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Other than wedding details, I see that I have not updated this since my sister’s visit to Paris.
So….after Megan left it was time for Troy and I to get ready for pack out. But…there had to be a party first! Our wonderful friends, Amber and Lucia hosted a lovely party for us with a wonderful spread of Mexican food! It was a lot of fun and our friends brought us some nice gifts…
And some fun gifts...
Our new raincoats... :-)
French license plate since we couldn't keep ours.
Everyone had a lot of fun and we are so grateful to Amber and Lucia...
I was very sad to leave Paris. I still think about our time there a lot and miss it very much.
Once back in the frozen tundra, we spent a few days in MN/WI and then began our looooooooong drive to our new home in Seattle. Other than a horrible snowstorm in Montana the trip went pretty well. Troy could only stay in WA for a week before he had to head back to Paris for a month (miscommunication with the government). Loki and I got to explore a bit of our new town, Renton. We are walking distance from a lot of stores, restaurants and bars so we are very happy with that.
My first visitor was my dear friend Theresa. I have pictures of that visit somewhere... We had a great visit and got to experience the not so great bus ride to and from downtown Seattle. Not worth saving the $40 by taking a taxi!
Theresa and I at Chateau St Michelle
We are getting married at a private ceremony at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina on Friday December 5, 2008. We are having a reception Saturday January 31, 2009 in Minneapolis.
We are registered at the following places:
Macys
Target
Bed Bath and Beyond
Williams Sonoma
Crate and Barrel
If you would like, in lieu of a gift you can make a donation in our name to:
Denver Dumb Friends League (www.ddfl.org)
or
Washington Alaskan Malamute Adoption League (www.wamal.com)
For people who do not know, we adopted Loki from Denver Dumb Friends League in 2001 and our newest member of our family, Miyah, was adopted from Washington Alaskan Malamute Adoption League in 2008.
If we personally do not get back to you on your congrats, we apologize and we thank you.
We are having a private ceremony at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina and then having a party back in MN!
My sister visited us in Paris for 2 weeks and we had a great time! Since she was there for 2 weeks it was a very leisurely visit. Most people took only a week so it was always on the go to make sure they saw everything.
She arrived New Year's Eve Day. She was able to take a nap and veg out before our New Year's Eve Party. Lots of champagne was drank and a lot of dancing was done. I think the last people left about 4 AM.
For more pictures from New Year's Eve click here
New Year's Day was a day of recovery. We were invited to a turkey dinner at our friend's, Lucia, house. Her first week was spent just walking around Paris and eating. Oh and drinking wine. :-) Here is Megan after a day of shopping and window shopping eating a hot dog in the park across from the Embassy...
Megan and I on a bridge (Eiffel Tower in the background) on our way to eat in the Latin Quarter.
Saturday was my Birthday and Megan I spent the day at Versailles. As always, love Versailles and it ended up being Megan's favorite place. We saw parts of it that I missed on the first few visits.
Self portrait on Marie Antoinette's Estate
That night Troy planned a get together withour friends at our favorite restaurant in Paris....Le Relais de Venise l'Entrecote
I am sure I have mentioned this in previous entries...all they serve is steak and fries. You sit down and the waitress asks how you want your steak done and what kind of wine you would like. The sauce is delicious and a family secret. The owner comes in before any employees and makes the sauce. Sooooooo yummy!
Megan and Sumreen
One end of the table...Nate, Kurt, Lucia and Jenny
The other end of the table...Amber, Nickie, Troy, Megan and Sumreen
Blowing out the candle on my birthday profiteroles
After dinner we returned to our apartment for champagne, presents and angel food cake that Megan was nice enough to make (Angel Food Cake is my favorite!)
Sunday we went on the tour of Champagne Domi Moreau. I think this was my 5th time there. Still love it! Going to miss it.
Megan and I in front of the giant bottle of Champagne
Megan taste testing 2 of their champagnes
Megan was ready to take this bottle filled with Champagne
Megan's second week in Paris started of with the Louvre and another hot dog in the park...this time with cheese....
and more champagne at our home...
Megan and I at Sacre Coeur
Megan checking the sights of Paris from Sacre Coeur
After a day at the Orsay we had an evening of Fondue...
and more champagne...
An evening at the Eiffel Tower....
During the winter they have a snow maker and snow shoes on the second floor so you can snow shoe around on the Eiffel Tower....
Megan with a snowball....
Megan's last day in Paris was spent at Notre Dame, Père Lachaise Cemetery, the Holocaust Memorial and dinner out in the Latin Quarter.
Megan and I enjoying wine at Demi Lune
Megan's escargot
And..........more champagne...........
It was a fantastic visit and I was very happy to show my sister the city that I love.
For more pictures of Megan's trip click here
I am sad to leave Paris but excited to start our new adventure!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!
It started off fun...started in a pub and we had a couple of pints and chatted. Then we got our clues and rules and headed off...
Here is part of our team "The Diplotards"
Troy, Amber and Wes
After about 90 minutes and still not having answered any of the clues we were not having much fun anymore. The clues were very hard! We ran into another group at one point (probably 2 hours into it) and they asked us how many clues we had figured out..."2"..."ya us too" So we didn't feel too stupid at that point.
Here is the team again after finding our first clue...
I don't have anymore pictures after this. We were hungry, frustrated and thirsty! So after 3 hours of running around Paris and still only 2 clues down (out of 7 and you are only allowed 4 hours to finish) we decided to call it a night and head to Fajitas for dinner and drinks. We never made it to the end point of the scavenger hunt. I think the Canadians won.
A gentlemen was nice enough to stop and ask if we wanted him to take a picture of us (would never happen in Paris!)
Then after lunch and a couple more pints we headed to the Jameson Distillery. While we waited for our tour to start we sat in the Jameson bar and a couple of drinks, Troy of course Jameson and Diet Coke and I had a wonderful Irish Coffee.
This was a guided tour (Guinness was not) and our guide asked for 3 male volunteers and 3 female volunteers for a tasting. One other woman and myself half volunteered and were half pushed to volunteer by our significant others and were the only female volunteers. Once we were done with the tour we were lead into the tasting room where all the non-volunteers got to choose from a nice selection of Jameson cocktails. Those of us that volunteered were sat down at a table with 5 different shots. 3 Irish whiskeys, 1 scotch and 1 American whiskey (Jack Daniels of course). I was regretting volunteering at this point. I do not like whiskey or scotch straight. I was looking longingly at the cocktails and cringing with every sip of my shots, especially the scotch! Troy took pictures of this and they are not on the computer yet, I will add them here as soon as I can.
Saturday we were up early to join a tour. We typically don't do tours but this was recommended by our friend Heider and his girlfriend Lynn and we had a lot of fun with it. If you are ever in Dublin try the Wild Wicklow tour...
http://www.discoverdublin.ie/wildcoachto
We got to see some Irish countryside, do some shopping and have a nice Irish lunch. We made one stop to look at a lake and when you got to the edge of the cliff the window was so incredibly strong that it could have knocked you over. Everyone stood at the edge or near the edge and let the wind push them back. Here is a picture of Troy and I apologize for it being blurry but it was impossible to hold still with that wind..
All you could hear was the wind and everyone laughing.
The tour ends with a walk through a monastery...
Our last day was spent shopping, lunch of fish and chips and flying home.
More pictures to come...
There was chocolate for days.....
Unfortunately we missed the chocolate fashion show but they did have the dresses on display. Some looked a little sad since some chocolate had melted off...
And I couldn't resist having a picture of a chocolate champagne bottle and Eiffel Tower...
We arrived in time to see some of the parade. We watched the parade for a bit, families from the different wine houses marched in the parade, some singing and playing music and some just marching along. There are booths set up at Sacré-Cœur with different wines and foods. You could buy a glass for as little as 1, 50 euros or buy a bottle. We walked around trying the different wines and enjoyed people watching. Once we were tired of walking we sat down for dinner and more wine. In the evening they have fireworks but we did not stick around. We started walking back and ended up at a pub trying to watch the England vs. France rugby match. We could not see much of the match due to the small television and the many many rugby fans. (France lost that night).
Here are a few pictures of the wine festival ...
Troy and Sherry at Fountainebleau
Dave and Sherry at Fountainebleau
One of the street performers we saw.
Our second day, Sherry and Dave went to Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, etc... Troy and I went to see Harry Potter at the Imax. It was pretty cool to see the last 20 minutes in 3D but not worth the money.
Our third day in London we decided to take a trip out to Stonehenge.
Troy and Sherry in front of Stonehenge
Was kind of disappointed with Stonehenge. It is something to see but the mystery of it all is slightly ruined by the ropes and all the tourists.
Our fourth day in London Sherry and Dave went on a guided tour of English Gardens and Troy and I did a whole lot of walking around London.
Our last day the 4 of us went to the Tower of London ( http://www.camelotintl.com/tower_site/in
Sherry and Dave with the Tower Bridge in the background.
Troy and I with the Tower Bridge in the background.
For more pictures of London, click here.
After returning from the South of France we went to Epernay for a tour of champagne region. This was our 3rd or 4th time but our first time seeing the vines in full bloom.
And the best part, the tasting....
Sherry and Dave after the tasting...
For more pictures from our tour click here.
That evening we went into Beynac for dinner. We went to a restaurant that was recommended from our guide book by Rick Steves. All was well but the steak - it was the worst steak I have ever had in France. Luckily we weren't the only ones that complained, according to the owner he got bad beef from his supplier. Other than the steak it was a pleasant evening.
Saturday was an early day, we had a long drive ahead of us. On the way to Paris we stopped at a town called Oradour-sur-Glane. It is a small French village that was destroyed by the Nazis. On June 10, 1944 Nazi soldiers came into Oradour-sur-Glane and executed the men, women and children and burned down the village. In all, 642 people were killed. The village has been left basically untouched since then. It is now a memorial.
Here a group of men were killed and burned by the Nazis.
Saw a number of cows just hanging out on the side of the roads.
After lunch in Sarlot we went to Castlenaud - it is a castle across the river from the Beynac castle.
http://www.castelnaud.com/castelnaud/htm
Troy with the armor
View of the Beynac castle from Castlenaud
Here is more info on the Manor and Gardens...
http://www.eyrignac.com/htmgb/historique.h
For more pictures of the Gardens click here.
After the gardens we had lunch and then went to visit the Grotte de Rouffignac - Cromagnan caves. Unfortunately we don't have any pictures, not allowed, so this is the best I can do....
http://www.grottederouffignac.fr/default
The tour was guided and in French but being in the cave was cool and seeing the drawings was interesting.
Troy and I in the wine caves
Sherry and Dave
That evening we grilled and sat in front of the fire.
Sunday was a day of relaxing. Troy and I went into Sarlot to get some groceries and then spent the rest of the day by the pool. We did go to Beynac for just a bit while Sherry and Dave took a nap. Beynac is a medieval village with "Chateau de Beynac" (castle) at the top of a cliff. Pictures of that castle to come.
For more pictures of the Villa, click here.
