"Paris is always a good idea"

Last week some of my dreams came true. We were able to go to France and it was glorious. Everything there was pretty much amazing. Paris was so beautiful its impossible to not fall in love with that city. I was a little worried because I have always heard mixed things about Paris but let me clear up some rumors about Paris... Parisians are not rude they are actually very pleasant. I didn't feel like anyone there hated us because we are Americans, we struggled through our French but most people would just start speaking English to us. The Eiffel Tower is one of the most amazing things. Some people have have said its not that great and I have to say I think that they are 100% crazy. Its really, really beautiful. Ok... so enough talking, here is a recap of our trip and picture overload!

10/17/12:     Landed in Beauvais Airport, rented our car and drove to DeCamp and had lunch in a cute little cafe in the port. We drove to Etretat and hiked to the top of the cliffs at the beach. These cliffs were amazing! Next we drove to L'Augeval hotel in Deauville to check in, then down to D Day beaches in Normandie. We went into town and had dinner at Barbara Pizza in Deauville. It was a such a cute shopping area where I drooled over the Hermes store. We went back to the hotel that was so charming we felt likes kings we even had a heated towel rack which I need to invest in when I have my own home.










 

 

 



 
10/18/12:     We started off our morning by going to a Boulangerie for breakfast where we filled up on pastries and drove to the Palace of Versailles. We were lucky enough to find the last parking spot in Versaille on the street just east of the Palace. I think it helped that our rental car was a Mini Cooper so we could squeeze in between the tightly packed cars. We saw the palace, the gardens, and Marie Antoinette's Le Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon. After spending a few hours here we drove into Paris to check into our hotel The Campanille. We took the subway into the city to see the Moulin Rouge. I have to say that is such a sketchy area you should not spend more than an hour there and make sure it's in the daylight. We had dinner at a close restaurant and got harassed by a guy begging for money. We tried offering him some of our dinner but that did not go well, he obviously did not want our sandwich and would only accept money which we don't carry on us when we travel. Right after dinner we went to Champs Elysees and walked to the Eiffel Tower.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




10/19/12:      We woke up early and took the subway into the city to the Arc De Triomphe  to join the Les Cars Rouge bus tour to see: the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Grand Palais, Petit Palais, Trocadero, the Eiffel Tower, Champ De Mars, Musee Du Louvre, Norte Dame, Musee D'Orsay, Place de la Concorde, Opera House, Galleries Lafayette. We spent a few hours in the Louvre and got to see the Mona Lisa. That museum is amazing. I can't believe the amount of detail in throughout the whole thing. Its so beautiful. While seeing the Opera hall and Notre Dame we were able to shop around and visit lots of Louis Vuitton shops. We ate delicious pizza for dinner and made it back to the Eiffel Tower for the light show.





 

10/20/12:      Made our way back to Beauvais for our flight back to Dublin. Sad to leave Paris but it does always feel good to be back home.

Boss turns 4

Today this little guy had a birthday. He is the happiest, silliest 4 year old around I am so lucky to be his aunt. He has so much personality for such a little boy you can't help but laugh when he is around. Happy birthday to you Boss. 

Love, Laynie and Clayton

9/22/12- 9/23/12 End of our Scotland trip

9/22/12- We spent the day driving to Culzean Castle. Clayton and I both agree, this is one of our favorites out of all of the castles we have seen. It was beautiful and kind of had a tropical fee to it. We drove through the royal Troon golf club for Clayton on the way back to Glasgow. Shopped and ate at Silverburn shopping center, then drove to the Pollok House and country park. As it got dark we drove around Glasgow to see the University and George Square. The next morning we had quite the adventure getting back to Dublin. While we made it to the airport in time, the line to go through security was  pretty line. We were cutting it way to close to reach out gate to be greeted by Ryan Air employees weighing and measuring all the bags. Here we had a few problems. #1 Clayton's bag was too heavy. #2 They told me I had to fit my very large purse in my small carry-on because I was only allowed 1 piece of baggage. So in front of everyone we made it work. I emptied all of my clothes and put everything on. That included 3 shirts, my jacket, a few pairs of socks, my scarf, and my boots. I was so hot I thought I was going to melt on the plane. Clayton did the same and had to put some of his heavier items in my bag. He also had phone charges in his pockets and wore both of his jackets. I am sure we were a sight to see! I can promise I won't do that again. Anyways, we made it home safely and were able to make it to stake conference. It was such a great trip we only wish we had more time to spend but Clayton had to get back for school.

9/21/12 Scotland

The next morning we were able to get up and start our drive south. We drove through The Highlands to Loch Lomond to see the Cameron House. After a few hours we drove to Glasgow where we stayed the night. Luckily for me our hotel was right next to Ikea. I don't know why but I am fascinated with Ikea, I could go and walk around for a few hours and not be a single bit bored.