Bruges, Paris, Bayeux. A traveling kind of week.

Belfort (The Belfry). 366 steps to the top, and yes we did climb them.

We had quite a lot of fun traveling around. Bruges is a wonderful little city and well worth a visit if ever given the opportunity. Along with the towering cathedral and belfry, there are cobblestone streets filled with chocolate shops and canals to float down.  We thoroughly enjoyed our few days here and especially appreciated the little bits of whimsy we came across. In the square behind our hotel there was  a courtyard with several stores and random pieces of what appears to be sculpture. It turned out be playground equipment and, not the least bit surprising, we visited it at least once a day.

Sint Salvatorskathedral--Almost as tall as Belfort

On the canals

This dog is here all day long watching the canal boats and snoozing.

I friggin' love this picture. 

We spent a lot of time on this thing, trying not to fall on our butts.  We failed. Often.

   

And this thing.  Dare you to walk a straight line after a ride.

From Bruges we went to Paris and checked into our hotel, which was about a 10 minute walk to the Eiffel Tower.  It was on the top of 'to do' list but we had neglected to buy advance tickets to the top, that means you can A: stand in a really, really, really long line or B: wait in a short line, hoof it up the 700 steps to the 2nd floor, then buy an extra ticket to the stop.  We chose B and really? it wasn't so bad.    We got our supplemental tickets and headed to the top. The girls were pretty ecstatic. We hit Notre Dame, a river cruise, the Louvre, 'Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, rode the Metro and walked a ton. We did not go to the Catacombs, but not for lack of trying. We went there. We got in the line that had reached all the way around the block back to the front door. Found out it would be at least 3 hours in line. Got out of line. 

All in all, we enjoyed Paris but, and this may be sacrilege, we didn't love Paris. Maybe we weren't there long enough, or in the right neighborhood. Perhaps we spent more time doing what we were 'supposed' to do, and less than what we wanted to, but it just didn't seem to have the same allure as some of the other places we've been.

No, I'm not wearing a feather, nor is my brain exploding out of my head. Just part of the structure. You can relax.

As close as we got...

How we spent Halloween.

On the morning of Nov 1st.,  we picked up our rental car and quickly discovered that even though we got upgraded to a BMW station wagon, it still was not big enough for 4 people and almost 4 months worth of crap. Once we managed to cram everything and everybody into the car we set headed to Bayeux.  Bayeux is prime location to visit the beaches of Normandy, specifically Omaha Beach and the  American Cemetery/Memorial. It is hard to believe that a place so beautiful has such a harrowing history. 

 

Bayeux is lovely and quaint and has it's own Notre Dame, which might have been even more impressive than the one in Paris. The Bayeux Tapestry was also an interesting and unexpected highlight, depicting the rise of William the Conqueror, I only regret that we couldn't take some photos. We'll let you borrow the book!

Notre de Dame du Bayeux

How can you resist a gargoyle?