the bottom of this page to see the earlier ones.  Some of you have been asking about how to leave comments, there should be "leave a comment" or "1,2,etc....comments" to click on at the bottom of each post.  I think it makes you register with Google if you are not already.  You can always email if that doesn't work, so we will get your messages.  Hope you all are well.  Mary is still recovering today.  Kirk and Sean will go and see the British Museum.  Mary won't miss going there since you know how much she dislikes mummies...Cheerio!

Here we are in London!

In front of the London Eye

Mary and Sean thought of their friend Mo!..it says Cafe Manga

Oxford

the choir in Christ Church cathedral

standing in the "Tom Quad"

the Jonah window in Christ Church Cathedral

this is for Mike and Beth, gargoyles in Oxford- it's Elvis!

just outside Christ Church

Christ Church College

With Mary still a little under the weather, we had an abbreviated tour of Oxford.  We all enjoyed it very much.  We went two rounds on the sightseeing bus tour and walked around Christ Church College, then headed by train to our hotel in London.  We are right across the Thames from Big Ben!  Kirk and Sean took a walk over the Westminster Bridge this evening.  We will probably do another bus tour tomorrow and possibly take in a museum depending on how Mary feels.  She is making the best of it, as usual.  Her sunny spirits are seldom down, even when she isn't feeling well.

Where's the bunny? second edition

hint: outside the town of Haltwhistle

this is for Phimie-don't faint, no bunny...just haggis

York

since Sean has become a tea drinker, he really needs to save up for this Batman teapot

York is a walled city-here we are walking the wall

the size of the cathedral is massive compared to the buildings around it

Sean loved the gargoyles

in front of our B&B

street with shops in York

We've been enjoying York very much.  The streets are narrow and charming and the fabulous York Minster Cathedral is very impressive.  It is the largest Gothic building in Northern Europe.  You may have noticed that the main window in the Cathedral has the shape of a heart.  The window is called the "Heart of York".  A minister that we chatted with said that he asks people what they think it means and they always say:  "It represents God's love for me."  Mary has been a little under the weather, she thinks she has a bit of a cold, but we all know that she has haggis poisoning...  Tomorrow we will stay in York until around 2PM and then we will take a train to Oxford.  We will stay in the youth hostel there. (Thanks for the tip, Diana=)  Then it's on to London!