The kids and I did a thing.  We went to Paris.  We learned about how much we enjoy each other and how to partner with one another, how to navigate public transportation including buses and trains, and how to ride a Hop On Hop Off bus around a big city.  The HOHO bus was a great way to see the sites.  We saw a ton of amazing things, went to the Louvre, saw the Eiffel Tower at night (but my phone had died), learned a bit about French culture, and enjoyed being able to speak English outside of Italy!  We missed Italy and appreciated its people and culture while we were away.  We learned that the grocery store is a fantastic way to learn about local food, that we should make sure not to run the phone out of battery without knowing how to get back to the train first (ahem, that was my fault), and that we definitely should have checked that bus station for the train stop before we walked an extra mile or two looking for the train.  I learned that Ashton is great at making her way around the city via the metro.

I learned new things about my kids, and a lot about my preferences for travelling in the future.  All in all, we had a really fun time Paris!