London- day 1 & 2

London taxis
I'm in LOVE with fish 'n chips! And I must add that I bought malted vinegar so that I can eat my fish & french fries like the british- vinegar instead of ketchup!
Tower Bridge (as seen by the sign. duh!). There's a really cool museum associated with Tower Bridge, but we didn't get to see it due to time restraints. :(
I love this picture because our expressions help me recall just how bitterly cold it was!  And I also had to include another common occurence- someone helping me swap out my lenses on my camera.  Usually dad was my right hand man, but in this instance it was Chad.
The next day our itinerary was basically- British Museum. Here's us waiting for the bus. We were so sick of the metro by the time that we got to London (each time it involved the tedious process of taking the boys & any contents in the bottom of the stroller out, folding up the stroller, dad &/or Chad carrying the stroller down the steps, while me & mom carried Max & Liam) that we only traveled by bus. And I must say that the bus system in London was by far the most reliable and organized of all the cities we visited. And the added perk- the boys LOVED to ride on the top of the double decker buses.
The British Museum.  And no, this street below has nothing to do with the museum. I just saw it on the way to the museum (actually, after I'd gotten us lost on the way to the bus stop) & I thought it was pretty, so I took a picture of it.
The Rosetta Stone
I do have to add that Liam upon seeing this statue, shouted 'Look mom! His pee pee'er (spelling??) is broken! His pee-pee'er has an ouchy!"  Thank you Liam for stating the obvious.  Glad we could provide a little amusement for a few nearby tourists that day. :)
The boys only have a certain tolerance for the stroller &/or museums, so we spent a good chunk of time in the cafeteria.  When we were not in the cafeteria- Liam & Max were kept occupied by some sort of train or car.  Look at that focus!
Picadilly Square.  Mom & me found some fun shopping here as well- Zara, H&M & Mango.
Telephone booth on the left reaked of urine.  And the picture on the right is something noteworthy...and I can't remember what it is called...and i didn't know it was anything noteworthy when I took the shot. I just thought it was a cool building.  Hope we didn't miss anything big by not going inside.
And last but not least- the italian restaurant we ate in that Liam peed his pants in on the way to the bathroom but we tried to pretend like everything was normal and keep him from sitting down. Dining with kids. Sigh.

Paris- day 2

Eiffel Tower. Long line. Didn't go to the top due to our abridged version of Paris.
I love mom's expression here in the left picture. It says it all and is just something so typical of her with all her enthusiasm.
Arc de Triomphe. Also closed during our stay.
Sacre-Couer
Boarding a train for London.  To be continued...

Paris- day 1

Finally arriving to Paris! And a shot of the apartment we stayed at.
Our first pastries in Paris. And oh my goodness! It was delicious! As Chad & me recount our trip, we still go back to how amazing our first pastries in Paris were. We especially loved the quiche.
My trusty 'ole green umbrella that dad bought off of a street vendor in Rome is still kicking, sort of.
The Pantheon. No we did not go in. We did the condensed version of sight seeing since we had a day less with our little detour.
Catedral of Notre Dame
Our kids took about 2 naps a day & generally looked like how Liam looks here. And yes, they were generally up until midnight. Jet lag & two naps has a tendency to do that.
The "love lock" bridge or Pont de l'Archeveche that is near Notre Dame Cathedral. We bought our lock from a street vendor, attached it to the fence & threw the lock in the Seine river below. Awe. How romantic!
The Louvre. Unfortunately we had planned to go there the day that we ended up in Milan...not Dec. 31, the day that it was closed! Sigh.
Wish we'd thought of it earlier, but a wide angle lens is perfect for selfies!