Searching for Nessie

Look at this cute little flower that I found, wait a minute, what is that in the background? Is it Nessie?
Oh no, that's just a model of Nessie we found at the Loch Ness visitor center.

Today (Day 8) was the big trip to Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle. Poor Sydney was a little confused. We kept talking about Nessie, the Loch Ness monster, so she kept asking where is was and would she get to see it. After seeing the educational film at the visitor center where they explored all the scientific explanations, (one of them on how if Nessie was a Plesiosaur, there was no way she could exist), Sydney sadly informed Kyla that Nessie died. I guess it cleared some things up for her - she got the gist of the film how a lot of people have searched, but it's never been proven that there ever was a Loch Ness monster.

Urquhart castle was fun to explore - mostly ruins now, but a lot of history which you'll have to google because I'm not a reliable source. What I got was that it was attacked so many times that they finally blew it up and moved out. My last post took forever to format so this time you'll have to click here to see the rest of the Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle Pictures.

Cawdor and beyond

Day 7: Nairn & Cawdor Castle

Today I'm thinking more pictures and less words to save myself a little time. Today we took the train to Nairn, then had to call the dial-a-bus to to Cawdor Castle.

Here are some pics from Nairn where we had a picnic at the beach and found a playground for the girls to play on. Sydney really wanted to stay and play in the sand, but we didn't have any supplies for cleaning up. She left when we said it was time to go, but not without some wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Here is Kyla at the entrance. It was filled with tons of antique furniture and historic portraits. They wouldn't let us take any pictures of the inside though. The gardens were beautiful. Sydney had great fun running around to hide in the little maze. Wallace and Gromit's Were-rabbit came to mind when I glimpsed those big rabbit ear shaped shrubs behind the garden wall. Kyla enjoyed taking multiple pictures of Sydney and the flowers.

On to Scotland

Day 6: Scottish Highlands

Not much to say about yesterday (day 5). Up at 5am to have time to take the Metro to the airport which went well and saved us at least $100 on an airport shuttle. The rest of the day was hurry up and wait for two commuter flights on EasyJet to Inverness (accent on the ness) Scotland. We did have to wait for what seemed like forever outside in this metal tunnel. After being let out of the tunnel to stand in the cold and windy rain, then we started to really appreciate the tunnel. Thank goodness we didn't pay extra for express boarding as the seating on this airline in not assigned. The girls love our new accommodations. The only one for the whole summer we were able to book through our timeshare exchange. So we are in a condo at the Scandinavian Village, a winter ski resort. We have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, full kitchen, washer/dryer and sometimes flaky internet. It’s so beautiful and green here, looks a lot like home.

Today was a day of rest, which we desperately needed. Everyone slept about 12 hours and got recharged on some cereal, computer time and cartoons. We walked into town for lunch at the pub and stopped at the grocery store in time to come back and cook some dinner. On the way the girls found a Funfair and got to pay $3 each for 15 minutes in a bouncy house which they loved. I’m going to start telling prices in pounds because it sounds better. You can then freak out silently (or not so silently) when you multiply it by two to figure out how many dollars it is, just like I do every time we have to buy something or go out to eat.


Here is something new we found at the grocery store, wheat biscuits that are found with the cereal. The biscuits are all stacked very neatly in the box. You pour the milk on and biscuit soaks it up like sponge.




Then you have to eat it quick if you don't like soggy cereal.
If you like them as much as Sydney, you have another. Don't tell her, but I tried them and they're not that great. I'm glad she likes them, someone has to finish that box of 36. I finally found something cheap here - I bought a jar of lemon curd for only 50 cents! I usually get it at Trader Joe's for at least $3.50. Everything else seems to be normally priced, if you get paid in pounds for a living.

I Danced at the Moulin Rouge

Today we slept in until 10am and the girls until 11am :-)
We tried to plan something easy and fun for our last day in Paris. We decided to go to Sacre Coeur, a church that looks like a huge white palace that we saw from afar and thought – let’s go there! It was beautiful inside and out and the view of Paris was great too. The girls found a carousel and a then we had crepes for dinner and a quick stop to see the Arc de Triomphe, where there was some kind of veteran’s march going on. On the way there we passed by the Moulin Rouge and I decided a little dancing would be appropiate (or not). Then we walked a short way down the connecting Champs Elysees, the most famous street in Paris. All I can tell you is that you can pee for free at Mickey D’s, although there are no toilet seats. Despite the jet lag and the language barrier the girls did great with all the walking and Metro riding and we had a good time.

Two Days in One

Today we had a late start, taking time to clean up the flat in hopes that someone would come to investigate our non-working wireless connection. We visited a museum that kind of looks inside out. At PompidouAll the pipes and escalators are on the outside of the museum. Inside were one kid’s exhibit downstairs and a couple floors of modern art. We discovered that the kids are used to all of the interactive museums like OMSI and CM2. They got bored very quickly by looking with no touching. There was one exhibit called “The Winter Garden” where you could walk into this white cave-like structure with black lines painted all around. This was the favorite of both girls. The exhibit for kids was all about scale and perspective. You could play with toys that were digitally projected onto a screen to make different scenes. Then we had to break for a snack at the café where prices were so high they didn’t even have them listed. Outside is supposed to be a great place for free live performances, but not much was going on except a gal playing the didgeridoo, she was quite good, I thought. Maybe more happens on the weekend and without the rain showers. After the girls trudged through the second floor of modern art we headed home for a nap in anticipation of visiting the Eiffel Tower.



This is really the only monument our girls have even heard of in Paris, so they were very anxious to go see it. We read somewhere that it was great to see at night, but what we didn’t know was that the whole escapade would take five hours. We’ll spare you the details, but it involved long lines, a chunk of cash and four elevators (round trip), 5 minutes of photos at the top at midnight, followed by closed metro lines and searching for a taxi, carrying Sydney up the six flights to our flat and going to bed 2am. After saying all that, the Eiffel tower was quite impressive along with the view from the top, and it was blue! In all the pictures I’ve seen of it at night, it looks very golden, so when did they change it to blue? Not sure, but I kind of like it.



Kid Quotes:
"Why are we having this for breakfast? ', says Sydney looking at her chicken dinner we were about to eat right after our long late nap.
"Everything that is big is …small. " Sydney from the top of the Eiffel Tower
"We walked all day and all night!" Kyla on our way home from the Eiffel Tower

First Day Out

Paris: Day 2
Last night the girls decided they had to have a snack at 1am, so after a banana, some bread and a few threats from mom everyone was asleep by 2am. Except for Kyla we were all awake at 5am and had a leisurely morning. After descending six flights in the spiral staircase of our apartment, we discovered a light rain and decided to go back and get our jackets. It was a good morning workout and it made us appreciate our ride on the Metro. Sydney had some anxiety about riding it again after our stressful experience, but after we got off she yelled, “That was easy!” Thank goodness!
Our first stop was Notre Dame and everyone was impressed by the beautiful stained glass windows. Kyla thought the red stained glass looked like fire.

Then we went to Jardin du Luxembourge, where the girls rested while Kevin went to look for lunch. We found a big playground that charged 2€ per person, but it was worth it. The girls had a great time even though it started pouring and all the parents were hanging out on the covered benches. The kids spent a lot of time on a rope climbing structure that resemble a shorter versions of the Eiffel Tower. Luckily we stayed long enough and found out from some other American moms that there was a marionette show in the building next door. A perfect place for the girls to get dry and for mom to catch a little nap. By the end Sydney had completely passed out and had to be carried several blocks to the restaurant where we decided to get dinner. She didn’t wake up well and had a little meltdown, but luckily a lot of things can be fixed with bribes of ice-cream. To see the rest of the pictures from Paris, click here.

A Crappy Day in Paris

It's kind of ironic that this is the first picture I took in Paris. I've been a little worried about Sydney's willingness to use the toilets we might encounter. She likes them to be clean, quiet and not stinky. She refused to use the one at the airport, but here is the next one we found, and she rather liked it. Whew.

Paris: Day 1

We made it! Yesterday was the longest day of my life. We are all sleep deprived and frustrated by the language barrier (wish you were here Desiree), but we made it to our apartment in Paris. The shuttle from the airport went fairly smooth; we were the last to be dropped off and ran into some rush hour traffic and preparations for Bastille Day. This gave the girls a chance for a short nap and Kevin and I a little tour of the city. After getting the key we had to take the Metro about 2 miles to our apartment. That was the hardest part. Keeping track of the girls in the crowded metro the while lugging our 2 suitcases heavy with groceries (yes we packed a family of four for two months into two small suitcases) up and down stairs and on and off the metro the most stressful part of the day. If you are going to be jet lagged in a foreign country I recommend a hotel with an airport shuttle for your first couple of nights. Who hired our travel agent anyway? Oh yea, I am the travel agent. We really need to learn some menu items in French, otherwise, like yesterday we’ll be eating a lot of ham and cheese sandwiches, croissants, and quiche with mushrooms. I did spot a KFC and McDonald’s while riding in the shuttle. There is always the grocery store at least there you can see the food. We’re glad to be here but I think we’ll be able to relax a bit more once we make it to the UK.

Kid Quote: As we were deplaning in Houston and Sydney asked where we were. Her response to my Texas was, “Do they speak English in Texas?”