The Tobins are blogging!!

It's time to embrace 2009 with a blog to commemorate the closure of a worderful year and future adventures. New Year's Eve 2008 finds us in Brunssum, Netherlands enjoying the -2.0 degree (celcius that is) weather. 2009 started with Jenny's 22nd week of pregolife and we went to Paris to celebrate the first weekend of the year. We drove 400km to a suburb of Paris and took one of the local trains (RER...regional express railway) from the town of Louvre to downtown Paris. After a great Friday lunch in downtown Paris, we took a long (longer than we would've liked or had predicted) walk along the River Siene to our hotel seated right at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. We refreshed quickly with a nap and hit the town again for the evening. We spent the evening with a bite to eat at a wonderful cafe (Le Champs de Mars) and walking around the Eiffel Tower with excursions out to the Arc de Triomphe, Avenue des Champs Elysees, and all the great spots around Paris. I begged Jenny to pick up a couple things at the Louis Volture store but since she already had so many items, we passed (phew!!) By the time the night was done, both of us were pretty cooked so we looked forward to getting some rest. It was a great first night in ol' Pari.
We woke up Saturday to get in line for the Eiffel Tower tour. The tower opened at 0930 and we got there a little early to avoid the crowds. Aside from braving the cold weather, we got to the top of the Eiffel Tower as the morning broke and the fog lifted off the city of Paris. The wait was well worth it and the view from the top was priceless. We warmed up over some croissants, chocolate chaud, and pain au chocolate (pastry) while sittin on the first stage of the Eiffel Tower. We got a one-day Paris pass and took the Paris subway to some of the sights including the Louvre, Grand Palais, and Trocadero. We even got a chance to see the remains of a 25,000 person protest with the full works (overturned vehicles, riot police, and much more). Fortunately, we got outta there quickly before the protesters (in support of the Gala Strip) regrouped. We finished the evening with some nice French desserts (crepes, mousse, and of course, tasty French wine) and chatting about life.
Sunday was our last chance to see the Eiffel Tower and headed back to our Euro life in Brunssum. We had a classic French breakfast before hitting the road. It was an amazing weekend and something we will soon not forget. We have other trips that we are planning for 2009. Best wishes and we hope you like the pictures and stories!!