Saturday, June 23rd (Paris, France to Copenhagen, Denmark to Newark, NJ)

Today we sign off after 4 weeks traveling across Europe. Our day started at 4:45am when we woke up to drive Matt & Allison to the train station to catch their train to Bordeaux (well Jim did and Carla tried to keep sleeping). We were easily able to drop the car off (tears in our eyes as we won’t see our little Volvo for 6 weeks or so) at Charles De Gualle and arrived in plenty of time (yes, even w/ Jobby) to catch our flight to Copenhagen. We now have a 5 hour layover in Copenhagen (gotta love these free flights) before we head to Newark for a night where we visit with Carla’s family. The one perk of the free flights on Volvo though is the free access to Business Lounges. Gotta love the free drinks, food and internet access. Jobby is enjoying a lot of beer before we get on our 8.5 hour flight!

The plane ride back was mostly un-eventful except that we had to sit just in front of the bathroom on the Paris-Copenhagen leg and almost passed out from the fumes. When we hit the ground at RDU in North Carolina we were happy to be home.

8 countries and 3,728 miles later, we are ready to arrive back on our homesoil and enjoy some free (COLD!!) tap water at restaurants, toilets we don’t have to pay for (being pregnant and having to use the bathroom all the time made for a pricey spending habit!), our own beds (a queen size not this two singles pushed together crap), gas that doesn’t cost over $6 bucks a gallon (and you thought the US was bad) and the absence of not having to pack up our stuff every few days (whoops we have to do that for the next few weeks as we move from NC to CT). We are also excited to find out on Monday whether little OB1 is a boy or a girl. Will it be our first inclination (a girl) or our latest feelings and dreams (a boy)? Only 2 days till we know!

Signing off…

Carla & Jobby

PS – a few days later, we know it’s going to be O’BOY’1 now J Welcome little baby Jobby!

Friday, June 22nd (Paris, France)

Our last day in Paris was set aside for the Louvre and for Matt and Allison to see Notre Dame (in addition to securing their train tickets on to Bordeaux the next day). Carla volunteered to escort the Proulx’s so that Jim could get to the Louvre early to see the Flemish and Northern European oil paintings and they agreed to meet up at the Mona Lisa. Jim got soaked walking from the metro to the museum in a flash rain storm so he shivered his way through the first few exhibits. Carla helped Matt navigate through the complex reservation system in French, hit the Cathedral a second time and we all met up in time to see the “most famous painting in the world.” We decided to forgo the da Vinci Code tour in favor of the standard audio guide and spent the rest of the day exploring the Italian Renaissance, Egyptian and Greek statuary and as much else as we could fit in until our feet were ready to fall off.

We then tried to meet up with Frank LaRocca who had just arrived in Paris to have our final dinner before returning to the states but a combination of receptionists who only spoke French and a lack of cellular phone communication prevented a successful meeting. It started to downpour while we were waiting near the Tour d’Eiffel but Matt and Carla thought fast and grabbed a busted umbrella out of a nearby garbage can so Jim wouldn’t be totally soaked. Matt then bought his own (which he proceeded to leave in the subway a short while later. After a nice final dinner downtown we headed back to the hotel in hopes of one final hot tub trip. Alas we were thwarted yet again when they locked the door to the pool in Jim’s face and we were relegated to packing and an early bed-time.

Thursday, June 21st (Normandy, France)

We vowed to make it to Normandy today and woke up extra, extra early to do so. Again we battled traffic, but we eventually made it to the site where the Allies invaded Europe during D-Day on June 6th 1944. The beaches are peaceful here (at least in the Utah and Omaha American sectors which have been left undeveloped) and you can really feel the history in the air. The concrete and steel remains of the man-made breakwaters used by docking allied ships are visible offshore while the hills overlooking the beaches are dotted with concrete bunkers housing cannons which made up the Nazi defense line. We watched a movie projected in 360 degrees which made us feel like we were actually in the battle and gave us a brief history lesson of the battle (Jim had watched “The Longest Day” on DVD the night before we picked up Allison and Matt so he could fill in the blanks from the eyes of John Wayne and a young Sean Connery). We walked down to Omaha Beach to look up at the natural obstacles the Americans faced including sea cliffs, pounding surf and sand dunes (not to mention the Nazis shooting at them). We then visited the American Cemetery which is a simple but powerful memorial to those who lost their lives during the invasion with seemingly endless rows of white marble crosses and stars of David. As we arrived it started to downpour so we toured the museum on-site until the weather broke then walked among the headstones and tried to help a woman from Massachusetts try to find her uncle’s grave before heading back to the car.

After touring the battlefield and the cemetery, we decided to head to Rouen for dinner and to check out the Cathedral (as well as the location where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for heresy). In Rouen, we were greeted by the sound of hundred of bands jamming out at almost every intersection large enough to place a set of drums. It turned out we had stumbled on Rockin’ Rouen 2007 where thousands of degenerate European teenagers had descended on the town to rock out and party till the riot police shut it down (seriously, we saw like 20 cops playing poker in full dress armor). Somehow we lucked out and were able to score ourselves a table right next to the town square where the local radio station had set-up a rave in the shadow of Our Lady of Rouen, a fantastic medieval cathedral which stood out against the skyline. While we sat there we saw a marching drum line, a German hofbrahaus beer band complete with dueling tuba players as well as a number of punk and rock bands. After dinner we walked back to our car taking it all in and then drove home to Paris.

Wednesday, June 20th (Verseilles, France)

We woke up at 7am and were on the road immediately, only to be crushed by the most ridiculous traffic that any of us had ever seen. We had heard a lot about how most European cities, Paris in particular, were very public transportation friendly and now we realized why… it would take 10x longer to get anywhere by car. That coupled with the high fuel prices and ridiculous toll roads had turned France into a motorist’s nightmare (particularly when compared to the orderly and high-speed roads of Germany).

We started toward Normandy, which TomTom informed us was about 2 hours away, but after sitting in traffic for almost that amount of time, we had not made it past the Paris city limits. We changed it up and decided to visit Versaille instead.

The chateau was beautiful, the gardens in particular. We took a nice long walk through the impeccably manicured trees, many of which were cut like perfect rectangles and towered more than 100 feet into the air. The walk was truly a MOVING EXPERIENCE!

We returned to tour the house itself and then headed off to see Chateau Fontainebleau.

When we got to the next Chateau however it had just closed (actually, it was supposed to close in 45 minutes, but the guards would not let us in. After Jim tried to sneak in through several entrances (and was rebuffed each time) we finally gave up and settled for a brief walk through the gardens (where were not as moving as Versailles but which featured many trickling fountains and natural streams).

We headed home only to get stuck in traffic again, but not quite as bad as in the morning. This time we got home in time to enjoy the hot tub, but only to find that it was only luke warm (it turns out that they were cleaning it). This wasn’t so bad for Carla who was able to join us for the bubbles since the temperature wasn’t too high, but generally not that much fun overall. After all this, we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner and took Carl and Ronnie’s recommendation from their visit just a few weeks earlier. Our meal at RELAIS GUERMANTE was one of the best we had in all of Europe (I know I keep saying this, but since the trip is nearing the end, I think I am confident of it this time). Champagne aperitifs, a surprisingly tasty cauliflower soup and various fish and meat dishes topped off with some creative deserts. The atmosphere was amazing and we had a grand old time!

Tuesday, June 19th (Paris, France)

Today we met our friends from Fuqua, Matt and Allison Proulx (who have in deed traveled outside the US – we were wrong – to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean), at the Charles de Gaulle airport just north of Paris and started the final leg of our European adventure. We greeted the Proulx’s while wearing classic French berets and holding a sign for “Griswolds” in homage to the National Lampoon classic European Vacation. They were enthused (or at least relieved) that their first venture to Europe began with familiar faces.

After picking them up, we dove straight into a militaristic death march through the tourist highlights of Paris, starting with the Tour d’Eiffel of course and progressing toward the Louvre and ending with an exploration of the Musée d'Orsay. By 7:30pm, they were exhausted and ready to head home for a good soak in the hot tub. Sadly, by the time we got home the hot tub had closed for the evening, so instead we went out for a nice pizza dinner and crashed with intentions of an early start on our way to Normandy the next day.

Monday, June 18th (Reims and Epernay Champagne, France)

We missed driving the roads so much so we decided to head to the Champagne region today which was about an hour from our villa. And if you are going to do Champagne, what better way to do it then go all out with Moet & Chandon. At least that was Jobby’s motto. The regular champagne tour (the cellars/caves) included a basic tasting along w/ the price of the tour. Since Jobby knew he would be drinking most of my tasting, he decided to go all out and get the premiere vintage tasting for himself! Dom Perignon or bust! We enjoyed a great tour of the cellars/caves which are located 30 meters directly below the headquarters in Epernay. There are over 28 kilometers of caves holding millions of bottles of champagne. What a site! The caves were amazing and the story behind the champagne was even more intriguing. Putting some math together we realized there is over $15 billion dollars worth of champagne in the cellars. We debated whether we should hide out in the Dom Perignon section overnight and steal a few for a celebration when OB1 arrives.

After the tour was over, we set up for our Premiere tasting in the gardens (everyone else tasted in a boring room J ). They showed us pictures of famous people who had done tastings in the same gardens – most notably Princess Diana. So there we are, in our basic street clothes tasting $150 bottles of champagne (well, Jim was drinking and Carla was barely sipping). The vintages were truly amazing and we had our first tastes of Rose champagne. The vintages were from 2000 and Jobby truly fell in love with them.

With a few glasses of champagne in Jim, we headed to Reims (pronounced Rance – these Frenchies – don’t get it) to view another Notre Dame Cathedral. This one was spectacular in its own way. First, it was nice to be in the small town and not have hoards of tourists touring the cathedral at the same time as you. It was very peaceful. Built between 1211-1311 on the traditional coronation site of the kings of France, this cathedral was probably the favorite of our trip and one of the greatest monuments of Gothic art and architecture we had seen yet. The cathedral is famous for the smiling angel on the façade.

Ahh, another relaxing, fun filled day in Paris. We had to rest up tonight to prepare for the arrival of Matt & Allison Proulx the following morning – now the adventures would REALLY begin (Matt & Allison have never been out of the US before – unless you count Canada!).

Sunday, June 17th (Paris, France)

First real breakfast at home – eggs and sausage! We were excited to not have to go anywhere for breakfast and not just eat bread and fruit. It is great having our own little villa in the French countryside.

We woke up early and took the train into Paris to catch the early mass at the Notre Dame Cathedral. This was interesting because it was in French and there were hoards of people circling the mass taking pictures of it along w/ the cathedral itself. It felt like we were part of a production. The organs were some of the loudest things we have ever heard but it was a great experience.

From there, we headed to Saint Chappelle, another beautiful church built by Louis IX in the 1240's to house relics from the Holy Land (supposedly the Crown of Thorns and part of the True Cross). It was a tiny gothic chapel compared to Notre Dame and was inspiring visual with the stained glass windows which essentially surround the entire upper floor and tell many of the stories from the Old Testament. Too bad we waited around for almost an hour for an English paper guide but it seems the English steal the guides!

Our afternoon changed directions as we decided to explore the modern art museum, The Centre Pompidou. This was drastically different from anything we had been to see on our trip thus far. The building itself was very modern and the 6 floors allowed us to get a great view of the city of Paris. We saw some great paintings from Picasso, Matisse, and Chagall but we also saw some crazy (maybe interesting) works of art.

We continued our visit of art museums by hitting up the Parisian Pablo Picasso Museum. This was our 2^nd Picasso museum of the trip (along w/ the Picasso’s we saw at Pompidou). We honestly feel like we know Picasso in and out now J Between this Museum, the Pompidou and the one in Spain, I think we saw every single one of Picasso’s works.

We ran through the rain to catch our train back to the village of Bailly-Romainvilliers and enjoyed a chill night at home feasting on some homemade chicken, veggies and couscous. Who would have ever thought that a frozen meal like that would taste so good after over 3 weeks of traveling!