Spring Break

Yay!!! Our girls finally arrived. We greeted them at the airport early last Sunday and hauled them to our home in Wiesbaden. We had croissants and juice and they crashed on the couch. When we finally got them coherent, we took the "Mary Walk" into town. We took them to the Ratskeller for German wine and cheese...then on to Vapiano's for a lively Italian dinner (interesting fresh pasta or pizza prepared cafeteria-style). Since it was Sunday, of course, all the shops were closed but the restaurants were open and busy!

On Monday, Pete headed to work while the girls slept in. I took them on my Kur Park walk in the late morning... and familiarized them with the park. Later in the afternoon, we visited the shops of Wiesbaden and stopped for wine at our favorite (yes, favorite) Rheingau wine shop. When Pete joined us in the evening, we had a quiet dinner at home, looking forward to our drive to Paris the next morning.



We headed into Paris centre from the wide open highway to the narrow and crowded streets of downtown Paris. Our hotel was located right in the heart of the city near Notre Dame...and within walking distance of most of the sights.
This was Katie's first visit to Paris and first time seeing the Eiffel Tower in person. Previously she only experienced my many trinkets, pictures and sculptures of the famous tower. When we arrived late in the afternoon, as if scripted, the tower lit up in random flashing lights just to welcome us. Katie was amazed how seeing the Eiffel Tower in person was exactly as she had expected... perfect! Emily had lived here for about 6 weeks while doing a study abroad program so she was familiar with the transportation. Her navigational skills got us through the Metro underground without incident. We had a Parisien dinner (omelettes, french onion soup, salad nicoise and pommes frites) nearby with a view of the lighted tower.

The next day, Emily and I visited the Musee d'Orsay to take in the official French Impressionist exhibit....while Katie and Pete toured Notre Dame Cathedral. We met for lunch on the left bank in the Latin Quarter. The days here were really windy but mostly sunny. You have heard of Paris in the Spring...well, we were a bit early for that experience.

We took the metro to the Arc de Triomphe and proceeded to window shop down the
Avenue Des Champs-Elysees to the Place de la Concorde....through the Tuilleries Gardens and ending at the Louvre Museum. A long walk but well worth it...the sights are amazing and you get a sense of the history and planning that went into the city landscape.

This picture was taken at the Place de la Concorde built in 1757. This beautiful site is where the public witnessed the guillotine deaths of Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette and other aristocrats.



At the entrance to the Louvre, the controversial glass pyramid welcomes visitors. But then, the Eiffel Tower was thought to be a blight on the landscape of Paris when it was first built.

Every once in awhile, we would lose track of Emily... she was off capturing her own version of Paris.


Thursday, while Pete was shooting video of some installations, the girls and I meandered down Rue St. Michel on the Left Bank past Sorbonne University. We stopped at the Luxembourg Gardens to sit for awhile in the sun with Parisiens all doing the same thing. Pete and a few of his associates met us for dinner near our hotel for an authentic French country dinner consisting of steak, forested fried chicken, potatoes and cheese gratin with sausage, and... Creme Brulee.


This ended our Paris visit. We headed back to Wiesbaden on Friday morning. Along the way, we stopped in Champagne country in Reims to visit the Champagne Pommery. This has one of the largest wooden vats in the world filled with Champagne.

Friday night we did a progressive walkabout to a few favorite night spots, ending at the Irish Pub with live music. The girls had as close to a spring break experience as they could. Saturday, we visited the farmers' market and had dinner with our American friends at a new favorite authentic German restaurant.

Tschuss!!