Novotel Cergy Pontoise

... a boat tour of the canals. Finally, we had Belgian waffles in Belgium. They were great. I'll google the recipe when we get home.

Then we did 2 days of Disneyland Paris. It is like the regular Disney, except it was multilingual. Disney was great fun and the kids enjoyed it. We benefitted from a perfect storm of small crowds: ****** weather, weekday, during the off season. We rarely waiting in line for more than 15 or 20 ...

... very difficult and complex subject. ... And before we know it, its 10pm. The kids are tired, we have to pack, and Philippe and Caroline have an evening event to get to. We thank them for their kindness, and head downstairs. Packing, cleaning, sleeping. Our last night in Paris consists of two great experiences provided to us by the kindness of French strangers. So appropriate for how this whole trip has gone. Tomorrow, we pack up and head out of France. But we will be back someday ... thats for SURE!

... ether, with some expectation that no smart bugger is going to diddle you for all you're worth. And faith that an assurance that a confirmation will be sent by email, is really a statement of intent, that a confirmation may be sent, if we get time, and if we think it's important, and if there is no soccer on that day in Spain. So we travelled to Charles de Gaulle Airport without tickets, but hopeful that they would be there when we arrived, and do you know, they were!

... route just to spend your money. Also, the Batobus, on the the Seine is a GREAT inexpensive way to get around Paris. It stops at all the major sights along the River (which is most of the sights in Paris). It's a hop on, hop off deal and only costs 17 euros for 5 days. Stops are at the Louvre, Champs Elysees, Eiffel Tower, d'Orsay, St ...

... the river Seine and through the beautiful streets. The Lourve was our first sightseeing stop for the day and it was simply incredible. It is the most beautiful building inside and out and the works of art and history throughout are remarkable and extensive. We are told that if we walked past each piece displayed within the Lourve and just took time enough to glance, it would take us 9months to get around the whole museum. We were exhausted and overwhelmed after just ...

... the Oki Doki hostel near the old part of town, was not as easy to find as the instructions led us to believe, and after a walk in some subways, full of restuarants and shops, we eventually got a taxi. We were impressed with Oki Doki from the start! Not for nothing it had won a prize! The girl in reception was so welcoming and helpful, and spoke good English. She showed us to our room, which was called the Travellers Room, the walls ...

... hydra monster who burst out of the front of the building, sending windows a-poppin' and terraces a-snappin'! Apparently this creepy lil chap sticks his head(s) out on the hour, every hour to scare lil kids like us. A nice touch. So off we went to lunch, having worked up quite an appetite. We'd been frequenting this lil brasserie under the hotel we'd been staying in, since we had arrived, as the food was great and cheap, the wine was superb (and cheap!) and the ...

... a big day only for the fact of finding a great place that serves American breakfast! Café Parisien, near the Latin Quarter, is small and packed, but if you get there right as it opens at noon you'll be very happy. I was. Four of us went and ordered banana pancakes covered in chocolate syrup, raspberry pancakes, sausage, bacon, all the good stuff that I've been missing. It was heavenly. The French really do have amazing culinary skill, but it's the Americans that do breakfast right.

... to get around. It took almost an hour just for our plane to find its gate! After taking a bus and a couple of trains we arrived at our hotel, our room was not available (not what we wanted to hear after only a couple of hours sleep at the airport the night before) so we left our bags and went out for a walk. It was wonderful to be on streets of Paris again and in our favourite area too, the Latin Quarter. However, the European summer was much hotter than we had ...

... overlooking the Eiffel Tower from the jardins (and freezing while doing so), exploring the Louvre and its many treasures, and eating dinner at the Kebob place again due to Chris's incessant begging. It was fitting that our trip ended on the same note as it began: with us missing our train. This time is was due to a collective error in reading time. I was using Mom's mobile for a clock, and had assumed incorrectly that it updated to the right time ...