Thursday and Friday were holidays here in Germany so Ken and I decided to take a trip. He has wanted to head to Reims, France for some time and we chose this as our weekend destination. After several calls to find a hotel that was not already booked (yes, this is a bad sign!), I just about gave up and called off the trip. In one last-ditch effort I found a Bed & Breakfast on a real working farm. I inquired about it but they were booked on the Saturday evening. Ken and I decided to stay there and take our chances finding a hotel for Saturday night. Our plans were to stay in the Rheims area Thursday and Friday and then head to Paris on Saturday. We figured we would be able to find a hotel there or drive home in the wee hours of the night if one could not be found.
We did not head out on Thursday until after 12 and so therefore did not get to our B&B in Rheims until dinnertime. We checked in, looked around, and drove to find some dinner. We ended up at a small pizza place that was very empty of customers. The B&B had a small swing set that the kids were able to play on while we figured out our plans for the next day. They also had 3 small children one of which came to play with our girls. It was a funny sight to see a little 5 year old still talking away after several attempts to tell her we did not speak French! Carissa was also very funny. She tried to talk German to the little girl even after the explanations that the girl spoke French, not German. They seemed to have a great time playing together dispite the language differences.
The B&B was in the heart of the Champagne region and there were many Champagne houses along the roads. We chose to drive one of the routes in the morning before heading into Rheims itself. The route was extremely beautiful! It weaves through towns so small you worried about blinking, afraid you might miss everything. The houses were made of large stones and were graced with flower boxes in all the windows. They were built so close to the road you felt you could reach out the window and touch them. Or maybe it was the road that was squeezed into the small area between the houses. I am sure it was not a big inconvenience for the homeowners as the road was really just a double wide sidewalk. There was barely enough room to drive our car through and I can not imagine what would have happened if we came upon another car. Luckily, the situation never arose, but it seemed we were the only ones out touring the countryside that day. The tourist season doesn’t really start until July and this was a workday in France. The towns had an odd appearance to them. Because of the stone houses and the small, barely paved roads, everything seemed dusty and almost deserted. Yet on the other hand, there was much greenery and fields full of life.
The fields were just as wonderful to see. They rolled in soft hills as far as you could see. When we reached the top of some of the hills, the sight was breathtaking. In the valleys sat small towns and grape, wheat, and cornfields spread everywhere else.
We managed to stop and visit one of the Champagne houses along the road. Philippe Doury was the name and we purchased several of the bottles to take home.
After lunch we headed into Rheims. The first stop was the cathedral. Seems Ken is on a mission to see every major cathedral in Europe and the kids and I just tag along. The outside of the church was very beautiful and ornate but the inside was rather disappointingly plain. The town and church boasts that it has the only smiling angel with it’s wings spread. However, we were unable to see it because it was covered with scaffolding. (hmmm… like ALL the cathedrals we have seen so far!) I think if we ever come across a cathedral WITHOUT scaffolding we will be shocked!
Next we took a long walk to the Piper Heidsieck Champaigne House. This brand is a big supporter of the Cannes Film Festival. Pictures of Sharon Stone, Minnie Driver, Clint Eastwood, and several others were adorning the walls. It was a fun experience. We traveled through the some of the underground tunnels (totaling 10 miles) by a small laser guided train. The kids were a bit scared of the dark at first but came to enjoy the large stacks of champagne bottles stored in the corners. When we finished the ride we tasted three varieties of champagne. (Shhhh… don’t tell!! The kids enjoyed that too!!)
We discovered a large shopping center that was open until 10 pm on Friday nights and by George, we went shopping!!! I found a wonderful selection of shoes for the kids which is near impossible in Germany! We purchased items for a late dinner and headed back to the B&B. We put the kids to bed and sneaked downstairs to share a bottle of champagne. It was very relaxing but me being the lightweight that I am, by the 4th glass I was seeing stars. Hey, we had to drink it cause we could not take it with us!
Saturday morning we woke, ate, packed up, and headed to Paris. We were almost there and I was checking the map when I realized we were going right past Disneyland Paris. I mentioned this to Ken and he said he and plans to surprise us all with tickets. I took it a little farther and begged him to go and let us find out if they had rooms available at the Disney hotel for the evening. We drove in and I was shocked at the sight! A very large PINK hotel stood in front of us. I asked about room availability and rates. Ken and I discussed it for quite some time before finally giving in to the idea. It was gonna cost a pretty penny but the look of excitement on the kids face was what sealed the deal.
We checked in to the lavish room and the kids went hog wild discovering all the fun things. The wall paper had Disney characters on it as well as the bed and TV cabinet. The bathroom mirror even had Snow White and the Dwarfs carved into the corners. It did not take them to long to find the pencils and papers to color on. It was a great room, but we had to leave in order to get to the Eiffel Tower that Carissa has been begging to see again.
The train station was right next to the hotel so we walked to the station and boarded the train. Half an hour later we arrived in Paris. The town was PACKED! This was the longest day of the year and the whole towns celebrate with a day of music. Everywhere you turned there were small bands playing in the streets. There was even a huge concert that was situated under the Eiffel Tower. This made it very difficult to navigate through the crowds with kids and a stroller. We made it to the tower, stayed for 15 minutes so Rissa and Celia could take a good look and a picture, then headed back to the hotel. There was way to much going on and I was a nervous wreck! I can officially say “I still hate Paris!” We hopped on the train and headed back. We did not arrive until 11:30 PM!! We were all dead tired and it did not take us long to drift off to sleep.
The reason you do not go to Paris in the summer!
We awoke at 6:30 the next morning in order to get ready and to breakfast in time to meet the Dysney characters that appear in the hotel. Carissa was so excited to be able to see Cinderella and tell her her name. When we got there however, we discovered that only the secondary characters appear. I was very disappointed. Having Rissa meet her favorite princess was the whole reason we splurged on the hotel.
Yeah! That’s Rissa hiding behind me!
Ken, Celia, and Mickey Mouse.
Even Sadie was mesmerized by the action.
The breakfast was wonderful and we filled up before heading out to the park. The kids were in awe! Rissa loved Sleeping Beauty’s castle and Celia loved the rides. The weather was horribly hot and there were tons of people there but every one had a great time (yes, I admit even Ken and I enjoyed it!) We took turns taking the kids on the rides and Celia cried after every one of them because she did not want to get off. Guess we need to teach her about sharing a bit more!
Sleeping Beauty’s castle.
Celia was so tired that she slept on the floor of the boat ride. She is actually sleeping… not throwing a temper-tantrum!
The highlight of the day was the “Princess Parade”. It involved all the princesses walking down the street. We had a good seat in the front and we sucked on popsicles to cool us down while we waited. Even Sadie would not let go of mine. She begged and cried every time I tried to take a bite. Rissa and Celia went crazy when the princesses appeared. We tried to get Rissa to take picture but she refused. I think she was to worried about missing something or more to the point… someone! She really liked the parade but cried when it was over because she was not able to tell Cinderella her name. It really broke my heart!
Sadie gets her first taste of a popsicle.
In order to help the situation we told her we would go to the store and she could pick out a new toy. She had been so good staying beside us and walking everywhere that we thought she deserved it. So there we were, in the Disney stores, purchasing over priced memorabilia for our kids. There was a time when I swore I would never buy into all the crap that is targeted for kids at the expense of the parents pocket book, yet there were, buying into it…… and loving every minute of it!
All in all, we came to the conclusion that Disneyland it’s self was worth it, but the hotel was not. Rissa cried when it was time to leave and could not understand why we could not live there at the hotel (she has no concept of money!) And asked if we could come back again. I told her maybe when Sadie is her age. That should buy us some time to recover our pocket book!
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