Our Paris Vacation - Day 2

Our Paris Vacation - Day 2

Our first real day in Paris started with, what else, but the EIFFEL TOWER?! 

Our hotel was a five minute walk to the Eiffel Tower.  Here we are on our way!  

Can you see it there in the distance?  We're really close!!

And there it is....on a really cloudy day.

Me and my honey

Mom and sis

And then we went back to the hotel to get jackets and umbrellas.  BRRRRR!

Getting ready to go to the top!

The elevator ride up to the first level

I'm not a fan of heights, so the ride up made me a little nervous.  But the view was incredible!  (And I just didn't go too close to the edge.)

Taking in the view

This is the view of the top of the Eiffel Tower.  We're getting ready to go up there!

Going to the very top!

We made it!

We were as high as you can go on the Eiffel Tower and as we looked up, just above us it the tip!  It's used as a radio signal tower now.  For some reason, I think that's funny.

Michael and me at the top of the Eiffel Tower!

This is how high we were.  We're almost 1,000 feet up in the air!

For Christmas Michael got me a Pandora bracelet.  I've never been a charm bracelet fan, but I love mine!  I love that we have something special between the two of us.  It's turning into the story line of our marriage.  So far I have a charm for our wedding day, our first Christmas together and my last day as a music teacher.  While we were there, we decided we wanted to be able to say we had kissed on the top of the Eiffel Tower.  When we pulled away Michael had a big grin on his face.  (I thought I must have given him a really good kiss for that kind of grin!)  But I looked down to him holding out a box for me.  Inside the box was an Eiffel Tower charm for my bracelet.  I married the sweetest man!  Now when I tell the story of my charms, I can say he gave me the Eiffel Tower charm at the top of the tower itself!

After spending the morning at the Eiffel Tower we stopped at the hotel to do a little clothing change-a-roo thanks to the weather and then headed somewhere for lunch and ended up in this very French cafe.  As in, they do not "speak-uh duh English".  And they had very French food.  A lot of which I have no interest in tasting.  But the waiter was so stinkin' nice (he tried so hard to come up with some English words to describe the menu) and the ladies at the table next to us spoke some English and they gave us lots of tips about Paris.  (The Parisians were so wonderful our entire trip!  Don't believe the stereotype that the French are rude.  It's not true!)

French fries in France!

Digging in to our yummy lunch! 

Because of the rain, it wasn't going to be a whole lot of fun to walk around Paris.  So we decided to go to one of the many museums in Paris and headed to the Musee d'Orsay.  

And so did every other tourist in Paris.

We spent a while waiting in line in the rain.  Man, I wish I had brought an umbrella!  And I sure am glad my mom brought an extra one!  Thanks, Mom!

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the museum and then crashed at the hotel that night.  We were exhausted!  But it was such a great day!!  

I'll leave you with a few Paris Travel Tips and this picture of the Eiffel Tower at dusk.  Love Paris!

Our Paris Vacation - Day 1

Our Paris Vacation - Day 1

This June Michael and I joined my mom and sister on a vacation to Paris, France!  We've been looking forward to this trip for a long time, but things started out a little bumpy.  Less than 24 hours before we were supposed to leave, Michael received an email saying that our flight to Paris 

had been canceled.  (!!!!)  

After several hours on the phone with United, we learned something about the French.  Apparently, they love to strike.  And they publicly schedule their strikes -- more as a campaign than to change anything.  Lucky us, the French air traffic controllers decided to go on a three day strike the day we were supposed to be flying into Paris.  They told the major airlines to cancel 50% of their flights, and ours was one of the flights that got the boot.  So instead of flying from Kansas City to Chicago to Paris, we had to fly from Chicago to Frankfurt, Germany where we had a 12 HOUR LAYOVER.  TWELVE HOURS.

So, in essence, what was supposed to be our first day in Paris was spent in the Frankfurt airport.  Not a whole lot going on there, let me tell you.

On our way to Chicago!

First layover in Chicago

After we made it to Germany, we decided that since we were stuck in the airport, we might as well go walk around Frankfurt.  One thing I love about Europe is their public transportation!  We hopped on the train from the airport and were in downtown Frankfurt in no time flat!

Walking through the Frankfurt train station

Frankfurt train station

We walked around the city and stopped for lunch at a little street deli/cafe.  We were in Germany, so what else should we eat except a sausage?! 

Not too long after the sausage picture, Michael took the next picture.

The German sausage did NOT agree with my stomach!  We spent the last 15 minutes of our hour walk around Frankfurt (not a whole lot to see in that city) desperately searching for a bathroom!  I ended up running into some office building, scouring the hallways when a German woman approached me.

She said something to me in German to which I responded, "BATHROOM?!"

German Woman:  Blank stare.  (She didn't speak English.)

Me:  "RESTROOM?!"

German Woman:  Blank stare.

Me: "WATER CLOSET?!"

There must have been something about the panic in my eyes/voice that she figured out what I needed and quickly ushered me to a bathroom.  Thank you, German woman!!  I owe you BIG TIME!

(As I was frantically searching the streets of Frankfurt for a bathroom, I kept replaying in my head the K-Mart commercial "I shipped my pants" and was really hoping I could avoid doing that in the middle of downtown Frankfurt!)

So, after my trip to the random German bathroom, we headed back to the airport to sit and wait for another 10 hours.  UGH!!!!

Finally, it was time for our flight to PARIS!!!

Picking our bags up in Paris

Waiting for a cab in Paris

By this point, we'd been traveling for 30+ hours and were beyond ready to get to our hotel....and ready for our first day in Paris!

(Belated) Birthdays!

Things have been so crazy around here!!  I've had zero time to blog!  I'm 2 months behind in this post!  Oops.  :-)  We started by celebrating my dad's birthday in April.  He's super low key, so we just went out to lunch at Dixon's Chili in Independence.

My dad is quite the fisherman, so my mom got him a workbench for him to use when he's doing his fisherman stuff.  (I have no idea what that consists of.)

My dad pretty much has whatever he wants/needs.  So Michael and I gave him a "gift certificate" for a free truck cleaning.  He's going to be leaving for Canada for a fishing trip in the near future, so he'll be cashing that in soon!

My sister made him his favorite peanut butter cookies.  But she gave them to him earlier (and he may have already eaten them all).....so she gave him some crackers.  :-)

My and the hubby.  I love that man!

Then on May 1, my mom celebrated her 60th birthday!  YAY, MOM!  We went to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse on her birthday.  (And, Oh. My. Word.  If you have not been to Ruth's Chris, you really need to go.  Absolutely beyond words the deliciousness of their food!)

My mother is a huge tennis fan.  She plays tennis a lot.  And she really loves to travel.  For their 30th wedding anniversary, my dad surprised her with a trip to the Australian Open.  See what he gets her for her 60th birthday....

So, if you couldn't understand that, she's going to the US Tennis Open in New York!  And she's also very excited.  :-)

My mom and her bestie who's going to NY with her! 

The birthday girl and her awesome hubby!

Presents from her daughters -- slightly less exciting.

Creme Brûlée for Mom

Banan Cream Pie.  YUM!!!!

Me and my sis!

Unbeknownst to my mom, this wasn't her real party.  Her real party was a few days later!  My decorating inspiration came from where else....but Pinterest!

Picture (and inspiration) from http://www.livinglocurto.com

Lots of tissue poms, babies breath in mason jars (with chevron ribbon), and yummy treats!  (My pictures turned out so dark!  BOO!)

We used lots of pictures from my mom's past.

Me and the birthday girl!

HAPPY (BELATED) BIRTHDAY, MOM AND DAD!!

The Love Language That Is Hamburger Helper

Tonight for dinner I was all about Michael's love language -- Hamburger Helper.  You mean you didn't know Hamburger Helper is a love language?  Well, with my hubby it's love language number 1!

When we first got married there was a night Michael offered to make dinner, which was really awesome of him.  Until I realized he was fixing me Hamburger Helper.

Yum.  Thanks, babe.

As a bachelor, Michael apparently lived on Hamburger Helper.  And he loves it.  Me, on the other hand....it's not quite so appealing.  I'm not crazy about the mystery flavor pack...

So, when I was meal planning and came upon Chili Cheese Beef 'n Mac from one of my favorite food blogs (Budget Bytes), I knew I had to make this one.

I, unfortunately, didn't take any pictures (what was I thinking?!), but Michael has officially requested this meal several times a month.  I'm not sure I'm good with homemade Hamburger Helper several times a month, but it was definitely a repeat meal!

Picture from Budget Bytes

Sick Day

I went to bed last night with body aches, a sore throat and a headache.  I was really hoping a good night's rest would make me feel a bit better.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen.  I woke up this morning with a fever (I haven't had a fever for YEARS), a terrible headache, chills and aches, and a terrible sore throat and ears.  Needless to say, I didn't go to work today.

So after spending the entire day curled up on the couch, I thought a good i-phone photo emptying was in order!

Getting ready for a night out with my mom

Kiwanis Trivia Night with my man

One of my besties, Shawna, and me.  Shawna invited us to the Rachel House Banquet last night.  We had a really great time, and learned a lot about a wonderful organization here in Kansas City that assists women with unplanned pregnancies.

Rachel House Banquet

My not-so-exciting sick day on the couch.  At least my kitties were happy to have me home for the day!

Meal Planning

I hate meal planning.  But I'm not good enough at making dinner to just "wing it" every night.  Plus, I would absolutely never have the right ingredients here.  So once a week I sit down with my computer, my cookbooks and my meal plan calendar to agonize over what I'm going to fix for dinner.

My meal planning calendar

UGH.

But it's finished for the week, and here's what we've ended up with.

Sunday -- Three Cheese Ravioli with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (I made a big bath of the sauce a month or so ago and threw it in the freezer.  We've had several meals off of this sauce, and it's so yummy!  Find the recipe here.)
Monday -- Beef Tamale Pie (I love me some Budget Bytes!  Almost always proves to be delish!  We're excited to try this recipe, but with my homemade cornbread.)
Tuesday -- Beefy Vegetable Noodle Soup  (This is actually my own concoction!!  See the post here.)
Wednesday -- Italian Sausage/Mushroom/Bell Pepper Saute (My parents do this on the grill.  We're going to do it on the stovetop.  Marinate the veggies in Italian Dressing and then saute them with the sausage.)
Friday -- Easy Peazy Spaghetti dinner.  We love love love Totta's Italian Sausage and V's Spaghetti Sauce.  It just so happens that Michael's family is responsible for both of those brands!
Sunday -- Cheesy Chicken and Rice.  This was one of the most recent recipes I put on the blog.  And like I said before -- stupid easy.

Happy eating!!