What's This?

by Ang

It's my stack of pictures to scrapbook!! There's at least 550 here....maybe more.

Yikes. I better get started.

On an unrelated note, today after work I stopped at The Tea Smith www.theteasmith.com

to pick up a gift for someone. How is it that I've never been in to this store before? I LOVE tea, both hot and cold and they have it all. Anyways, while I was there I thought I would try some Bubble Tea. I had read about it and quite frankly thought it sounded extremely gross. I mean, tapioca balls in tea? There's just something wrong with that. But I was intrigued, so I got a strawberry flavored Bubble Tea. I really liked it!

(yes, I took this picture in my car, but don't worry, I was sitting at a red light).

It was very refreshing. They give you a really thick straw so you can suck up the 'bubbles'. It was still weird, but it wasn't gross at all like I was expecting.

I'm off to organize photos now.

Weather

By Amy

Only three short days ago we were in Paris and saw this.

Yesterday at home it did this.

Oh the Midwest. There is nothing more depressing then not having a spring. Because in May I kid you not it could be 104 degrees.

The Fun Part of Unpacking

by Ang

The first thing I unpacked yesterday was my fun little suitcase full of all of the stuff I bought for myself. I had forgotten about a lot of it, so opening up each bag was fun! I felt like a little kid again. :)

I spread it all out on the floor and looked everything over. Here's some highlights:

3 handbags (2 in Paris, 1 in Amsterdam). I love handbags.

3 scarves (everyone - women AND men - wears scarves in Paris, so a lot of them are actually cheaper there than they are here. And there's a really good selection.)

Jewelry

Books - I love to buy books on the places I've been. It's become sort of a tradition. I think they're great souvenirs! So I got books on Paris, Versailles, the Louvre and Orsay.

Cards/paper - Paris is known for it's excellent stationary, cards, paper, and I was not disappointed. I got lots of cute prints to frame.

It's funny, because one of my favorite things I got was a magnet that says 'Sortie', which means Exit. As soon as we seen them, all three of us had to get them. For me, it was because each time we stepped off the metro, we all looked up for the 'Sortie' sign. It just became a habit and when I seen the 'Sortie' magnet it immediately made me smile and think of the 30+ times we rode the metro.

Most everything is put away now. Suitcases are back in the closet, laundry is done, checkbook is balanced, most of the mail has been opened. I go back to work tomorrow. I still feel so relaxed though and not stressed out about anything. I guess that's what an amazing vacation does.

Here's a couple pictures I took Thursday night:

I miss it.

Grateful

By Amy

Here is a list of things that I am so thankful for......

~ That we didn't miss our plane at the CDG airport. It was close.

~ My kids. They were so happy to see me and Keith said they got along and helped out.

~ My honey. The pets didn't die, the kids were fed and my house is CLEAN!!!

~ A shower (only a bath in our apartment). It felt luxerious!

~ Space. We went to breakfast this morning and I wasn't knocking elbows with strangers.

~ Washer and Dryer. The combo thing in Paris just didn't get the clothes clean or dry.

~ Tennis shoes! I refused to wear them in Paris and my feet cried. They are happy now!

~ My house. It feels enourmous.

~ My life. I feel ready for routine again. I feel less anxious then before and not so overwhelmed to get things done. I had the time of my life and cannot stop thinking about our adventure. But it feels good to be home.

Home

by Ang
We made it home.

It's been a long day, but actually not as bad as I thought - especially after the start we had. Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris is known for being the worst airport in the world for congestion and long lines and not enough people working. So we figured it would be bad. But even though we got there 3.5 hours early, we still only had FIVE MINUTES to spare before we boarded our plane. Checking in at American Airlines took maybe 15 minutes. The rest of the time was spent in the line to go through customs to get our passports stamped and then go on through security. They had only two people working. Two. There were people waiting in line that were missing their flights and getting VERY upset. A couple of times the police had to be called over. It was a mess.

But we finally made it, and from there it was smooth sailing (or smooth flying I should say). The 8.5 hour flight went much faster than I thought. We got to Chicago on time and even had time for dinner before we boarded our final flight.

We had an amazing time. So many laughs and private jokes between the three of us (the bird man, personalized license plates, etc.) and just enjoying the city was a blast. It was so much fun.

As Amy said before, we will have much more to post later on! But for now, I'm off to bed. I've been up for over 24 hours, so I'm a bit tired. Sorry, no pictures tonight. But maybe tomorrow!

Our Last Day ~ Sniff, Sniff

After our croissants for breakfast we went to the Garnier Opera. The building is amazing and the inside is beautiful. The "Phantom of the Opera" songs kept running through my head.

We still had some shopping to do so we went to Le Bon Marche which is like a Nieman Marcus. Kind of pricy but we were able to find some good deals.




Back at the hotel room we started packing up until it was dark and then walked to the Eiffel Tower for one last look. We waited in line for a hour to go all the way to the top. It was worth the wait.

Our flight leaves at noon tomorrow but the taxi is coming for us at 8. We have so much more to say but at night we are so tired it's hard to find the words. So there will be much more to come. I think I could blog for days on just the food alone. And the people. And the sounds. And the smells. Some good, some bad. To our family and friends......we will see you soon!

Shopping!

by Ang

Today was our big shopping day. We started off at some of the 'higher end' shops in our neighborhood in the 7th district and found all kinds of things.

We found a great gift for our neice at this store that was beautiful inside and out:

We ventured into a lot of shops like these:

After shopping in the 7th, we dropped our bags off at our apartment and took the metro to the Notre Dame area.

There are tons of street vendors in this area along the Seine. After that, we went to the most famous shopping street in Paris:

We managed to buy things here too.

After dark, we made plans to meet the sister we had met at the meeting on Sunday under the Eiffel Tower. She brought a bunch of people with her and we all went to dinner at a Greek Place in the Notre Dame area.

Tomorrow is our last full day here. We are going to the Opera House, maybe a little more shopping and then we're going up the Eiffel Tower at night to get one last glimpse of this amazing city.