Amiens Fun Fair

We had a leisurely morning. Nic made everyone omelets for breakfast. I subtraverterd his efforts by offering Ethan a chocolate covered waffle like thing which he ate instead. Sorry Nic! Gwyneth had fun "selling" things to Nic & I in hopes of earning a few euros. She didn't make a lot of money.


Around noontime we decided to go out one last time to our favorite playground around the cathedral with a picnic. Once we got to the center of town we were surprised to see a "Sunday Market" set up all along the main pedestrian mall. This one was much larger than the usual Saturday Market. Once we got near the cathedral Nic took the kids to the playground while I walked the rest of the market. I came back with a 5 euro pair of "man capris" that can zip off into shorts. Despite my use of French the man selling the capris immediately asked where I was from and wished me a happy journey. Nic seemed to enjoy the capris so that was good. The playground was a little hot as it was in the sun so the kids played some chase instead. After a while, we went over to the front of the cathedral to get an ice cream for the kids and to ask where the restaurant that we were going to tonight was.

So we got a couple of frozen novelties at the cathedral cafe and the adults got some espresso. We enjoyed it while looking up at the cathedral. After snack time, we walked into the cathedral one last time as the labyrinth on the floor was not covered by chairs. The kids had fun running around on it and then we headed for home. We didn't get to far before we came across the other playground we frequent and so we stopped for a little playing. Nic actually went into the market in search of his soccer jersey but he came back empty handed. So we moved on and by this time the market area was packed with people. I wanted to walk by a stand that was selling earrings so Nic took the kids home while I pushed my way through the crowds. I found my 4 euro earrings and then I came home.

We had a few hours before dinner and so we packed a bit more. The kids watched a movie. We left around 7:OOPM to do to dinner at this place that was near the zoo. It was also close to something called "the Fun Fair". This is a travelling fair that stays in Amiens for 1 month with rides, and games, and restaurants (as we discovered). We went to dinner at L'Ours Noir (the black bear) which was right in the middle of the fun fair - that is it was part of the fun fair. We amazingly found it and met up with a colleague of Fabien's and his girlfriend/wife. We waited almost half an hour and no Fabien so we decided to take a seat and get started. The specialty was the "porchelet" which was some kind of tiny roasted pig. Everyone had it, and we got a hot dog for Gwyneth and some goat cheese for Ethan. Fabien showed up shortly after ordering - he had a flat tire on the highway and thus he was delayed. Nic and I had an "apertif" of some sort but now I can't remember what it was - it was good. It was a bit warm as we we eating outside and people didn't seem to be in the mood for milling around so we left to explore the fun fair a bit.

First stop was the Kentucky Derby game where you roll balls up an incline to get them into a hole. Each time you do your horse advances. Fabien really likes the game and claims to make the children cry because he wins often. On this night however, Nic would be the victor in a dramatic come from behind win. He came home with a goofy little stuffed animal that the kids can fight over now. Next stop was a fun little ride for the kids, see the video:

The ride was sophisticated enough that it took the kids picture which you could then buy. The one of Gwyneth and Ethan came out really cute and so we couldn't help but by it for another 5 euro. After the car ride, we tried bumper cars and we had ended up with a few more rides than we intended. We thought that adults could go on them but they couldn't so Ethan and Gwyneth had to use up 6 rides. It was especially amusing with Ethan who basically drove it in circles (when he could get it moving forward) and we all had a good laugh.

After than Fabien had to go and he had offered us a ride, so we left as well. (It was around 10PM now anyway). He dropped us at home and Ethan got sad as apparently he likes Fabien. During dinner he had been playing some game with Fabien which involved Ethan running up the aisle between the tables and Fabien putting his hands up like claws. Anyway, Ethan shed a few tears but he seemed to recover okay. The kids went to bed and here Nic and I are at 2AM in the morning finishing up on 5 days worth of blogs. Now it is done - yeah! Tomorrow is our last full day and I'm sure we'll have many other things to do to get ready for our 2 day trek home.

Recovering from Disney - June 27

You could say that today was a recovery day. We all took it a little slow and we don't have any pictures to show for the day. The kids spent a lot of time playing with their play sets from DisneyLand and had great fun with Nic who is able to come up with these great voices - especially the dinosaur with the lisp.

Later morning Gwyneth and I went out for one last trip to the Saturday market and some shopping in the stores. It turned out that Saturday was the beginning of some big sale or "solde" month in France and the shoppers were out in force. Gwyneth managed to spend the last of her allowance with some nice bargains - a cute porcelain box with orcas on it, a crystal necklace, and a princess figurine. We stopped at some point for a McDonald's Happy Meal where I got the evil eye for asking for 3 packets of ketchup. Apparently, the French don't use much ketchup. Anyway, after Gwyneth spent her money she was eager to get home and play again so we walked back.

Nic and Ethan weren't home as they had taken the car to go to a big sports store that Fabien had mentioned. Nic had been in search of a soccer jersey for himself. He came home with a 3 euro hat instead that is rather nice. He also noticed the hordes of people and the "soldes". Nic and Ethan got home around 4:30PM and then I went out again to go to the grocery store for dinner. Along the way I stopped back at a shop where I had seen a cute 15 euro purse which I purchased. Then I got a few things at the Carrefour. I couldn't resist the cloth shopping bag of the week which came in a nice shade of magenta. Now we have a green, blue and magenta one. They are nice because they are larger than the ones that you see in the states. Anyway, I didn't get too much as we are leaving in a few days and I was home by 6PM.

Nic cooked up the steaks I had purchased. Gwyneth had made a request for them as we had eaten them before. They were tasty but not very tender (the first time) but that didn't seem to bother her. It was another nice meal with wine and followed by cheese as we are getting used to the French ways. After dinner, there was more playing and I started to pack a little bit. Otherwise it was a bit of an early bed time for everyone.

DisneyLand Paris Day 3

Today was Friday - our last day in Disney. Again we made the push for an early start in the park. Alarm at 6:30AM and this time we were out the door by 7:15AM with our luggage as we would have to check out and store our luggage for the day. Everything went smoothly and we were at the park before 8AM this time. We had short wait at security (for it to open) but otherwise we walked straight in. We decided to skip the stroller for today as yesterday it seemed to cause more trouble than help. Ethan wanted to push it, etc.... It was nice going into the park so early because it wasn't crowded. Ethan had a little pep in his step as you can see in the video.

We had decided to start with Tomorrowland again and do the Buzz Lightyear ride and the Orbitron again since the kids liked those. We went on several times and there were no lines. I even went on Space Mountain and so now I can say that I went on one roller coaster. It was fun, but I found it a bit jarring as you were whipped around in the dark. Sorry, I'm not sure why this photo is sideways it just is. The other reason to start in Tomorrow land was to check on the "driving ride" but again it was not slated to open until later in the day so we gave up on it and headed to Fantasyland.

We were able to do several rides here with no waiting: teacups, Dumbo (the photo), the carousel, and Peter Pans's ride again. We were done with all of things and it was about 9:30AM. We then decided to head for Adventureland and Frontierland - the 2 parts of the park that we hadn't seen yet. We quickly found out that you couldn't get to that side until the park opened at 10AM. So we found that a bit frustrating and wandered around a bit more in Fantasyland. We happened to stumble upon the place that we had made a reservation for lunch where you eat with the princesses. We were shocked to discover the price - about 240 US dollars for lunch for the 4 of us. So Nic and I quickly decided that we wouldn't be doing that! The kids seemed to take it all in stride too.

The kids did a little goofing around while we were waiting for the other side of the park to open. Around this time is when Nic witnessed a guy holding up his daughter (maybe 2 or 3 years old) to pee into a drain (we assume) that was next to the Dumbo ride! I couldn't believe it. Believe me, there are plenty of bathrooms in Disney, you do not need to pee into a drain.

Next we positioned ourselves near the entry of Adventureland that was closest to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. We maybe waited 10 minutes (with a bunch of other people) and as soon as they let the rope down everyone ran over to the ride only to be told the ride wasn't opening until 10:30AM. Nic got a little "hot" at this point but there was nothing we could do so we walked on. We walked through this pirate area and almost through the Tree House (but that was closed for renovation). We found a play are that entertained the kids for a while (but did I really need to go to Disney for that?). Ethan really enjoyed this rope bridge. Gwyneth was getting hungry and a little grumpy around now, but as it was so early not many lunch places were open. Nic found some popcorn which kept her happy for a bit. We decided to try the Pirates of the Caribbean ride again and the wait wasn't too long so we went it. Afterwards, we likened it to "It's a Small World" but darker and for adults. You go around in a boat and look at dioramas of things. In a few places the boat goes down a slope for a small thrill. So it was entertaining, but again not one of Gwyneth's favorites. She tolerated it but didn't need to do it again.

After this it was close to 11AM and Nic and decided that there really wasn't too many other rides that were going to be good for Gwyneth. So we decided to go over and spend the rest of our day at Walt Disney Studios and see some shows and do the Cars ride again. While we were deciding all of this Gwyneth's mood really seemed to go down and we thought that she could be getting sick. She asked if she could go back to the room. But since we were leaving today there really was no place for us to go. We managed to get her over to Walt Disney Studios and we had lunch right away and she went to bathroom. Right away her mood improved and things were looking up so that was a relief! She was fine for the rest of the day.

One of the first things we did after lunch was grab a front row seat for this High School Musical production that was done outside. We thought it was excellent. Then we repeated all of the other shows that we enjoyed - Playhouse Disney, Stick Live, and Animagique. We had a couple of ride on the Cars ride too for good measure. By 4:30 or 5:00PM we were all tired and looking for a rest. So we left the park and went to Starbucks in the Disney Village. On the way out, we let Ethan pick out a souvenir and he picked a Buzz Lightyear play set, much to his parent's delight since he had been insisting that he wanted exactly what Gwynnie had gotten the night before. So we all had our Starbucks - Lattes for the adults and Frappachinos for the kids. The kids were able to play with Ethan's toy as there was a nice kid size table there. Once we got recharged we decided that we could muster the strength for one last hurrah in the park to go see the "Stars in Cars" show at 6:30PM. After that we would head to the train station for our train at about 8:50PM.

We got a second row seat for the show behind a family and almost had an international incident when they decided to stand up for the show. The people behind us told them to sit down but they weren't having it. I found it all a bit rude, but by now I wasn't surprised. It turned out that everyone was standing when it started anyway.

We were off to the side and so we didn't see the show from the front, but we got to see all the characters. Again in true DisneyLand Paris fashion there were times when the characters came around for autographs and the kids had to compete with each other to get one. Luckily Gwyneth got an autograph from Ariel, but that was it. Anyway, I found the whole thing a bit cheesy ... why does giving autographs have be a part of the show? Otherwise, it was nice ending to our little vacation (if you could call it that) and around 7PM we headed out of the park.

Not without one last family photo. Here is Ethan with his happy face again. I took the kids to the train station (maybe a 10 minute walk) and Nic walked over to the hotel to get our single suitcase. We managed to get some good tasting paninis in the train station for dinner and then off we went back to Amiens. Our train was right on time. (Some other trains were delayed by 2 hours or more and so we were a little worried that something was going on, but it didn't affect us at all). We were back in Amiens around 10:30PM and after the short taxi ride home we all collapsed into bed.

DisneylLand Paris Day 2

The alarm went off at 6:30AM and we were down to breakfast by 7:30AM. A little later then we had hoped for but not too bad. The kids were hard to rouse out of bed, but they said that they wanted to go to Disneyland early so we pressed on. The included buffet breakfast was actually decent and everyone found something that they liked to eat. Then we were off to the park. I think we got there around 8:10AM after the walk from our hotel. We decided to rent a stroller (8 euro) for Ethan as we knew we would be walking a lot today and that possibly he could take a nap in it. (Yeah right!) Here are Nic and the kids in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle. I did really like the castle.

We headed straight for Tomorrow land and rode the Buzz Lightyear ride 3 times I think, with absolutely no line. This was a fun one for the kids - and perhaps adults. Nic doesn't look happy does he? You rode around in a car and got to "shoot" at targets with a laser gun. Each person got their own score so it made for a little friendly competition.

Next stop was the Orbitron. A spinning ride where you could raise and lower your car as it went around. We rode it once and then Nic decided to ride Space Mountain which was right there and had zero line. So I took the kids on the Orbitron again. Gwyneth sat in her own car and I went with Ethan. Before we got going, Nic actually had returned from Space Mountain. There seemed to be some issue with Gwyneth in her own car as a rather unfriendly Disney worker was saying she couldn't ride alone from what I could gather and there was another mother with a kid there waiting to get in. (Later we figured out that we think she had counted the number of riders and had put Gwyneth with Ethan and I, but no one asked as we entered the ride and we wanted separate cars). We offered to have Nic ride with Gwyneth as he was right there outside the fence but the Disney lady wasn't happy and mumble something about being in line. (Since when are the French concerned about lines!) Anyway, no one budged and after everyone left another Disney worker told Nic to hop over the fence and get in the ride with Gwyneth. Ha ha.

Next stop was Fantasyland. We rode the teacups without a wait. The video is actually from Friday when we ride them again, but you get the idea.

We waited a little for the Peter Pan ride, the Snow White ride, and the Pinocchio ride but nothing too bad. The Peter Pan is the best of them as it gives the appearance that you are flying over everything. We got a Fast Pass (there were not many opportunities for Fast Passes in the park) and we ended up going back to the ride later. We skipped the carousel and the Dumbo ride on this day as the queue's were long by the time we got there. There were a few rides that were closed in the this section too - something with a boat (but not It's a Small World) - and that was bit of a disappointment. Gwyneth was dead against It's a Small World for some reason, so we didn't go on that one.

We walked back to Tomorrow land to try a driving ride that we had seen earlier but was not opened. One frustrating thing about DisneyLand Paris was there seemed to be a lot of things closed. We chose to stay at a hotel in the park which meant we could get in the park early (8am), but not all of the rides were operating. But then even later (10am), when the park was completely open, not all of the attractions would be open. This driving ride we discovered opened up at 11:30AM, just as we were getting there for the second time. And the queue was already huge with people who had been waiting for it to open. So we ditched that play and went for the 3D movie narrated by Rick Moranis from "Honey I Shrunk the Kids". Again, Gwyneth didn't like it and found it scary. The movie was a sensory experience that had things blow at you from under your seat. For example, at one point the movie had a bunch of mice running around and then something blew at you from under your seat to make it seem like mice were running around. (Yes I screamed a bit). After that I knew what to expect. Gwyneth hated it as she found it scary and Ethan didn't seem to be fazed at all.

By this time it was around noontime, maybe a little later and Nic and decided that we should get some lunch and go back to the hotel for an afternoon swim. The kids were exhausted and we were not ready to tackle the other side of the park today. We strolled through Sleeping Beauty's castle on the way back. While returning the stroller, Gwyneth tried on a variety of hats of Mickey Mouse hands for fun. One thing we have noticed here is a preponderance of people (not just kids) where Mickey ears, and Disney hats of various sorts. Many kids also wear full blown costumes. There were lots of princesses running around!

After failing to find a place with pizza on the walk out of the Disneyland Park we found ourselves at Cafe Mickey again. (This restaurant was in the Disney Village which was in between the parks and our hotel). Again we were treated to lots of characters. Can you name this one? We had another enjoyable lunch, if not long. The service got a little slow at one point, but the kids were entertained. The menu was the same as the one from dinner last night and we were a little more savvy in ordering and were able to save a few euro. (We ordered a regular pizza for the kids to share rather than 2 separate kids meals and the pizza was much better too). Lunch was over around 3PM or little before and we headed back to the hotel.

The kids were receptive to going swimming so we headed over to the pool. Unfortunately, the pool at our hotel was closed due to an unspecified technical problem. We were given a choice of trying again in 1-2 hours or going to the pool at the next hotel - the Newport. We chose the latter and after being asked to enter a different way, and wandering around that hotel a bit we found the pool.

It was a bit coolish for swimming but the kids and Nic went in. They had some swim-wings available and Ethan used them to great effect. He jumped in on his own a couple of times and generally enjoyed being able to swim on his own. Here he is doing a back float. It wasn't too long before everyone was ready to get out and return to our hotel.

After returning to the room, Ethan and Nic stayed in the room watching TV (the Disney Channel, what else?) while Deb and Gwyneth went out. The boys were asleep by 7:30 (yes Nic too), meanwhile the girls shopped Disney Village and obtained a Little Mermaid play set. The next day Ethan was told that he could get something similar but would insist that he wanted exactly the same thing. The girls returned at 9ish and went right to bed. No one ate dinner.

DisneyLand Paris Day 1

We spent three days (Wednesday to Friday) at DisneyLand Paris. We awoke at 6:30AM on Wednesday to begin our journey. I had spent a few anxious moments the night before as Ethan fell asleep very early and Nic casually says, "I hope he isn't getting sick." I needn't have worried. He was up and raring to go. We left a little after 7AM to walk to the Amiens train station for our 8:15AM train (actually a bus) that would take us to the TGV Haute Picardie station. The TGV (Train Grande Vitesse) trains are the "high speed" trains. The train to Disneyland did not go at top speed because it was a short distance, but it did go faster than the trains we were taking to Paris. We had an assigned car and assigned seating on the TGV train and we successfully navigated ourselves into the right spots. (You had to find the right place to stand on the platform to get into the right car). We arrived at the Disneyland station by 10:30AM. As you can see from the photo Gwyneth was happy! The station is literally at the entrance to the parks (Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios). We took the shuttle to our hotel (The Sequoia Lodge) and the kids were treated to their first Disney character - Pluto. That was exciting for them. We were all checked in by 11:30AM and we stored our luggage (since we could not access the room until 3PM) and we were on our way to Walt Disney Studios. It was a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel but we took the shuttle again this time.


We had decided to start with Walk Disney Studios since it was the smaller of the 2 parks and we were getting a late start. Right at the entrance we were treated to some more Disney Characters - Lilo, Stitch, Chip, and Dale - I think. And we were treated to the French Way of doing things. There were no lines to get a picture or an autograph. It was basically a free for all with kids and adults pushing a little bit. The first time Gwyneth sort of stood back patiently waiting but she quickly got the idea that she had to be pushy if she wanted to get an autograph. (Later there would be other places where there was a civilized line to get an autograph or photo, but many times we just saw the free for all method.).


I think we started with some lunch of the fast food variety and it was decent if not expensive. I can't remember the price, but I think close to 30 euros. We were not able to sit on the upper level as we wanted (which disappointed a few people in our party). Ethan's pizza came in the shape of Mickey Mouse which he enjoyed. After lunch we hit the park. I think the first ride we went on was a Disney Cars tilt-a-whirl type thing and it quickly became one of our favorites. It would turn out that there were only a few rides that kids liked in this park. There were some thrill rides that Gwyneth was not interested in and Ethan was too small for. There was a flying carpet ride that looked good but that was closed unfortunately. We found the characters "Buzz Lightyear" and "Remy" from Ratatouille in this section of the park. They actually had "lines" and were quite civilized so we stopped their for some photos and autographs. I think we had obtained an autograph book for Gwyneth by then (which she shared with Ethan). She had planned to use her Mona Lisa pad of paper for autographs, but it didn't seem to working out so well so we spent the 5 euros for the autograph book.


We hit a spot of good luck with the "Behind the Scenes" Tram ride. I think we had stood in line earlier but Ethan was acting up or we were hungry or something like that so we bailed. This time around we showed up and it looked like the ride had been closed and they were just about to open it. So we hardly had any wait at all. You got on a bus like thing and the drove you around something that looked like the back lot of a Hollywood studio. The "highlight" was when the blew up some truck and then some water came rushing over the Tram. Gwyneth didn't like the ride at all (too scary) and Ethan didn't like the fire. I kinda thought it was dumb. So I was glad we didn't wait in line too long.


Here we are at the Disney Cars ride again. This was later in the day while Ethan and I were waiting for Gwyneth & Nic who had decided to try Crush's Roller Coaster. It was also on this ride that I was introduced to the French way of "queueing". Basically you get in line, but then get really close to the person in front of you and/or try to pass them in the line. Earlier in the day I had this woman practically up my butt .... Nic couldn't believe it. Where the ?$!@ do you think you are going????? Anyway, back to the present, and it could probably have been predicted but Gwyneth wouldn't like the roller coaster. She doesn't like steep fast drops as she told us many times. So that right there may ended her trying any more thrill rides at Disney.


Throughout the day we saw several shows that were very good. "Animagique" was a theatrical production that starred Donald and Mickey and took you through some Disney movies. On Friday, it would turn out that we would see the show again, as it was one of Gwyneth's favorites. We would sit closer and it became more impressive because we could "see" how they did some of the production tricks. We saw a Playhouse Disney show that included a human host and then puppet accompaniment. This one was a bit crowded and everyone sat on the floor which made it difficult for the kids to see as the puppets were smallish we thought. Again, we would see this show one more time on Friday and we were savvy as how to get the kids a spot up front. In any case, the kids really liked it, especially Ethan. Bubbles dropped out of the ceiling and confetti in the shape of leaves fell out of the sky which made for some fun. The last show we saw was an animated/interactive show with Stitch. Stitch was in the form of a cartoon, but he interacts with the audience by asking questions and responding to the answers. It was quite clever and well done. Nic thought it was funny. Gwyneth and I had seen something similar involving Nemo in Disney in FL.


Around 6:30PM Ethan and I caught the "Stars in Cars" parade while still waiting for Nic and Gwyneth. We had a front row seat as this was right at the beginning and they were all heading down to do a show at the other end. Here is Mulan and Mushu .... Ethan really likes Mushu. Soon after this we left the park as it closed at 7PM and we had a 7:15PM dinner reservation at Cafe Mickey that was on the walk back to our hotel.





We discovered the benefits of the "Character Meal". The characters were plentiful and you didn't have to run over another child to get to one. Two or three characters were out at one time and they came to every table for pictures and/or autographs. We liked it so much we went back the next day around lunch time. We saw Mickey Mouse, Donald, Pluto, Tigger, Eeyore, Gepetto, Friar Tuck, Sheriff of Nottingham, Goofy, Snee, and more ..... The meal was actually very good. The kids got "kids meals" that came with the all you can eat dessert buffet. I had a shrimp salad - I think I am still suffering vegetable withdrawal and got the "complete meal" with a very good mushroom and garlic bread appetizer, lasagna, and hazelnut creme brulee. Nic is so nice he changed his dessert order after I poo-pooed his choice of the ice cream dessert. (Tomorrow he would get a second chance at the ice cream though when we came back.) I think we rolled out of the restaurant around 9PM and a good time was had by all. Nic and I were amazed that Ethan actually sat down for that long and we knew that the characters and the TV's that were showing cartoons may have had something to do with it. In any case, we were happy to have a very nice sit down meal for a change! Oh yeah, and it "only" cost us 90 euros.

We took the short walk back to the hotel - maybe 10 minutes from here. And everyone plopped into bed. We had already decided that we were getting an early start the next day as we wanted to be at the park by 8AM when it opened only to those people staying in Disney Hotels. For everyone else the park opened at 10AM.

Monday June ????? in Amiens

So I have no idea of the date, but I do know it is Monday. Today the kids and I plan to meet Nic at 1PM for lunch at Via Pizza. The French have a wacky schedule of sorts. Many places (stores etc... ) are open 10-noon and then again from 2PM-7PM. In between, 12-2PM they are having lunch ... a long lunch. We thought that we should partake of the tradition. However we got up a little late (8:30AM or 9AM) and Nic wasn't going to make it to the office until 10AM so we thought that 1PM was more reasonable. I left the house around 11AM and we did some window shopping along the way. We were in a children's clothing store when it was clear that Ethan had to poop. Perfect timing. They reluctantly let me use the potty. Gwyneth tried on some clothes but we couldn't find something that fit correctly so we left. We stopped into a book store which looked small from the outside but was rather cavernous and had a second floor. You can never tell what you are going to get around here!





We successfully met Nic and got a table inside at it was little chilly. The waiter brought us an English menu as he had overheard us talking so that was nice. The kids got the "kiddie menu" which consisted of drink, individual pizza, and ice cream. The parents went for individual pizzas as well. I had capers, olives, and anchovies. Nic had an egg, potatoes, and sausage as best I can remember. I splurged for a beer but Nic had water. I guess he had to go back to work or something. Everything was good and all in all it was a pleasant experience despite Nic threatening Ethan that we would leave with no pizza unless he settled down. In the photo we think he is experiencing pizza nirvana - check out the double fisting. He ate 7/6 th's plus a little more of an 8-9 inch pizza while Gwyneth at 3/6ths. Either he was pizza deprived or just really really hungry.



Nic and I partook of the French coffee after lunch. Basically an espresso. They all seem to come with a small dark chocolate which is a nice touch. The kids enjoyed their ice cream novelty that came with their meal as well. After lunch, we parted ways with Nic. He went back to work and I took the kids to the nearby park. Around 3:30PM I got them moving for a short trip to the grocery store then to home. Ethan was tired I think and moving extremely slowly ... of course he didn't want help. At some point he decided to walk backwards .. oh joy. To say it was frustrating was an understatement.











We made it to the carrefour and got 2 smallish bags of groceries. At some point Gwyneth announced she needed to go the bathroom and we weren't near any potty that I new of. I asked in the store and they said that one was upstairs in the complex. We went up and found it had to pay .5 euros to open the door. Well, we did that 2 times and times couldn't figure out how to get the door open! Aaargh. No one was in there so we left and just had to walk home. Of course now I was carrying Ethan and the 2 bags of groceries. Oh, and he grabbed the necklace that Nic had given me on my birthday and busted the chain. I was not a happy camper at this point, but we made it home successfully without a major accident so that was good.


Nic came home about 15 minutes later I think and he got a small dinner ready as Veronique (our apartment owner) was coming by at 7PM to pick us up and take us kayaking in the Hortillonages. (The place that we had taken the boat ride in). So the four of us went in one and she went solo. I don't know if it was the boat or just the drivers but we could not steer this thing straight for the life of us! We looked like a couple of clowns I think, but we managed a little tour through the canals. It really was beautiful at this time of night.



We saw more Great Crested Grebes. They really are spectacular to look at.
















Here we all are in one of our more calm boating moments. We were all wet when we got back to the dock. I seem to have gotten the worst of it as I was soaked all the way up to my seat including my underwear! Luckily the ride home was short.










Here is everyone (except me) after we had finished. Veronique was smart enough to wear her kayaking clothes! This entrance point was just a few steps from the kayaking club that Veronique belongs to. They had a big garage with all of the equipment and we just had to walk it a few paces down the street. It was an enjoyable evening thanks to Veronique!

Father's Day in Amiens

Our Sunday was a bit low key. It took us a loooooooooooong time to get out of the house. I think we were finally moving by 3PM. We had decided to take the car to go to the train station (a 20 minute walk) to buy the tickets to get to Disneyland. Yes, we are going to Disneyland - sleeping over Wedesday and Thursday nights. Fabien was going to be out of town on Thursday and Friday so it seemed to work out just right. And the kids have really done a fantastic job on this trip so we thought we could splurge a little on them. (The parents won't have any fun at Disneyland.) We did fairly well at buying the tickets in French - I keep wondering what this would be like if we didn't know French - in Amiens it is rare to find someone willing to speak English to you. Anyway, the funniest moment when then guy couldn't understand where we wanted to go (I guess we weren't pronouncing "Disney" correctly) and someone behind him make Mickey Mouse ears on their head. So eventually we got our point across.

After the train station we drove over the a playground that Nic hasn't been to yet, but I have been to it with the kids. It is quite a long walk - doable - but long from the apartment and so it was nice to have the car. We played a bit on the playground and it was quite crowded as it was the weekend. This object spins around which and it gets a little dangerous when older kids want to join in ... some of the smaller ones will fly off of it. We manage to survive. When I was there with the kids earlier in the trip it was empty because it was a weekday. Again, I had a conversation with a French kid about why I was speaking English and as usual we didn't get too much past the fact that I was from the United States. We played a little soccer and then we went home.

On the walk out Ethan of course had to forge his own path. Notice he is not on the walkway and in fact he was about to get stuck. Nic had to go retreive him and shortly thereafter he pee'd his pants becuase he was refusing to go and couldn't hold it any longer. We hope he will learn the lesson some day. We had a nice dinner. We cooked more of the andouiette sausages (and another kind) which went well with the salad and gnocci. We also enjoyed our expensive burgundy wine as it was a "Grand Vin". I can't remember but it may have cost 10 euro. We learned from Fabien that wines have different categories and they are price controlled within those categories. It did taste good but since I didn't do a side by side taste test with the cheaper ones I cannot tell how much better. I think we got to bed late. It is just so hard with it being light until at least 10:30PM. I've been playing (as have Ethan and Gwyneth) the mindless Pet Society game on Facebook, yet somehow I can't stop!

Other random musings .... 1) I've been noticing the pointy shoes that the French women seem to be wearing. 2) It is a bit disappointing going to Paris and not really needing to speak French at all. 3) Billboards/posters/ads are lot more provocative here. I've seen a lot of naked body parts. One day Nic and I saw something in a magazine store that was showing a woman giving a man a blow job (with the appropriate parts faded out) .... but it started to be a little too much information. 4) Everyone has these great shopping bags or baskets that they carry around for the markets and the other little stores. 5) I love walking around to everything but not always with a 3 year old. 6) People/places/stores do not like to let you use their pottys. This is hard with kids! Even the McDonald's has a sign that says the toliets are for customers only. 7) I find it annoying that nothing is open on Sunday, no stores, nothing .... restaurants have limited hours. What is everyone doing on Sunday?