Happy Birthday, Gheghe!

We had a great weekend up on Long Island, where we helped Gheghe celebrate her 60th birthday! She was surprised (presumably) by friends and family at Indian Cove. After the party, the fun continued at the house, where we gathered to watch slideshows of old pictures and a tribute video put together by Tia and Ryan. The next day we continued the tradition of a photo shoot on the back stoop with a new generation of models/victims. Unfortunately for Leah, when we recreate the shot in 15 years, Reed will have to sit on her lap. We headed to Sean & Lisha's beachside bungalow for lunch, then took off for the airport. Another successful trip!

****More photos here!****

Happy Birthday, Jackie-Boy.

We are starting to see glimpses of the man you are to become, and we couldn't be prouder.







We love you! Have a fantastic 12th birthday.

Mardi.

**UPDATED TO ADD: We are officially home!**


Today we head home. We have had an outstanding 12 days in Europe, and I think we are all ready to return to reality for awhile. At least until our next adventure!














Cheers and au revoir!

Lundi.

Back to Disneyland! Today we visited the other Disney park, Walt Disney Studios. A lot like MGM in Orlando, but much smaller. We (some of us) did Rockin' Roller Coaster, the Backlot Tour, Flying Carpets over Agrabah (like Dumbo), Cars Rally (like teacups, but in cars from the movie), and the Cinamagique and Animagique shows. We also rode on Crush's Coaster, a roller coaster ride based on the turtles from Finding Nemo. Disneyland Paris is the only WDW park that has this ride, so it was new to us! The guys went first and convinced Leah and I to try it, they said it was so much fun. They lie. Actually, Leah loved it, and I agree it was very well done. That's all I will say about that.

Will got to meet a lot of characters, he got a kick out of them and enjoyed posing.




































Oh, and Leah and I got to do some Singin' in the Rain.

Dimanche.

We covered a lot of ground today. And I have the blisters on my feet to prove it! We got in to the hotel after midnight, so I'm afraid this will be a short post... I will try to add to it later on.

We had a relatively late breakfast and headed for the city around 11:30am. We took the train to Pere LaChaise Cemetary, wandered around, got a fantastic real French lunch in Place d'Gambetta, hopped on the Metro and visited the Centre Pompidou (where I finally got up high enough to see an awesome panoramic view of Paris), got some nutella crepes and glace, then walked about 100 miles through the city, along the river, and finally crashed on the Champ du Mars in front of the Tour Eiffel in time for sunset (which, strangely enough, is not until 9:15pm here) and to see the tower light up - which is every bit as magical as they say. It was a great last day in Paris. Tomorrow we do the last Disney park and then Tuesday it is back stateside!

Samedi.

Today we made our way back into Paris. First on our list to visit today was Notre Dame. We walked through the beautiful cathedral and around the outside. We did not get up into the tower, though (see yesterday's post regarding the lines).














We then took a stroll through the city, over the river and past the Sorbonne to Luxembourg Gardens. We found a little shop that made baguette sandwiches, paninis and crepes - so we got some lunch and had a little picnic in the park. Then a French policewoman yelled at everyone to get off the grass so we moved the picnic to a bench.






































After lunch we headed back to the river where we got back on the batobus and cruised around the river to the Louvre. The museum is amazing. We saw the Venus di Milo and The Mona Lisa, but the most impressive art was the building's architecture!


















After the Louvre we headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow we plan to get in to the city a little later, so we can be there in the evening and see why they call Paris the City of Lights!

Vendredi.

After a pleasant French breakfast at our hotel, we ventured to the RER station to catch the train into the city. Everything went smoothly and we disembarked at Charles de Gaulle Etoille. The very first thing we saw as we walked up the stairs from the underground was the amazingly immense Arc de Triomphe.



This became our starting point as we made our way down the Champs-Elysees, which is the grandest boulevard in Paris - the beautiful tree-lined street is littered with high-end shopping and outdoor cafes. Perfect for high-heeled women in mini-skirts walking with their little poodles! We wandered down to the Seine, where we boarded a batobus - a hop-on, hop-off glass walled & ceilinged tour boat.

We cruised down the river and back again, finally hopping off at Tour Eiffel. We walked around it, enjoying the many different views. I always kind of thought it was just a really big erector set, but it really is beautiful. The whole area surrounding the Tower is a park, with lots of green grass, gorgeous flowers and blooming trees. The only disappointing thing was the line to get in. It was as if every line at every Disney ride had converged to make one Super Line and take over the world. So we took some pictures and got on with our lives.







We walked around a bit searching for lunch, and found a cafe back on the Champs-Elysees. We ate some sandwiches on baguettes (Leah had a croissant and a pain du chocolat). We strolled through Nike Paris and then found the hugest Hagen-Daas shop ever, and got some ice cream. We then decided to call it a day and head back to our hotel. We will be back tomorrow for more sightseeing! Hope all is well with all you yanks over in the New World.

Jeudi.

Happy May Day to all!

May Day (May 1) is a holiday celebrated in many parts of the world, including France. There is no school, no work, and lots of places are closed. Guess what lots and lots of people decided to do today, on their day off? Yes. They came to Disneyland Paris.


















We had fun, though, despite the crowds and intermittent rain. We visited one of the two parks today - Disneyland. It is set up a lot like Magic Kingdom, with several "lands" spoking out from the castle in the middle. Here we saw Sleeping Beauty's castle rather than Cinderella's, complete with a fire-breathing dragon in the basement. We saw some familiar sights: Big Thunder Railroad, the Carousel, Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain; and some new ones: Pinnochio's Voyage ride, and an Indiana Jones roller coaster.

It was a nice, relaxing day - tomorrow we hit the City of Lights!