Finally - Paris!

The second leg of our trip was to Paris. I must say it was AMAZING. I was a little worried at first. I had years and years of education about the sights and culture surrounding France…and I knew I’d only be there for a few days – and with my kids!! AHHHH — would I see it all? Would I enjoy it? Would my kids enjoy it? The answer to these questions was YES – of course!!!

Here are a few of the highlights – and a few tips on seeing Paris with kids.

I must admit we were out and about from breakfast and into the wee hours of the night. It stayed light until after 10 pm so it gave us ample opportunity to pack in the sights.

The people in Paris were quite friendly. At one restaurant, the kids were given light sticks. That night we headed over to the Louvre to see it lit up against the night sky. It was quite a sight. Although I loved the beauty of the Louvre in lights – the kids loved playing Star Wars battles with their new found light sticks! Everyone was happy!

Star Wars at the Louvre!

We tried to throw in kid-friendly activities. So, after a day at an art museum, we went to the Luxembourg Gardens and let the kids ride the ponies…and have ice cream! A favorite!

Pony rides at Luxembourg Gardens

Who could resist the stained glass at Saint Chapelle and the awe-inspiring size of the Cathedral of Notre Dame?

Stain glass windows catch the eye of people of all ages!

The Louvre was great for me because I saw the Mona Lisa…it was great for my kids because they saw a Mummy.

Mummy!!!! In the Louvre!

My kids still talk about going up in the Eifel Tower. AND – we saw it at night several times – when the lights flicker and it turns to “diamonds” – a thrill for everyone.

View from the Eifel Tower

Garden mazes became a theme of the trip – the kids loved running through them…here’s one at Les Invalides.

Ahhh - the mazes - a kid's version of big fun!

Napoleon’s tomb may have been cool for me…

The kids weren't so interested in Napoleon's tomb...

checking out one of the many tanks at the Musee d'Armee

Pint-sized armor

Endless cannons at the Army Museum in Paris

Versaille was the most universally family friendly place. It was absolutely beautiful with hours of garden mazes for the kids.

More mazes!

Anyone seen my kids??

Having some fun in the gardens at Versaille...

Davos may be one of the prettiest towns I've visited - I love Switzerland!

The train ride through Switzerland was absolutely gorgeous! The kids loved seeing the jagged mountains, swift rivers, and countless waterfalls. The cows…oh how they loved the cows! Every cow wore its own collar with a giant cow bell attached. Anyone who knows my children knows how much they want to own their very own cow – seeing these pretty pale brown and gray cows with their “necklaces” on just added to their cow-filled dreams.

After a three hour train ride, we arrived in Davos, Switzerland. It has some similarities to Vail and Aspen in Colorado. I would say that all the charm that people appreciate in the Colorado villages originated in Davos. Basically, developers in Colorado mimicked the town of Davos when they created the ski towns of Aspen and Vail. The town has everything you need – markets, shopping centers, ski trams and gondolas, pristine lakes, lush valleys, and endless hiking trails!! It is certainly a town that I want to return to time and time again.

One of our first sights was Reinerhorn. It is a ski area complete with a gondola, petting zoo, playground, and hiking trails. We took the gondola up the mountain and the views were amazing. All the valleys in the area are a brilliant green and covered with yellow, purple, and pink wildflowers.

Alpine flowers were in bloom.

Once on top of the mountain at Reinerhorn, we hit the trail. I can’t go on enough about how pretty this area is – a must-see!

Hiking atop Reinerhorn.

I think the highlight of Reinerhorn for the kids was the playground.

The playground on Reinerhorn.

The trampoline was a favorite on top of the mountain.

The playgrounds in the town of Davos were amazing, as well. Zip-lines, treehouses, giant wooden bugs were some of the highlights.

Giant wooden bugs at the playground in Davos.

Treehouse and Slide at the park.

Zip line...need I say more. Getting ready for Costa Rica?

The Albatross of Davos

We took one afternoon for a hike atop one of the mountains overlooking town. The tram ride was fun for the kids and a nice break from the hills for me. We managed to time it perfectly so that there were no lines and we had the entire tram to ourselves.

Going UP!

The nights were still crisp in the Alps, but luckily we brought enough warm clothes. Most dinners were spent at restaurants with my husband’s co-workers. Lively stories, delicious food, and a glass or two of wine became the norm. One night, one of his Swiss co-workers taught us all how to yodel. I’m not sure if the rest of the restaurant patrons were impressed by a group of 10 adults and 2 kids yodeling in unison – but it sure was fun! Who knows, maybe it will end up on you-tube!

I’ve had many people ask me how we managed to travel such long distances, for so many weeks, with such young children. So, I’ve decided to dedicate this post to answering those questions. I guess, in some respect, practice makes perfect. These kids of ours have been travelling around the globe since they were infants. Wherever we go, we take them with us.

This year, each kid had a backpack stuffed with their favorite things. So, it meant bringing a few coloring books, a large pack of crayons, stickers, blank computer paper, and a few books. They love coloring and drawing – so the blank computer paper was a godsend. Sometimes they drew and colored, sometimes I drew and they colored in whatever I had created. Big fun and a big way to pass the time!

Putting the coloring books to good use while on the train.

I cannot rave enough about Canada Air – the airline we used to fly to Switzerland. The flight attendants were friendly. The airplane was super-clean. Each seat-back had its own television, with endless shows and movies to watch. And the best part…free and unlimited beverages of all kinds – beer, wine, water, soda, juice. It really made for a fun and relaxing flight – albeit a long one.

The only thing that made travelling a little challenging at times were the bags…if only we had packed a few less things for our month abroad!!! We were really weighed down and looked more like a band of gypsies than American tourists with all of our gear. Backpacks (x3), dufflebags (x2), strollers (x2), computer bags (x2) (since the reason for this trip was for my husband’s work, computers were required), and a suitor (again filled with hubby’s work clothes). Note to self – next time PACK LESS!!!

The next few blog posts will cover various towns and activities we did with the kids during our trip. Stay tuned!

So after months (actually a year) of preparation, I finally have my first ½ Marathon under my belt: The Colfax Half Marathon! Race day was about as good as can be expected. The weather was perfect – a cool morning without a cloud in the sky. When lining up I put myself in the 12 minute mile group to be conservative. It was fairly crowded for the first few miles which drastically slowed down my pace. In retrospect, I should have lined up in the 10 minute mile group…maybe next time.

After I was able to break out from the crowd, I kept up an 8 minute mile pace for nearly half the race. Then, I dropped down to a 10 minute mile. About mile 10, I probably needed a bit more energy and dropped down to a 12 minute mile.

All in all, with the slow start and slow finish – I averaged an 11 minute mile or so – I’ll take that – especially considering the crazy weekend I had before the race! It turned out the night before was my sister-in-law’s wedding and reception at a local grill and bar. Needless to say, my food choices were tasty but not great pre-race options! Ribs and oysters are good – just not before running 13.1 miles!!

I actually felt great when I finished! I chowed on a bbq burrito, drank a beer, and headed off for my post-race refreshing drink at the car – coconut water and cherry juice – YUM! No pain the next day either – thanks to my coconut water, cherry juice concoction!!

Looking forward to my next ½ marathon in October and all my shorter races this summer! It’s going to be a great year of running! Now I have a goal too – beat 2 ½ hours in 13.1 miles!

The next few blog posts will hopefully bring things up to speed. In a nut shell, I ran my first half-marathon, travelled Europe with my two kids for three weeks, and signed myself up for a slew of new races. Add to the mix a renewed passion for green living – thanks to a week in the Swiss Alps. Suddenly, a busy day has become a whole lot busier.

Anyhow, stay tuned – because I’ve got some catching up to do!

While researching an unrelated subject, I discovered that many types of white table sugar are filtered with bone char. Bone char is charcoal made from animal bones, usually from cows. Yuck! It is used to remove the molasses or brown color from sugar, thereby making it white in color. Although I am not a vegan or vegetarian, I was surprised and slightly disgusted by this information.

Now – not all white sugar is filtered through bone char. A little background information may be helpful for many people. Most of the white sugar that is purchased from the grocery store falls in two categories: beet sugar or pure cane sugar. They may taste and look like the same product, but the two are processed in different ways. In most cases, beet sugar is filtered through bone char, while pure sugar cane is filtered using other techniques.

For people who want to avoid all processed sugars, there are many options. Pure maple syrup, light agave syrup, and brown rice syrup can all be used as sweeteners. Pure cane sugar is also a fine option, from most sugar refineries. Pure cane sugar can be found in liquid form, too. Some specialty grocery stores offer vegan sugar – although it can be expensive it does avoid the bone char filtration process, as well.

Well, I’m going to head out again tomorrow for another 10 mile trail run – YEAH! And…I am the proud new owner of a Nathan Trail Mix Hydration Belt. It is small, fits around my waist, and has two 10 ounce flasks attached to it for water. There is a little zipper pocket on it too. The pocket is large enough for some candy and even my cell phone.

We had a bunch of rain over the last few days, but that’s not going to stop me from heading out on the trail first thing Sunday morning! I’ll let you all know how it goes!

Well, we crossed into a new realm on Sunday. We “ran” our first 5K race together – the Canine Classic. This is a great race put on by MESA in Boulder where runners can have their four-legged companions run along side them. My husband and I agreed before the race started that we would all walk it together. We didn’t want the kids to feel like they weren’t fast enough to keep up with either of us – plus our dog does not always have a passion for running.

The race directors had the runners start first, followed by the walkers in a second wave. We lined up with hundreds of other walkers and their dogs and waited for the race directors to tell us we could start. Suddenly, it was time to “GO!” – the race had begun. The next thing I knew, my three year old took off in a sprint. Moments later, we are hundreds of yards ahead of the rest of the walkers (including my husband and daughter). My son kept up that pace for nearly 1 ½ miles – we even passed some of the runners.

The second half of the race began with a long trek uphill. I think that’s what ended my son’s sprint. From that point on, we walked. Rather slowly at times, but steady just the same. When we spotted the finish line, he took off at a sprint again – setting his own record!

Crossing the finish line, while racing after my 3 year old!

I am so proud of my entire family for completing this race. It was fun and quite a feat! I can’t wait to do it again next year. I’m sure there will be a PR or two in our group

There is a series of trails in Boulder that encompasses a bit of all of these features. I started off on a wide dirt trail. It has a few steady, uphill climbs and a few gentle downhill descents. The next portion is rather flat, but follows a meandering stream leading to the foothills. The last portion is…well…an uphill battle. It is narrow, steep, rocky, and probably a home to a hungry mountain lion.

I had planned on running 5 miles out and back for a total of 10 miles, but that last portion was so steep that I stopped about .25 miles short. We had lunch plans in Denver and I was running out of time (and steam). So, 9.5 miles was fine for me.

I decided a few things after this amazing run. First, I needed a trail pack/runner’s pack of some sort. Second, I love running on trails. I had ZERO problems with my knees and my legs never hurt the next day. Third, I cannot wait to run this route again. Hopefully, I’ll beat my time! (Now, if only my ½ marathon was on dirt )!

This weekend is another long run for me. I may just stick to the sidewalks and roads; however, there are a few side trips that could make my run more interesting. I may try to run on an open space trail, as well. I’m thinking it will feel good to get off the pavement for a day. My goal is nine or ten miles on Saturday….