The Chapmans in Paris

Recently, some friends of ours contacted us to let us know they were headed to Paris and to see if we could meet up with them somewhere. We had yet to take the kids to Paris and although we wanted to this past summer the opportunity wasn't there once Don had to go to the states for over a month during the summer. 

So we had a nice weekend in Paris over Columbus Day weekend! We took the train Saturday afternoon and didn't get to Paris until almost dinnertime. So, we checked into our hotel and met our friends near the Eiffle Tower. We enjoyed dinner with our friends (some former neighbors from Ashburn who were in Paris for a week) and then headed back to the hotel. 

On Sunday we got an early start and boarded the train to head outside of Paris over to Disneyland Paris. It was pouring rain when we got off the train. 

But we were all still happy to be at Disneyland. There are two Disney parks there. One is based on the Magic Kingdom in Florida and the other is Disney Studios. We chose to go to Magic Kingdom for the day. So, our first stop was to purchase some rain ponchos for those of us that weren't quite equipped for the rain for the day. Then we went on the Buzz Lightyear ride which all the kids LOVED! Then we headed for It's a Small World, the Tea Cups and then lunch. 

After lunch it wasn't raining so much. Thank goodness!!!! So, the rest of our day was a bit more enjoyable. There were character shows outside with Halloween themes and we enjoyed some more rides, shows and food! The boys even got to meet Darth Vader at the Star Tours ride. Overall, a fantastic day despite the rain.

Then we headed back to the train (there is a train station that goes right to the Disney parks!). It was already dark out and the kids were tired out (except for Grace who had napped in her stroller earlier in the day). Both Benjamin and Samuel fell asleep hard. The train ride was about 45 minutes and then we had to switch trains in Paris. The boys were tired, crabby and disoriented. We all just wanted to be back at the hotel. But luckily our hotel was very close to the train station... literally across the street. So, it wasn't so bad.

On Monday, we aimed for another early start but everyone was still pretty tired from Disneyland. We made it to the Eiffle Tower around 10 a.m. and met up with our friends again. We got in line for the elevators and took the elevator to the 2nd floor and enjoyed some views then continued on to the top floors. It was rather cool and windy up top with some very high (airplane like) views of Paris. The kids really enjoyed it.

After spending time in the Eiffle Tower we walked across the street and picked up some crepes (yum!) and sandwiches from one of the stands. We visited with our friends some more over lunch then headed back to our hotel to pick up bags then back to the train. 

The kids all slept pretty hard on the train ride home so I guess that's a sign that we had a good trip! They were all tuckered out.