Key to a happy marriage

Rick gets fish and chips (in honor of Kevin - previous post), and Melané gets fancy Persian food in a beautiful restaurant (Parisa's favorite restaurant!).
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Leila's first pub food

Fish, chips, and a pint.
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Harrod's meat counter

Leila found Anoosha's heaven!
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Cheeeeesse!

Look Wallace, even Harrod's has cheese!

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More London, more theatre!

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London theatre

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The Chunnel!

Today we are taking the Chunnel from Paris to London. It takes just a bit over two hours and is much more comfortable than a cramped airplane.
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Lots of photos

After being delayed by Icelandic volcanic ash, our airshipment finally arrived from the US. In addition to a change of clothes, it included our trusty Mac mini which we use to post photos on our website. Here are the links to the photo albums from our last few days touring Paris:

Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower night shot

Bois de Bologne (a large park similar to Golden Gate park in SF)

St. Sulpice, Luxembourg Gardens, and the Pantheon

Disneyland Paris

I shot some interesting videos at Disneyland which I will try to upload later. We head to the UK tomorrow via the Chunnel and will send updates again from there.

Fine dining?

After a pretty decent day we decided to get some dinner. Even though Disney studios does not close until 7, 4 of their 4 restaurants are closed at 6pm, so we opted for a hot dog from the cart. I finally found food on France that is as bad as the crappiest food America has to offer! Go Disney!

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Day 4 - Disneyland Paris!

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Paris Pantheon

Next stop was the Paris Pantheon (http://www.pantheonparis.com/). The top level was an amazing open space with lots of statues and paintings three stories high. There was even a pendulum in the middle marking the turn of the earth like the one in San Francisco . Below were the crypts that reminded me of the best wine cellars in Napa. We also learned that the building was originally built in honor of St. Geneieve, our niece's namesake:

Ice cream break

Paris vacation, day 3. After St. Sulpice and the Luxembourg Gardens, we are taking a break before heading to the Pantheon.
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Size matters

In a country where most things are quite small, the beer servings at this restaurant are truly Germanic.
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First day

We are spending a week vacationing Paris. Today we started with a swim, toured the Arc de Triomphe, and now are dining in French tourist sports bar!

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Twice the fun

Both mommy and daddy picked up a fresh baguette on the way home and Leila says, "yuuummmmyyyy!"
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Paris Marathon

Leila monitoring the Paris Marathon where Karen and Mommy are going to run next year. There is a endless river of 37,000 runners flowing down the street just two blocks from our apartment.

The "BHV"

After church, time to shop!
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We found Quasimodo!

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Notre Dame's headless statue

Leila thinks Grama will laugh when she sees it! A little research reveals that this is a statue of St. Denis, who was executed by beheading at the highest hill in Paris (Montmartre - "the martyrs' mountain"). After his head was chopped off, Denis is said to have picked it up and walked six miles, preaching a sermon the entire way.

The famous rose window

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Joan of Arc

This is one of two statues of Joan of Arc in Paris. The other is a top Sacre Couer.

A candle for Grama

Notre Dame

This one's for you, Grama!

Another view

Leila geting a better view of the Hotel de Ville.

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Hotel de Ville

It is now a hotel, but used to be City Hall. The statues of deceased politicians still remain on the walls.
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Cheeeeeeese!!!!

Wallace would love this cheese store in Paris!
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Leila is sooo strong!

Just like her mother here.

Leila under the Tower

Leila says that the Tour Eiffel is *soooooooooo* tall! The tower stands at 324 m (1,063 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-story building. It was the tallest structure in the world from its completion until 1930, and is the second-tallest structure in France.

Leila climbing the (base of the) Eiffel Tower

"Look, we're *really* in Paris!!"

Museum de l'Homme

Girl and dog visit museum of man.
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Safe arrival

Oui, we have finally arrived!
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The Magic Tunnel

Leila's first walk through O'Hare's rainbow tunnel.
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Rick and Leila on board

But, where is Melané? *Somebody* was upgraded to first class and they won't let us go up there to take a picture!
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Just a few items

Yes, that is all of our stuff for just the first few days.
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Mel's ride

... with Mel, Cindy, and Bibi following.
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Leila's ride

Next phase: off to the airport......
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The Last Supper

French food is great, but there is a definite lack of good Mexican food in France. So now that the shippers have left with our stuff, Mel and I are celebrating our last meal California style. Pass the salsa.

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