Does Mickey Speak French?

If you know one thing about my family, it's that all things Disney are quite popular. My mom, especially, is a big fan, but the sentiments are shared by most of the family. I wouldn't consider myself as 'obsessed' as other certain family members are, but I still enjoy the parks. I went to Disneyland countless times in my childhood, and recently our family has gone to Disneyworld in Florida for summer vacation.

While planning the trip, we considered different possible destinations to visit after we'd seen enough of England. Eventually we decided that Paris would be the best, especially with the ease of access due to the Chunnel. Of course, being so close, my Mom couldn't resist the pull of Disneyland Paris and the rest of us obliged. So we dropped off the rental car which had served us well the previous 10 days, and jammed into a taxi bound for Paris.

(Okay, so maybe we didn't take a taxi all the way... St. Pancras, the London rail station where we boarded the EuroStar)

(On the platform. The high speed EuroStar trains connect London with a few Western European destinations, and aren't all that expensive)

(Adrian and I in our seats, eating breakfast. The train was great, way more roomy than flying, and better [bigger, faster, more comfortable] than any trains I'd been on in the UK)

The ride was surprisingly short. Even before we got to the channel, we were in and out of tunnels, so it was hard to tell when we were finally in the tunnel. Eventually we emerged from a particularly long tunnel, and into France. At first, it was hard to tell that we were in a new country. The green landscape and grey weather seemed almost exactly the same. Eventually the give-away was cars driving on the wrong (or perhaps, right, depending on your point of view) side of the road. A short time later we made it to Disneyland Resort Paris, two themeparks about 20 miles north east 0f Paris. There's Paris Disneyland, and the newer Walt Disney Studio Park. We spent two nights at Paris Disney, visiting both parks several times.

(Mom checking into our Hotel, with a little help from a certain mouse)

(The Entrance to Disneyland Paris)

(It's still Main Street USA, even in Paris)

(The view down Main Street, towards the castle)

The Disneyland Paris park was remarkably similar to Southern California's Disneyland, as well as Disney World's Magic Kingdom. It had the same layout as Disneyland, and most of the same attractions. There were just a few minor differences... Oh yeah, and alot more French.

(As I said, alot more French. At least it hasn't been renamed, "Le Tour des Etoiles")

(Indiana Jones was actually more of a roller coaster than a bumpy indoor thrill ride. It even had a loop!)

(Some things are the same in any language- Big Thunder Railroad)

(Adrian and I consulting a park map... An English one!)

(And of course they also had a few of the classics, like Pirates of the Caribbean...)

(and the Disneyland Railroad)

(Mom leading us in a map consultation, before heading into the Disney Studios Park)

(Another Disneyland constant, in any language or country: long lines. This one was for Crush's Coaster, a Finding Nemo themed ride in the Studios Park)

(Of course, as the movie was set in Paris, Ratatouille attractions were quite popular. They don't have a Ratatouille themed ride yet though, unfortunately)





(Dad modeling a Ratatouille chef's hat, continuing his summer vacation tradition of donning ridiculous hats for photographs)

(Main Street at Dusk)

( Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant, AKA Sleeping Beauty's Castle)

(Resting in Fantasyland, getting ready for the fireworks)

Overall, I think we all enjoyed Disneyland Paris. It was at once familiar, yet different. It allowed us to get a bit acclimated to France (the language, the Euro, etc.) while still being in a really touristy place where English was readily spoken by most. It was a good bridge between England and Paris, and definitely a worthwhile place to spend a few days. I'd go again.





Paris, coming soon.

London

London... Although my Dad and I had already spent about 10 days there over my Spring Break, it was obviously a can't miss place for our family trip. We stayed in a nice, basement level apartment in Chelsea, which turned out to be a great find. The apartment, although below street level, was well lit and roomy, and the location was amazing. Not only were we near the center city and touristy sights, we were in an incredibly rich and posh neighborhood. Adrian and I developed a hobby of counting Ferraris and Bentleys every time we went for a walk near the apartment, and regularly tallied double digits, even on quite short walks!

(Our street)

(The river Thames, as seen from an early evening walk near the apartment)

(Getting ready to eat a 'home' cooked dinner in the apartment)

Although Dad and I had already seen a good deal of the sights, we were not against seeing some of the major highlights again. We also picked a few different things to see- things that we had missed last time.

(An un-staged [honestly!] photo in front of Big Ben)

(Harrod's)

(I'd remembered some of my favorites from visiting Harrod's food hall over Spring Break)



(For example, the Octopus and Paprika Salad)

One of the best things about London is its amazing collection of museums. Modern Art, Classical Art, Science, Natural History, they have it all. Best of all, they're all free- and as we learned from Paris, our next city, that's not something to take for granted.

(Having a picnic lunch on the steps of the National Gallery)

(Inside the British Museum)

(One of the highights of the British Museum, the Rosetta Stone... sort of)

(The National History Museum. We hadn't seen this last time. It was great, an amazing collection in an equally stunning building)

(I want to shake the hand of whoever first decided to place benches in these museums. We used them often, as we regularly walked ourselves to the point of exhaustion while exploring the city)

Perhaps even more exciting than museums (for me at least) was a stadium tour of Chelsea FC. Dad and I had toured the Emirates Stadium (home of crosstown rival Arsenal FC) over spring break, so this time we took the tour of Chelsea's Stamford Bridge. While the rest of the family took a boat to the Greenwich observatory, I went with Adrian for the Stadium tour. Like the Arsenal tour, it was a great experience. Adrian and I, who are both equally obsessed with soccer, had an amazing time touring the stadium we'd often seen on TV and in video games, especially enjoying the behind the scenes aspects of it- such the media areas and player locker rooms.

(The exterior of the Stadium)


(Chelsea is one of the best clubs in England, having won the league several times in recent years)


(Adrian and I pretending to be new signings, sitting at the actual press conference desk where new players are introduced)



(View from the upper deck)



(Adrian, blending in well with the squad)

We continued our 'Cathedral Tour' in London, visiting both Westminster Abbey, as well as St. Pauls. Dad and I had toured both while in London in March, but we were able to do something new in St. Pauls this time- ascending all the way to the top, to the Golden Gallery. Last time we had only been able to go to an outside viewing area, but the very top had been closed. Think of it as going to the Statue of Liberty's crown, but not the torch (pre 9/11 of course). This time we got to go to the torch. It was amazing (and scary, for those like me, who are less than thrilled about heights and tight spaces) as we climbed up narrow spiral staircases in the inner parts of the dome. But the views were well worth it.

(The Millenium Bridge, with St. Pauls in the Background)



(Checking out the view from the lower gallery)



(At the very top, taking some of the pictures you see below)



(The view across the Thames to the Tate Modern and Globe Theatre)



(The view towards Central London)

(Anna, peering over the edge)

On one of our last nights in London, Dad, Adrian and I went to see some of the sights at night. We went to Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and Westminster, experimenting with various types of night photography. The below are a few of the pictures that turned out well.

(Trafalgar Square. Event though it's not yet fully dark, it's probably close to 1030 or 11pm)

(Big Ben)

(The London Eye)

(One of my favorite shots. Big Ben and the Eye composed into one photo, even though they're on opposite sides of the river)



(Westminster Bridge- spans the Thames between the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye)

Alright, we're nearly half way done with the vacation! Check back for notes and photos about Euro Disney next, and then Paris.

Heading South

After a few days exploring lochs, castles and lakes, we left the rugged North of England and began heading South towards London. We decided to head down the West Coast, as I'd already seen the East many times on the train, and the family had driven up that way less than a week ago.

(Mom navigating us towards Liverpool)

We stopped briefly in Liverpool- driving through the city center, and walking around the historic dock area. Of course we also couldn't miss seeing at least the exterior of Liverpool FC's stadium- Adrian's favorite soccer team in England. (Having been home only 3 weeks, the word "soccer" is already completely natural to me again, and I'm hardly even tempted to use 'football' instead).

(Liverpool from the Harbor)

(The famous Shankly Gates of Anfield- Liverpool's Stadium)

We headed further South from Liverpool, and continued our 'Cathedral Tour' (as our Gloucester Cathedral docent dubbed it, upon hearing our church-filled itinerary) in the South West of England. And perhaps the friendly docent was right. By the time we'd finished our vacation, we'd toured through no less than eight Cathedrals (in order): Durham, Gloucester, Salisbury, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, Notre Dame, Sacré-Cœur and the Sainte-Chapelle. If you keep reading over the next week or so, you'll see pictures of each in turn, but first (after Durham, obviously) is Gloucester.

(The Entrance to Gloucester Cathedral)

(Inside Gloucester Cathedral. This is the largest stained glass window in Europe! At the risk of stating the obvious, it was big)

(More Gloucester)

(Posing in the Cathedral's courtyard)

After Glouster we went to the ancient (and I don't use the term loosely) city of Bath. Mom had heard from a friend that it was not be missed, and that certainly proved to be correct. One of the oldest cities in Britain, Bath was founded by the Romans. Today, with the somewhat recent discovery of the ancient Roman Baths, the city is a mix of many different eras.

(Adrian and I getting ready to explore bath, after making time for lunch)

(A statue in Bath)

(The Ancient Roman Baths)

(Well preserved Roman artifacts)

(Sadly, they wouldn't let us go swimming in it...)

One of the biggest advantages of traveling around Britain by car, rather than rail, is the ability to see attractions outside of cities and towns with train stations. For example, Stonehenge. As a family, we agreed this was something we definitely didn't want to miss. And conveniently it was somewhat on the way to London, although pretty far in the middle of no place. We arrived too late to pay for access into the 'protected area' inside the outer fence, but still got great views (and photos) through the fence. We also went on a fun hike in the surrounding hills, attempting to discover a special view of the monument which Mom had read about in one of the tour books.

(Stonehenge)

(Posing by the fence)

(As you'll likely hear from anyone who's seen it- it's a bit less impressive in person. Smaller than one would expect. Yet nonetheless, certainly a must see)

(Adrian and I lead the way... 'Is this really a trail?')

(At the summit, Stonehenge is still nowhere to be seen)

(Hiking)

(Mom and Dad admire Stonehenge from afar)

(Ah, there it is... Maybe the other view was better?)

Coming soon- London, Euro Disney, Paris. Keep checking this space!