Our 6S Full Life

Geneva

We have a lot of stops on this trip so after 4 days we said goodbye to Paris and took a train to Geneva. For this next part of the trip we rented a car so we could get out of the cities and really explore Switzerland.

C must be growing for he is sleeping everywhere when he usually never sleeps outside of when we make him. After a bit of a rest in our room we headed out to explore Geneva. Maybe it was because we came from Paris but Geneva seemed beautiful, clean, and very relaxed. We explored lake Geneva had ice cream cones and eventually sat down for an amazing fondue dinner. After dinner we walked back over to the lake for the water spout was going and we were excited to see Geneva’s most popular sight.

In the morning we enjoyed some local pastries before heading out for a swim. The water was so clear and although a bit cold it was a fabulous way to start our day. After our swim we joined a walking tour of Geneva. It was super interesting and we now know so much more about a city we knew almost nothing about. we finished our time in Geneva with a lunch of Hawaiian Poke.

We said goodbye to another city and drove to our next stop of Broc for we had a chocolate factory tour to get to. We had so much fun at the Cailler Chocolate Factory. It was a great tour with personal audio tours. The first half we walked through rooms learning about the history of chocolate in Europe and the Cailler factory. Then we used our devices for a self guided tour of the chocolate ingredients and process at the factory. Then the real fun began with chocolate tasting. We left with a lot of knowledge and a full belly. Our evening ended at a delicious Chinese restaurant in Broc, Switzerland.

Paris Day 4

Our last day in Paris began with a morning tour of the Catacombs. Deep down under Paris where the old limestone mines once were are thousands of bones stacked in many different designs. We learned so much from the audio guide for we knew very little about the catacombs before our journey to them. It was fascinating and a definite must see in Paris.

After our tour of the Catacombs we headed to Notre Dame unfortunately it was closed and no one was allowed in so we pivoted in a city this big there is always something else to do. We walked the city had a delicious lunch and yummy treats at Baguette Paris. Eventually we found another church to visit.

For dinner we enjoyed an amazing French meal at L’Artisan Des Gourmands. Mom ordered escargot but then received steak, duck, and fries from everyone else in exchange for her snails. Needless to say they were delicious but so were all of the other meals.

We needed our day with one last walk out to the Seine for some sunset views of the Eiffel Tower.

Paris Day 3

Our third day in Paris started with a food tour!! We highly recommend taking a food tour in any city you visit. So far we have not been disappointed by one. Billy, a man born in Paris with an English accent, was our guide through Canal St. Martin. We would never had made our way to this area without this tour and we are happy we did. Not high on the list of tourist attractions but good spots for learning about local food traditions and the ways of Parisian life.

We could not go to Paris without going to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was the first thing we booked and it was exactly the experience we hoped it would be. There were a lot of people and getting on the elevator back down took some wait time, but that did not bother us. We were on the Eiffel Tower in Paris how could we complain about that? The elevator was crowded, the wind was strong, but the views were amazing!

The Arc de Triomphe was another must visit for us. After the Eiffel Tower it was a quick trip to it. After watching the traffic circle a bit we walked under the street to get an up close view. We decided not to climb to the top, always good to save a few things for the next trip.

Before heading to bed we made it to the Pont de Bir-Hakeim bridge for some fabulous views of the Eiffel Tower. We were able to catch it lighting up which consists of it sparkling with flashing lights then becoming the steady light it is known for.

Paris Days 1&2

We started our long crazy summer of travel in Paris. We ate amazing food, saw some incredible sights, and enjoyed our short time in the city. We started our journey early first flying across the United States and then across the Atlantic. We traveled in style over the Atlantic with a special upgrade. Not sure the kids will be able to go back to traveling in coach after flying first class.

Being able to sleep on the plan made it easier for us to make it through the rest of the day, although we did end up taking an hour nap before dinner. our apartment was near the little Statue of Liberty which also has some great views of the Eiffel Tower. Our first dinner in Paris was of course Italian! The pasta and pizza at Le Relais Charbon were delicious! We were in bed early in order to get back on track with the local time.

Our second day in Paris started with a visit to Napoleons Tomb before heading to the Louvre. C enjoyed the cannons, tank, and military history at Napoleon’s Tomb. We all thought he had a pretty amazing resting place for a man who was exiled twice from the city.

We enjoyed a classic baguette sandwich lunch and then made our way to the metropolitan to the Louvre. The Louvre is the largest museum in the world and you definitely feel it as you wonder through. As we made our way to our top picks we walked a million steps. Stairways, hallways, and collection after collection of cool sights. We saw ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, ancient China, the Crown Jewels, and of course the Mona Lisa. B and I squished our way in to the crowd and waited patiently for our turn at the front. It was an experience for sure and we now have a great memory of a suffocating crowd smoosh just to see a painting. Maybe there could be a much simpler system but it would not be as much fun.

By the end of our time at the louvre everyone was exhausted. Between the time change and the insane amount of walking we headed back to our apartment to rest before dinner. For dinner we found an amazing burger joint, Seventy Five Burger House near our place. After our meal we walked home as a thunderstorm rolled in. The rain was intense and the wind strong up to 60mph. It was nice to watch from the windows but glad we made it back in before it hit for the next day as we walked down the streets entire tops of trees were lying on the ground.

Bruges

This was our last stop on our trip but it quickly made it to our favorite. The city center is beautiful, it is compact and easy to walk everywhere, the canals only enhance the beauty, and it gave a small town feel with big town amenities.

We stayed in a super large room overlooking a canal. We really enjoyed eating breakfast while looking out on the peaceful canal and street below.

On our first day we at at Moana Pokebowls. A food we had been missing and were excited to have again. Then we explored the city center, enjoyed a sweet treat at House of Waffles, and took a free walking tour. The tour was great and gave us lots of good ideas for our next day.

We started our first full day in Bruges by getting a free but timed entry ticket to the Belfry of Bruges then we headed to a canal tour at Bruges River Cruises. The cruise through the camels was very relaxing with a nice narration of the different spots of interest along the way.

After the tour it was time for our climb of the 366 stairs at the Belfry. Luckily there were stops along the climb which made it feel like less work. The stairs got more and more narrow as we reached the top and passing people going down became more difficult.

We were able to see the bells do their thing at the 45 mark and on the hour. It was really neat to watch the biggest bell drum in the world play Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Our next stop was lunch at Sanseveria Bagelson a super delicious but small bagel shop. We continued our exploration of the city center at the Church of our Lady where we did the tour, learned about the church history, the tombs, and were able to see one of the few Michelangelo statues outside of Italy.

We headed back to our room to rest a bit. Then ended our day with some more city exploration and a delicious pasta dinner at Brasserie Forestiere. Then we explored outside of the city center and viewed the quiet side streets and homes. It seemed like a wonderfully peacefully place to live.

Our host was happy to hold our bags for the day so we could explore her town more. Our first stop was the Historium Bruges. It was so much fun. It started with a virtual reality ride through the city during medieval times, then a walk through 7 rooms and you followed the story of two young people and the *** painting. Then there was a small museum with more information. It was well worth the cost and a lot of fun for us.

We did some shopping, stoped at Sebrechtspark, and had lunch at Craenenburg. Unfortunately it was getting late and we had to pick up our bags to head to Brussels as our flight left the next day. Bruges is on the super short list of cities we could see ourselves living in. We can’t wait till our next trip to explore more amazing places like this.