Day 4: Epernay & Champagne!

What better way to spend New Year's Eve day than by checking out where some of the finest bubbly comes from- the cellars of Moet & Chandon. When a dear friend recommended doing a champagne cellar tour- I had to research to check out the possibility. And lo and behold- it was a short and relatively cheap train ride away. Yippee! 

A shot from the train. Beautiful countryside...

Epernay is such a quaint, pretty village in north eastern France, right smack in the middle of champagne country. We got there with a little time to spare before our tour. So we grabbed some yummy lunch (more croque monsieurs and fries mmm...) and walked around town. Of course, being in small town France- everything was closed for the lunch hour. Oh well... 

It didn't take much to find the champagne house. 

A statue of the Dom... 

When we went downstairs for our tour- it was rows and rows of bottles. All 3 levels of the cellars take up about 23 km. It was amazing... including all of the magnums of Dom Perignon. 

A chandelier made of champagne flutes... Tres cool. 

Those are some big bottles... 

After the tour- of course there was a tasting! 

After our tour we took the train back to Paris. We cleaned up and went off towards the Eiffel Tower to hunt for somewhere to have dinner. We got lucky and found a delicious cafe/bistro.  In our quest to have lots of "authentic" French cuisine- Mike ordered some escargot. And for dessert, we had French toast- or just toast. It was sooo yummy!! 

After dinner, we walked the few short blocks toward the Eiffel Tower. When we got near, it was crazy- there were police in riot gear all set up. Made me a little nervous- but better to be prepared I guess. Luckily, there were no problems when we were down there, other than the huge crowd trying to get back onto the metro after the new year. 

We found a good little spot right across the street from the tower on the river. All they have at midnight is the lights show that they do every hour every other night, but it was still cool. 

Starting the New Year off :0) 

Love that we got to start 2014 beneath the Eiffel Tower. There were no fireworks, :( but it was definitely a once in a lifetime event. 

Day 3: Eurodisney!!

La Grande Arche de la Defense. This was right outside our hotel. I've been into this arch since high school. Yet, we never went inside to go to the top. Oh well... next time. ;)

Since we got so much sightseeing done Sunday, we had some free time on our hands to figure out what we wanted to do on Monday. After checking out the metro map, we discovered that Disneyland Paris was just a metro ride away. Woo hoo! 

Seeing as how I can't ride any rides, we decided to just walk around Disney Village, which is like Downtown Disney- shops and restaurants. It was sooo cold, but fun none the less. From what I gathered- they have pretty much the same rides as Disney World. As you can see- there's the Tower of Terror. 

We ate lunch at a cute little German themed restaurant. Yummy food- awfully slow service. But, we didn't have anywhere to get- and again it was cold outside- so what the hey!

The restaurant from upstairs. 

When we returned to our room later that evening, we had a nice bottle of wine waiting for us. Can't wait til March when we open it and make our trip last that much longer. 

We just had dinner at the brasserie at the hotel. Like I said, it was COLD! Fun day!

Oooh lala: Day 2

We slept in Sunday morning (we slept in actually every day!) so since we were nicely rested, we decided to get a lot of sightseeing in. What a fun day it was!

After breakfast, we went to Sacre Coeur on Montmartre to explore the basilica. When we got there they had just started mass. Mike and I decided to have a seat and listen. It was a little confusing as it was in French and Latin. Some parts, like the Gospel reading, were repeated in English. I really liked that aspect. With all the people there to participate along with the hundred or so just walking through, what a great way to share the Gospel. What a great experience!

After Sacre Coeur, we headed to the Louvre to check it out for a bit. There was quite a line to get through security at the pyramid entrance, so we decided some lunch should happen first. Luckily there's a cafe right on property in one wing.

My yummy chocolat chaud...

My cute lunch date...

I never got to this promenade when I went back in high school. 

There is so much cool, OLD artwork there, it's just fascinating. We mostly just checked out the Italian painters and the majority of the paintings are all religious- and naked people. 

 Of course La Jaconde. Where the crowds are just obnoxious and every 5 minutes you hear the pickpocket warning over the loud speaker in about 10 different languages. 

After the Louvre, we decided to go ahead and head to the Ile de la Cite to check out Notre Dame. Along the way, we walked across the Pont des Arts. For several years now it has become a trend for couples to leave a lock on the fencing on the bridge and throw the key into the Seine as a symbol of their commitment. I couldn't not do it. :0) I'd brought a lock with me from home, but quickly realized on our walk there, that wasn't necessary. As is common in Paris- people have learned how to benefit from this financially and there are lots of vendors selling deadbolts along the sidewalk. 

 Trying to find a space. There were locks on locks on locks.

 Our lock's (the pink one) final place, near the center of the bridge.

 Notre Dame de Paris

I love this place. 2013 marked the 850th year for the cathedral. 850 years!! 

One of the rose windows

One of the doorways. Note the guy second from the right holding his head in his hands. (St. Denis) 

A statue of Charlemagne.

After walking through Notre Dame, we headed back to our home for the week. Did some major resting, grabbed a snack from the club lounge, and got ready for a late night dinner. We had dinner while cruising the Seine.

One of the many Statue of Liberty replicas in the city. 

They took pictures at the beginning and then give you options to purchase. I'm always a sucker for pictures. (Especially since there weren't going to be too many of both of us since we were alone on the trip.) I don't think Mike and I've ever passed up a chance to purchase a picture taken of us at any tourist trap. :0) 

It was a LONG, but joyful day. 

Paris: Day 1 (and 30 weeks- eek!!)

Mike and I took a wonderful honeymoon/anniversary/babymoon trip over New Years to one of the best places on Earth- Paris, France! (Be warned- I am quite a Francophile) This was the best way for me to document our trip so that I can still remember through my forgetful pregnancy brain. 

Prior to our 7 1/2 hour flight. 

It was actually not too bad. We each managed to sleep about 3 hours along the way. Best part was that we had a mini row with only our two seats. Mike could have his window seat, and I got the aisle for all my bathroom trips. Plus, they let me board early- and the lady at security at MIA, even let me skip to the front of the line- all cause I'm preggo. Woo hoo!

A short while after getting to the hotel- they sent us a bottle of bubbly to help us celebrate our anniversary! 

After finally getting to our hotel, freshening up, and finding some lunch, we only wanted to do a little sightseeing. So we chose the Arc de Triomphe & Champs-Elysees. Even though it's winter- there were ton of folks around, mostly LOTS of Europeans, and this was our first taste of the masses of people. The line to get tickets to go up was quite long. However, the actual wait time on line was not too bad. The French are so efficient. Seeing as there are over 280 steps to climb to the top- Mike and I chose to once again use the belly to our advantage and take the elevator to the top.  

From the metro stop

 Beneath the arc

 Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 

Looking down the Champs Elysees 

 From the top... Looking northeast toward La Defense where we stayed. Easy to get to and out of the way enough to not be too crowded.

'

From the top... Eiffel Tower

 What a fabulous view...

Champs Elysees- we decided after our decent from the top to start walking since it wasn't raining. We made it all the way to the end!

 The end. A new ferris wheel (which I'm against- looks like they're trying too hard to be London) and the obelisk at Place de la Concorde.

The obelisk & Eiffel Tower from Place de la Concorde

Christmas!!!

We had a fabulous Christmas day here at the Heller household. Brennan got more than he could ever think possible (I have a slight tendency to go overboard), we got to visit with some family and friends that are like family, and enjoy gorgeous weather.  I have a few photos from our day just to highlight Brennan's fun day...

The hockey end of the couch full of gifts from Santa. 

Trying out his binoculars from Aunt Becky & Uncle Steve! Can't wait to use them at a Panthers game. 

He is so excited about being a big brother in just a couple of short months! Thanks Morelands!

Showing off his hockey goalie gear.

The boys...

After opening up presents and playing a little bit. We decided to trek to visit Scott & family and love on 2 week old cousin Ethan. It's wonderful having Scott & Sharon close by and I know the little boys will love having a cousin close by to grow up with.

After a short visit, we went to hang out with Brennan's Godfamily for the afternoon. Meant to get a picture of our view of the ocean. Great to look at on Christmas!

 Can't wait til his Godparents move back to South Florida, hopefully sooner rather than later!!

Loving on his Godmother Ana. :0)