To Carnon and Final Visit To Paris


This is the last chapter of our European Tour. After a wonderful visit with our friends in Toulouse we took yet another train, this time to Montpellier, France.  We were picked up and driven to Carnon by our friends, Mr. and Mme. Revel who are the parents of our neighbours in Whitehorse.  I have known them for about 15 years and we even stayed at their Carnon summer condo, when the chilren were babies.  I last saw them about a year ago, when they visited their daughter in Whitehorse. Shannon remembered the place and enjoyed the beach.  Christopher had a great visit with the Revels and showed them his magic tricks. We enjyed a brief visit with them before going back to Paris.

In Paris, we stayed at the Novotel near the Gare de Lyon, train station.  It was a great area, with lots of interesting shops and located right on the subway line.  We enjoyed our Euro style hotel with a swimming pool.  We had been to Paris on a few weeks before, so we knew our way around the town.  On this trip, we went to Le Louvre to see the art...to gaze at the Mona Lisa painting was Shannon's big dream.  We did that and more!  We also walked on the Champs de Elysees (there a French song written about it), which is a wide boulevard with lots of shops and restaurants along the way.  It was also the wish of Shannon and our friend, Evelyn (a neighbour from Whitehorse, visiting her cousin, Alyshia, another friend of ours) to see the designer shops like Chanel and Dior, etc... I am not very impressed with this kind of thing, but I went along for the fun of it and the girls loved it all! The jewells in these places were super expensive...Christopher and I patiently waited in the plush chairs for visitors, while the girls delighted in every detail! We also walked around the Cite area of Paris with Alyshia and enjoyed the many bridges and interesting shops. 

It was an amazing trip to Europe!  Next stop, Costa Rica!

Shannon at the very small train station in Ville Franche on the way to Montpellier.



Christopher counting our Euro change to see what we could buy on our up-coming trip to Paris.

The condo in Carnon, France- we were last here 10 years ago!

Shannon on the beach at the back of the condo.

Shannon and the Mediterranean Sea.

The kids enjoyed a game of cards with Mme. Revel.





Here we are with Mr. and  Mme. Revel.

LE LOUVRE, PARIS- Brenda in the interior of the main entrance



Shannon and Evelyn in the square outside of Le Louvre.



Christopher at the Louvre.

One of the elaborate ceilings in the Louvre.

A sphinx in part of the Egyptian exhibit.

Yes, we saw the Mona Lisa!

An example of the fine art we saw at Le Louvre.

What a place!

This sculpture was amazing because it was made with  two kinds of stone.

LOOKING AROUND TOWN- This was the Music Academy.

Ha! This was the only pick up truck we saw in Paris and it stood out!

Here is Evelyn (our neighbour from Whitehorse) in Place de Concours...
I believe Marie Antionette was beheaded here long ago...

Shannon  (Chris looking on, wondering what all the fuss is about) entering Chanel...oh, la dee dah!

Shannon was very impressed with the big designer shops in Paris- here is Dior!

Brenda, Evelyn, and Shannon enjoying the sights.

This Ferrari car caused quite a stir...we took a photo and later the police we not happy because they were doing pollution testing of this car and we had to get rid of the photos with them in it. The officer said in French, "If you refuse to erase these pictures from your camera, you will have to go to the police station."  Well, the kids found this very strange  but Evelyn later took  this photo without police officers in it!

An interesting piece of art that is "covered" so to speak, on the Champs de Elysees.

Wow! Here I am in front of a new Toyota prototype in a showroom on the Champs de Elysees.

This was the end of our walk on the Champs de Elysees to the Arch de Triomphe.

Brenda at the Novotel we stayed at near Gare de Lyon (train station).

View of our hotel room.

Here is Shannon in the hotel, it was compact but well designed.

Why a bathroom, you may ask? Well, it was a great Euro design, a part of the bathtub tucks under the sink counter and then there is a shower to the right...the WC (tiolette) was in a seperate closet sized room.

Brenda and our Whitehorse friend, Alyshia.

Shannon and Evelyn by a beautiful fountain in Paris.

Alyshia showed Christopher the best technique for throwing a coin in the fountain!

Alyshia looking very Parsienne in her adopted home (she works as an Au Pair Nanny)

Alyshia and the family on the bridge covered with locks from around the world...it is supposed to be lucky and draw you back to visit Paris in the future!

Christopher enjoying a twirling wheel near a church.

I tried out a swing too!

Of course, Christopher wanted to jump off the swing!

Nice river view along the way...

I love flowers and couldn't resist this photo!

I love Paris!

Christopher and Shannon nest to some historical public fountain.

Yes, Christopher found another park!

Evelyn and Shannon had fun too!

Shannon and Evelyn enjoyed the delicious displays along the way.

Christopher was the family navigator on the Paris Subway.

Our last night in Paris in a brasserie restaurant.  We had a great time!