Vive la France, Paris

We couldn't say goodbye to France without a quick visit to the most beautiful city in the world, so we left Annecy a little early and spent the afternoon/evening in Paris.

My friend Missy lived with her family in Paris a few years ago, and when I asked her how to spend the afternoon she told me to eat a crepe in front of the Notre Dame. So we did. It was great.

We figured that since this was a cycling trip, we should finish things out on a bike. I love Velib bikes. You can rent them all over the city, ride them wherever you want, and then drop them off. Don't worry, Ryan captured it on Strava so I've got all my stats saved. 

We thought it would be fun to ride a bit of the Tour route. This picture looks calm and idyllic. It lies. The only reason we aren't weaving our way through a parking lot is because Ryan ran the red light (scaring me silly--I am not a pro tour rider!) and we had a few seconds before the cars descended upon us again. Still, despite being a little freaked out, it was really really cool to ride on the Champs-Élysées.

We climbed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and got a great view of the city at sunset. The iphone panorama almost worked. 

Then we found a restaurant, ate a very French dinner and walked to the Eiffel Tower. We caught a cab back to our hotel around 1 AM, and called it a successful night on the town. 

We stayed at the airport Sheraton. It was crazy, because in the atrium there is a glass floor and you can see all the hustle and bustle of Charles de Gaulle, but the hotel is nearly silent. After a good (short) night's sleep we made our way through CDG, only to be thwarted by French military complete with guns ushering all travelers to one end of the airport. You know those PSAs that say, "Please do not leave luggage unattended"? Well, they mean it. The detour cost us some time and I didn't have a chance to get my Laduree macaroon gifts (sorry guys) or breakfast. By the time we got on the flight, I was starting to get my crazy on so I took half of a Xanax my doctor had prescribed as a short acting sleeping pill. Right when the calm was starting to descend upon me the flight attendant came and said, "Mr. Packer, you've been upgraded." Ba. Bam. Best words ever. First class + Xanax = happiest memories of the trip. I enjoyed every minute of that 11 hour flight. I did not want it to end. Luckily, I had a pretty cute welcoming crew to make the transition a little easier.

Vive la France, Annecy and Chamonix

We spent three nights in Annecy, which was heaven after moving EVERY SINGLE NIGHT for the previous 5 nights. And Annecy was a really cool town. There were canals throughout the city, giving it a Venice-like feel.

Some traditional dancers. I love how they are all in their 70s, except the one young couple who looks less than thrilled to be there. 

(I just watched this and saw that the quality isn't great. Sorry)

The weather was perfect most of the trip--70s--but in Annecy it rained. It didn't seem like a good idea to descend in the rain, so I followed the guys up the climb and we drove down. 

On Sunday we were lucky enough to find a church right around the corner from our hotel. 

Then we took a quick trip to Chamonix. It was absolutely gorgeous. Some of the most beautiful mountains I have ever seen. 

view from the inside the Tram

We took the tram up to 15,000 feet where you had a great view of all the mountains, including Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Western Europe. 

iphone photo--no filter

Vive la France, St. Jean de Maurienne

St. Jean de Maurienne
After Ryan's huge climb up Galibier, Telegraphe and Alp d'Huez you'd think he would crash and sleep like a baby. Nope. Up all night. But luckily he was awake enough to drive, because I had no desire to go down Alpe d'Heuz. We drove through the beautiful countryside to St. Jean de Maurienne, which we picked for its location more than anything. Although, like most French towns, it did have a charming old section. And...a McDonald's.

I was so excited to indulge in an Apple Pie, because in Europe they still fry them, like they did back in the good old days before we discovered cholesterol. Only to find that the closest thing I could find on the menu turned out to be apples and grapes, not a fried apple pie. Looks like the French discovered that cholesterol thing, too.

The guys went on a short ride and I went on a short run (and got lost) and Sandy and Lisa went on a walking tour of the city. We all met up for what was probably our best dinner of the trip. Ryan nearly fell asleep in his food, but the rest of us enjoyed it. 

The next morning we were off to Annecy. The guys were riding in the morning, so we had plenty of time to mosey on over. We stopped in Chambery and ate lunch and did a little shopping. And admired their elephant fountain. 

Me and Sandy. One quick quip about why I love Sandy Morris. We had decided to meet up in the morning at 10:30. Around 9:45 Lisa and I happened to leave the hotel at the same time. Lisa was heading to the Tourism Office and I was heading to the grocery store. We decided to go together, which was a mistake because each of our things took about 30 minutes. At 10:45 we realized we were totally late and texted Sandy. When we got back to the car Sandy was there with her luggage standing next to the locked car. We said we were so sorry, and she said, "You should be. I'm upset. It would have been nice if you'd texted me before I checked out of my room." We apologized again and she said, "I'm over it. I just had to let you know how I felt so I didn't stew about it all day." And she really was over it. It was a little thing, but could have grown into something bigger if kept inside. I loved that she was so open and straightforward and kept it all in perspective.

Vive la France, Alpe d'Huez

Alpe d'Huez
After leaving Briancon we had another long day of driving (are you seeing the trend here?) We drove the gorgeous route over the mountains--the same one that the guys were going to ride that day. It really was spectacular. All of my pictures were taken while driving down the winding road, so none of them are that great. But trust me, it was spectacular.

Rich and Sandy

Kurt and Lisa

After an hour or two we dropped off the guys at the starting point for their big climb. Then Lisa and Sandy got into the van and I hopped into my trusty Peugeot. That's when the real fun started. Earlier in the trip we'd run into trouble trusting the Garmin, as it wanted to lead us through little towns and villages--the shortest distance, but not the fastest route. Given that I was driving a stick shift for the first time in 10 years I was hoping to stay on freeways. Lisa had an old fashioned paper map and knew how to use it. And I should have listened to her, not the Garmin. Because, long story short, we got lost. And lost again. And ended up driving a whole lot of extra miles through the mountains. But I was proud of my driving skills...until Alp d'Huez. Seriously, I have PTSD just thinking about it. Alp d'Huez is a mountain town that has been a finishing spot for the Tour on multiple occasions. 

The 21 switchbacks

Add all the bikers, the huge trucks and me in a stick shift...it was not pretty. I stalled twice, and more than a little annoyed the guy in the BMW behind me. But we made it. And Lisa graciously forgave me for getting us lost. 

Ryan had a really great ride that day, over some incredibly hard climbs.  And being there made it way more fun to watch this year's Tour as they climbed Alp d'Huez twice!

Vive la France!

Ryan and his buddies have been scheming for years now how to pull off a Cycling trip...oh, I mean Couples Trip in France. Well, somehow they pulled it off and we spent 10 days with our friends the Ogdens and the Morris' exploring France's small towns and big mountains. It was great. I didn't plan a thing and just showed up. I decided that if Ryan was going to spend hours a day on his bike, I should try to work off all my croissants by running. And really, if my dad taught me anything it's that the best way to see a city is to run it. I got lost pretty much every run, because as we found out even more acutely on this trip, my sense of direction is horrible. But thankfully, the French were kind to me and guided me back home every time.

St. Remy de Provence

After flying into Paris, Ryan and I flew to Marseilles, drove to Aix en Provence for lunch and settled into St. Remy de Provence. I absolutely love this little town. We stayed there when I was 16, and it was just as charming as I remembered. There is one main street that forms a ring around the pedestrian city. Our hotel was right on the main ring, but had quiet gardens, sculptures and even a hedge maze! The next morning I went on a run around the outskirts of town, past the mental hospital where Vincent Van Gough lived. 

Bedoin

The next day we met up with the rest of the crew in Bedoin, a tiny village at the base of Mount Ventoux. Our hotel was surreal. It truly felt like a summer camp. The rooms had these tiny little beds, and there were daily activities you could participate in. The crazy thing was all of the participants were senior citizens! They'd eat breakfast in the dining room, go on a bike ride during the day, and then live it up at night. Karaoke+Dance party till the wee hours. It was bizarre-o.

The girls and I surprised the boys at the top of Ventoux. It was knock you over windy and COLD. I was glad to be in the car instead of on a bike. 

Ventoux is much prettier below the treeline. The "moonscape" is a little eerie. 

Briancon

We made the long, windy drive to Briancon the next morning via back roads, over hills, vineyards and villages. We got there late in the afternoon and I went on a run through town, where I spent more time trying to find the trail than actually on the trail. I then caught up with Lisa and Sandy in the old village. Super cool. It was built into the side of a mountaintop for protection. Everything was crazy steep. We had a fun dinner of traditional food found in the Alps--fondue, tartiflette, creme brulee. Lots of cheese, lots of cream. Delicious. 

Ella's Lemonade Stand

Ella has been asking me to do a Lemonade Stand nearly every day since April. For months I've been telling her that we can't do it until it's summertime. Today's high was 90; that excuse wasn't flying anymore. So we did it. On our very quiet street. After about 10 minutes of no "customers" Ella and Avery realized their problem: they didn't have a sign that said "Open." So they made one and let me tell you, things picked up from there.  Our customers totalled 5: me, the construction worker I paid off to come buy some, a girl driving by, a neighbor I texted and asked to come over and Danielle. 10 cents a glass--she made about $2. She paid me about 50 cents for supplies (after an econ 001 lesson from her dad), so she netted enough for a healthy trip to the dollar store. 

Jamie and Ava's Memorial Day Trip to Utah

I am joining the ranks of Lazy Bloggers, aka mom's with more than one child. Not editing photos* and link-blogging. But at least we're documenting, right?

Jamie and Ava came out for 12 days in May. We lived it up. Something new every day. Jamie blogged about it beautifully here here and here (she only has one child--go figure).

*jamie did edit these photos, just for the record

Disneyland, 2013

We took a super quick trip to Disneyland last month. We left on Tuesday morning, went to the park Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and flew home Thursday night. Grandma Sue and Grandpa Paul joined in on the fun, and boy, did we have fun. We decided that we are fair-weather Disney people. If it's not too hot and not too crowded we are all in. Luckily our trip met both of those conditions.

A few of my favorite memories...

Anna's favorite part, by FAR, was going down the slide at the Wilderness Explorer Camp. She loved loved loved it. She would get off the slide, and then dash off as far as her little legs could carry her (always in the wrong direction) to go down the slide again. When she'd get to the top she would wait for her turn with her arms folded, earning her an "Honorary Citizen" badge from the line attendant.



On our last day we realized that Ella was indeed tall enough to go on Splash Mountain. I was afraid she'd be a little scared, so we let her sit next to Grandma Sue in the back of the log. No need to worry. She loved it. Enough so that she immediately made us go again, this time wanting to sit all by herself. It was so fun to see her excited little face.

Thank heavens for Grandma Sue. The rest of us were far too queasy to do the Teacups over and over and over.

The Magic Morning Hour was great. We got to enter the parks an hour before general admission. It was a little silly to wait an hour in lines so that we didn't have to wait in lines, but...we were very first to get into the park, and ran down Main Street without anyone there. We got to walk onto a bunch of the popular rides during that time, making the rest of the day so much easier. We're sold.


When you ask Anna how Disneyland was, she will tell you, "We ate lunch with the Princesses." Thanks, Lauren, for the tip. Made Anna's trip.