Versailles, France–Sunday is a great day for a family outing, even for the French! We drove from our hotel to the Palace of Versailles, the great imperial residence built by Louis XIV and the home of French kings for 100 … Continue reading
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Paris, Day 2–we woke to sunny skies dotted with storm clouds but it seemed clear and crisp. A great day to visit a museum. I was going to ditch the Louvre because I didn’t want to fight the crowds but … Continue reading
Paris, Day 1 What better way to spend Valentine’s Day than heading south to the city of lights–Paris! President’s day conveniently fell near sweetheart day to afford us a 4 day weekend in France. Original plans had all 5 of us traveling south but Lauren couldn’t manage to get away from cheer team practice (and she wanted to spend Valentine’s day with her special sweetheart). So, Will and Lilly eagerly left school a couple hours early for the 7 hour drive. Soon after we crossed the border into France, it started to snow. And it continued to snow for the next 2 hours, so much snow that the road was quickly reduced to one lane traffic and our drive morphed into more than 9 hours to our hotel outside Disneyland Paris.
After a good night’s rest, we woke to sunny skies and a fabulous French breakfast. Just ask Will how good breakfast is in France…crepes, cold cuts, french cheese, baguettes and strong coffee or hot chocolate as your beverage. The hotel gave us one free breakfast for our stay and we’re happy we chose the first day to fill up. We chose to go to Disneyland on our first day: weekday crowds are typically smaller and it was a great motivator to get the kids excited for going to Paris. I bought tickets online for 79 euro per person which allowed us to visit both parks in one day. We could have taken the train to Disney but we chose to drive because we’d heard parking was convenient and cheap. It’s true! We paid 9 euro for a full day and had the benefit of not waiting for the train once the parks closed. The kids chose Walt Disney Studios for the first park to visit. Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster had minimal lines and we sailed onto our favorites. We did notice that the French rides tend to be a bit more intense…and after one hour of riding crazy coasters, Tim and I both had slight headaches and queasy tummies. Around lunchtime, we switched parks and had a hearty lunch in Adventureland with African drummers serenading us by singing Shakira’s WakaWaka song. The food was great..Lilly even had a kids’ pizza in the shape of Mickey Mouse.
The magical day wrapped up with the spectacular Disney Dreams show. Featuring Sleeping Beauty’s castle as the backdrop for the laser light and water show, we were entertained with famous Disney tunes and characters projected onto the castle. Once the fireworks hit the dark sky, we knew it was time to leave. It was a great visit to a Disney theme park.
I love to read and I love the internet. Combine the two together, and it’s a non-stop information fest where great authors share great ideas for building great communities. Check out my go-to places for inspiration:
Rachel Held Evans Normally I gravitate toward the men when looking for useful and compelling blogs but lately, the ladies have been rising to the top. Rachel is one of those women who is completely immersed in the culture but manages to step aside just a bit to offer biting criticism and reflection for today’s “modern woman.” I appreciate her bold steps to address hot topic issues without ranting and yelling. Rachelheldevans.com
Ann Voskamp is a terrific writer and speaker. Her website is thoughtful and includes fabulous photography of simple life on a farm. Warning: she is a proud homeschooling mom, but she’s Canadian; so give her some slack. aholyexperience.com
Jen Hatmaker, is the author of 7 as well as the popular A Modern Girl’s Guide to Bible Study. She is flat-out funny and has great insights gleaned from living as a pastor’s wife. Jenhatmaker.com
The Gospel Coalition includes current editorials on world events and mixes in a little entertainment and media news to keep it relevant to a new generation of church leaders. thegospelcoalition.org
Global Leadership Summit Hands down, the number one conference for Christian leaders, both in the church and the workplace. Bill Hybels and his team at Willow Creek continue to offer the most stimulating presentations by top buisness leaders. The Leadership Summit
Aaron Niequest, has taught me tons about the meaning of worship and ways to incorporate all kinds of music into daily life Aaronniequist.com
Shauna Niequist It only seemed natural to gravitate toward a woman who has found a voice for eating well, entertaining and discussing philosphy with her girlfriends. Her books, Bittersweet and Bread and Wine are filled with short essays on doing life well. Shaunaniequist.com
The Pioneer Woman I don’t confess to being a great cook but when I read this cooking blog, I start thinking like a woman on the ranch. Full of easy recipes that are heavy on the fat and good feelings, Reed Drummond has lassoed a consistently good vibe. thepioneerwoman.com
Catalog Living A glimpse into the fabulous life of the people who live in your catalogs. Sarcasm at its best. Catalogliving.net
My melange a beautifully crafted website with a strong emphasis on French travel. Ooo la la. mymelange.net
Peter Greenberg The go-to travel guru featured on NBC news, Peter has given me valuable tips when booking travel, researching destinations and fixing problems. Petergreenberg.com
Rick Steves There isn’t one European adventure that we took where I didn’t consult my trusty travel-mate, Rick Steves. His books practically served as our inexpensive, on-the-ground travel agent and we were rarely disappointed. Easy to read and follow his recommendations for touring a city. I would skip his lists of hotels and restaurants only because MANY people are using his books. Ricksteves.com
From Vienna we traveled to Hungary and visited the cities of Buda and Pest, which were joined together in 1873 and linked by the beautiful Chain Bridge which spans the Danube River. Budapest is a beautiful city and the views are equally grand from both sides of the river. On one bank you can gaze at the British Parliament-inspired Hungarian Parliament building; and on the other side, you get a spectacular view of Fisherman’s Bastion. Budapest is a city for lazy walking…along the river, across bridges, up and down hills and the kids indulged my desire to see the parliament building at night…from the other side of the river. They were troopers and it was only Lilly who insisted what we were doing was “Dumb!”
Budapest also is home to steamy and relaxing thermal waters. We spent a leisurely afternoon soaking in the mineral tubs and large outdoor pools at the Széchenyi thermal baths. It was a bit tricky figuring out where to change and store our clothing but once we unlocked the cabin with our plastic bracelets we were quick to dive in along with hundreds of other Christmas revelers. After an hour in the warm pool, we found the warmer pool and then made our way inside to the stinky pools. The complex is huge and we only ventured as far as the first 3 rooms where we found green pools that smelled like rotten eggs, saunas with magical colored lights and a cold dip which we think had a melting iceberg floating on top. When we managed to drag our tired bodies back to the cabin, Tim insisted he had never felt more relaxed. Although, he could have enjoyed a massage at the baths as well.
Near our hotel was the public ice skating rink located just outside the castle gates. What an incredible experience to ice skate on Christmas in the glow of a castle. We met up with the Becker family and had fun trying to remember how to skate without slipping and sliding all over the ice. On this trip, Will made it all by himself around the rink several times and Lilly was comfortable just having someone pull her along.
Waltzing through Vienna; Just can’t help it.
We woke on Friday morning to SNOW! Finally, after a week of fog and cloudy skies, and a dramatic loss of the 12 inches of snow we received the week before, we had 2 inches of fresh powder. A perfect way to start the day!
Tim had to work a half day and Lauren wanted to go to school so they took off before 8am. It was my job to rally the remaining troops for the trip to Austria. I wisely determined to let “sleeping dogs lie” except in the case of Lady, our real dog. I loaded her up into the van and drove to the kennel for her doggie vacation. This was a very bad idea. As I made my way out of Lupburg and into neighboring villages, I was slipping and sliding all over the road and then I came upon a hill. A minor hill in normal weather but in the van on a slick and snowy morning, I lost traction and promptly found myself on the side of the road–stranded. As the capable, gifted and can-do gal that I am, I called Tim. He slowly made his way from post and helped right the vehicle. I refused to drive the van any farther and quickly settled myself into the driver’s seat of the Volvo. I followed Tim and the dog to the kennel and then we made our way S-L-O-W-L-Y back home.
By noon, Tim and Lauren were back at home and the family proceeded to pack the car for the 4 hour drive to Vienna. We soon realized that although the autobahn was clear of snow and ice, most drivers were understandably cautious and traffic moved at a consistent safe pace. And, the snow continued to fall. And, it was the shortest day of the year. And, we couldn’t see a thing. All adding up to a very weary drive. After a late meal at McDonalds, we rolled into Vienna around 8pm and the first sight we came upon: Schonbrunn Palace. It was a treat to behold all decked out in golden lights and floodlit to announce to passersby how grand the building really is. The girls exclaimed: We LOVE this city!”
Tim’s completion of a year-long chaplaincy residency is the perfect time to celebrate. While Ireland still makes the top of our “Must Visit List”, the draw of sunshine, water and an oracle or two made Greece our destination for 2018. After a visit to the library to check out every Greece and Turkey travel book in San Diego County, we settled on this 2 week itinerary:
A Moveable Feast 