April 2, 2013 -- Paris Day One

April 2, 2013 -- Day 1 Paris

We arrived in Paris on Day 1 and made our way to the Hyatt Madeleine.  We had lunch at Fauchons and then proceeded to walk along the Seine River.  We slowly but surely made our way to Notre Dame  (quite a walk).  After seeing Notre Dame (celebrating its 850th year), Chris headed back to the hotel while Sarah and I went off to find some shopping on the Champs-Élysée.  We finally made our way back to the hotel at 6:30 and then promptly headed out for dinner at 7:00.  After dinner, we took the Metro to the Eiffel Tower, went up to the second level and then grabbed a cab back to the hotel.  After starting our day in Germany with the exception of maybe an hour total in the hotel, we finally arrived back at the Hyatt at 10:40 pm.  It was a great day, but exhausting.  Here are some pictures -- bare with us ( me and S) we got carried away taking pictures.

The Louvre

The Seine

La Madeleine

Notre Dame

Notre Dame

The Gargoyles

The Stain glass Windows

Quaint French Shop

Quaint Flower Shop

The arch by the Louvre

Cookie Shop

The best macaron shop in Paris near La Madeleine

Champs-Élysée

Arc de Triomph

Champs-Elysée

Our favorite macaron shop on the Champs-Élysée

St. Augustine

Arc de Triomphe at night

Eiffel Tower at night

Paris at night -- view from the Eiffel Tower

The Black Market Merchants - Trying to make it big, in NYC - Co -Author: Sarah

Off living the life in New York City, little C has found his calling in life. Having always been a musician and in multiple bands; C has been involved with music his whole life. Secretly he has really always wanted to be a drummer in a rockband, inspired by the likes of Aerosmith, Led Zepplin, AC/DC, Cake, and Phish (plus many more). His first, piano abilities and then drumming skills have not ceased to amaze me.  In light of trying to find his own sound and live the life of a musician in the Big Apple, he has recently formed a band with some friends -- The Black Market Merchants. They have played a few shows and have just come out with 3 debute songs on their newly released album. Here is a sneak peek. Check them out on Facebook for updates and new songs, or if you happen to be in NYC, a show.



http://blackmarketmerchants.bandcamp.com/

Credit: Fphotos 

March 31, 2013 -- Easter Sunday in Oberursel -- Co-Author Sarah

March 31, 2013 -- Easter Sunday -- Co-Author Sarah

 It was a quiet Easter in Oberursel.  The weather was not at all Easter like at 32 degrees and snow showers.  I awoke to a strawberry rhubarb pie in the making and a cup of coffee. This year was different as I was the only child; something which has never been the case on a holiday. At around 10 am the Easter bunny hopped on over and delivered a package. The table was full of chocolates (special from Baden Baden), gummies and some unique German treats such as a Toffifee bunny, Kinder eggs and marzipan bunnies. Being the child that I am, I decided it was now time to continue the tradition of egg dying on Easter morning. What was different was the the egg dye.  Unlike the tablets that dissolve in white vinegar, the egg dyes are in tubes.  Instead of dipping the eggs into the dye, you wear rubber gloves and put droplets of dye in your hand. You then grab an egg and roll it around, coating it in dye. You can layer the dye, or mix it, or create a crinkle effect. Macintosh was quite enthused by this process and joined in the fun, placing her nose in the egg bowl and sniffing around the table. D and C even joined, each creating their own egg; which was added to the pile. After the egg dying we cleaned up and it was a rather mundane day filled with working and SAT studying. Easter dinner was quite fantastic, however, and the dessert even better.