Some fun in the show

While our visitors were here a couple of weeks ago, Roy took them up the a mountain to find some snow to play in. I was sick with a cold then so I didn't really feel up to spending a day in minus temperatures, breathing the frigid air into my aching chest. They layered up, jumped into the Panda and set off to Champex-Lac to find a winter wonderland to play in.

Our Aussie snowman

While we were admiring hot air balloons in Château-d'Œx, we found a nice hill with lots of snow. The perfect spot to make a snowman. This was Kate and Sarah's first so we had to make it a good one. We gathered some snow - the perfect kind for making balls and snow people. Amongst the snow rolling there was some snow throwing and lots of giggling and staring at balloons floating above us. Kate selected some twigs and leaves from nearby trees to adorn our freshly made man and we included a rather special item - some Australian flag glasses, brought over from the land of barren landscapes.

He was magnificent, perched on the side of a hill overlooking the grounds of the hot air balloon festival.

To the land of Mustard

Dijon was halfway between Paris and Martigny so we decided to make a stop for a night on our drive home. Plus we wanted to see where the famous mustard came from. It was only about three hours drive from Paris and we didn't have to leave too early, so we had some more time to spend in Paris. We arrived in Dijon at night and since they were upgrading the rail system, our trusty navigator "tomtom" got a little lost. We drove around in circles and went up a few one way streets but eventually we arrived out the front of our hotel where we parked our little Panda for the night. We had booked a junior suite at the hotel since it seemed like the cheapest and best option for the four of us. It was great. We had to walk out the back of the hotel to a different building, wind up the rickety, old staircase (avoiding hitting our heads on the way up) and found ourselves in our own, quiet, multi-roomed suite. It was so cute and homely, I didn't want to leave.

There were a few head bashings throughout our visit because there were exposed beams and slanted ceilings. Plus we're all unnaturally tall (except Sarah) so we were bound to hit our heads at some stage.  We asked the concierge at the hotel for some suggestions for restaurants for dinner, he gave us a nice map of the city and pointed us in the direction of where the food was. It was a Sunday night so it was really quiet but it was fun navigating the small streets at night trying to find a nice place to rest our weary bodies. We eventually settled on an Italian restaurant since it looked the most lively out of the quiet restaurants in town. It was really nice.

Sarah's amazing salad.

The next morning we checked out of our suite and hunted the town for a nice place to have a typical french petit déjeuner. We liked the look of a tea house which had walls and walls of canisters of all the tea you could think of. They also had many, many varieties of coffee too which was rather exciting. We ordered our 'menu petit déjeuner' and chose our tea and coffee and delighted when the fare arrived. Baskets of fresh croissants, bread, butter, jam, tea, coffee and orange juice. Breakfast is my favourite type of food and I always get excited when I'm met with a good one.

With satisfied tummies we set off to explore Dijon. It was rather quiet on a Monday morning. Most shops didn't open until after lunch time or some not at all. But it was still a lovely city to explore. Luckily there were some stores open so we could admire the local specialities - mainly mustard.

Dijon was rather lovely place to stop along the way. It's hard not to like European cities. They're always so pretty and a vast difference to cities in Australia. And of course I bought some mustard. How could I not?

Paris

We packed the Panda and hit the road for Paris. Kate made us some mixtapes (cds) for the journey and we weaved our way through the countryside of France stopping rarely for breaks, eager to greet the beautiful city at the end of our journey. Roy bravely tackled the crazy streets of Paris as we made our way to our hotel, unpacked the car, tucked it into bed and set about exploring town.

First stop was Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur where we admired views of the city from above the buildings. We all stared out at the city and breathed the air. We listened to a woman's rendition of Edith Piaf's "La vie en rose" and wandered around the magical Sacré-Cœur.

Photos courtesy of Kate and Sarah

We also had a go on the famous carousel. It took a little bit of coaxing to get the others on but once I had bought their tickets and told them to hop on, it didn't take them long to get into the spirit of things.

Next stop was a quick visit to the Moulin Rouge.

Then to a restaurant for dinner where we had Crème Brûlée.

Then off for a gander at the Eiffel Tower to watch it sparkle in the night.

The next morning we decided to try the bakery across the road from our hotel for breakfast. I've got to say, it was the best decision because the baked goods there were delicious! I had the best almond croissant I have EVER tried.

We visited the Louvre of course.

And saw the Arc de Triomphe.

Went to the Notre Dame Cathedral during Sunday mass.

It was cold.

Held a bunny.

Walked along the Seine.

We ate macarons, croissants, croque-monsieurs, briochette aux chocolat, baguettes, crêpes, éclairs, quiches and tarte au citron. No trip to Paris would be complete without gorging on the delicious, french delights.

Even after three visits to the magical city, I haven't grown bored of it. There is a certain enchantment to it that even after seeing the same things three times, I want to go back for more.