We did the two-hour drive to Rome and flew directly to Brussels, Belgium. We had apartments next door to each other and quickly unpacked so we could get out and start enjoying Belgium. First stop: the Christmas Market right down the way from our apartment. We had the most unbelievable waffles that Jamie had promised would blow Eggos way out of the water. They were insane delicious! Cake-like batter, sweet and dense, and melt in your mouth warm and delicious. If heaven were a food, this would be it!
As agreed, the husbands went out to sample Belgian beer while Kristin and I stayed back with the kids, and we alternated like that a few nights... We told our husbands we didn't care how much they drank or what time they stayed out until, they just had to be 100% the next morning when the kids were up and we were off on our daytime adventures.
We woke up to a gross, cold, rainy day but we were in Belgium and we were headed to Gent, we weren't going to let crummy weather stop us from enjoying our first day, especially because it was Riann's 6th birthday!!!!!
Then we hopped the train and arrived in Gent a short time later. A stop in a fabulous chocolate shop only increased the happiness in our day, as well as a tasty, hot lunch in a cozy little restaurant.
The next morning we checked off some sights in Brussels before taking the train to Bruges. The sun came out and we arrived at our stop... Brugge is a perfectly adorable town! We found ourselves in an open air market and had to snack. Coconut macaroons that were out of this world, Anthony found Gouda cheese that was like no other cheese I have ever tasted, and then the rotisserie chicken... Oh. My. Word. Never would I ever think I would be able to write about chicken, but this was the best chicken EVER. There are no words to describe this chicken and there are three other adults and four kids that would tell you the same thing. Indescribable chicken. Who knew??
There was an ice skating rink in Brugge, so everyone but me went ice skating... I took pictures. I didn't dare put on a pair of skates, it's been way too long since I skated, and I'm way too uncoordinated and didn't need to go injuring myself on our trip. Neither Riann nor Linc had ever ice skated before, but they were both very eager and excited. Riann got very frustrated quickly and ended up in tears saying she never wanted to ice skate again. I think the words she used:
"I never want to ice skate again.
It was a fun and adventurous day but we were all hungry, so we headed to Chez Leon, famous for oysters. Poor Wesley was so exhausted after all the fun, he had fallen asleep, slept right through dinner and until the next morning. The rest of us chowed down on some seriously good food, oysters all around for the adults!
As we were walking back to our apartments, there was a holiday light show taking place in Grand Place. Even though it was raining, we stopped and watched for a while, until the kids were all too cold and headed to our beds to snuggle down and get some rest. Except for Jamie and Anthony who took the opportunity to try out some more Belgian beer, including Westmalle, the best beer in the world according to Jamie, and one of about 1000 beers to choose from. They actually had a beer catalog as a menu to order: paradise for beer-drinking guys.
We arrived in Paris, found our apartment and took off on a walk to the train station. Soon after, we arrived at the Eiffel Tower. Since the Tuckers had already been to Paris a few times and visited the Eiffel Tower a few times, we decided to divide and conquer!
Jamie, Riann, Lincoln and I were going to visit the top but after getting a (ridiculously expensive, tourist hot dogs in baguettes) snack, we canned the idea as the lines were so long to wait to get tickets and go to the top.
We caught up with the Tuckers at a nearby Christmas market, took some photos of the tower, then decided to do as the French and go sip on some wine, eat some cheese and baguettes, letting the kids recover a bit and buy us some time to do a few things that evening.
It was getting cold since it was dark. Back to the apartment to rest up for the next day...
The next morning, Jamie and Anthony went out to get the adults caffeine and fresh baguettes for breakfast for everyone. A jar of fabulous French jam and a couple baguettes make for a delicious and cheap breakfast; the Starbucks frou-frou drinks were just the icing on the cake.
All eight of us headed out for another walk to the Eiffel Tower right after breakfast, making for a short line, it only took about 15 minutes to get tickets and head to the top. Even though the view would have been clearer the day before, the panoramic view was fantastic! We spent more time up there than I would have imagined and then we took the lift back down to Tier 2, the "middle" deck of the tower.
The most incredible memory of our trip to Paris: Ice Skating ON the Eiffel Tower. A few days before, as you may recall from our ice skating adventure in Belgium, was not the best ice skating experience for Riann. However, the magic of the Eiffel Tower and the excitement of being in Paris had Riann back in ice skates and pushing around a penguin "walker on skates". About 30 minutes on the ice, she decided on her own to get herself around the ice without assistance - SHE DID IT!! Her smile was contagious, she never slipped or fell, she did awesome and we were so proud of her! I'm pretty sure she was super proud of herself too.
After a good break, we headed through the Latin Quarter and arrived at the Notre Dame. The outside of the building has so much detail - intricate stained glass, the flying buttresses - and the inside was ready for the holidays with a nativity scene, but the stained glass from within the cathedral was just breathtaking. It was unbelievably beautiful!
That evening, the Tuckers stayed back at the apartment with all the kids so Jamie and I could have a date night out in Paris. (Yes, we did the same for them too the next night...)
Jamie and I took the train from our apartment to the Arc du Triomphe. It was a gross, cold, rainy night but in Paris, everything seemed to be beautiful regardless of the weather. We climbed the spiral staircase up to the top - the structure is massive!! - and enjoyed the views even despite the rain. The views of Paris from the top were amazing, we really loved looking down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and seeing all the traffic lights and ferris wheel at the end. It made for some cool pictures! The sugar on top: the Eiffel Tower having it's hourly light show again. Romantic, beautiful... It is Paris after all!
Jamie and I continued our date night out even though our feet were already killing us from doing so much walking earlier. We window shopped, dodged the heavier rain by escaping into a few stores and finally arrived at the Christmas market along the Champs-Élysées. We ended the evening with a little, quiet dinner.
The Tuckers did a day trip of their own the next day: a visit to Versailles. We took Riann and Lincoln, sort of to celebrate Riann's 6th birthday, to Disneyland Paris. We didn't tell them where we were going, we just hopped on a train and waited to watch their faces once we arrived at the main gate. There were a ton of people in line but we finally managed to find our way in. Lincoln wasn't being the most cooperative that day. In fact, he had told us multiple times "I just want to go hoooooome", and when we would tell him we were on our way back to the hotel/apartment, he would say "Noooo, I want to go hooooooooome." The poor guy was just homesick and really just wanted to be home, in our home, with his toys, his bed, his routine.
Riann walked through Alice's Wonderland with Jamie,
We found the rides that had the shortest lines, we ate some kid-friendly food, then we made our way to Disney Studios, the "other" Disney park. We watched a short parade with a bunch of the characters Lincoln recognized and then, finally, he got excited to be at Disney. We really hit the jackpot with him as we found the entire Cars area of Disney. We watched a live stunt show with a REAL Lightning McQueen, we went to "Radiator Springs" for another ride (which Lincoln chickened out on at the very last minute), then we found Guido & Luigi's Casa De La Tires. He was in heaven!!
Of course the day ended with the big parade and a special stop in one of the gift shops where Riann and Linc got to pick out a toy of their choice. Riann picked out a plush Bambi and Lincoln picked out a Finn McMissile car that talks, has lights, etc. So for the day that started out not-so-great, it ended with two delighted children and two happy, but tired parents.
The following day, our last full day in Paris, we headed out to the Louvre.
It was impressive in size, the art was amazing, the construction made it confusing, and then there was the Mona Lisa. THE Mona Lisa. And when I picked Riann up to see it, I said "Do you know who that is?" She said "It's Mona Lisa, Momma." Duh. One well-cultured little lady, she already knew who Mona Lisa was.
We left the Louvre after several hours, we headed out to find our next destination - another major highlight to our visit to Paris: Fajitas.
What?? Did I really say Fajitas?? Yes, yes I did.
Anyway, we walked to the Latin Quarter again to find Fajitas, owned by a Mexican man and his American wife. We indulged in authentic, delicious, happy Mexican food and some delicious but expensive margaritas. At 30Euro a pitcher, it was kind of insane but they were so worth it!! All 8 of us were in heaven. Mexican heaven.
That evening, Kristin and Anthony had their date night which was pretty much a replica of ours. They too had sore feet from walking and it had just been a FUN, but very long week.
The next day, our flight wasn't until 6pm. We packed up, let the kids all played at a really great playground for a few hours. Kristin and I went to get sandwiches, we let the kids play a bit longer after lunch and then we headed to the airport a little earlier than we had originally planned.
