Paris Vacation ~ Day 1
Our bags were packed, the animals were off to the kennel, the house was.. fairly clean. Passports in hand, ticket in my purse. I had someone to pick up my newspapers and mail. It was go time!
I had Darla, Giselle and Maelie meet us at our house before the taxi came to pick us up. We took a large group photo before we headed off to the airport. The giggles and little conversations were all but too much as were on our way to the airport. The girls were all very excited to get on the airplane and fly to Paris, France. I'd told them that it was going to be a long flight and we would be going over a very big ocean. They were a little bit nervous but.. we were flying first class on a private plane. I assured they there was a tv for movies and we would be just fine.
We made it to the airport and managed to get all of our bags out and headed into the ticket counter. The girls were busy looking around the airport and 'ooh'ing' at all of the decor, the hustle and bustle and the sounds of incoming and outgoing flights.
They watched out plane drive up the the tamrac and it was time. Time to board! The girls went running down and stepped carefully into the plane. The pilot was there to introduce himself and welcome us to our flight.
We all settled in pretty nicely. Set our bags in the overhead compartments and each found a cozy place to sit for the long flight. The captain come out and explained the typical in flight instructions to us and wished us all a happy flight. It's go time!
Paris here we come!
The plane's engines turned on and with a sudden lurch we were moving down the runway. The girls were nervously looking to me and then out the window. Watching us take off into the sky.
After many hours in air, a meal and lots of napping we were arriving in France. It was night by the time the plane touched down. We could see the glow of the runway as we descended.
Ivy stood looking out the window in her seat. "Mommy, we're here! The Ivytower!"
After gathering our belongings from luggage claim we stood and waited for our rental car to be dropped off. The girls giggled at how different it was from our car back at home. Filling it up with bags we all piled inside. I pulled out a map and a GPS to help guide me back to the apartment. I'd rented us a home in a small village just outside of the city. It was night time already .. so driving in the dark would be trying at best.. we'll see. The girls were just excited to be in France and likely wouldn't notice if I got lost - right?
We drove for about an hour and passed through the city .. even at night there were still people out and about. It had also started to snow. I wasn't used to drivong on the other side of the road either. I couldn't let the girls see my stress though.
I rounded a corner and I had to head through a tunnel.. oh jeez. A dark tunnel. These have alwas made me a bit nervous. The girls were a little afraid. It was noisy in there and quite dark. Luckily there were street lamps and some subway lights to guide out way.
We excited the tunnel and were now on the other side of the city and in the French country side. It was beautiful. Everything was covered in a very light blanket of snow.
We drove for about a mile and a half and we pulled up to a small little gated village. The gates opened and I drove into a small cobbled street with little lights draped everywhere. There was a cafe, a bakery, a salon and a few apartment buildings. It was beautiful, just like the photo's I had seen online when I booked the trip.
We all unloaded the car and I fished in my purse for the key to the small apartment. The apartment had a pretty little wreath outside of it. The place seemed quaint and quite cozy. I was comforted by the gate out front. Maybe the girls could play in the courtyard here tomorrow.
We entered the apartment.. and I was silent. It was beautiful. Not at all what one would expect from the outside. The girls were all giggling and running through out to check every room out.
The girls found that in the bedroom they each had a small little crescent moon bed. They unpacked a few special belongings from home and set up their little space while I went around the apartment to take a few photo's.
Once I had looked things over a little bit, I asked the girls if they were hungry. It was late and we were jetlagged but we did need some food. I thought I saw a waiter still out in front of the cafe when we pulled in. So we ran down to the village to check out out. We were met by a man who introduced himself as 'Jean' and he would be serving us that evening. I asked for him to bring us his best caviars and some bread. The girls.. let's say.. did not enjoy the caviar. They were all squealing. I was even asked if .. I was trying to poison them. I believe little Giselle dumped hers on the ground. My mind swirled a bit at the amount of money that was just tossed on the ground. However, this was vacation right? Money is no matter. The girls managed to fill up on bread. I on the other hand.. filled up on caviar and bread. Too much caviar. They spotted the bakery across the street and wanted to pick up some sweets for morning. So we walked over and looked into the window to see what they had to offer.
It had been a long, long day. It was time for jammies, a bed time story and some sleep. We all snuggled up on the big bed and I read them Madeline. They all couldn't wait to see the "Ivy Tower" and drifted off to sleep. It will be nice to see everything tomorrow in the day light.. a day of exploring our new home.
I think this trip is going to be more fun that I could even imagine.. I'm pretty lucky to have these girls in my life.
Goodnight from Paris ..
No comments:
Post a Comment