Well, I'm really sorry, but we've been having issues with blogspot this week trying to get our photos onto the blog. There are a few pictures below, and I'll be trying again later, but this is our trip in a nutshell!
Adam had the opportunity to go to France through work, so that meant I did, too! He spent 5 days in southern France, then we met in Paris on Thursday at our hotel. We both had adventures getting there...me from the airport and him from Sauveterre by train/metro. But we made it safe and sound!
Right away we went to the Eiffel Tower. It was a beautiful, clear day. We went to the very top and took tons of pictures. Paris is just beautiful! We then explored the area our hotel was in. It's a quiet area but centrally located to many sights, some in walking distance, but there was also a metro station right out the front door.
On Friday, we took the train to Versailles. It is an enormous complex. Definitely a place to wear good walking shoes! It is were French royalty (King Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette etc.) lived. The gardens are beautiful. The pictures don't do it justice! While visiting Marie Antoinette's estate, we met a woman from San Diego, who also happened to be the granddaughter of a former Afghan Embassador. She was in France visiting with the current Afghan Embassador to France, who is a good family friend of theirs. Up to that point, she had been escorted all over by different friends, but was wishing she could take the train back to Paris. She'd never done it before, so we helped her get to where she was going. She told us some very interesting stories of her experiences. I guess it's always good to know friends of Afghan Embassadors, especially when in other countries!
Saturday we spent the day at the Louvre. It was very overwhelming. We picked and choosed what we wanted to see...the Mona Lisa, of course, but the Club-Footed Boy was by far our favorite!! When you only have 1 day to spend there, you look at so many pieces of art and artifacts that 1 piece looks like another, like another. (It probably doesn't help that we aren't art enthusiasts and had NO IDEA what we were looking at!) But the famous pyramid was pretty cool. It doesn't quite fit with the rest of the Louvre, but what do we know?! After we'd had enough of the Louvre, we walked to the Opera House and Galleries Lafayette (a world-famous shopping mall/mecca). This area was packed with people. We didn't spend much time there, but I'm glad we saw it.
Sunday was probably my favorite day. We went to mass at Notre Dame, which was an amazing experience. We both got goose bumps walking in. It is a stunning cathedral. However, it was a little distracting because during mass, visitors are allowed to walk around and take photos. It didn't seem like the most reverent of places. It is beautiful, though. That afternoon, we went to Musee d'Orsay. We recommend that if you only have time to do 1 museum in Paris, do that one. It is free the first Sunday of every month, as many of the museums are, but be prepared to wait in line! It is much more manageable in a few hours than the Louvre. Plus, it had more "modern" art and artists that Adam and I had at least heard of! (But that's not saying much!) It has Monet, Degas, Renoir, all those famous dead guys! Plus, the musuem is in an old train station, and the architecture is incredible.
I was set on getting my hair cut while we were there, so on Monday morning, that's what I did. It was one of the best hair cut experiences I've ever had. I had it lowlighted and cut. No one there spoke any English, but they were very nice and I was able to communicate what I wanted. I love it! While I was spending a few hours being pampered, Adam was walking the city, taking tons of pictures. After I was done, we bought day passes for the metro and went from spot to spot, taking more pictures and seeing what we could in the time we had left. We went to the Arc d' Triumph, Sacre Coeur, Jim Morrison's grave site, Moulin Rouge, and Champs de Elysees.
Tuesday was our travel day. We made it to the airport fine, but then it sorta fell apart. You take a shuttle bus to your terminal from the train station, and the 1 we were waiting for had about 100 people trying to get one with all their luggage. We all crammed on it, though. The traffic was horrendous, so the bus couldn't get us even close to the departure area. The driver just pulled over, blocking 2 lanes of traffic, and told us to unload. There we all were, in the middle of a busy road. To get to the sidewalk, we all had to climb over a wrought-iron fence. Yeah, that was fun. Thinking about it now, seeing 80 year old ladies climbing over this fence, then getting all the luggage over it, it is somewhat humorous! Luckily no one got hurt! But, we made it back to the states safe and sound. It was a fantastic trip!!
Hopefully I'll be able to get some pictures downloaded soon. Keep checking!
Here is Jebediah, our Christmas tree. "Old Jeb" comes to visist us every year, he just looks a little different each time (sometimes a bit more "jacked up" than usual, but even the ugly trees need good homes, right?!)
Here is Christmas with the Sobieski/Wobick family. There's CJ, Adam, Deklan, and me, with Uncle Jim in his spot in the recliner. 
Here is Adam modeling his new tool belt with his trusty sidekick, Brewer.
We take Brewer to a middle school track behind our house most afternoons so all of us can get a little exercise. He loves having an open field to run in! He celebrated his first birthday in Wisconsin over Christmas. I can't believe that he's already a year old!!
What a sweet present under Jebediah! Oliver made himself at home under the tree. That's his favorite place to nap.
