Kenna's England Journal

Today we're going to Paris! I'm really excited. We ate breakfast and then my dad went to work. My mom, Catherine and I packed for the weekend. Before we knew it we had to go to the tube station and go to the train. My dad had a call for work and he would meet us at the train. We got on but we didn't see my dad anywhere. The train started to leave the station. My dad wasn't on the train...to be continued...okay...the moment you've all been waiting for...my dad did not make it on the train! My mom didn't know what to do. She didn't have a phone and we had no idea where my dad was. We decided that the best thing to do was ask someone for their cell phone. A man that was sitting across from us let us use his. My mom called my dad but it didn't go through. We decided to try again later. My sister wanted to go to the dining car. We went and we got some popcorn and chocolate. While we were there my dad called the man who let us use his phone. He had gotten on another train to Paris. We would meet him at the hotel. The train ride was more relaxed after we found out about my dad. Once we were in Paris we went and checked in at the hotel and put our stuff in the room. Then we went out to check out the streets around our hotel. As we were walking we heard someone shout "Hey Bradys!" It turned out to be my dad! We walked along with him for awhile. We then went back to the hotel and went out to get some dinner. We decided to go to a creperie were oddly enough they serve crepes! I had a plain crepe. It was pretty good. We then went to see Notre Dame, which is a giant cathedral. It is amazing. It was getting late so we went back to the hotel. My dad went out to get some milk for my sister. I watched volleyball on the TV in the hotel. More about Paris later.

 

Last night I think I slept the best I have the whole time I've been in Europe. We slept in and when we woke up we had crosants that my dad had gotten last night. We then went to get on the bus to the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower is amazing. It really looks fake. The line was really looooooooong.We then went and had lunch at a little cafe. We got back on the bus and went around Paris. The bus is meant for sight seeing and you get headphones that you plung into the bus. You pick a laungage and you heard about the things you're going by. We went by some really old things. We went through a shopping district and my mom got out to go shopping. My mom, my sister and I got out at the hotel then we went to check out places to eat. We saw a place near our hotel called Pizza Marizzano. My mom came to meet us at the hotel and we went to the place. Dinner was delicous!!!! I loved it!! I had pasta with these delicous baked dough balls. After dinner we took a river cruise. There was a school group on the tour so it was a bit difficult to concentrate on the sites with the kids running around and screaming. The sites were amazing. We went under some spectacular bridges. The cruise was about an hour and a half. After we got off the boat, we went to get ice cream. It was amazing. I got chocolate. Then we went back to the hotel to go to bed.

 

. Today is Father's Day!  We woke up late this morning again. We gave my dad a present then went to an art museum. There was a long line but a man who worked there let us in to buy our tickets then we went in. The building is amazing. It used to be a train station. Anyway...you walk in and there are tons of statues and sculptures. Then there are rooms all around the main statue room that have lots of paintings. We looked around for a bit then we got hungry and went to look for the muesum's cafe. We had a bite to eat then went out on a balcony to see the view. In the distance we could see Sacred Heart Church. The church is so HUGE! We then went through the rest of the galleries. We saw a few famous paintings. At the end of the muesum ,we went to the gift shop. We got some pretty neat stuff. Then my dad wanted to climb the Arc de Triumph. So we did it. There's a museum inside it and we looked around then went up to the top. It was so high!!!! Then we went down the huge Arc. We were thinking of places to eat when we saw alot of military guys around the Arc de Triumph. It turns out they were lighting a flame that burns over the grave of an unknown French soilder. So we had to go outside the gates. We decided to leave since the ceramony didn't start for 30 minutes. We went to the same restaurant we went to last night...I loved the food there! The food was just as good as last night. Then we went to look for a t-shirt my sister wanted to get. We went to were we thought it was but it wasn't the place. There were alot of bands set up on different streets and we later learned it was a festival for the beginning of Summer. My mom continued looking for the t-shirt while my dad, Catherine and I went to the hotel to get to bed. More in the morning.

 

We woke up early to get to the subway and get to the train station. The party left loads of trash and there were people at a 24 hour bar at 6 am when we went by. The subway was closed and we saw a bunch of medical guys going into the subway with a strecher. So we caught a cab to the station. At the station, there was a little cafe where we got some croissants. Then we decided to catch an earlier train. We filled out landing cards and then boarded the train. I listened to music on my iPod for most of the ride. Then we went home. My dad took a nap then he went to work. We just chilled out for the rest of the day and then got ready for our next trip-to Nottingham to visit Michelle and her family. We packed new clothes and then ate dinner with my dad and went to bed.

 

We woke up this morning kinda early to get to the train station at 9:30. We had to allow alot of time for the tube. My dad brought us to Shepard's Bush station, but it turns out we needed to go to Shepard's Bush MARKET station. So we got on a train going to Shepard's Bush Market then changed to another train to bring us to King's Cross (now know as St. Pancras International). We were just in time for the train and we said goodbye to my dad and got on. We were in the quiet car so there weren't many people in the car and we got a table. For most of the 2 hour trip, I read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. It's really an amazing story. In no time we were there and we saw Michelle waiting for us. We got in her car and went to her house. Catherine and I saw the room we were sleeping in and almost fainted. I love that room!!!! It's really a sun room and there are two day beds with lots of blue and brown pillows on them. We saw the rest of the house and said hi to their dog, Leo. Michelle took us to M&S and a really fun playground. There are a bunch of things that spin, but the only problem was they were really high because the playground was designed for teenagers. Then we went home to have dinner and get ready for Michelle's son, Ryan's play for school. My dad was coming in on the train that night so Mike went to pick him up and then bring him to the play. It's called Honk and it's kinda like the Ugly Duckling. It's was amazing!!!! The sets were good, the acting was great and the costumes were amazing. We brought Ryan home.  We had cake to celebrate Ryan and Mike's ( Michelle's husband and Ryan's dad) birthdays and to celebrate the first performance of Honk. The cake was awesome. We then we went to bed.

 

I woke up to the smell of pancakes this morning. Michelle was making pancakes for breakfast before we got in the car to go to Chatsworth, our destination for today. After breakfast we got dressed and Michelle, my mom, Catherine and I piled into Michelle's car. Mike had gone to work, my dad had a meeting in Wales and Ryan is still in school. We drove for about an hour then got to Chatsworth. It's HUGE! It's a farm with a mansion, gardens and a playground. Click here to see Chatsworth's website. We walked around the gardens and walked in this huge waterfall like thing. We had lots of fun. Then we had lunch at a cafe at Chatsworth. Then we went to check out the farm animals and the playground. The animals were really cute. We then went to the playground. You can crawl through a tunnel or go up a ramp. Catherine and I decided to go the tunnel way. The playground had a zip-line and a tiny trampoline. There were alot of little kids because the older kids are still in school. Chatsworth was closing so we left. We got in the car and went back to Michelle's house. We had dinner and hung out. Mike went to go get Ryan after the play and then they came home. We played with Ryan on his DSi which can take pictures and mess up voices. It was cool. Then we hit the hay. I wonder what we're going to do tomorrow...

 

Today we had a choice of what to do. We could go to Cadbury's Chocolate Factory or go to Warwick Castle. We decided to go to Warwick Castle after viewing both websites.Check out Warwick Castle's website! We got in the car again but this time Mike was driving. He had a day off from work and was coming with us. It took an hour to get there but it was worth it. There was a big lawn when you walked through the gates and towers every where you looked. We went in one of the towers where the rooms were furnished and there were wax figures made like famous people who lived there. Then we went to another part of the Castle where they were shooting off a giant catapult. By the time they were done we went to get some lunch. We decided on a little restaurant in the Castle. We then went up a few more towers. Then we got some ice cream at the restaurant and went home. Catherine decided she wanted to see Honk again tonight, so Michelle and Mike took her. Mom and I stayed home and watched a little TV then took Leo for a walk to a park near the house. When Ryan, Catherine, Mike and Michelle got back we had ice cream bars. Then we went to bed.

 

We're leaving Nottingham by train today. Since we had two hours to kill Michelle took us to a mall in Nottingham. We got some more minutes put on my mom's phone and then went to a neat store called John Lewis. The store is so big it has it's own restaurant! We had a little snack there then looked around. John Lewis has everything from swimsuits to pottery mugs. We went over to the kids clothing section and my sister saw a jacket she liked. It's pink with white spots all over it. I got a green swimsuit there and Catherine got the jacket. Then we went to the train station. Again we were in the quiet car so we had a table. I had finished my book so I listened to my iPod. We got back to London then took the tube home. We unpacked and hung out then my dad came home and we ate dinner. My parents booked train tickets to Oxford for tomorrow. We're going for the day to check out the town and see where they filmed some of the Harry Potter movies. Good night.