Last week our family took a little trip to Chester, England to celebrate the daughter’s 7th birthday. Instead of a big birthday party, we let our kids choose an “experience” to remember their birthday and an overnight trip to the zoo was chosen.

Chester, England is quite an interesting town 10 miles from Liverpool with Tudor style buildings in the city centre. We felt like we were back in time roaming the city. The kids especially enjoyed our “hotel” (I am not quite sure if you call it a hotel if it cost $30 a night) in the city centre. This is the best zoo we have ever visited, and the kids have been watching a weekly television program that takes place here (Hence the reason the daughter knows so many of the animals’ names). Here is a little video I put together about our time (Please excuse some shakiness; I still haven’t mastered walking and videotaping at the same time).

-julie

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/4634160[/vimeo]

Brad’s parents were saints and kept the kids for 3 days while Brad and I took a quick trip to Florence, Italy. I don’t know if you’ve ever had a near perfect day in life, but while we were there I think I experienced one. That is such a charming city and for the art lover in me it was quite satisfying. We had perfect weather, had advanced tickets to see the Birth of Venus (my all time favorite painting) at the Uffizi and unexpectedly got in at the last minute without wait or having to pay to see the magnificent David. Wherever we go in Europe we take a Rick Steves travel book with us. He sure knows his stuff and we always follow his advice on restaurants. He led us to a place that had excellent gelato.

I never feel more in America than when I travel to a major tourist city. There are few Americans here in our city, so when I go on vacation I enjoy the moments of hearing American English amongst the tourists. One man turned to me in line and asked a question in American English. It warmed my heart so and I just wanted to hug him. If he only knew that he had made my trip that much better. A double treat for us was seeing an older American gentleman with a cowboy hat on. Ah, I just loved it. The Italians were delightful and I loved seeing all of the dark hair and their friendliness. I couldn’t stop staring when I saw 4 Italian guys together where we were eating one day. I noticed very quickly that they all had the same suede loafers on, but were in different colors….bright red, green, blue, and purple. What a friendship they must have had to go out all wearing the same shoes. Or, maybe one of them bought the shoes for the others and they felt obligated? Italy was wonderful and unforgettable. Ciao!

For several years we have had photos of Paris from an earlier trip hanging around our house and a large metal Eiffel Tower (compliments of Target) sitting in various rooms. It started when Harper was 3 saying she wanted to go to the “Eiffel Terror”. Knowing that we would be moving where it was easily accessible to visit, we promised her a trip there to commemorate her 5th birthday. So 2 weeks ago we boarded the plane for Paris to show her the sights. Despite the rain at times, we had a great trip visiting the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Montmartre, Champs-Elysees, and doing lots and lots of metro rides. We tried many desserts, which was a favorite of Harpers and ate lots of baguettes. Each day we would try something new…chocolate flan, chocolate éclair, crème brulee, coconut tarte, tiramisu, and some unidentifiable dessert that seemed to have espresso in it, eaten by Harper at bedtime:). We collected several catalogues from fancy chocolate makers, which excited Harper more than anything. It was quite a hoot to see her carrying those throughout Paris. Brooks’s highlight was playing with his cars at Notre Dame. Since we have been home he tells us constantly that he wants to go back to “Note Dame” and “Ice Tower”. A highlight for Brad and me was the fact that we heard so many people speaking with an American accent. Since we have met very few Americans here, it was a treat to hear people speaking our home language. At one point in a restaurant we were surrounded by Americans, and I almost found myself hugging them for no reason. Anyways, Paris was fantastic. We were blessed to hang out with some friends, eat good food, enjoy a beautiful city, and show our kids an exciting place.

Julie
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