Disneyland Paris

I'll admit I was nervous about trying to cover two Disney parks in one day with an hour train ride each way. Who wouldn't be? I am used to spending a week in Disneyworld or 5 days in Disneyland. How were we going to be able to see all that we wanted to see in the short time frame we had? Well, sometimes things just click. And after a couple of hiccups, this trip was clicking.

We started off with Finley's favorite, Teacups (favorite video seen here.) After that it was onto It's a Small World. Two rides in and I was feeling confident. Finley wanted to meet Mickey, which opened at 10:30 am. We got there at opening (10 am) and after two rides it was about 10:45 am. And Mickey had a 45 minute wait. We convinced Finley that maybe we could visit him later (thank goodness) and I got nervous. The Alice in Wonderland maze was amazing. Finley actually got scared at one point because she really thought we were lost. We decided to leave Fantasyland for Discoveryland (aka Tomorrow Land) for Buzz Lightyear. The sign said 30 minutes, not bad, but it turned out to be more like 45. I was nervous again and our reservation at Auberge de Cendrillon were fast approaching. I went to Fastpass Peter Pan while Clifton and Finley rode the carousel. I got in line for our reservations at resturant opening and waited. And waited. And waited. I made it to the host stand and checked in. This isn't like Disneyworld where you have to wait. They want to seat you straight away and Clifton was not back yet. And we don't have operational cell phones. They finally made it over, apparently the carousel here is serious business and took longer than expected.

Finley got to meet Cinderella, Prince Charming, Aurora, Snow White and two mice during lunch. She hated her lunch, it was major bribery time to get her to even eat a few bites of it. I on the other hand loved my salmon tartar and the scallops with truffle risotto. I didn't love the price. At 66 Euro a pop (28 Euro for Finley who didn't eat,) let's just say this is probably the most expensive lunch we have ever shared. But it was worth it because Finley loved meeting all the princesses. And in exchange for eating a few bites, we promised her that we would get Goofy, to go with her Minnie, Mickey and Daisy dolls. We went on Peter Pan, then headed out to shop at the Emporium on our way over to Walt Disney Studios Park. The Emporium didn't have much in the way of Goofy. They only had one option and he was larger than her current set. We decided to wait and headed out.

In WDSP, we decided to check the shops on the walk in. There were only four Goofys left and we decided to go ahead and get the bigger one, I think it was the best we were going to find and it made Finley so happy. It was off to the Tower of Terror, where at first Finley measured to be an acceptable height. We got the cvoucher and all, but she was measured again and didn't make the cut. So we went to Toy Story Playland to ride the Army Parachute ride and Slinky Dog ride. Clifton rode the RC Racer while Finley and I played with Rex. She was having so much fun! It was off to the Cars ride and just as we disembarked it was time for the Cars and Stars parade. And as luck would have it, we were at the start of the route. We headed out right as the parade ended and were shocked to see Minnie at the exit. That does not happen in Disneyworld. And it was a free for all, just like a I remember as a kid.

Back in Disneyland Park, we rode Phantom Manor, Pirates of the Caribbean and played in the pirate ship and skull. There are so many interactive play areas here, Finley adored it. We checked on the time for Mickey, 20 minutes! Done. Back in Fantasyland we rode Teacups again, the Storybook Canals (walk on) and Finley's new favorite ride: Casey Jr. Train. She has ridden it in Disneyland, but they didn't let her go THREE times in a row without getting off. The operator kept motioning for us to stay on. It was awesome!

As we walked out of Fantasyland it was time for the 20th Anniversary Parade. We walked over with two minutes to show time and happened to be at the start of the parade route. This was a much bigger parade than Cars and Stars, more like what I was used to. That being said, both parks only had those two parades once each day. So we were so lucky to make them. We rode It's a Small World again since we were right there and decided to grab some dinner. After dinner it was Dumbo with a short wait...which is also a stroke of luck. We headed over to Discoveryland to ride Space Mountain (just Clifton and I,) Orbitron (aka Astro Orbiter) and Buzz Lightyear a couple more times. It was starting to sprinkle and was getting late. After 10 pm...but it was still light out. The rain finally forced our hand and we headed back to the train. I hope you can see the joy in Finley's face in all the pictures...there are a lot!

Versailles

Today was a big adventure for Miss Finley.  We took the train out to Versailles to explore the palace and gardens, with the stroller (thanks goodness!)  On Tuesdays in the summertime, the fountains are the star with a music show in the gardens.  It was quite lovely to stroll around the gardens while music played.  Finley loved exploring the mazes in the gardens and was so excited to see the all the amazing fountains.  Her favorite discovery was a branch that had fallen across one of the maze pathways.  Of all the gorgeous sites in the garden, that was her favorite...go figure.  One of the craziest things was that people are now renting golf carts to tour the gardens, which doesn't seem very French to me.
In the palace Finley loved the "bed that looked like a fort" (aka canopy) in the Dauphine's chambers.  She has requested one for her own room, too bad we recently got her a new big girl bed.  She also really like the "room where the people eat," they had one of the halls set up with a table set for dinner.  Finley was very curious as to what purpose each room served.  It was funny trying to explain the difference of a study (small and regular), library, ante-chamber, etc...  I am not even sure I know the difference.  So they were mostly rooms where friends could come over to play or read.  In Versailles Finley tasted her first ever macaroon (macaron en Francais) and she loved it.  Of course she selected the pink flavor, which meant raspberry jam inside.  She wasn't as taken with the jam, but she adored the cookie.  Next time, I think I may force her to get a chocolate one.  We headed back to Paris for dinner in town, Finley requested pasta so we found a lovely place, Chez Livio, nearby our hotel.  Finley got her pasta and even got a special lollipop treat from our server.  Tomorrow is Disneyland and Finley is ready!

Paris: Day One (Should Be Two)

Bon Jour from Paris! We were due to arrive yesterday at mid-day, but the ever stellar (sarcasm)United cancelled our flight out of Dulles on Saturday evening. So we were stranded in Virginia for nearly 24 hours. The only silver lining was that at least I got to have a crabcake sandwich while we were there. Finley did great on the flights. She has been practicing her French and was most excited to see the Eiffel Tower. After a quick breakfast this morning, we took the Metro over to the Eiffel Tower. Turns out there was only one lift operational (which was supposed to have been completed May 1) so that line was absolutely crazy. We headed straight for a boat sightseeing tour and nearly walked right on. It was quite warm once we got on the boat and into the sun. Finley's favorite part of the boat "the phone." It played music and gave a running commentary on the sites. She kept saying she was calling Jack Black on the phone and he wasn't answering. Note her adorable smocked Eiffel Tower and pink poodle jumper...yes, I am that mom (so embarassing!)
After the boat cruise concluded, we decided it was probably time to head back to our hotel to rest for a bit. None of us had slept as much as we would have wanted to on the plane ride over. We (as in Clifton) had decided not to take the stroller, which just exhausted Finley. As soon as we got on the Metro, she was out.After we all got good naps, we headed out for dinner at Pasco. Pasco was absolutely delicious, Clifton had duck, I had Turbot and Finley had cake, ice cream and chocolate sauce. If you are in Paris, I highly recommend this restaurant. Both Clifton and I agreed our entrees were delicious. The menu was only in French, so that provided some entertainment while we tried to figure it all out. Finley decided to provide the patrons with some entertainment by singing happy birthday to herself and all her imaginary friends, including clapping and blowing out the candle. We walked over to the Eiffel Tower to play around a bit in the park and see if the line had reduced any. It had, but it was already 10:30 pm, so we decided to head back to our hotel, we have a big day in Versailles planned for tomorrow.

Happy Birthday, Ava Kate!

Ava Kate is turning four later this summer, but we celebrated her birthday last week at Pump It Up.  We had been to Pump It Up that morning for Rohan's birthday party.  Ava Kate's party was in the evening and the lights were off, so it was like a whole new party.  Finley had a blast playing with all her playgroup pals and was even more excited because Max was at Ava Kate's party.  More pizza, more cake and one tired Finley.  Happy birthday to Ava Kate.

Happy Birthday, Rohan!

Last Saturday was Rohan's birthday party at Pump It Up. Finley had so much fun running and sliding, she kept asking Rohan to go on the obstacle course with her. It was adorable. Of course the party ended with pizza and cake, so Finley was in heaven. Finley has so much fun with Rohan in her class. It was fun to play with all her classmates during the party. Happy birthday to Rohan!

Last Day of School

I cannot believe Finley's last day of school is here. They only have a half day today, so Clifton and I will be joining her for their lunch pizza party. After, we are going to take her to the new dinosaur exhibit at the Museum of Natural Science. Finley still loves school as much as she did her first day, I hope that love continues. This summer should be interesting, I hope I am able to entertain her enough so that she won't miss school too terribly much. She will still be in swim lessons and she is signed up for two weeks of gymnastics camp. We are travelling to Paris this week and visiting Maryland in July.  Here is Finley in the same adorable dress Miss Courtney made on her first day of school.

More Crawfish

Luckily, Finley's adorable Crawfish(Lobster) dress still fit for this year's crawfish boil at Kirby's.  Look at how much she has grown from last year.  Finley is stil la huge fan of crawfish, but only when Grandma peels them and cleans them for her.  She was thrilled to watch the live mudbugs crawl around.  I am not quite sure she put it together that those same creepy creatures were what she was eating later. I am so glad I have someone in the family to eat seafood with. Clifton reluctantly came with us, but as per usual, he wouldn't touch the mudbugs.

Playgroup at Night

Our playgroup friend Meera had a genius idea for our group last week.  It was her turn to host and she invited everyone over, dads included, for a backyard barbecue.  It was so fun to have all the fathers join our group.  Finley ate three hot dogs and had a blast.  There were so many wheeled vehicles to play with in the driveway, the kids were having so much fun racing around.  Finley enjoyed being pulled in the wagon the most.  I ran her up and down the drive countless times.  She and Finley S. were giggling like crazy trying to beat the bikes and tricycles.  It was very nice for all the moms to catch up while the dads entertained all the kids.  We have been so lucky to find such an amazing group of friends.

Fort!

I am not sure where she got the idea, but Finley requested that we build a fort one day after nap time.  For all you fortbuilders out there, a Snuggie is perfect for a fort.  The arms help anchor it and it is the lightweight enough to stay in place.  The Snuggie was originally purchased for a Snuggie Christmas party, but it really has come in handy more than I ever thought it would.  Finley took all her animal friends inside her fort with her along with a slew of toys for everyone to play with.  I was not allowed in the fort with her, my role was to bring more toys and more animals.  Both animal blankets made by Grandma served as walls for the animals inside.  Building forts is a favorite childhood memory of mine.  I remember building a huge fort in our next door neighbor's basement, we even had a television in one of the rooms (yes, it had rooms!)