Grandma Joycikins

"She was kind, giving, strong, stylish, adventurous, and fun. And I can’t forget to say that she was a great driver. She would want people to know that."

After 90 beautiful, adventurous, and love-filled years Grandma Joyce has received her reward of being with Jesus.

In April 2024 we got to take Grandma to Paris, a bucket-list item of hers, and I made this series of posts about our time together. It was a beautiful week, and I want to put it on here, so we can look back on our adventures whenever we want. If this is nice for you to read then that is wonderful, but the purpose of it is for us to have a memory to read about and see pictures of.

Day 1 We all made it safely to Paris!

Sleeping on the plane, made friends with our taxi driver, made friends with the bistrot workers (wife even got me an espresso cup with my name on it!), took naps at the Airbnb, rode the bus to the Eiffel tower to see it at sunset, ate some French fries with mayo, ate a baguette, and Ryland got to eat a Nutella crepe!

Buses were running late around the tower since the Olympics are coming to town in the Summer, so we got back to the Airbnb around 1:30am Paris time.

Tomorrow will be a relax day. Sleep in and explore the city!

Day 2 -Woke up late because jetlag is a thing. We got Grandma a wheelchair because she wants the race the boys in the stroller. Wife thought ahead and asked our new friend at the pharmacy yesterday if we can rent a wheelchair for the week. She told us to come back tomorrow (which was today) to pick it up.

-Then we followed the suggestion of our pharmacy friend on where to eat breakfast (it was now 3pm Paris time), and she told us where the best spot was! You'll see the pictures that this spot had it all. It was also close to a coffee shop and a playground for the boys to burn off some energy!

-Then we wanted to see Montmarte. A beautiful place with amazing architecture that overlooks the city. We spent the rest of the day here exploring the alleyways and shops. Wife even got her red camera out to take some pictures.

-Then we got on a couple of buses and just got back to the Airbnb at 12:30am Paris time. Better than yesterday!

Tomorrow will be a full day of city tours. We have tickets for the "Hop on, hop off" bus tour around the city, as well as a river cruise to see the city via water. Grandma Joyce is having a blast, the boys are loving it all, and Wife is doing amazing handling so much.

Enjoy the pictures!

Day 3 We started off by waking up and getting out earlier than yesterday, which doesn't say much since it just had to be before 2pm Paris time, and we went to the same breakfast place. The boys got to play, Joyce got her morning coffee, and then we were off!

We had to catch a bus to do our "Hop on Hop off" bus tour, and our first destination was the Notre Dame cathedral. It was still undergoing restoration from the fire a couple years ago, but we were still able to see a part of it.

Then we went in search of a lunch spot. It's hard to find a restaurant if the Finney Boy is grumpy, so we had to hurry. We thankfully found a place that accommodated for our large party (equipped with double stroller and wheelchair), and Finn went to sleep in the bench while Wife got to eat her food.

Next was to find a famous bookstore called "Shakespeare and Company". It's been in Paris for a very long time, and quite a few famous authors have been there. It was high on my list of things to see, as it was on many other people's. I managed to do my touristy thing and get a few pictures before we moved along.

We then got back on the tour bus in the direction of the Eiffel Tower, since that is where we would get on a river boat. Joycikins got to see the city by land, so why not see what it offered via Seine River tour boat! Wife got us to the front of the line, and everything was so smooth. The city is beautiful either way you want to see it, but the views from the river were something else!

It was about dinner time when the cruise finished, and since we wanted to get to bed earlier than the first 2 nights, we opted for a quick dinner...after walking around a bustling hangout spot for the local Parisians.

Then our night was finished! We came back to the Airbnb with time to spare before midnight, and the boys (and Joycikins) fell asleep pretty quickly!

I must add that the restaurant owners, bus drivers, and every Parisian we've talked with have been extremely nice and welcoming. Joyce has been over the moon with seeing everything, the boys have been adorable and well behaved, and Wife has been planning and organizing perfectly.

Tomorrow we get to take Joyce and the boys up the Eiffel tower and then to the Louvre!

Sleep time.

Day 4

Today was another great day.

We started the morning off with some eclaires for breakfast-on-the-go. We thoroughly enjoyed them as we waited for our bus. Today was "Ascend The Eiffel Tower Day"!

And after a half hour bus ride, that's what we did next. We arrived to the Tower entrance, and Wife had our tickets ready to go. After we made it past the security check (which is a must when traveling with Joycikins. They called her "Legolas" from Lord of the Rings, because of her walking stick. I dont think he had a staff though...) we were pleasantly surprised to find a coffee bar. After loading up on caffeine, and cleaning up the boy's spilled orange juice, we found the elevator to go up.

The views were amazing. The boys were so well behaved the entire time, and Finn even took a nap!

Next we took a stroll to find something to eat on our way to the Louvre. We had tickets for a certain time, but we began to realize that we weren't going to make it. Apparently if you miss your designated time then you have to wait in line with everyone else, which could take more forever-ness then we were willing to accept with the energetic group we are.

But it was no problem since Joycikins wanted to go to Starbucks more than she wanted to see the artwork inside the Louvre, so that's what we did! Paris has a few Starbucks locations, including the one just down the street from the bus stop we were waiting at. Which by the way, was across the street from an Italian street food place! Wife went inside to get us all some quick food and was able to let her Italian flow freely with the sweet Italian lady behind the counter. Wife so smart.

After getting more caffeine in our bodies we thought it'd still be nice to at least see the outside of the Louvre, so we casually walked the 2 miles toward the famous glass pyramid. Much to our surprise and delight we found some street vendors making fresh Nutella crepes! We loaded up on a few of those, and pleasantly ate our snack in front of the museum.

Next was souvenir shopping for Grandma, another nap time for Finn, and then dinner. I must say that we tend to find ourselves in some beautiful areas around sunset, and tonight was no exception.

First night was at the Eiffel Tower. Second night was on Montmarte. Third night was on a River boat cruise. Tonight was across the street from the Louvre. We have a couple of exciting plans for the next two nights as well!

To wrap up our night, Ryland fell asleep at the restaurant, so we had to switch him with the now-awake-Finny Boy in the stroller as we caught a bus back to our Airbnb. Each night we're getting to bed sooner, so I think we may be on Paris time now! Very excite.

Tomorrow is a full and exciting day, which will be fun to share once it's all over. I hope you've had a nice time reading about these adventures with Joycikins. It's been a pleasure for all of us to spend time together, and write up these memories that Facebook will bring up for us in future years.

Now is time for sleep!

Day 5

What. A. Day.

Today we all went to Disneyland Paris! It was amazing, magical, cold, and rainy. But did I say amazing?

We had a great time seeing a dragon guarding a castle.

Riding/observing a carousel.

Shooting lasers with Buzz Lightyear.

Taking pictures with Mickey Mouse. Watching the Disney parade of characters. Shooting webs with Spider-Man. Scurrying around a restaurant with Remy from Ratatouille.

Eating macaroons and other delicious treats.

Exploring, adventuring, dodging raindrops (didn't go so well), making friends, and seeing Disney Village to cap it all off.

Wife did an amazing job figuring out where everything was, and making sure we were present in every moment.

Grandma was a sweet heart the whole day.

Finn was adorable and wonderful.

Ryland completely lost his mind multiple times in pure excitement.

It was a beautiful day.

Tomorrow we might eat some chocolate and some waffles. Maybe even see some draft horses if it doesn't rain too much.

Day 6

Last full day.

It was going to happen. We knew that we would have one more sunset, one more dinner on this trip, and one more crazy night of getting back late to the Airbnb.

And it happened.

Today we went to Brussels, Belgium, and it was beautiful.

We were planning on taking Joycikins to Bruges as well, but it didn't work out. Brussels was a great place to visit for a couple of hours, and having Bruges still on our bucket list gives us a reason to come back!

The day was full of travel in a variety of ways.

First was walking to our favorite breakfast spot, then down to one of my favorite spots for coffee (it's a bike shop and coffee shop in one cozy place).

Then was the bus.

Then came the subway.

Then was the high speed train to Brussels.

Then a regional train to see the Grand Place in Brussels.

And then everything in reverse to make it back to the apartment.

Wife was amazing with making the trip happen. Her determination and adaptability to figure out the train tickets was second to none.

For all of her hard work she got to sit first class with Joycikins and Finn on the high speed train! She also got to eat the finest of Belgian chocolates from "Mary's" in the Grand Place square.

The boys did amazing, as well. They were so polite and sweet to everyone.

Joyce was well behaved, too. Well...for the most part.

This trip was full of fun, travel, beautiful sights, great laughs, and late night arrivals back to the apartment (not going to miss that). It has been a pleasure doing a recap each day, and I thank you all for reading

We will be flying back to the States tomorrow, and back to Central Standard Time. We will enjoy waking up before the Sun does, but I'm sure we'll get back to a normal schedule soon (especially for the boy's sakes).

Did I mention how amazing they were??

Ok.

Goodnight and see you later.

And that was our trip. The next adventure Grandma wanted to go on was to spend October with us here in Padova, and also try to fit in a trip to Iceland while she was here.

She truly was an amazing woman. She was a great friend. She was a great mom. She was a great Grandma. We hope that she is enjoying the beauty, the love, and the joy of heaven right now, and we can't wait until we see each other again.