Mitzi and Ian playing on the slide and teeter/toter.

Everyone at the gardens in Versailles.

The girls rowing in the lake.

Me and Ian rowing the boat.

Getting a little help from Mitzi.

Megan and Ashley at the Eiffel Tower.

The girls and Ian on the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Me, Mitzi, and Ashley on the Eiffel Tower.

We found a KFC and the kids were excited for some KFC chicken.

We had a great sunset as we headed home.

7-19-10 Monday
This morning the little kids had a great time playing on the little kids play equipment they have here. They have a slide and teter/toter. Today we decided to go into Versailles and see the palace there. Unfortunately I didn’t look up ahead of time, and we went the only day of the week that the palace is actually closed. That was OK, because the grounds are huge and beautiful, and they were open. We strolled around and looked at the flowers and gardens. Then we went to the large man-made lake and rented 2 row boats. The girls all went in one boat, and the boys with Mitzi all went in the other. We had a good time rowing around and looking at the swans. Ian liked to row one side with me rowing the other paddle. After we got off, the girls made it back and found out they had a bit of a fight with Megan and Brecken getting into a bit of a skirmish. I guess they were playing around and getting each other a bit wet and it escalated and ended up in hair pulling and everything. As it still wasn’t very late in the day we decided to go into Paris and see the Eiffel Tower. We should have just gone up to the first level as there was no line and it would have been so much easier and cost a whole lot less, but as we wanted the full experience, we decided to go all the way to the top. The lines were long to get up, and even longer to get back down. Also it was quite cramped and hot. The views were pretty cool, but probably not worth the waiting in lines and getting all hot and miserable. Next time we’ll just walk up to the first level which is quite high and the views are almost as good. As it was getting late when we were driving back, and the kids were hungry, we hit a Kentucky Fried Chicken that was just off the motor way on the way back. It was the first KFC we had seen in Europe. The chicken was pretty good, but they didn’t have the side dishes we were used to back home. The fries aren’t nearly as good as the mashed potatoes and gravy and they didn’t have any coleslaw, biscuits or other sides. As we left KFC and went home the sunset was great.

The kids were having fun playing a ball game out in the courtyard in the morning.

They would throw a rock then each roll these large steel balls trying to get closest to the rock.

It's a pretty courtyard next to these super old farm buildings.

They have some beautiful flowers.

As I was going into Giverny I found this really neat little bed and breakfast that had this really cool looking tower.

A bust of Claude Monet in Giverny.
7-18-10 Sunday
Today was pretty much another semi down day, recovering from yesterday. On the travel days, it’s not just the driving that wears you out, but the getting up early, cleaning, getting the car packed, and everything else that wears you out. We all slept in, then I went to the grocery store to get some stuff for the next few days. The kids had a great time just playing around the farmhouse where we are staying. They played a balls game, picked raspberries in the garden, and looked at the bunnies that they have there. I also drove into Giverny where Claude Monet lived and did a lot of his painting. It’s a beautiful area. Vernon, which is the closest semi-large town, is right on the river Seine.

The French countryside near where we'll be staying the next week.

The courtyard around the farmhouse and barn buildings.

Here's the farmhouse we'll be staying at the next week.
7-17-10 Saturday
Today’s going to be a pretty long drive day, so we got up early, got cleaned and packed, and hit the road. We just saw a little bit of the Eiffel Tower as we passed by Paris. We are staying the next week about 40 minutes west of Paris. The drive was about 5-6 hours, but we had to stop a couple times to get drinks, go to the bathroom, etc. We finally arrived at our location and immediately loved it. It’s in the French countyside in a farmhouse near the town of Blaru. Blaru is quite close to Giverny which is famous for Claude Monet they painter lived there and painted a lot of his water lily type pictures there. The surrounding landscape and the little villages and farmhouses are great. The lady we are renting from though is a little bit uptight, and I forgot we were supposed to have a deposit, so I had to go back into the closest main town, Vernon and pull out some extra cash. The kids played in the courtyard while I went into town and came back with the deposit. I think Kindra really likes this place too.

Mitzi having fun on the beach at Lake Annecy.
7-16-10 Friday
Today was a lighter day with an easy ride in the morning. Then we went over to the beach/lake in the afternoon. You have to be a little prepared to see a little more on the European beaches. There comfort level towards clothing is a little more relaxed then we are used to. They tend to get dressed back into their clothes right on the beach, and women don’t always wear the tops of their bikini’s when they are laying out. We spent a little time cleaning up and little and getting ready to leave Lake Annecy tomorrow. I think everyone is going to be sad to leave Lake Annecy. We’ve had such a great time here. Everyone’s enjoyed the lake, I’ve enjoyed the biking, we’ve loved having grandma come visit, and it’s just been pretty relaxing and fun.

The top of the Col de Joux Plane. It was pretty foggy at the top.

The last 2-3 miles of the Col de la Columbiere are really steep and hard on tired legs.

The kids in a little cave in the gorge we went to.

On the suspended bridge in the gorge.

The castle/chateau we came across near the gorge.

The church in Sevrier near where we were staying.

The views of the mountains around the lake are great.
7-15-10 Thursday
Grandma had to fly home today, so I got up at 4:30 in the morning to run her to the airport. As she is flying business class, she was told that she could check in 2 bags weighing up to 70 pounds each. As we had quite a bit of extra stuff we had bought over here, we packed up a smaller bag for her to check in and take home for us. When we got to the airport there was no one at the Air France counter. It took us a little investigating to finally figure out where we had to go. As she was flying to Paris, you have to walk over to the French side of the airport to check in. After she had waited through a little line, they put her bags up and said that her large bag was too large. They told her each back could only weight 23 Kilo’s or about 50 pounds. I asked what the surcharge would be to check the bags in like they were, and the lady said about 150 euros or about $220. We got out of line and decided to repack some things, so we took a few heavier items out of the larger bag and were able to squeeze them into the smaller bag and her carry on and we were able to check her in OK. I think she was glad I stuck around to help her and make sure she got on the plane OK. After dropping her off, I had come dressed for my bike ride, so I drove over to the start of the Joux Plane and did that climb. The climb of the Joux Plane was pretty steep and took just under an hour to climb to the top. The last 20 minutes or so were a pretty constant speed and averaged 7.1 mph. After the Joux Plane, I drove over to the start of the Col de la Columbiere and did that climb as well. It starts out with the first 15 minutes or so avg. a steady 8.5 mph, then flattens a little for about 5 minutes before kicking back up. I averaged about 7.6 mph for the next 25 minutes, but then the last 10-15 minutes it gets even steeper. I know part of it was my legs starting to get tired after 2 hours of climbing, but it was also probably 10-12%+ grades and I only avg. 6.5 mph for the last 12 minutes. When I got back, Kindra wanted to go see this gorge that was nearby, so we got in the car and drove over to it. It’s kind of like the Zions Narrows, but not quite so deep, but more water in the bottom. You walk on these suspended walkways about 100 feet above the water and about 50 feet below the top of the gorge. They had a measuring stick that showed how deep the gorge was and had dates showing at what level the water had reached during the last 100 years or so during high water periods. The amazing thing was seeing how high up the gorge the water could rise. The water would rise as much as 100’ or so during high water. Talk about a real flash flood. That’s some serious water rising. After the gorge we saw a really cool chateau/castle right nearby. After dinner Kindra and I went on a nice walk along the bike path on Lake Annecy. Having all the kids with us, we don’t get to spend much time with just the 2 of us.