Our 2 month summer vacation began with a wonderful surprise - a group of our dear friends meet us at the ferry terminal to say goodbye, give us hugs and kisses and a bag full of goodies to take on the ferry and airplane rides. What a bunch of sweethearts! We embarked on our long trip overwhelmed by the love and kindness of good friends. We'll miss them all!
While waiting to board our plane at the Hong Kong airport, Ian pulled out his tooth.
He was a little concerned the Tooth Fairy wouldn't find him and wondered what kind of money she'd leave for him - would it be MOP, HKD, EURO, or USD? Who knew the tooth fairy had to have such a wide range of world currency.
Our first stop - Paris and Amiens, France
Our 3-day visit to France was amazing! There is way too much to see and do and taste and experience in a few days but we packed our time full of sightseeing, history, food, and shopping.
On a rainy day, we visited the Eiffel Tower but
returned in better weather so we could go to the top.
A big hug to Abby for overcoming some fears so we could be together on the Eiffel Tower to fulfill Ian's and Mommy's wishes. Thanks Abs!
We circled the Arc de Triomphe, an impressive and inspiring monument, a number of times as we maneuvered through the massive roundabout surrounding it.
We visited The Louvre,
housed in an incredible fortress,
and saw countless works of art
including the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo.
Jet lag, closing time, and the sheer size of this museum made it impossible to see everything but it was still a fantastic visit, especially for our young art lover, Cade.
We walked along the Seine River and
ate a delicious hot chocolate and croissant breakfast outside a cafe overlooking the river.
We met up with Kyle's friend/boss who gave us a personal tour of Notre Dame and shared some interesting facts about this 850 year old cathedral that took almost 200 years to build and the destruction it suffered during the French Revolution.
We learned about flying buttresses and the real purpose of gargoyles and why they're so ugly. A spout inside a gargoyle spews rainwater from the roof away from the building to avoid running down the masonry walls and eroding the mortar. The grotesqueness of gargoyles is believed to help scare away evil spirits.
We also learned that the green statues around the steeple represent the 12 Apostles. The statues are in groups of 3 on the 4 sides of the steeple and face away from the steeple overlooking the city except for one. The statue turned towards the steeple with his arm shielding his face (the far right in the picture above) represents "Doubting Thomas".
Plus, we found Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
The interior architecture and stained glass windows are absolutely beautiful.
To add to the inspiring spirit in the cathedral, an all-men's choir sang sacred hymns and chants as we walked around.
In Paris, we stayed at a quaint hotel (located on the right side of the street)
with the most DELICIOUS bakery we've ever been to across the street.
After 2 days in Paris, we drove through the vibrantly colored French country side,
with the bright yellow colza fields (made into cooking oil)
and often tree-lined roads to visit Amiens.
On the way, we noticed the road signs really do look like the card game, Mille Bornes.
Amiens is located on the Somme River and
is home to the tallest Gothic cathedral in France.
Walking the streets of Amiens on Sunday morning, we were greeted by many friendly people carrying baguettes and saying "bonjour". It was so funny, we felt like we were in the movie "Beauty and the Beast".
There are a large number of war memorials from the 1st and 2nd World Wars in the surrounding area. We visited one of the largest, the Thiepval Memorial, dedicated to over 72,000 British forces who died in the Battles of the Somme during WWI.
The adjoining cemetery contains graves for 300 British and 300 French soldiers from a 1916 battle. The rectangular headstones on the left are British and the crosses on the right are French.
Many of the headstones are for unknown soldiers and read "A Soldier of the Great War, Known unto God".
This was a very sacred place. Our eyes were wet and our hearts full of love and gratitude for the ultimate sacrifices made and memorialized here. Abby expressed our thoughts beautifully in the guest registry, "may there never be again wars like this and let peace run throughout the land."
Our visit to France was short but we got a taste and a flavor of this beautiful, historical place and would love to return to see and experience more someday. Au revoir!
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