The Blaylocks Take on Paris and Rome

Everyone told us to travel and see all we could while we were here in Germany. They told us it was easy to fly or ride trains between cities and countries, so we put the words of everyone to the test. The biggest trip of our time here we planned for the week our families were all gathering in the States. It gave us something to look forward to and to keep us busy so we didn't miss the reunions quite as much! Our adventures began Wednesday afternoon. We left for the Munich airport around 3:30. We got there without a hitch and our flight to Paris was a little bit delayed, but nothing too bad. We ate our packed sandwiches for dinner before we boarded, and loaded onto the plane. The flight was only a little over an hour and it was a good thing. Jay was tired, like he wanted to sleep, so I gave him a melatonin to try to help him get there a little easier. He fought through that and I gave him a Benadryl. Meanwhile, he's crying and hollering, not wanting to be in his seat. A man came up to Matthew and asked if he could help talk to Jay to see if he could help. Matthew obliged, and we both now wish he'd said no. The man started yelling at Jay, asking him what his problem was and telling him that he was disturbing everyone around him. It was a heart wrenching experience. Heads were turning throughout the plane, looking at us and the man. I don't know whether the heads were turning in approval of the man's outrage or not, but the eyes all felt like lasers to us. Once the man sat down, I cried the remainder of the flight. We were doing the very best we could to try to make Jay happy within the constrains of a flight and a seat belt. I hope Jay never has a recollection of that moment, but as a mother it hurt and it's probably something I won't forget any time soon. Jay's getting older and his struggles seem at times to be more pronounced and I was grateful I didn't see anyone on that plane again. 

Hugh loves when we let him out of the stroller for the train rides!

Hugh also loved having a little seat at the airport, he embraced every moment while we waited for our flight.

Off to Paris! 

We arrived in Paris and had to wait for our stroller to come through baggage claim. None of the airports we went to delivered the stroller to the aircraft which was so sad! It seemed like it took forever to get there, but the stroller arrived and we set out to by train tickets. Matthew couldn't find the ticket we wanted and we waited in a line for a bit to see if we could talk to a ticket person but that line wasn't moving at all. We finally decided to just go get the two hour ticket and get on the train. When we loaded on to the train, we were told the train across the way would leave sooner. We hopped off and went to that train. After about 15 minutes of waiting, they told us all the trains were not working and we needed to take the airport shuttle back to a different terminal and take a train from there. So, we along with everyone else in the airport went back to the airport train to get to Terminal 2. The trains were jam packed and people were less than thrilled to see our stroller taking up so much space. We arrived there and had to talk to a person to let us through a handicap entrance to get onto the train platform. The regular gates wouldn't fit our stroller, this was an ordeal for our whole time in Paris. Finally we made it down to the train and it was pretty packed as well. I am not sure what time it was at this point, but we began to move and we were relieved. However, it was late enough the connecting bus we were going to take was no longer running and we had to find a different route. We had a route planned, then the train we were on decided it wouldn't go as far as it should go and we had to get off. In Paris you have to use the tickets to get out of the train platforms and it had been past our two hour mark so the gates wouldn't open for us to get out. Luckily, there was a gentleman there who used his ticket to let us out! We then waited for a bus for what seemed like an eternity but it was only about 20 minutes. We hopped on that bus, then onto another bus, then a tram, and then walked 10 minutes to our hotel. We arrived at 1:30 AM in the morning! Luckily, everything worked to get into the hotel with the late check in and they did have a baby bed and Jay's bed ready. Jay somehow fought through another does of Benadryl and stayed awake the whole time. He didn't want to miss a moment. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was out and so were the rest of us! We didn't get to sleep before we noticed bugs in the refrigerator and quickly scooped all of our bags off the ground and onto chairs, benches, tables, etc. 

This was the third train, finally it started moving

At 1AM, I was feeling crazy and trying to survive. We were finally on the first bus.

Jay eating his midnight snack to continue to fuel his energy. 

We had a code to get into the hotel and a code to get into this box to get our key. It felt a little escape room-ish.

Thursday morning came early. We didn't set any alarms with the hopes we would all sleep in, but Jay was up at 6:30. Hugh and I slept for another hour, and although we were all tired we hit the town. We only had one full day in Paris and our hotel was about an hour on the train from the city, so we had to make the most of it! The first thing we did was stop at a bakery for breakfast. I chose some random things that looked yummy, and they were sooooo good! Everything I got was delicious, I wished I would have gotten more. Bakeries are a great place to get really good food for a good price. The next thing on our list was the Eifel Tower. We had to wait in line for a decent amount of time, but it was super cool to see! The Eifel Tower looks big in pictures, but it's even bigger in real life. So tall and so beautiful! The view from what they call the second level was incredible, it already felt so high. Then, we went to the very top. The elevator ride made me a little nervous. Maybe it felt a little like Supreme Scream or the dropping tower rides, but we weren't seat belted in and we were surrounded by people. Such a cool way to look at all of Paris! Everything below us was so tiny. Jay didn't have much patience for the lines we had to wait in, and he couldn't see over the ledges very well. We tried our best to help him see, but his favorite parts were playing with the little telescopes and being held by Dad. We had to break down our stroller to fit through certain lines, so we had to lug that around almost everywhere we went in the tower, which was hard and heavy work. We were excited to be on the ground again once we made it down and headed to the streets to find lunch. 

Jay and Hugh enjoying the construction site along our train route

French architecture is beautiful

First picture with the tower!

Headed up the elevator, all of us a little nervous

Jay peaking out the window with Matthew and on the "second level"

Me and the boys at the very top

One side was very windy! 

Jay enjoying the telescope!

Olympic Rings already there, super cool

We found a few crepe places and bakeries to try random cuisines. The street was a little walk from the tower, so it was a little less busy. We made our way back to the River Cruise along the Seine. This river tour was probably our favorite part. The boys were very well behaved, they got to be outside and move a little more freely and the scenery was constantly changing. It was a fun way to see all the main attractions in Paris. Following that, we did a walking tour. We tried to listen to a bit of an audio guide while we walked around to learn more about what we were seeing. Norte Dame was beautiful, and it was also so sad to see the damage the fire caused a couple years ago. I also loved walking the streets and seeing the architecture and landscapes of the city. This day was the Fourth of July, so we did the most American thing we could and got McDonald's for dinner on our way back to the hotel. The boys ate a little bit and as soon as their heads hit the pillow, they were out. 

The eclaires looked better than they were, definitely not worth the hype

I took the boys outside of the chocolate store, they were way too excited to touch things

A guy making us crepes!

The mother of all macaroons, it was so delicious. It reminded us of Grandpa Great's at raspberry season!

Jay looking at the Siene

A cool bridge

A famous museum and clock tower

Norte Dame from the Siene

These two were making each other giggle, it was cute

From the boat, we got the perfect view of the Eifel Tower

The countdown to the Olympics

Norte Dame

Cool statue near Norte Dame

This is the side view of the Cathedral, you can see the restoration work happening

Hugh eating fries 

Hugh loves to find places that are his height for sitting, and it's really funny what he chooses to sit on

Friday morning we woke early and went to the Paris temple. We dropped our luggage at a random storage place and picked up breakfast on the way. The temple was beautiful and peaceful! Peace is something that's really hard to find on these tourist outings, but we felt it there. I loved being there and it was hard to leave. We got there too early, so the visitors center wasn't open. We enjoyed a walk to The Palace of Versailles through the grounds. We were able to enter at the back gate and walk up through the gardens. Beautiful! Every bush and tree was trimmed perfectly, and it was massive. We saw a cool fountain and beautiful pools. We entered the palace with masses of people. It was kind of hard to enjoy the palace with so many people around us all the time. Jay wasn't a huge fan of all these people around and wasn't very patient when we had to wait for them to move out of our way so we could move forward. We loved the battle room most of all. Matthew loves history and I loved hearing him share about certain wars and what he knew about a few of the paintings. We got to spend a little more time on the grounds, but then had to hit the road to get back to the airport. Lunch was another bakery stop. The bakery we had breakfast at was so good, we went back for lunch and it did not disappoint! 

Paris France Temple

The Grounds at the Palace of Versailles

A cool fountain

Such perfectly trimmed gardens

This is the side of the Palace

More immaculate grounds, so pretty and so bright! 

Sometimes I can catch a still shot of Jay, this makes him look so thoughtful

At the entrance of the palace

Matthew with the Siege of York Town painting, so cool they featured that war in their war hall

Joan of Arc because she's cool

This was directly behind the palace 

You can see the palace wayyyyy in the background

Jay and I outside the golden gates

Hugh, so happy to be on the train and out of the stroller

You can tell we were very tired by the end of Paris! 

We had to haul our stroller up and down so many of the train stations in Paris, and break it down so often, we were exhausted by the time we made it to the airport. The boys did sleep for a little bit at the very end of our flight to Rome. It was a blessing! They needed a little shut eye and Matthew and I needed a break. 

Overall, Paris had the best food. The bakeries were divine. The crepes were delicious, both savory and sweet. We had an almond pastry of some sort that was to die for. The raspberry croissant was probably Matthew's favorite. The macaroons were so yummy! How many times do you get French macaroons made in France? Probably only once, so we had to try. We tried some chocolate, but really we decided German chocolate is good enough for us. 

Our first night in Rome, we ate at this little pizza shop. We got what looked like the most mild options, and it was pretty good. We also got our first gelato, it was amazing! We went to the grocery store and I picked up some snacks and things for breakfast and then we headed back to the hotel. The hotel was a little grubby and definitely had more character than most hotels. The elevator was made of wood on the inside, and was just big enough to squeeze the four of us with the stroller folded up. You'd enter the elevator, close the regular external door, press your floor button (which didn't light up), and then the elevator door would close and you'd move upwards for what seemed like an eternity! It did work every time, and I was very grateful for that! The bathroom had two toilets, one that was a flushing regular toilet and one that was a bidet. It had a faucet on it and a drain like you'd see in a standard bathroom sink. Jay thought this was very cool and that it was his own personal sink! There was no hand soap, so we used shampoo. And, there was no dish soap, so we rinsed with water and prayed extra over the food. 

Flight to Rome was way better than to Paris, which was good because it was 2 hours

Sleepy Jay

Happy parents with sleeping children

Sleepy Hugh

We had to wait so long in Rome for our stroller, we ate our French Macaroons

First Rome train ride!

Our first gelato! Yummy! 

Saturday was our day in Rome! First stop, the Colosseum. We had tickets to get in early, and it seemed like everyone else did as well. We didn't take our stroller because we were told it wasn't super stroller friendly and neither was the Roman Forum or Palatine Hill which we were doing on the same trip. We still don't know if we wished we'd taken the stroller. The Colosseum was incredible. I'm amazed at what they could build with so little technology or motor equipment to move stones, etc. We got to go down on the battle floor where you could see the maze underneath where they'd lead animals or whatever was fighting. They'd lift the animals through the trap doors onto the floor and the person inside would have to fight them. Quite incredible! Jay and Hugh's favorite part was being able to run along some bleacher type seating they had available for people to sit and take in the view. We were there at 9 o'clock in the morning, and we were sweating by the time we got there. It was a very hot day! From the Colosseum, we went to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. We listened to a little free audio guide again and enjoyed learning a little bit more about the different areas there. It's fascinating to think some of these things existed close to when the Savior lived on the earth and he may have seen them! We know Paul went there, which is very cool too. By the time we were at the bottom of the Roman Forum area, Jay was losing it. We were hot, my feet and body were hurting, so I am sure he was hot and tired too. We tried to tide him over with snacks and water, and then I told him we had one more thing to see before we'd go home. He quickly started shaking his head, "no more one more thing!!" I had to laugh! Matthew was the super trooper and carried Jay or helped him walk up to the top of Palatine Hill. We got some great views, and Jay loved simply sitting in the dirt and grabbing it by the handful. He also scooted down most of the stairs and ramps on his bum, I think to communicate he was done with the adventure. We stopped at a little shop on the way home for lunch and ate it at our hotel. The boys didn't eat much and took massive naps. Hugh fell asleep on the way home, so he didn't nap quite as long but was still very tired. I was cheering Jay on at the end, encouraging him to keep going. I was doing it for him, but also for me! It was hard to walk those 7 miles carrying Hugh and it must have been hard for Jay's little body to do 7 miles even if Matthew did carry him for probably half. Jay's highlight was the water that was free. A tour guide saw him trying to drink, and showed him how to plug it with his finger and get the water to flow up through a little hole. Jay thought this was awesome! It was even more fun when he plugged it so well the flow almost hit a lady nearby. He thought that was very funny! And, all the onlookers thought he was so cute! 

The Colosseum 

You can see a few of the seats left behind me, they were stone bleachers

On the ground floor of the fighting arena

Happy freedom!

They did not want to load up

From the top, looking down onto the fighting floor

3D printed souvenirs, such a good idea.

Outside the Colosseum

This was part of the Roman Forum, places where Paul likely preached. It was the center of the town.

Up on Palentine Hill, looking down on the Roman Forum 

Jay scooting down a ramp because he was too tired to walk.

Hugh and I at the top of the hill, you can see the Colosseum in the background.

Hugh sleeping while we waited for lunch to-go order to be ready

Nap time was critical for all of our happiness that day!

Random tour guide helping Jay see how to plug and drink from the upper hole. 

The later afternoon, we went on a Heart of Rome walk, again guided by our free audio guide. We listened to it on 2x and enjoyed learning about new things. The Pantheon was amazing! It's incredible how it's still so intact and it was beautiful. We saw some beautiful streets that just seemed like they were what you'd expect to see in Italy. The fountains were gorgeous, we were bummed only a few were working. Our dinner was a little pizza shop, which was pretty good. The calzones had hot dogs inside, which they called sausage and it through us off a bit. They also make these pizzas earlier, keep them out and charge you for the weight of the size you want to cut off. Then, they warm it up and serve it to you. Such an interesting idea! We wrapped our evening with another gelato stop, the guy knew I was going to share with the boys and added some extra cookies which was so nice. Then, we headed to St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City. It was a beautiful square and building, but it felt exactly the same as the rest of the places we saw in Rome. It was maybe a little quieter because we went late enough into the evening there were less people, but it didn't feel special, nothing like the temples do. We walked around a bit, then took the subway back to the hotel when we all passed out again. 

Walking Rome!

Beautiful fountain with clear water, it was the only functioning one we saw.

This pillar has carvings from history and it one piece of stone! 

Dinner!

The Pantheon

A famous square that has a track around the center so you can make a loop.

Jay with the Munk

These streets were beautiful! 

When I picture an ally in Rome, this is what I picture

More gelato!

St. Peter's Basilica 

The longest escalator ever coming out of the subway in Rome

Saturday I purchased enough groceries for us to have food on Sunday, and we were very blessed it was enough to help us make it home. Sunday morning we slept until about 8. I had to wake everybody up so we could get to church. Our first bus was delayed, then didn't come, and we finally made it on the next bus but it was a lot later than we expected it to be. We weren't the only ones about to be late for church and we were grateful for a couple brethren who helped Matthew lug the stroller with Hugh in it up to the top of the stairs to get to the chapel. We miraculously made it in time for the sacrament. We took the sacrament, enjoyed a testimony in Italian and then walked around the temple grounds. Such a gorgeous temple! Not many people were on the grounds, and we enjoyed the peace. We also went into the Visitor's Center which was very cool. There was this huge stained glass window of the Savior and different people and miracles from His ministry. If you're interested, you can click here and read about it on the Church's website as well as see it. Hidden within the picture is a seashell from the Sea of Galilee and salt from the Dead Sea. I saw a pearl as well, but I don't know where that was from. The woman in the picture reflects the women Jesus healed in his life, i.e. the woman at the well, the woman with the issue of blood, and the woman caught in adultery. It was gorgeous! Then, where the Christus stands surrounded by the statues of all the Apostles, it was very neat. We took pictures, then went upstairs and let the boys play in the kid area for a little bit. They liked it, but we had to rush off to catch our bus to get back to the airport. We took the bus to our connecting train, and the train didn't come. The signs were confusing, saying we may have to reroute on busses. We waited just long enough to catch a very delayed train. We got to the main station where people take another train to the airport. We found our way to that platform and it looked like no trains were working. Finally one pulled in, we boarded. Then, they announced it was cancelled. We hopped off, and waited for another train. Finally, almost an hour later we caught a train. We arrived to the airport with 25 minutes until our flight doors closed. We were blessed with no line at the family security and they got us through quickly. We ran through the airport and made it to our gate. Just then, the board updated that the flight we delayed. We were sweaty, but grateful we made it. Once we landed in Germany, we waited for our stroller at the gate because that's where it always comes in the US. Well, the pilots finally were getting off and went down and looked for us and there was no stroller so we headed to baggage claim. On our way, we got stopped by two German police officers. German police officers (and all other countries' officers that we've seen) keep their hands on their super big automatic guns 100% of the time. It's very unnerving when they are talking to you. They asked us where we had come from, which we replied from Rome. The asked where the other passengers were, where the pilots were, etc. We explained several times we were waiting for our stroller and we were the last ones. They still questioned us, so they escorted us back down into the jet way to see where we came from. Luckily, they finally believed us and said we could go. Even with the delay of the officers, we still had to wait forever for our stroller to come up. Once we got it, it was fairly smooth sailing. We were back on Germany trains and in a system we understood. Jay fell asleep on the train ride in the stroller on the way home. It was about 6:30 pm. He was exhausted, didn't even wake up when we got home. I had him use the potty and put him in his pajamas and he basically went right back to sleep. I was so grateful! It was good to be home, and we were very tired!

Hugh loved finding this cubby and climbing into it while I was packing things up

Rome Italy Temple and my favorite boys

This is the visitors center

Side view of the temple

I made Jay take a picture with me at the back, and he wasn't thrilled.

Jesus Christ and the apostles, so cool! 

Matthew with Matthew

The boys were moving double speed when we let them out so all the pictures in the kids area are blurry

They thought the fake lemons were very fun

On our way to the bus stop, you can see the church building we went to on the left side of the photo.

Hay bales - it reminded me of Virginia, ID

Hugh and Jay on our train ride home, finally back in Munich

All of our tickets for the trip, I think I am missing a few or maybe several. 

Things I realized I really appreciate about Munich once we returned: 

• Beautiful wide streets and sidewalks
• Very stroller friendly public transit systems, I can drive the stroller onto any train, bus, or tram by myself
• No physical tickets are required for any public transit and I have one ticket for everything
• Our apartment is very clean and up to date
• We have great blackout curtains
• Munich is so clean! No piled trash and trash cans available everywhere
• Pretzels are available at every bakery

All in all, we had a great trip! Seeing these sites and places are a once in a lifetime opportunity. Most people don't even get the opportunity so I am glad we did it. We learned how to be more patient, that naps are very important for us all, and wear really good walking shoes while you're on vacation in Europe. Matthew did all the planning for our trip. He looked up places to eat based on what time we'd be there. He researched all the public transit options, tickets, etc. He booked our visits to all the tourist places. He was the mastermind and I am so grateful! There's no way we would have survived this trip without him, nor done this trip. I love him and am grateful for his sense of adventure and eagerness to seize the day!