Paris and London

Lars and I are back from Paris and London. I shouldn't be traveling much the month of May, so it shouldn't be quite so hectic for me this month.

Paris was a good start for our journey, and the only part of the trip that was a vacation for me. We arrived on Thursday 21st, but spent most of the day recuperating from jet lag. We got out and about for a late dinner in a local restaurant. On Friday, we had a long walking day in Paris. We started out by walking past the Hotel de Ville (near where we were staying), and continued on to the Louvre museum. We spent four hours walking around the Louvre and looking at the many wonderful art pieces in the Louvre. After the Louvre we walked down the Champs Elysee to the Arc de Triomphe. It was a very tiring day of walking, so we took the Metro back to the hotel. On Saturday, we went to see the Cathedral Notre Dame, and then we went on the Batobus, the ferry taxi service on the Seine river. It took us to the Eiffel tower, and back to Notre Dame. Unfortunately it was extremely crowded at the Eiffel tower (the wait was well over 2 hours), so we chose not to go in, and instead took pictures outside the enormous structure. On Sunday, we walked to the Bastille, and then to the Picasso museum before our flight out to London.

In London we met up with two of my coworkers and went out to dinner on Kensington High Street. On Monday, we went out to the Tate Modern Museum of Art, followed by a trip out to Picadilly Circus, where Lars and I purchased tickets for Les Miserable in the West End. It was reminiscent of my first trip to London in 1993 when I went to see Phantom of the Opera in the West End. Tuesday started my work week. I was in London for a conference and had to work the "stand" as they call it in London for the next few days. Lars, on the other hand got to wander a bit and meet up with his niece, Tanya and her husband, Carl who have just moved to London recently. Since Carl is British he was able to play tour guide for Lars.

We got back on Friday night, and my parents were able to pick us up from the airport. My parents were also on a recent trip to New York with Marie and Michaela. Marie had to go for her friend's wedding, and my parents went with her to take care of Michaela and to house sit for my Uncle William, who's gone to Taiwan. While they were in New York they were able to meet up with my cousin Ling, his wife Teresa, and their baby daughter Charlotte. It looks like Charlotte and Michaela got to spend some play time together from Ling's pictures.

On the home front, our sunroom is finished with the exception of flooring, which we need to select and install. So that's news for the last two weeks, sorry we've been out of touch!