Paris Summary

Published 2.April; backdated to 25.March.
I've been lax about posting daily. My apologies. We stayed so busy the past 2 weeks that I haven't had the energy. I will add pictures later - we don't have Internet access at the campground.


We saw our mom's off last night at the Sheraton inside the Charles De Gaulle airport. All they have to do is walk out the front entrance and they are in the right terminal for international departures. Given their flight out is 8:30 am and they need to be there 2-3 hours beforehand, it only made sense.



So - a summary of our very busy, whirlwind tour of Paris:



Day 1 (arrival):

• From airport to hotel. We all realize for the first time how far out their hotel is from us. The Disney resort area is pretty isolated.
• We left after dinner to let them rest and recoup.

Day 2:
We met them at the subway - was supposed to be a low-key tour of Paris highlights. I had thought we should take the tour bus, but at the last minute, we decided to walk it. Sights: Opera, Arc d'Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Pantheon. Gyros in a food alley, where we were virtually assaulted by the restuarant greeters, all offering something special to us if we would just eat at their restuarant.


We managed to over-run everyone and emotions took a burst in practically all of us. Oops. Sorry guys - we just were so excited to see you and visit Paris.


Days 3-4:

We moved the RV to Disneyland. Motorhomes are designated a special place in the parking lot and the cost is only 13 Euro per day. No power, but from April-October there is water and a dump station. Megan and I ran out at 8:15am and took the bus to the grocery store. Stocked up with everything we could think of and were back to the RV by 9:30. Headed out and picked the moms up at their hotel by 11am. (nothing quite like curbside service from a Winnebago at the Disney Dream Princess Hotel!)


We played hard at Disneyland. Met Princess Jasmine, rode rides, and walked, a lot. Turns out, my mom loves roller coasters. Dan's mom not so much. Megan escorted them on the Tower of Terror and we're still not sure if they enjoyed the experience or not.


Our last night at Disney, I was determined to see the evening parade - they have it listed as Candelabra, their 15-year celebration. In short, we got very wet for a 5-minute character dance.


Day 5 (3/16):
More mellow - took my mom to church. Dan and the girls did their souvenair shopping. Moved back to our original campground (Paris Est Trembly) and checked the moms into a rental mobile home at the site. A bit of a step down from the Disney Dream Princess Hotel.


Day 6 (3/17):
Megan and I went to the Louvre with the moms. We arrived around noon and had a very enjoyable afternoon. Too little time to appreciate the full museum - but we did enjoy the Mona Lisa, Monet, sculptures and Napolean's apartements to list a few.


Day 7 (3/18):
Celebrated my birthday with tour of Notre Dame and a trip to the Eiffel Tower and this time, we took the elevator up. It was fantastic. Cold, but beautiful views of the city. Made us all realize how vast the area really is. Chocolate mousse cake and roses wrapped up the day. Happy Birthday, me. =)


Day 8 (3/19):


Took a day "off" and tried to play it mellow. Took the moms shopping at the nearby grocery store. Since the cafe stop didn't work on the 18th, we stopped at the cafe outside the grocery store for afternoon treats. The citron tart was fantastic; as was the "religeuse" (two cream puffs, filled with chocolate mousse and stacked on each other). Dan, Charlotte and Sophia returned home to rest. Norma, Megan and I wandered the shops in the village.

Day 9 (3/20):
Mom and Megan and I went shopping in Paris. First stop – Printemps. We admired the size of the store (4 builings, 22 stories) but were underwhelmed by the sterility. It’s not really that fun of a store for shopping. Much like Saks Fifth Avenue, it’s sorted by designer and not a very welcoming environment. We did enjoy it though – mom purchased a really cute lapel pin in the shape of a pansy. Outside, we found the sidewalk vendors, selling beautiful scarves for 5 EURO each (I know, they aren’t silk, but they also aren’t 250 EURO). Megan was catered to in a nearby store, her first “real” shoe buying experience complete with stacks of shoes and an attendant to put them on and take them off for her. She didn’t know what to think!

Dan took Charlotte and Sophia out to a nearby market and enjoyed the sites and sounds of a traditional French market.

Day 10 (3/21):

Day trip to Versailles. We endured an hour+ train ride to be beat back by the weather. Literally as we approached Versailles, the wind picked up and we were pelted with an ice storm. Umbrellas wouldn’t have helped … armour for body and face might have made it OK. We turned back – it would have been another hour in the elements to get in and we were all soaked through.

We went home for afternoon naps, then ventured out to dinner in a local eatery known to cater to the college crowd. Large portions, small prices. We arrived at 7pm (when they open) and once we figured out how to open the door, were treated to a fantastic atmosphere and excellent food.

Day 11 (3/22):
With rental car, we took off for Normandy. Followed the signs for Overlord Assault. Beautiful drive, though everytime we got out of the car we were assaulted by wind and hail. We did stop at Pegasus Bridge, several of the beach memorials and made it out to the American War Cemetary. A very interesting day.

Day 12 (3/23):
Sunday again and we’re exhausted! The tourist magazines said the Carrousel shopping center at the Louvre is the place to be on a Sunday. We went – moms had a great time shopping at the local hat/scarf shop. Wandered out – one last search for the cake shop I’d read about. We found it – but there was no indoor seating. We moved on to another café and had cheese cake and coffee as they didn’t have any chocolate cakes that were by the piece. Stopped by the nearby ice cream shop and enjoyed a fresh crepe, made before our eyes. Cold and tired, we wandered back to the car for an exhiliratin drive back to the campground.


Day 13 (3/24):

The moms stayed with the kids while Dan and I headed out for a shopping trip – 2 hours later, we overfilled the cupboards with the basics replenished. Took moms to hotel and said our goodbyes. We had to return the rental car to Orly and make it back to our bus station before 8pm or face a cold walk home with the girls.

Took moms to hotel and said our goodbyes. We had to return the rental car to Orly and make it back to our bus station before 8pm or face a cold walk home with the girls.

Day 14 (3/25):

The Moms flight departed 8:30am. =) We didn’t wake up until 8:30. Determined to find a cheap stopping point and recoup for the day, I routed us 25km away. Only our propane tank is empty and we wound up in Peronne by the time we found a station and refilled.

Ciao for now. Paris is awesome ... definitely worth the visit.

Paris Pictures - 17 March - Louvre

Posted 9.April, back dated to 17.March to be in chronological order.

Sunday (3/16) was a bit of a low-key day - we moved everyone back to the campground at Paris Est Le Tremblay because we knew it worked. Nice to have our moms at the same site. The mobile home rentals were less than ideal - but for 80 EURO per night for 2 people, I think they did OK.

From this...

to this... (the one pictured was only one night - they moved to a somewhat nicer and larger unit the next day)

Monday (3/17) the moms, Megan and I set out to visit the Louvre. Dan stayed back with Sophia to take care of some projects around the motorhome.

For me, the fact that you need much more than one day to visit didn't really sink in until we arrived and saw the sheer enormity of the exhibit areas. I tried to find the "hidden" automats that are in the metro entrance, but was hopelessly lost. So we entered with the masses, through the glass pyramids. It's actually a pretty cool experience. About 30-minutes later, tickets in hand, we were ready to wander.

Outside the Louvre

We're really here!

I had suggested we split up to enable each of us to explore at our own pace and interest level. Everyone agreed. Except, my mom forgot her watch. Charlotte wandered off by herself while the three of us (me, Megan, my mom) headed out together. I've never felt so bad. We probably should have stuck together.

Another 15-minutes in line and we had audioguides, which are really complicated PDA-like devices. Despite my normal ability to make a computer function, I was unable to get the "zoom" feature to work (where you can navigate through a map of the building to your present location and "find" the piece(s) of artwork you are looking for). Definitely could be better engineered.

We wandered for two hours or so - lost in the overwhelming mass of artwork and maze of hallways and stairwells. Found our way to the Mona Lisa and paid our tribute. Not only is she behind glass, but they have a great deal of space roped off between her and the throngs of people admiring her. Loved how the "no pictures" signage was enforced. I think I was one of the only ones who bothered to turn the flash off. I do have respect for the artwork!

Mona Lisa behind glass.

Cooridor connecting buildings.

As the three of us were starting to head back to our agreed upon meeting place, there was suddenly an announcement over the PA to exit the building immediately. Alarms started sounding - and as we rushed through some fantastic sculpture exhibits, it occurred to me that I had an agreed upon meeting place with Charlotte inside the building, but not outside the building. Second thought - How am I going to explain this to Bill? "Sorry, I lost your wife in Paris. She's somewhere at the Louvre." I realized that I didn't know if she had the address for where we were staying in case she got separated from us. Didn't think about emergency planning for group travel.

Emergency exit procedures leave a bit to be desired. Hoards of people were still streaming through from other entrance hallways. None of the aides were ushering people out. Yet, when we finally made it to an exit where we knew we would easily find our meeting place, an attendant was actively rerouting traffic to a different exit. So you have thousands of people, only about a quarter of whom are obeying the alarms and exit directives and security staff closing off known exits but not seeming to stop more people from entering. It was frustrating to say the least.

Happily, we found Charlotte and apparently only the wing of the building we were in was closed down. There was no effort in the central lounge to move people out. Very bizarre.

After resting an munching on our brown bag lunch, the group agreed to stay together for the afternoon. Refueld, we were off looking for paintings by some of the greats ... Monet, Renoit... you know the names. After much wandering and a lot of time spent in a statue garden (which I could never details for on the PDA-like device), we found Napolean's apartments and finally, by following signs for a Dutch artist exhibit, we found the sought after classics.

Exhausted, we headed out. I honestly think you could spend a month in the Louvre and probably not get bored. It's such a great museum! I loved seeing the look on Charlotte's face when we finally found the classic paintings. Seeing Megan clue in to the statues and examine the statue of cupid as the audio guide explained it to her was marvelous. She was really into it, hearing about the use of lines and detail work while being able to examine the statue up close.

We found the Starbucks on the way out and imbided on coffee and a hot chocolate for Meg. Then we of course, admired the inverted pyramid inside and got lost looking for the restrooms in the Carrousel shopping plaza.

Found the metro entrance and politely waited out two very overcrowded trains for one that we stood a reasonable chance of boarding. (picture this, a woman is inside the train, her golf umbrella and oversized bag are outside the train and the doors are trying to close. She wrangles the umbrella up and in but a metro attendant had to literally push her bag in so the doors would close.)

A cool day. I can't wait to go back some day and this time, I know to budget more time and plan out the visits.

Paris Pictures - 14-15 March & Disneyland Paris

Published 8.April, back-dated to 15.March to stay in chronological order.




Our moving the motorhome to Disneyland Paris turned out to be the best move. First off, let me confirm for any European motorhome visitors out there: Yes, you can park your motorhome at Disneyland Paris and yes, you can sleep in it overnight. No one would officially answer our questions prior to arrival (something I hate about Disney in general). In fact, even the woman at the tourist office just outside Disney Village couldn't provide a definitive answer.



The skinny on motorhome parking at Disneyland Paris:

• Cost (per day - you pay at the car park pay station each morning): 13 EURO
• Facilities on site: April-October - Water, dump station. Year round - bathrooms (not sure if there is a shower).
• Recommendation: Park as far away from the "slide walks" as possible. The entry themed music runs until about 1am. We permanently have "Hello, and welcome to Disneyland Paris!" engrained in our brains.
• Recommendation 2: Park in groups of motorhomes. Our second night there, the parking lot cleaners came through around 2am and they were nothing short of noisy. If parked in a group, at least the interior vehicles aren't being circled by the sweeper trucks.
• Recommendation 3: Visit this park during low season and during the weekday. Our Friday visit was awesome - short waits, easy navigation through the park. Saturday was a completely different story. Crowded and the key navigation points don't really channel people very well. Rides were 40+ minute wait times.

We provided our moms with "curbside" service in the motorhome! Dan and Megan ran up to get them from the hotel, with the Winnebago parked out in front. I wish I could have seen the looks on the hotel staff/management's faces (if they even noticed us - but then we do kind of stand out). We definitely got the stare-down from the crowd waiting for the shuttle bus. The image of a Winnebago parked in front of the Disney Enchanted Dream Princess Hotel (or whatever the name of it is) just struck a funny bone and made me giggle.

The walk in from parking is about 1/2 a kilometer. Then there's the typical Disney confusion about tickets ... then the slog through the picturesque pre-entry stuff. About 45-minutes later, we finally found ourselves walking down "Main Street USA" complete with American flags on the buildings (in France!). All my bad feelings about Disney shrank to the background as I felt myself being absorbed in the magif of the place.







Onto the good stuff.


Rides:

• Space Mountain II - great fun-though the music needs to be rachetted up a few notches! Megan was too small to go on it (she was fine on Space Mountain at Anaheim ... but this one is a bit rougher). Dan and I sent our moms on it after we went... I don't know that Charlotte will ever forgive us
• Autotopia - The regulations are different in Paris. It was possible for Sophia to go on the ride and drive (that's just not right!)! The attendant missed the break - so Charlotte and Sophia had 2 laps!
  


• It's a Small World - the must for every Disney visit. This one is bright, light and clean. We had fun enjoying the sights - but couldn't get that darn song out of our heads.
• Indiana Jones Adventure - not worth more than a 5-10 minute wait. Nothing like my memory of the version at Anaheim. Very short roller coaster ride. In fact, they almost let us go through twice, but another wave of people made it through to the entrance ... Megan was too small to go on it.
• Teacups - a dizzying fun ride, of course.
  
• Pirates of the Carribean - a must see. Tons of fun with the girls though Sophia was a little scared, but we were on the lookout for Scooby Doo to save her (oops. wrong film company...hope the Mouse ears didn't pick that up).


• Disney Railway - bummer. They don't manage the line queu and the only station open for boarding was Main Street - our attempts to ride it were futile this time.
• Haunted Mansion - Stil fun after all these years. Always a shocking twist at the end - one which Sophia couldn't quite figure out.
  

Character Meet-in-Greets:

A mouse from Cinderella... awww.




Even the grandmas got into the princess spirit. (Note: Arial recognized and remembered Sophia about 10-minutes later! As she walked by us, she called out a friendly, "Goodbye Sophia!" and blew a kiss!)



Chipmunks galore (in Hollywood Adventure Land)


Woody! We didn't get to shake hands, but hey, we still gave a good ole' shout out.

Misc. Attractions:

• We got swept away into the Alice in Wonder Land maze. I think we squirrled away at least 45-minutes, just because the kids wanted to go in the castle. Good job diverting traffic, Disney!



• Aladdin's Magic Carpet - not worth the time. Just some dioramas of the story of Aladdin. Not very interesting for any of us (we were hoping the building contained a ride...). Though we had great fun trying out dreds on Dan and Norma (my mom).
  
  




• 
  


• Sleeping Beauty's Castle - very well done, quite ornate and fun.


• 

Hollywood Adventure Land:

Built around the movie theme, much like California Adventure Land. A little lame - but more open spaces. Still was very crowded on the weekend.

Rides:

• Tower of Terror - first Dan and I, then we sent Megan as a chaperone for Norma and Charlotte. Hehe.

• Rock-n-Roll Roller Coaster - Charlotte sat this one out with Sophia and the rest of us went for a very fast, very fun roller coaster ride. Very similar to the Space Mountain in Disneyland. We were dubious. It was one of the only rides with no wait time and honestly, the description sounded lame. We exited the rides with huge grins.
• Crusher's Wild Ride - Everyone else was beat - but Megan and I were determined to go on Crusher's Wild Ride (well, me, more so than Megan- the more she read the signs leading up to the ride, the more she questioned if this was really an appropriate ride for her). After waiting over an hour in line (the ride broke down), we finally got in our turtle shell and were off for a crazy fun ride that tipped us sideways and spun us around. We both floated back to the motorhome laughing, arrivin just in time for dinner!

This being our last night at Disneyland, I coerced the family into wandering back out at 7:30 for the "Candelabra" show, thinking it would be like the nighttime parade at Disney Anaheim. It hadn't rained all day. As we made our way back into the park, a gust of wind hit so hard, it blew us all sideways. We found ourselves standing in the cold, pouring down rain for a 5-minute character dance in the central square! I couldn't help but laugh - I had Megan on my shoulders and rain was pouring down my coat sleeves. After a reinvigorating shower, I was ready to go on rides... but, honestly, we were all exhausted from running non-stop and called it a night. Disney at night is quite beautiful though. Even if I can't hold my camera still enough for the night-time shots.

Exhausted, we were grateful that we didn't have an hour of train commuting on top of such a busy two days. The kids have never been so easy to put to bed and we were quite grateful to have our own bed to collapse into.

Paris Pictures - 13 March

Published 8.April - back dated to 12.March to be in chronological order.

First full day with our (jet lagged) moms in Paris and we had the "idea" that we would have a low-key day, hit the "highlights" and rest up a bit. Fools! =)

We had them meet us in the subway at Chateau les Halles. Should be easy - just step off the subway, don't move, we'll find you. It really was that easy. Except that Dan and I freaked out when we arrived, thinking we would have to change platforms - then, once we realized where we needed to be, realized how long the subway cars are. Agghh! Needless to say, it was really easy. After about 30-minutes of fretting, we finally stood still and voila! Our moms arrived on the next subway, walked off the train car and all was good.

Should have stuck with my original plan of getting on the "hop on, hop off" bus - but my budget analysis got the best of me at the last minute. Afterall, we had already paid for public transit for 5-days, why should we pay again? Surely we can just use the public buses...

Alas, we hit the highlights and everyone was about ready to kill me by the end of the day.

Opera House - simply stunning inside and out. We opted not to go for the entire tour (8 EURO per person), but a traveling group broke into song on the steps - they may (or not) have been pros, but to hear voices singing and the acoustical beauty of just the entrance was moving. Very beautiful architecture and stunning attention to detail.

Arc de Triomphe

Next stop was the Arc de Triomphe. I'm proud to say, we managed to somewhat easily get on a bus from the Opera House and to the monument with relatively little problem. Figuring out the transit routes isn't as easy to do on the go when there are 3 adults and 2 kids heckling you. First up - snacks in the square across from the monument. Hey, there are no garbage cans, anywhere. Next priority - find the bathrooms. I'm pleased to say, there's a rather decent public bathroom near the Arc de Triomphe. Made everyone's lives easier.

Finally, we embarked on the walk to the monument, which takes you under the impressive roundabout which encircles the monument. What a fantastic memorial - beautiful and somehow thought-provoking amid the hub bub of traffic and tourists. The Arc d'Triomphe was originally ordered by Napolean in 1806, to commemerate his victories, and was completed in 1836. The monument today is a peace memorial, with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier located on site since 1921. On the wall of names, we found reference to "Scherer" on the section dedicated to "Armees de Pyrenees or(ales) Des Pyrenees oc(ales) de L'Ouest de Reserve du Camp de Boulogne."

Eiffel Tower

The signs of tiredness are there and we all are ignoring them. Press on - the Eiffel Tower is just over "that" way. I got us on the "right" bus; second guessed; got us off (it almost took off with our moms still on board!), wandered a bit and got us back on the "right" bus (ironically, the same direction we had just gotten off). Anyhoo. We exited at the Military School and walked up - for a few minutes I was dubious, then alas, you round the corner, and there she is. Megan was thrilled - she had been pining to see the Eiffel Tower since we arrived on the 10th.

We had decided we would go up the tower. Dan and Megan were interested in taking the stairs, the rest of us were begging for coffee and cake at the restuarant. Just as soon as we were under the tower, a huge gust of wind hit and it was threatening to rain. After several minutes of discussion, we decided to return another day vs. freeze in line for tickets and again at the top.

Pantheon

Don't ask me how we got here. It all started with a search for a cafe. Unbelievably, we couldn't find a cafe that we could agree on and soon found ourselves within distance of the Pantheon. Again, we didn't enter - the group was beyond ability to function at this point only I didn't recognize it. We admired the building and Megan used grandma's hat to put on a fashion show as we delibrated how best to end the day.

Dan and I needed to find a place to add money to our pre-paid cell phone and we wanted to find a grocery store for our moms to get a snack for dinner. The Disney Princess Hotel is really isolated and turns out, the dinner offered at the hotel is a buffet, at an outrageous price. After the fact, we realized more inline prices were available at the Disney Village, a free shuttle ride away. After trying to accomplish tasks with everyone, we finally saw our moms to their subway train - they simply had to get off at the last stop, then take the shuttle bus to their hotel. Then we continued (unsuccessfully) on our errand quest, eventually wandering back to the motorhome for dinner and a very welcome bed.

Dan and I recapped the day - what went well, what didn't. We had agreed with the moms to visit Disneyland next - but we were not going to move the motorhome. At the last minute, we decided to pack up drive as we understood we could park the motorhome in the Disney parking lot. That way, we take advantage of the proximity of the mom's hotel and we can take care of food (breakfast, lunch, dinner) from the motorhome. We couldn't alert our moms (there seems to be no published phone number for the Disney Princess Hotel and our cell phone is out of money) - so we planned to do our best to be at their hotel at 10:30am, as we had promised.

The Grandmas Are Here!!

Posted 20.March, back-dated to be in chronological order.

After a lot of build up, we finally arrived in Paris and found ourselves working our way over to Charles De Guall airport to pick up our moms. Their flight arrived at 8:40 AM, meaning we left our campground at 6:45 AM. I told them to wait for us at baggage claim, completely forgetting that you must retrieve your baggage prior to clearing customs.

About an hour after their flight arrived, they emerged from customs. Unfortunately, they had been inside, trying to call us from the public pay phones for 30 of those minutes. I don't think we even had the phone with us! Everyone was relieved to clear all of this up and we started moving luggage toward the RER. Got "The Grandmas" (as they are now re-named) 5-day public transit passes for zones 1-6 and started off to their hotel at Disneyland.

Proof our moms have been on the subway!

The hotel had them booked in a room with a king-sized bed. I helped plead their case, and after a few no's, followed by phone calls, I'm pleased to report that the Disney Princess Hotel upgraded our moms to a very nice two room suite and two king beds. They each had their own bedroom and a very luxurious bathroom (jacuzzi tub, robes, slippers, etc.). I honestly felt a little jealous - that jacuzzi tub looked mighty inviting.

Disney Princess Dream Castle Hotel

We ate a late lunch together and made plans to meet the next day ... hoping they would sleep well and that jet lag wouldn't hit too hard.

Tired bunch, love the tall tables!

Ciao!

Mimizan, France

Published 19.March, back dated to be in chronological order.

Enroute to Paris, off-season. We finally pulled out the Reisemobile Bode Atlas book again (cheap overnight spots). After a frustrating drive to 3 sites listed (which were full on campsites, but closed for the season), we lucked out and found "Parking Helistation" in Mimizan, France.

Huge parking lot - lots of large RVs, most of which were American imports. Had a lovely 3-night stay, just behind the sand dunes. Power included; water and dump station were super easy to access. In the off-season, it's 5.50 EURO per night (vs. 30 at a campground). Access to the supermarket and ocean were easy. Though, the promised 5.5 km bike ride to Mimizan felt more like 30 km to me! Maybe that's just a sign we weren't as active as we should have been while in Spain.




Market in Mimizan, France.

Did I mention that it's cold? Bring out the winter wear.



Met a fantastic Scottish family and the girls were thrilled to have a new play mate. A huge "hello" to Charlotte and her folks.





The girls with a new friend - in princess attire!

~500 km to go - onward to Paris!

Ciao for now!

En-route to Paris: 3 passes, 3 snow/wind storms

Published 19.March; back dated to be in chronological order.

I now know that Spain is not flat. We left nice, sunny, warm Madrid, hoping to stop at San Sebastian for a night or two.

However, after crossing 3 mountain passes (the highest was 1,300 meters, I believe) in three separate snow and wind storms, we were anxious to be anywhere but where it might continue to be cold. Unfortunately, France was probably not the best destination - but we have mom's enroute, so onward we go.

The picture (3rd of the passes, about 840 meters) does not do justice to what we were driving through. There were points of the drive that we thought we were going to need to stop, the wind was blowing so hard.

On a similar theme, at some point, just outside San Sebastian, we caught this road sign... exactly which highway are we on again?

We continued past San Sebastian to Camping Larrouleta - a rather uninspired campground in the off-season. The girls were tired from driving all day and we thought we could go swimming. Only the pool closed at 6 vs. 8 - even though 8 was the posted closing time on the door! I had two very unhappy little ones, who had hurridly put on bathing suits and ran from the RV to the pool in biting wind and rain, only to find out it was closed! The motorhome dump station is at an awkward down-hill angle so emptying tanks was a bit of a challenge. Overall, a good stopping point and friendly enough staff, but not a lot to offer in the off season.

Attempts to find the village on foot the next day were met with disappointment. We moved on.

Madrid, Spain

Posted 19.March, backdated to be in chronological order.

On our whirlwind journey out of Spain and to France, we stopped for a day near Madrid.

Camping was best found at Aranjuez, about a 45-minute train ride from Madrid. Easy enough. We stopped at Camping International Aranjuez (40.04217°N 3.60083°W). The campground was quite nice, though their Internet connection quite flaky. For once the Internet was affordable, only it went down 4-hours into our 24-hour pass and remained down for the remainder of our stay.

A note about the campground - it was really nice. They charge on a per pitch basis, so be careful which pitch you choose. Some of the pitches that are well suited for large motorhomes are poorly planned, with trees or light posts in the middle of the entrance. We ordered our ACSI card while there and they were gracious enough to cut the rate from 35 EURO per night to the 14 EURO per night + fee for kids. After our stay, we've been informed that the camping near Getaf is not nice and we felt that the camping in La Cabrera would have been too far.

We biked in to the train station - about a 20-minute ride. There are no busses from the campground to the city center or bus station. Aranjuez is quite a nice little town with a palace and deserves a longer stay. We would have loved to stay another day or two, but we have a deadline to meet... Paris by 11.March!

Once in Madrid, we jumped on the tourist bus and enjoyed the beautiful, warm, sunny afternoon on the 2nd story of an open air bus. Our favorite was the historical tour. The second path was not at all interesting. By the time we left, we were in love with Madrid and felt sure we could easily have spent a week exploring the city.

Some pictures from our whirlwind tour.

5-arch landmark in a round about.

3-arch landmark

Cathedrale

City blick

Cool!

This is much better than walking!

This tourist stuff is tiring.

On a personal note, we've been letting Megan experiment with the camera. Here's a peek at her blossoming photography skills. =)