Farmer John is a farmer at heart and home, but his day job is a 9-5. He had meetings in Germany for a week. The stars aligned and the kids & I were able to go with him. We book ended Germany with short stays in Italy and France.

EUROPEAN INSPIRED ART

Before we left I wanted the kids to learn a little about Europe. I had them create a piece of art based on each of the three countries we would be visiting.

Italy: Venetian canal craft from Crayola
Germany: German Cuckoo Clock from Cassie Stephens. I love her art ideas.
France: Rose windows in medieval cathedrals from Ms. Novak’s Organized Chaos

Since we would be visiting art museums, I also asked the kids to recreate a masterpiece.

FLYING TO EUROPE

First up on our vacation agenda: Obligatory pic with the infamous PDX carpet.

I’m pretty sure this carpet is one of the most photographed airport carpets in the world. When the original carpet was being replaced people went crazy over it and started taking pics with it. The carpet even has an instagram account.

We flew Delta. I have no complaints. I had my own monitor to see the map of where we were in our flight and to watch the movies I wanted to watch. The kids had their own screens and each watched the shows they wanted. Awesome! Once we were out of the US I got complimentary Jack with my coke. Yep, not going to complain.

We flew from Portland to Amsterdam. Then switched planes in Amsterdam for our flight to Venice.

Flying over the Alps was a pinch me moment. They were breathtaking.

Our first peek at Venice. My thoughts of the city from this view: not too impressed. Apparently Venice is a city best viewed up close.

VENICE, ITALY

I can’t say enough about how much I loved Venice. I adored the Old World charm.

You can’t stroll through Venice without noticing beautiful masks. I even spotted a chicken one.

TRAIN TO GERMANY

We traveled by way of the Deutsche Bahn trains. We boarded the train in Venice at the Santa Lucia station. We traveled to Verona, over the Brenner pass, to Munich, and finally on to Nuremberg. It was a long ride, but a lovely way to see the beauty of Europe.

When we were traveling in and out of Germany, kids under the age of 15 rode free on the Deutsche Bahn trains. This was a great way to save money on vacation.

NUREMBERG, GERMANY

We stayed in Nuremberg for a week. John spent most of his time working, while the kids and I explored. We primarily toured Nuremberg, but ventured one day to Munich.

PARIS, FRANCE

We took the train from Germany to Paris. We had only one half day + one full day in Paris, which is not nearly enough time. But, we did make the most of our time and saw some amazing pieces of history.

The details on many of the buildings and monuments absolutely amaze me.

DRINKING IN EUROPE

We had virtually no trouble traveling through Europe, even without speaking Italian, German, or French. It helped that we do speak English, as do many Europeans. Also, I did have a little cheat sheet of common words for each language. We got through transportation, accommodations, shopping, even ordering food, with very few issues. Our one snafu the entire trip was water to drink at restaurants. We drink a lot of water. We are accustomed to tap water being available most everywhere. This was the one cultural difference that through me for a loop. Water was often brought in liter bottles, with a hefty charge. Also, carbonated water is their norm. So, if we forgot to ask for it without bubbles we were thoroughly bummed. None of us cared for the sparkling stuff. I didn’t mind paying for the water, but I thought the cost was too high. I remember one place where I let the kids order soda and I got wine because those drinks were cheaper than the water.

It is obvious I take drinking water for granted.

FLYING HOME

From Paris, we flew to Amsterdam.

On our way out of Amsterdam I noticed a group of windmills in the ocean. I’m not sure how they are used, but they intrigued me.

The Rockies may not be the Alps, but Canada has a beautiful mountain range, too.

Our kids earned their wings as we were getting pretty close to Portland.

WE MADE IT HOME

I bought masks in Venice for the kids to paint once we got home.

Farm Kid2 made John & I a thank you card for the trip.

This was a fantastic trip full of so many great memories. I am incredibly thankful for the experience.

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The last city on our European vacation was Paris.

NUREMBERG TO PARIS VIA TRAIN

We woke up bright and early to catch our 5:30am train to Paris. Lucky for us our hotel in Nuremberg was right across the street from the train station.

We were able to take the Deutsche Bahn trains all the way to Paris, with only one transfer in Frankfurt. Our pocket books did a happy dance taking the German trains since the kids traveled for free. Look into it. It’s worth it.

OUR HOTEL

During our time in Paris we stayed at the Citadines Les Halles. The accommodations were good and the cost for being in the heart of Paris was reasonable.

PARISIAN STREETS

Of course I came to Paris to see some of the major sites. But even if I never entered a wordly treasure, I would still think Paris was spectacular. The streets are gorgeous.

Used book sellers along the Seine. Farm Kid1 purchased a set of playing cards.

DAY 1

Day 1 in Paris was only a half day since we traveled from Germany that morning. But, we made the most of our short day.

THE LOUVRE
This was my 2nd visit to the Louvre, and if I get the chance I’d absolutely go a 3rd time.

ARC DE TRIOMPHE
We took a beautiful walk from the Louvre to the Triumphal Arch.

The Arch is in the middle of an endless circling of cars. We took a pedestrian tunnel underneath and ended up safely in the middle of all the chaos at the arch. We climbed the spiral staircase to the top and were granted a spectacular view of the city.

To end the evening we had dinner near our hotel, then went to bed. It had been a very long day full of trains, culture, history, art, and crowds.

DAY 2

Day 2 was spent entirely within a few miles of our hotel.

There were many places I wanted to see while in Paris. Notre Dame was at the top to that list.

NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL
Walking to the top of the south tower was my favorite part of our time in Paris.

MUSÉE D’ORSAY
The Musée d’Orsay was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I did.

SAINTE CHAPELLE
We took a quick tour of the chapels at Sainte Chapelle.

EIFFEL TOWER
Of all the places we visited on our trip, the Eiffel Tower is what I wanted the kids to see the most. Not because I think it’s so much better than anything else we saw. But because they were pretty young and I thought it may be the only thing they could relate to. It was probably the only thing they would recognize.

FOOD

I wasn’t in Paris for the food and none of our meals really stand out. I didn’t starve and it all tasted fine. I’m content with that.

LOVE ROCKS

When we travel we like to leave Love Rocks. Paris got a few.

One thing I realized about the city of Paris on this trip is the amount of open spaces there are. There is a lot of room for locals and visitors to hang out in many historical spaces. I love that.

On the other hand, a number of places were crowded. They were way, way too crowded for my comfort level. I don’t remember this issue the first time we visited. But, this time, especially along the Champs Élysées and near the used book vendors, there were an alarming number of people.

I would absolutely like to return to Paris… however, I will do my research to find a less crowded time of year.

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There are so many intriguing places to visit in Paris. We narrowed it down to a few must-do’s, put on our walkin’ shoes, and headed out for the day. We squeezed as much as we possibly could into our last day of vacation.

First stop… Notre Dame Cathedral.

NOTRE DAME

Before we had kids, John and I visited Notre Dame on a short European trip. Returning to Paris, I knew it was someplace I needed to see again. The first time we came on a very quiet middle of the week day in March. We didn’t tour the towers, but we had the church almost all to ourselves. It was beautiful and serene. This time we came on a Sunday, during mass. Because it was so crowded we didn’t get to oogle over the inside as much as I would have liked, but we did go to the top of the south tower. I can’t even put into words how awesome that was. Visiting this cathedral twice now, I can honestly say it is one of my most favorite places.

Construction began on this medieval wonder in 1163 and has changed a bit over the years, but was considered complete in 1345. 1345! It is hard to imagine how they created such a masterpiece without the technical advances we have now.

Last time we toured the massive cathedral we really got to look at the awe worthy French Gothic architecture. This time we didn’t get to do that as much, but we did experience the cathedral for what it was built for – a place to worship. I didn’t mean for us to show up during mass, and I almost felt rude interrupting. As we walked around, though, we got to listen to the service and hear the choir sing. Just an amazing moment.

We arrived early to get in line to go to the top of the south tower. It was boring and waiting is never fun… especially with kids. However, it was worth every second of the wait. Walking up the spiral staircases to the top… Amazing! Even the kids appreciated how awesome it was to be walking on those stone steps.

I can’t pick out my favorite part. I loved the medieval staircases. Seeing the details of the Gothic cathedral almost made me tear up. The bell. The chimera. The view. All amazing.

After seeing the top of Notre Dame, we explored the ruins underneath it in the Archaeological Crypt.

REMINDS ME OF HOME

Being on an entirely different continent we still had moments on our walks that reminded us of home.

We stumbled upon some kind of vendor market selling birds and flowers. Probably not a big deal to many people, but for us this was such a fun little surprise. We even saw black copper marans hatching eggs. Maybe I am easily entertained, but seeing those eggs in France from a bird originally from France was a weird highlight from our trip.

We also saw a group warming up for a Color Run. My slight addiction to running events made me a tad bummed I wasn’t down there warming up with them.

MUSÉE D’ORSAY

I prefer old artwork from hundreds of years ago, such as from the Renaissance and Roman time periods, so the more modern pieces at the Musée d’Orsay didn’t appeal to me much. But, I still wanted to go check out the museum. So, we did. I was pleasantly surprised. The building, as well as its collection, had a very different feel about it than the Louvre. Not better, not worse – just different.

I didn’t think Impressionism or French art were really my thing, but there were a ton of pieces I thought were fantastic.

Top Right: Oil painting from Claude Monet’s water lily series, Le bassin aux nymphéas, harmonie verte. The museum also has many Monet paintings that are not water lilies.
Bottom Left: Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night. This version is a night sky over the Rhône. Van Gogh painted another Starry Night, which is on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Bottom Right: Eugène Delaplanche’s Eve avant le péché (Eve before sin). It’s kind of hard to see from this angle, but she has an apple in her hand.

SAINTE CHAPELLE

Sainte Chapelle is part of the Palais de Justice complex, which sits on the same little island in the River Seine as the Notre Dame Cathedral.

It was completed in 1248 with the purpose of holding Christian relics.

As with many Gothic gems, the exterior is gorgeous. I loved seeing the gargoyles.

This is one of those places where a photograph just can’t capture just how mesmerizing it truly is.

There is an upper and lower chapel both with exquisite stained glass. The lighting through the glass was stunning.

The other thing that struck me was the detail of the entire walled surface. Every inch was ornately covered in gold or paint. In any other setting I probably would have thought it to be over done. But here, it was part of what made the entire experience exceptional.

WALKING ALONG THE SEINE

We were tired, but somehow walking along the Seine was still magical. It had to have been the atmosphere. It certainly wasn’t the worn out travelers finishing up their 2 weeks of adventuring.

We had places to go, things to see. So, we didn’t sit and picnic. But, strolling along and taking it all in was marvelous.

We came across fencing covered in love locks. We also came across some areas covered in plywood to deter the addition of more locks. I was surprised to see just how many locks there were.

EIFFEL TOWER

Last, but not least, on our quick stop in Paris was the Eiffel Tower.

On our previous trip, John and I went up in the Tower to gaze out at the city of light. This trip I decided to go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and the Notre Dame tower so we could see the Eiffel Tower in our views of the city. I am not disappointed with that decision.

We walked around and through the Eiffel Tower, took many photos, and Farm Girl did handstands in the grass. It was a nice ending to our European vacation.

We took an RER train back to the hotel and got ready to head home crazy early the next morning.

Our time in Europe almost over.

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After arriving in Paris we had a few hours left in the day to explore. The Louvre wasn’t too far from our hotel, so we chose to go there.

I definitely wanted to get to the Louvre, but just walking the streets of Paris was lovely.

THE LOUVRE

Our day in Paris took way longer to get started than I had planned. By the time we got checked in at the hotel, and through the ticket line we only had a little over an hour to explore all that is awesome at the Musée du Louvre before closing time.

On one hand, it kind of sucked that we had to rush through the museum. On the other, I’m still extremely glad we saw what we did.

The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel with the Louvre behind it.

The building itself is amazing. So beautiful and full of so many details. Originally built over 800 years ago, the former royal residence has changed over the years. It has been a fortress, a palace, and since 1793 – a museum.

We saw so much, in such a short amount of time. It’s all kind of a blur.

My favorite pieces are from the Italian Renaissance and the Greek & Roman antiquities.

Here is the tiniest sliver of what we saw:
Top: The crowd catching a glimpse of the Mona Lisa
Bottom Left: Marble female statue (circa 50BC) restored as the muse Melpomene looking over the Sphinx courtyard
Bottom Right: Ceiling artwork in the Salon Carré room of the Grand Galerie

Left: Throwback to our 2002 visit to the Louvre.
Right: I didn’t know if we would get the chance to ever make it back. I’m so grateful we did, and with three kids in tow.

TUILERIES GARDEN

The Tuileries Garden in April was stunning!

I’m not sure why I loved it so much, but it made me so happy to see such a beautiful place filled with people seeming to just relax and enjoy where they were.

CHAMPS ÉLYSÉES

We walked from the Louvre, through Tuileries Garden, down the Avenue des Champs Élysées, to the Triumphal Arch.

We didn’t do any shopping along the way… except to grab a couple crepes… of course.

ARC DE TRIOMPHE

The Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile is huge monument honoring Napolean’s victories and is located in the center of a bustling 12 avenue roundabout.

Again, I’m just in awe of the design details.

The view from the top of the Triumphal Arch? Amazing! Absolutely worth the 2.5 mile walk from the Louvre, even at the end of a very long day.

Top: Looking across the Seine at the Eiffel Tower
Middle: Looking towards the Sacré-Cœur Basilica
Bottom: Avenue de la Grande Armée

From the Arch we took the metro back to our hotel. Then had a late dinner at the Cafe Rive Droite.

It was an exhausting, wonderful day.

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We have had Black Copper Marans for a few years. They are not my favorite breed. However, they do have a place in our flock.

We breed our Marans based on the French standard, as well as the APA, which means they have feathered shanks and toes.

Coloring

COMB, FACE, EAR LOBES, & WATTLES: bright red
EYES: reddish bay
BEAK: dark horn
BODY, TAIL, & WINGS: black
HACKLE: copper
SHANKS & TOES: slate – lighter on cocks than hens; bottom of feet are pinkish white; feathers are black

Cocks should have copper on the head, hackle, and saddle feathers.

Left: This is a pretty hen with some copper hackle coloring.
Right: This lady is missing copper in her hackle feathers and should not be used for breeding. She still lays a beautifully dark egg, though.

Feathered Shanks

Chicks

About a week and a half old:

A little over 2 weeks:

About 4 weeks:

Hens

They are quite content spending the day foraging.

I’m not going to beat around the bush – Marans are not my favorite chicken breed. They aren’t real friendly, and they get irritated easily. You make one little change to their living environment and they quit laying for what seems like forever.

The two ladies in this photo are broody. In our experience, Black Copper Marans make horrible mothers. I won’t allow them to sit on eggs anymore. Unfortunately, they go broody fairly often during the warm weather months. We break them of it, which then ticks them off, making their egg laying inconsistent.

Even when they aren’t ticked off, they aren’t great layers.

She has a lovely RBF:

Eggs

Marans Eggs. The gorgeous Marans eggs.

The sole reason I have these beautiful, but bitchy, birds is for their dark brown egg.

You will notice these egg photos all have a dark brown egg. However, the darkness varies. The dark brown color can be different based on a few factors including the genetics of the bird and the time of year the egg was laid. Also, the lighting while taking the photos can alter the the appearance of the egg in photographs.

I love the addition of the dark brown egg to our egg basket, or in this case, egg bowl.

The inside of the velvety chocolate brown Marans egg is white?! Yep.

A Marans eggshell is white. The brown pigment is added to the outer shell during the laying process. Since this layer is “painted” on it can sometimes be scratched off, like in the middle egg in the photo below.

Marans Eggs in Paris

While in Paris a couple years ago, we wondered across an outdoor market. Primarily they seemed to be selling birds and flowers. It didn’t take me long to spy Marans hatching eggs for sale. I love that we saw those – combining the love of our farm and our love of traveling.

While Marans are not my favorite breed since they are temperamental and not great layers, I do have an appreciation for their uniqueness. They will be on our farm for quite some time, I’m sure.

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NOTRE DAME

I love Notre Dame. It is breathtaking inside and out.

In 2002, Farmer John & I quickly admired the main level. It was amazing and when we brought the kids to Paris in 2015 it was a place I definitely wanted them to see. Plus, let’s be honest, I wanted to see it again.

This time we climbed the stairs to the top of the towers. We arrived early, but there was still a long wait. It was worth the wait.

I enjoyed the entire experience – the enormous Emmanuel bell, the view, even the narrow spiral staircases. My favorite thing, though, was getting to see the chimera up close.

GARGOYLE VS. CHIMERA

Only recently did I learn the difference between a gargoyle and a chimera. The first 30 years of my life I used the word gargoyle to describe both. Very naive, I know.

GARGOYLE
Gargoyles are functional. They were built on the end of gutters to prevent rain water from dripping on the walls and eventually ruining the building.

CHIMERA
Chimera are decoration. Weird, yet awesome, decoration. These ones on Notre Dame have a great view of the city.

The building of Notre Dame occurred and changed over hundreds of years. The chimera were added during the 1800’s.

The guy in the upper right is Stryga, probably the most famous chimera.

CUTTING 3 WOOD SQUARES

I bought a long pine board that was 5.5″ high at Home Depot.

I wanted the wood to be square, so using a table saw Farmer John cut the board to 5.5″ wide. Then, he cut two more squares.

BACKGROUND COLOR

I used a simple gray color to paint the 3 wooden squares.

Then, I used a piece of sand paper to both smooth the surface and roughen the edges.

ROUGH IT UP

As I’ve mentioned a number of times, I rarely paint just one color. These squares were no different.

After the main background paint dried, I used a variety of gray paints to add a bit of interest to the wood. Instead of a brush, I used a natural sponge to lightly apply the color.

After that layer of paint dried, I sanded the edges to give them a rough look.

ADDING THE PHOTO’S

The original photos are in color. Using Photoshop, I changed them to black and white.

I cropped and printed the photos to a 5″x 7″ size. Then I trimmed the photo to 5″ x 5″.

Using mod podge, I glued a 5′ x 5″ photo to each square.

3 SQUARES IN A ROW

I chose to make three squares and place them in a row. It would also be a fun project to have 4 squares, but place them 2 x 2.

Anyone else think the chimera are as fascinating as I do?

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Years and years ago, before we had kids, the hubby and I spent one day & one night in Paris. We climbed the stairs of the Eiffel Tower and were rewarded with a great view of the city. The photos I came home with were lovely, but lacking one key feature of Paris since we were standing on it. So this last time we visited, in 2015, I was determined to get photos of the amazing city with the Eiffel Tower in the shot. We ended up making it to two famous landmarks with great views, the Arc de Triomphe & the towers at Notre Dame.

SUPPLIES

• 2 – 16″ x 20″ canvas
• 1 – 16″ x 20″ photo
• 1 – 12″ x 18″ photo
• Dark gray acrylic paint & paintbrush
• Mod podge
• Bling on a roll
• Hot glue

PAINTING THE CANVAS

Using dark gray acrylic paint I painted the sides, as well as the edges of the main part of the canvas . I was being frugal and didn’t see any reason to paint the section of canvas that wouldn’t be seen.

DECOUPAGE

I applied mod podge to the back of the photo and centered it on the canvas. Then, as a layer of protection, I brushed mod podge over the top of the photo and canvas.

ADDING BLING

Have you seen this? Bling on a roll! Brilliant.

This particular roll had 4 rows of bling connected. Four rows was too thick for my design so I cut the bling to 2 rows.

After the mod podge dried, I used a glue gun to attach the bling to the canvas.

AND, REPEAT

I repeated the entire process for the other photo and canvas.

FINISHED PIECES

I love how the pieces are matchy-matchy… but not perfectly matchy-matchy.

I would love to see how you display your vacation photos.

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Oh, the holiday of love. I love, love, love this craft idea from That Artist Woman.

We didn’t get quite the detail she accomplished. But, the kids had fun creating the clouds and using cardboard to make a seemingly impossible Eiffel Tower.

Here are the finished creations by Farm Kid2 & Farm Kid1.

Anytime we can pull out the paints makes for a fun project. And, they get even more excited when the project includes a photo of themselves.

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