Paris, Part 2: Joyeaux Noel to all!

Vacationing with a 3 year old reminds you that there is a difference between your plans and what's going to happen. I got a taste of that a bit this leg of our trip. Maddy needed more time then I had scheduled to recover and relax. So, of course, after many attempts to fight it I had to give up and let her rest.

We enjoyed some lazy time around the apartment and I think in the end we all benefited from it. We finally headed to our local bakery and grocery store to restock. We stumbled upon a local farmers market and got some local wines and spent the rainy morning walking around the market. We even went and got a crepe wand so I can start experimenting with making my own crepes. No better place to learn right?? 

The rest was much needed as we conquered our first Disney experience as a family. This was the part of the trip that Maddy couldn't wait for and I think the part we dreaded the most. We arrived at Disneyland Paris right as it opened and was cattled into the park. It was decorated beautifully for Christmas including fake snow down Main street. Maddy was all about the characters but sadly didn't Paris didn't have as many characters out and about as I think Disney in the US does. She got to see 3 characters, including Mickey after a hour and a half wait, ride 4 rides, and watch one parade. All that took us 10 hours! Maddy is sure lucky we love her! We were all SO tired after that our comfy beds were a welcomed relief that night.

It was Christmas eve and after recovering from the busy day at Disney before we decided to head out to find some seasonal cheer. It was interesting to see how little the Parisian's seemed to be in a holiday spirit throughout our stay their but that seemed to completely change on Christmas eve. The metro was busting with people headed out for the evening, gifts in hands and smiles on their faces. It was wonderful to be a part of. In our failed attempt to go to the Christmas market at Champ-Elyse's we had spotted the Ferris wheel and maddy fell in love. So once nightfall set we ventured down to Concord station (the right metro station makes the difference sometimes) and rode the Rue de Paris. Maddy loved it and was pointing out all different kinds of stuff from up top. We took an evening stroll down the Christmas market and found more Christmas related things including ornaments, the only thing we collect from every place we've ever been. More Christmas spirit to spare going around! Santa was even driven down Champs Elyse's with a police escort to the amusement of all the kids. The lights down the street were nice too and it was good to continue a tradition even being so far from normal. Before headed home we ran to the grocery store to make sure we had everything for our Christmas dinner at home. In addition we went to the bakery and got some traditional Christmas desserts. Maddy has found a new love in chocolate bread so we had to take a break and grab some!

Christmas day was wonderful and even though we just did a few gifts it was so wonderful to just be together as a family. We heard maddy wake up and start whispering in the living room about how santa came. She ran into our room with her new hat and stocking in hand and told us " santa brought me a hat and a shoe!".  After a minor meltdown about Santa forgetting to bring a baby doll with a pacifier, what was he thinking? the rest of the gift opening was smooth. I got to try out my new crepe wand and recipe for breakfast while maddy played with her new gifts. Then we called our families to wish them a good holiday. Maddy enjoyed talking to everyone and telling them all about Disney and her Christmas morning. We had debated on doing a fancy Christmas dinner but decided to opt for a more toddler friendly version of cooking at home. Yesterday, we meet a nice local in the supermarket that gave me a recipe for a sauce for our meal. It turned out delicious and was very authentic food, I was proud! We enjoyed a Christmas evening of building legos and laughing, a good one for sure!

Decided to treat Maddy to some more fun today in addition to buy another ornament thanks to a ball mishap yesterday. We headed to the other side of the Christmas market since we ran out of time on Christmas eve, Maddy got to experience her first roller coaster and as expected she is an adrenaline junkie. We rode some carousals, Christmas trains and enjoyed some more shopping. We headed back to the apartment after losing a battle with Maddy's need for a nap. While she slept, Trey and I packed, it was sad to see our last day in Paris come to an end. Had another couple battles with the washer/dryer machine, which I lost of course, damn steam dryers! We walked around our neighborhood for the last time and were greeted like locals when we went into the bakery and grocery. It made my heart swell, i was happy to set my mind on a feel for our time in Paris and be able to achieve it. Of course there were things we didn't get a chance to get to but overall it was a memorable Christmas and I'm so lucky!

After a quick morning of cleaning our apartment and packing the final bag we were on our way to the train. We decided to take the Eurostar to London for a change of pace from flying. After a little confusion at the HUGE station that is Gard de Nord we were on our way to London. The train was quick and comfortable, we didn't buy maddy a seat and we worried about being cramped together but it was plenty of space.

We had to pick up our keys at a hotel for the apartment and was prepared with directions and subway routes. We got to the hotel with just a little bit of help from the friendly information ladies at the metro station. From the hotel we were assured it was just a '10 minute' walk from the hotel, but I should have been wary when the map had driving directions...we walked and walked. Our 10 minutes quickly swelled to an hour, as we wondered the London streets. We walked through the theatre district and i got my first indulgent tourist photos with the red telephone booths. Maddy crashed out once we got to the apartment and we decided it was best to start fresh in the morning. Looking forward to a busy time exploring London!