Real quick going to mention Sunday, February 1st. We went to a ship graveyard and to the coast and it was super cool and super beautiful but i'm going to skip the details and just put some pictures up from that day
The rest of my week before our trip into Paris was mostly spent with the children at home while Aline did about a million things to get ready for two weeks in Paris (have I mentioned that she is like Super Mom?) or with my friend Dimitri. Quick side note- no one in France cares at all about the Super Bowl (or more importantly the Puppy Bowl) So watching the game here was not fun since it started at 1AM and the Dimitri's Tv is like 12" (Excuse me where is your 54" plasma surround sound LED TV with optional cup holders?).
Moving on, this week starts the 2 week holidays for schools in Brittany so we are spending these 2 weeks at Aline's parents flat in Paris. Her parents are about the nicest and most french people you will ever meet. Her father gets fresh baguettes very morning and her mom wears cute little dresses and hats everywhere and her cooking is just to die for. They are so welcoming and her father tries so hard to speak english with me and i'm glad we get to spend time with them because I think they are wonderful people. I have to mention too that Aline's sister is the Bridge world champion. I'm actually sleeping in their flat, which is like right next door, so i'm hoping some of her greatness rubs off on me. Their flat is very American and modern. All black furniture and very beautiful grey laminate floors (I'm talking about furniture and flooring... I'm turning into my mother). Anyways their flat really juxtaposes Aline's parents which is filled with wood furniture and little paintings everywhere (exactly how I imagined a French home to look like).
We arrived on Saturday night and have been sightseeing ever since.
Our first stop was at the Notre-Dame de Paris. I thought the children would find visiting a church the most boring thing in the world but they actually seemed to really enjoy it. Maialen is hilarious too because after seeing the "pretty church" she decided she wants to be baptised and become a catholic right there! We didn't stay for the actual service but we did hear some of the music at the beginning and it really was amazing with the organs and the beautiful singer in that giant church. I couldn't help but think about how much my Aunt Diana would love to see this church and that I really am so lucky to have had the opportunity to see something so beautiful.
Monday we spent the day at my absolute favorite place on the entire planet. DISNEYLAND!!! Everyone kept telling me I would be disappointed in Dland Paris because it is so much smaller than CA or FL but i loved it just the same. It was much smaller, but the park was set up nearly the same as California so I felt very at home. Also more people spoke english at Disney than french, so it was nice to fully understanding what was going on for once. During one of the rides the children were on with Aline I had to chance to talk to one of the workers and he told me that almost everyone who works at Disney is not from France, and that most are from english speaking countries and work their while studying French. Of course the kids were in heaven at Disneyland (who isnt?) and they were so well behaved it was awesome. Overall 10/10 for the day.
The next day we went to the Aquarium de Paris Cineaqua. This aquarium is right next to the Eiffel tower so I finally had my chance to see the Eiffel tower in person and it was everything I had hoped. So beautiful, towering over everything around it you can't help but stare, it makes you feel so small but its interesting to think about all the different people who have laid their eyes on this tower before me. I loved it. The aquarium was really cool too, lots of sharks and we got to feed some fish and the kids had a blast so that always makes it fun.
This morning we went to the Museum national d'Histoire naturelle and Jardin de Plantes. So the museum of natural history was cool but they had the creepiest thing ever. Little baby skeletons of children from like 6 months to a year old and Aline and I stared at them for a good 5 minutes. So freaky.
The Jardin de Plantes is a famous zoo in Paris. It has all the usual animals (no Lions or Tigers that we saw) so obviously that was super fun too. Didn't get many pictures from this morning, I think I was too busy enjoying the animals.
I've officially been gone for 5 weeks now and im realizing a few things while being abroad.
1. It's not the tourist attractions or museums that make a city or country. Its the small pub across from your friends flat, or the delicious turkish kebabs from around the corner, or falling in love with every pastry you eat, the struggle to speak the native language and the loads of questions you get when you tell people where you're from. These are the things that make you fall in love with a place.
2. The more you travel, the more you realize all the awesome things to do at your home. No arizona doesn't have the eiffel tower, but it has the Grand Canyon, sunsets that take your breath away, the best golf courses ever, Chino Bandido and most importantly INN-N-OUT burger. My friend Dimitri and I have been talking about him visiting the USA so i've been telling him all the things to do in AZ and everyday I think of something to add to my list, it makes me think of all the times I said "I'm bored" and wonder what was wrong with me because I come from a very, very cool place.
3. There really is no place like home.