We have just enjoyed a wonderful week long stay in a small village called Tancrou near Paris. I won the Travelizer blogger competition earlier in the year which funded our stay. We stayed in a gite which is part of a working goats' cheese farm, which was so quintessentially French with its spiral stone staircase, exposed beams and open fireplace. The grounds were beautiful with grassed areas enclosed by old stone walls. Lizards scurried across the rocks. It was idyllic and a place where Freddy could play to his heart's content.
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The weather was as gorgeous as our accommodation with glorious sunshine that warmed the air into the evening. It couldn't have been better. We felt very blessed.
Every morning we visited the goats from the farm who were full of character and eager for attention. The kids loved them and named a few of them! We sampled the cheese made on site and it was delicious.
We enjoyed days of peace and tranquillity at the gite. This was exactly what we all needed, recharging our batteries for the next part of our holiday.
In the middle of our relaxing time we spent two much longed for fun-filled days at Disneyland Paris. It was just a half an hour's drive from our gite. As we approached we caught site of the Disney balloon that floats high above the Lake. We stayed at the Sequoia Hotel which was fabulous and just a short walk from the gates to the Disney magic!
Freddy discovered the joy of Disney and loved the rides. He kept saying "I'm so excited!" and grinning broadly! His favourite ride was the Buzz Lightyear ride where he got to 'shoot aliens with space power!' We went on it several times!
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We spent the second day at Walt Disney Studios. The new Tower of Terror ride was absolutely brilliant and something for us grown-ups to enjoy. We were immersed into the world of The Twilight Zone being transported to the heady heights of the tower overlooking the parks with an awesome view, before plummeting down weightlessly.
The parades were full of the joys of Disney. Amazing floats, colourful characters, dancing, music and razzmatazz! The Stars in Cars parade included characters onboard lovely old vehicles. It was glorious!
The 20th Birthday Spectacular finale was out of this world. The castle was transformed into scenes from Disney films using a combination of lasers, projections, pyrotechnics, water fountains and fireworks. The kids were wide eyed with wonder. It was completely amazing what they did...and I was literally in tears by the end because it was so beautiful!
The Disney experience was not perfect. Almost all the restaurants were shut meaning that everyone who wanted to buy lunch ended up trying to buy it at the same time and the same place. We literally queued for an hour and a half in a roasting hot and crowded place to buy some pizza, fries and drinks which cost over 50 Euros! Outrageous! Also the toilets struggled to cope with the capacity of people in the park and they ended up overflowing and having half hour queues...tricky when you have a toddler! But somehow the magic of Disney overshadowed any negatives.
Overall, the Disney experience was magical. The rides, meeting the characters, going to a Character Tea Party and watching the parades was amazing. After two days we were utterly exhausted and glad to return to our tranquil gite to recover for a few days before the long journey home!
Thanks to Travelizer for this wonderful prize.
