Thanksgiving day

We toured a bit more, ate at a cafe` and caught the Euro Star home, followed by the tube (London underground), cab, quick bite at McDonald's, walk to get the car at Tom's office and finally HOME. It was a great experience and the kids really tried to speak French-- Bonjour.... Joe said it was great to be back in his own bed. That sums it up!

We have been blessed by one entire year in the UK. We are thankful for a good trip, family, friends, health, warm house and awesome rain gear!

Science center

We took the bus part way and exited at the Lourve. Here we caught the direct line for the Metro. We avoided 3 transfers. It worked out well. We enjoyed the science center, especially the kids hands on area. However, the FREE aquarium was a bit dismal. We have been to Japanese restaurants with nicer aquariums!

Sights from the Bus

We got on the bus and it began to sprinkle. So we buckled in and I gave the kids both hats and gloves. I turned to help Anastasia with her hat and Joe looks at me with a smirk. I asked what happened, a lesson in physics- his glove flew off of the bus. So he had one cold hand all day!

We went by the major shopping district by the Opera where they had amazing window displays for Christmas. It was so crowded, I did not let go of kids for pictures. They even had benches in from so that kids could gaze.

Merry Go Round

There are two merry-go-rounds in the vacinity of the Eiffel Tower. What a way to get to the kids. We had never before seen the double decker one. So of course, the kids had to try it out!! A good time was had by all.

View from the observation deck

We took the gondola elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We did not push our luck by going all the way to the top. But did make it pretty high. We could see most of the city, a football match, some man propose to his girlfriend, and the ice cream vendor. It was pretty amazing and the kids enjoyed it before it started getting really windy. We only waited about 1o minutes to get tickets and about 5 for the lift up. Wow. off season has it benefits!

Paris

Tom had a last minute business trip to Paris, FR. So well all headed there for the thanksgiving holiday. We even took the kids out of school.

Joe, Anastasia and I had a fun trip while Tom was busy working. We toured, ate and saw the major sights. Highlights included the euro star, merry go round, Hop on Hop off bus tour, science museum, and the Eiffel Tower. We stayed about 10 minutes from the tower so we went a few times to the area.

Heading back home

I left Istanbul with a Turkish carpet, which Tom had to lug home when he left two days later. :) I had never experienced anything like Turkish airlines, the picture does not quite capture the intensity, but I felt it necessary to take a picture of the interior. When we left, it was 70 degrees with sunshine, but when we landed at LHR, it was dismal and raining. Ah, the London autumn rainy season. At least I was greeted by happy kiddos who cleaned up and made banners for our return. All of us got on well and we had a great time. We were certainly blessed to have had such safe travels.

Spice Bazaar

We visited the spice bazaar which was an experience. Here are a few pics from it and the Grand Bazaar. Lots of wares, haggling and people!

Cafes and Palace

We hung out at some cafes and people watched. We were even sized up by some more folks wanting to sell us a rug. I finally told them we were here to sight see and what could they tell us about the palace. That was a conversation stopper and so we headed to the Topkapi Palace. It was residence of the Ottoman sultans for over 400 years (1465- 1856). We even paid the extra ticket charge to visit the harem. Tom was particularly impressed! We also visited the library which has to be the first without any books- all have been moved to the mosque. The family jewels and artifacts were impressive.

Blue Mosque

Commissioned in the early 1600's, the Blue Mosque was built to rival Hagia Sophia. It is situated on the outskirts of the former Hippodrome and we found it to be pretty impressive. It was the first of its kind outside of Mecca to boast 6 minarets drawing ones eyes to heaven. The color is not blue, in fact it is so named for the some 20,000 blue tiles lining the wall. We decided that it was pretty, but that perhaps they were too lazy to decorate as the early Christians and cover with mosaics.

The Hippodrome

The Hippodrome (a huge stadium for viewing chariot races and political events) was once the center of Byzantine Constantinople. Now only ruins remain. We were able to see the ancient Egyptian obelisks and visit the cistern which was pretty impressive.