“A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of Life.” Thomas Jefferson

“A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of Life.”   Thomas Jefferson

That US founding father certainly was on to something...  

Versailles selfie.

King Conner XV and his loyal subjects.

Braeden escapes the "mass" at Louis' Royal Chapel.

Eyeing the right shot.

I had some guests over in my living room.  Actually the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles.

Escape from the palace.

Paul's face right after I told him we were climbing the stairs of the Eiffel Tower instead of taking the elevator.

Step 60 of 700.  Keep going.

Hello Paris.

You shoot me, I shoot you.

Chanel and Tori - casual.

The Scandinavians.

The English.

Hurry up and take the picture.

Beautiful!!!  Sunset that is.

We've had some great weather!

Max finds his favourite thing out of the thousands of objects of art in the Louvre - a mysterious red button on the wall.  Despite my encouragement, he wouldn't press it.

Taking in the beauty of the Venus de Milo.

Andrew can't find the tiny little Mona Lisa in this enormous room of enormous paintings.

We became pros at riding the metro.  Except for when Sam C and I got left behind (and the train almost took my arm with it).

Kasmira is enjoying using her fancy camera.

Kasmira is enjoying her special falafel sandwich.

As am I.

James and I go out of our way to eat here every year - L'as du Falafel is a world famous restaurant in the centre of the Jewish Quarter.  Recommended by Lenny Kravitz. 

My lunch companions outside Notre Dame.

Yep, I'm a vegetarian.

This looks good.

This really entices me into the restaurant.

Inside Notre Dame - stained glass beauty.

More metro - we're old pros by now.

Hanging out in front of the Pantheon. 

See above.

The kids recognized this from "Now You See Me"

Behind Notre Dame.

Parisians out enjoying their city by the sunny Seine on a Sunday.

Mark and Sharon, we may need to talk......  Just kidding.  It's empty. 

Waiting for some famous Berthillon ice cream.

mmmm... rasberry rose sorbet!

Kayla about to dig in.

The moms turn for ice cream!

Metro selfie.  Is that how you spell selfie?

mmmmmm..... The Land of Chocolate...

Bruges, as we English and French speakers say, or Brugge (pronounced BREW-GGGAUH with extra phlegm preferred on the gggauh) as the local Flemish population calls it, is truly Homer Simpson's imagined "land of chocolate".  Nathalie Dumon, one of the excellent local chocolatiers, told me today that it is indeed unheard of in any Belgium town (Belgium being exceedingly famous for and Belgians being exceedingly fond of high quality artisan chocolate) for there to be such a high concentration of chocolate shops.  There are actually more chocolate shops here than grocery markets, leading the first-time visitor to conclude that the Belgian diet consists mainly of chocolate, with a few mussels and a cone of frites (fries - best in the world) thrown in for variety.  Not the case, I was assured.  But the tourists who visit have an unending variety of chocolatiers to choose from, some enticing the customers with various naughty shapes, some with bizarre and random flavours, and some, like Dumons, simply striving for the highest quality ingredients and friendly, welcoming customer service.

Moms and dads - expect some Dumons when your kids get home!  Unless they eat them all on the bus...

Bruges is a medieval city like no other, and as such the entire old town centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  We had a wonderful day climbing bell towers, visiting a vial of Jesus' blood, admiring windmills, and taking in the beauty of Michelangelo's Madonna, housed in the Church of Our Lady, and recently featured in the movie The Monuments Men.   Some of us rented bikes and rode around town like the locals, some took a boat ride through the canals, some traveled in style in a romantic horse and carriage through the cobblestone streets - but all seemed to thoroughly enjoy their first full day in Europe!

Welcome to the Baron's favourite medieval city.

As the sun rose, we took to the streets of Bruges.

We made it to the top of the Bell tower.

Their future's so bright...

Top of the tower to you!

His blood is in a vial upstairs.  This is the bottom level of the Basilica of the Holy Blood.

Windmill no longer grinding the locals grain into flour.  Impressive nonetheless.

Andrew tries to make a work of art out of Michelangelo's work of art.

On to the next piece of history!

Bruges is a beauty any time of day.  My daughter Kasmira and I.  Photo expertise provided by LJ Johnson.

goofballs.

I don't really get the ducklip selfie.  And apparently Chase, while demanding that I do it, refused to do it himself.  Jerk.

Not actually Bruges!  This was a group shot in Amsterdam behind the Rijksmuseum that I didn't post yesterday.

Beaming in the morning sun.  Is this the new poster?

Kasmira emerges from a beautifully lit tunnel of trees just outside of Bruges near the village of Damme.

Good place for photos.  Not for smells.

Just one of the many chocolatiers in Bruges.  Even the lamp posts are made of chocolate.

Rens outside his new favourite Belgian restaurant - the name of the restaurant is the same as the name of his town just across the border in the Netherlands.

Amsterdam!

We arrived early. No one is missing any luggage. It is warm and sunny. Amsterdam was awesome. The kids were tired. Apparently, I only write in short staccato sentences when jetlagged.

One of many signs letting you know where you are.  I had to kick Sammy off the top of the d.

Chanel enjoys the warm Dutch sun with the Rijksmuseum behind her.

Street entertainers abound in Europe.

No I'm not.

With one of our excellent guides in the Rikjsmuseum.

Admiring Rembrandt's masterpiece "The Nightwatch" (which is not visible to you... sorry!)

Steve Thompson decides to join the party in 17th century Amsterdam!  

Joti likes the rich ladies doll house.  This one is enclosed in a case of pure tortoise shell, and would have cost more than a big house on a canal in Amsterdam when it was created in the Golden Age of the Netherlands - the 17th century.

Kids (and adults) are tired on the long first day!

Using his best manners, Sammy tries out the handy Eco Toilet on the Dam Square.