TravelStream™ news feed for member styrsky on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/styrsky en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:07:04 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1220323500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1220323500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1220323500/tpod.html Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:07:04 -0400 Home Exchange 2008 - Spain & France

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Sacramento, California, United States

10.5 hours on the plane. Went by pretty fast for all of us except Janice, she was bouncing off the walls.Bob and Rachel picked us up ...Two hours to home, a quick stop at Carls Jr for some good ol' American free refill sodas.Back home. A gift basket awaits from Niki! Thank you!!  Crazy. Our house feels like a stranger's home. Seriously. Two months is longest I've ever traveled, and being gone for that long ... its like the math is off on how I remember our house. One hallway seems shorter, the other longer. Our carpeted floor looks nicer than I remember it. Some of the rooms seems smaller. ... Its a bit like that feeling when you return to a childhood monument, a school or a gymnasium for instance, after being gone for many years.Bring the bags in, ... then Janice and the kids do a quick visit with the cousins. I shop for a new car for us ... test drive a couple, but no purchase.I end up awake until 1am researching cars online. Janice and the kids sleep solidly.The next day, all of us are awake near 5am ... and off to Sam's first day of 1st Grade! Off to work for me, my inbox takes nearly a full hour to download the over 3000 emails from the past two months (and those represent just the KEEPERS... the ones that made it past my junk filter and my own screening!). Janice does a TON of work around the house getting errands taken care of like smogging the car, getting laundry started, getting our gym membership dialed in, etc. Glad to be home. I expect to do a "Final Impressions" sort of entry in a couple of weeks once we are back in to the normal swing of things in normal life. For sure, the best part of this whole experience has been the people. Our friends and family HERE IN THE STATES who helped coordinate stuff and greet our foreign guests, the friends and family of our exhange partners in Spain and France, ... and the strangers we met along the way. thats what made it all special. Already there are people we miss ... people we want to see again and we are just back one day!
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Swords, County Dublin, Ireland

We start the day by getting all the bags completely packed. All the last odds and ends and such. Today is our last day in Paris. Well, not a full day really. But we'll make the most of it. Mimi makes a boulangerie run with the kids, giving Janice and I a little space to do our final runs through the apartment to be sure we aren't forgetting anything.By 11am, we are out the door .. heading towards the Luxemburg Gardens, the closest sight to our apartment that we haven't really spent any time at. Janice and I jogged by the first night, but weren't able to go in since it was so late.For the first time during our entire stay in Paris, today is the day we grab the wrong Metro. I realize it immediately, but still, we lose about fifteen minutes getting off, and then finding our way to the right place. DOH!We find the gardens ... the pond ... the building ... all gorgeous. Mimi rents some small sailboats for the kids for sailing around the pond, while Janice and I snap some photos of our greatest discovery yet. A head larger than mine! YES! We only get to spend about thirty minutes at Luxemburg because we need to catch the RER Train to the airport at 12:30pm. So, just as soon as we can get our hands on the sailboats, we head out. A couple of drops of rain dropped on us while we were waiting, and actually, we were getting a little nervous we might have to ditch the boats as the wind didn't seem to want to cooperate with our plans to leave. Mimi even talked about hiking up her dress and wading in to retrieve the boats. In the end though, we didn't have any problems.Back to the apartment, snag the bags, ... Mimi walks us to the metro station ... and away we go. One lame thing ... a guy was trying to get on the train at the same time we boarded and he and Mimi ended up doing the which-way-are-you-going-to-go dance, and I ended up barking out something rude to my mom like, "Mom, come on ... get out of his way." ... How lame. It was really rude of me. Then, the beeeeeppp and the doors closed and off we went, with a sad look on my mom's face and me feeling like a schmuck. We don't have a phone number for her, so I just have to wait until she is back to LA to apologize. ... I hate when I do stupid things like that, and not being able to apologize makes it feel even worse. Bah! --- Please forgive me moma! I love you tons!*** ***Our plane to Dublin is uneventful. We land and find our way to the hotel (which is farther from the airport than I thought, in a small town called "Swords") via public double-decker bus. Have to j-walk across a freeway to get to the hotel, and take a taxi in the AM at the rate of 12 euros. DOH! Woulda been better to pay a little more for a closer hotel. BUT, one amazing happened because of where we are staying that makes it all ok.For dinner, we were advised to walk five minutes in to town to find the local plaza where there are lots of restaurant to choose from. Half way there, we spot a little pub that looks ULTRA authentic. You can hear the Irish accents and laughs all the way down the block as we approach. I'm not sure if they serve dinner though, and it looks more like a bar than a restaurant, so I'm leaning towards passing ... when I see six people with instruments walking our way. My guess is that they are heading inside. Its right about that time, ya know? I look inside and see a "21 and over only!" sign, but also see three kids inside with their parents. In we go. ... As we find our seats, Janice spots a sign that says, "Traditional Irish Music - Every Sunday, 6pm - 8pm." What timing! The moment we order, the band strikes up and the whole pub is full of Irish songs. Guinesses on every table. Rosy cheeked Irishmen telling loud stories and yelling in jest at one another, and us in the corner loving every second. At one point, the band even plays a song I know! Can't remember the name, ... ah, with Google's help, I've found it: Man of Constant Sorrow. So hilarious. I'm clapping and stomping my feet along with the music with a Guinness on the table. Its great. ... When its time to go, we see that the band has grown to eight ... a banjo, a flute, three percussionists using those big round drum things held in one hand and a stick in the other (one of them looked to be nearly 95!!), a woman playing spoons, and a guitar player ... along with several vocalists (some of whom looked like they just happened to be at the bar enjoying a drink). Just like the movies would show, with an intermission that sent the band straight to the bar for free drinks. ... Its a perfect fit to complete our experience of Dublin since when we were here previously, we never saw an authentic local band playing. We saw some cheesy gigs full of partiers in Temple Bar, but nothing legit like this. This place had old friends giving high fives, and only one other tourist family in the bunch. No camera for this memorable experience, but oh well.Back towards the hotel, a quick stop at the mini-mart for snacks for the plane ride tomorrow and ice cream for everybody tonight. ... And now to sleep. Before the kids go down, they have a blast playing with the new toys Mimi bought for them in Paris, these Top Secret writing pens with an black light type key chain thing that shows where you've written. During their "quiet time" (which is rarely actually quiet), I find the kids in the dark playing with the keychain making a hand shadow puppet show. The flash killed it, but the picture gives the basic idea....Can't believe we are finally nearing the end of the trip. I'm EXHAUSTED. Can't wait to sleep in my own bed!
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Paris, France

Yawn. So tired.Relaxin' at the house, then out the door ... two blocks away to The Catacombs of Paris. What an experience! After waiting in line for 30 minutes or so, we made our way down a REALLY tight spiral staircase. Down below the street, below the metro even ...down down down to the Catacombs. Hundreds of thousands buried here. The story about the place is creepy and cool. As we head in, we see that the author of Sleeping Beauty and Little Red Riding Hood rests here ... I point it out to the kids. They think thats cool. Through the looong cramped tunnels, I have to duck at several spots to avoid hitting my head on the low, damp ceilings. You can feel the place shake as the Metro goes by. Pretty spooky. ... And finally, we arrive to the caverns that hold the bones and skulls of the dead. Wow. As we walk around, it occurs to me that each of these people had parents, hopes, dreams, hobbies, etc. And then they died. And some of them had actual graves that were probably visited for a while. And then, as time passed, they were utterly forgotten. And now, they are a tourist attraction. A skull. A bone. In a deep tomb with a labyrinth of access tunnels surrounding them. For the vast majority, nothing remains of their life. For a minute few, maybe something they invented or wrote or painted. But nothing of themselves. .... Pretty bizarre.Samuel and Ella are slightly frightened by all the bones. But not much. Just enough to walk with some trepidation. Ella spies a skull with bones crossed below it and yells out, "Daddy! The Pirates of the Cat-a-beanin!" .... "Yes baby...." .... We walk and walk and walk some more. Over a mile of tunnels. Definitely a sense of claustrophobia. And the skeletal remains go on and on.just as long as the tunnels. In some places the stacks and piles of bones go back as far as the light, at least ten or fifteen feet.Finally, we ascend some stairs and pop out somewhere in Paris, a mile from where we started. Its a quiet residential street. You'd never suspect what lay below. As we exit, our bags are searched. My mom is shocked to see that other tourists have actually stolen bones from the Catacombs. At the security station, they have several bones and skulls recovered from rascally tourists displayed as proof that they're search is necessary.Back up to the light of day and after a quick potty break at Starbucks, we snag our first bus ride in Paris on to our next stop: Sainte-Chapelle and across the street from it, the Notre Dame.We arrive without any trouble and enter the Sainte-Chapelle to find yet another tight spiral staircase leading up to the main sanctuary with views of the the beautiful stained glass windows. First goes Janice and the kids, ... then me and another tourist woman ..., then my mom. Hike hike hike. Up we go. I hear my mom talking up a storm behind me. Singing actually, "Following the leader, the leader, the leader ..." Think Disney's Peter Pan. And then, the song takes a twist. I didn't hear the words exactly, but something about, "... pinching the butt, pinching the butt, ..." ... and then a stranger's shriek, "OH!" .... and then my mom again, "Oh my gosh, I am so embarassed. ..." LOL! SOOOOO FUNNY. We were dying as we got to the top and my mom was apologizing again and again to the woman who had snuck in between us on our way up. Apparently my mom thought she was climbing the stairs behind Janice and gave a playful butt pinch to the stranger's rear end. How funny is that? ... So we are laughing hysterically as we exit the staircase while all the OTHER tourists are being respectful and silent since after all, we ARE in a sanctuary. We receive a well-deserved "HUUUSSSSHHHH!!!!" from the sanctuary attendant. Which of course makes us laugh louder and be more embarrassed about everything. Saint-Chapelle is gorgeous for sure. But at this point of our trip, I feel like I'm definitely on cool cathedral overload.Outside, we walk across the street and explore the Notre Dame for ten minutes or so. After seeing Paris from the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triumph at night, ... we decide to forgo the trip to the top of the Notre Dame since there was a good 45 minute line.The kids are exhausted, so I take them home to rest a bit while Janice and Mimi take off to eat and explore the Orsay Museum.On the way home, the kids and I grab a baguette and some rotisserie chicken that was so good. I don't know if its because its been a while since we've eaten familiar food or if this is just the best place for rotisserie chicken on the planet or what, but MAN it was good. For six euros, they pulled the roasted bird off the rack and put it in a to-go bag ... asked me if I wanted sauce ... to which I replied YES ... so they poured a bunch of sauce right in the bag. "Uhhh.... ok." Not quite what I had thought, but I can't complain. I get home to find that the sauce is a Terriyaki soy sauce and has permeated the chicken PERFECTLY. So good. So so good. The kids and I feast, then rest at the house. Checking my email, I find that Philippe (the neighbor who had rescued me from being locked out our first day here) has invited us for drinks at his flat this evening. We coordinate our schedules, and its settled. We will be by just before 8pm.Around 5pm, we reunite with Janice and Mimi and head out for a ten minute walk to a huge nearby movie theater. Its through a part of town that we didn't even know existed. We pass a huge shopping mall, the Montparnesse Tower, and tons of shops and cafes. To the ticket line, where we find five tickets waiting for us (for free!) to see Wall-E in English! Woo-hoo! Xavier, our new friend from Paris who Janice and I met yesterday over lunch, has treated us to the movie. The kids are psyched, and having the tickets given to us as a gift makes the whole experience extra special. We all enjoy the movie to bits, ... I think little Sam Sam even cried at one of the romantic scenes. So cute to see our kids growing up ... smiling at kisses instead of wincing. The only disappointment of the movie experience? No buttered popcorn! Instead, you have a choice of salty or sweet. ... One cool thing though, in the theater itself a woman came by selling sodas and treats sort of like what you'd find at a baseball game. Neat idea.Back home, we rush up to Philippe's flat trying not to be too late. We follow his instructions, "2nd floor, last door on the left" ... only to have a stranger answer our knock on the door. Aha! Yes, in Europe, the ground floor is "0", which makes their "2nd Floor" comparable to a 3rd Floor in the States. Doh! We apologize for disturbing the neighbor (who thinks its very funny!), ...and scurry up the stairs to find Philippe and his girlfriend Caroline happy to see us. They welcome us in to their home and show us around their large 4 bedroom flat. Same building as we are in, ... but the fact that they live here shows, as the house feels comfortable, inviting, and relaxing. They are able to maintain a very artistic feel to the house by keeping their children's rooms upstairs. So the art and cool furniture is downstairs, kids stuff upstairs. Our kids are bummed to find that Philippe and Carolines respective children are away this evening, ... but on the good side, they get free reign of the toys as we adults sit and drink and talk downstairs. After enjoying some good white wine and snacks (Carolilne treats us to a family recipe of tomato and onion and egg spread on toast), we talk through the basic questions of where we've traveled to, what we do for work, where we were born, etc. And inevitably the conversation turns to politics and the upcoming presidential elections in the States. Too much to recap here, but two highlights I remember is me sharing what Inigo had told me in Spain ... that he believes much of Europe has a relationship with the States like one might have with their older brother. A sort of love/hate relationship. On the one hand, you look up to his strength and successes. On the other hand, you may be envious and ... And this is where Philippe interjects, " ... and he is always meddling in your business when you don't want him to!" ... Aha. Yes. This is a sentiment that we've encountered throughout our trip. Later in the conversation, Philippe (a radio talk show host) shares a more powerful thought. He tells us that he believes it would be good for America (the US) to consider an ancient African proverb that says, "If you don't know where you are going, don't forget where you've come from." ... to which Philippe adds ... "And you come from mass murderers. Don't forget that." I was taken back. In the context of what we were discussing, I think it was a little overkill, ... but I was trying to understand his position. Seeing the surprise on my face, Philippe softened the pointedness of his statement a bit by adding ... "We all do. We all have mass murder and violence in our history. We need to be humble." ... and with this I can agree 100%. .... We keep talking, ... about Obama, Bush, and McCain ... and on to welfare policies ... and immigration issues (France and Spain face similar challenges as the US does with Mexico from their southern border with poor and often desperate African countries). We both agree we'd do the same thing the Mexican and African illegals do if we were in their shoes ... and we both agree that its a very difficult and complex subject. ... And before we know it, its 10pm. The kids are tired, we have to pack, and Philippe and Caroline have an evening event to get to. We thank them for their kindness, and head downstairs.Packing, cleaning, sleeping. Our last night in Paris consists of two great experiences provided to us by the kindness of French strangers. So appropriate for how this whole trip has gone. Tomorrow, we pack up and head out of France. But we will be back someday ... thats for SURE!
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Paris, France

Mimi the blogger, ... on again! This morning we hung out and played at the apartment, while the laundry was going; we hung it on the rack to dry. Then we headed to le Parc Montsouris, a huge park right above the Catacombs;it has a few great playgrounds, pony rides,a puppet theatre and a lake. To my surprise and delight, my sweet,smart,creative grandchildren wanted to paint instead of even playing for a little bit. Sam & Ella had a blast mixing their own colors and learning how to let the paint do what it wanted to do. While we were mixing colors,Samuel asked if I know who the best painter in the world is. I wasn't quite sure so he cleared it up for me - it's Jose DeGregorio and Jose painted a picture of Sam and his family. I have seen this beautiful painting and I have to agree with Samuel:Jose is the best painter in the world! Two original watercolors later, we headed down Rue de Rene Coty to meet up with Mommy and Daddy.As we neared our rue,we spotted McD's and skipped all the way home. Well, until we saw Mommy and Daddy walking toward us with unhappy faces. They had waited nearly two hours for us - we were late to go to le Musee de Le Louvre. Seems we hadn't asked "Quelle heur est il , sil vous plait?" enough. Oh la la...Mimi*** ***Asher back ...A solid night's sleep for me. But poor Janice. She wakes up feeling dizzy and nauseous. Something didn't sit well on her stomach last night. She's not sure she will even be able to make it back to the apartment, its that bad. But by the time the 11am checkout rolls around, she is feeling a tad better and we make our way back towards the apartment. On the way, we pick up some fresh bread for toast, the only thing that sounds good for Janice's stomach ... I'm obligated to pick up an almond croissant of course.We are surprised to find the apartment empty when we get home. The plan was to meet at noon to head out and do some sight seeing ... but no word from Mimi. Two hours later, Janice and I give up and decide to head out on our own ... but as we leave, we see Mimi and the kids heading our way. She forgot about the day's plans. Doh! I'm frustrated, but oh well, these things happen. Unfortunately for all of us, I end up being quite a bummer to be around pretty much the whole rest of the day. There are a few bright spots, but not many until the evening time. Not at all because of the mistake in our coordination, more just a vague feeling of depression that I can't seem to shake. I think that possibly my tanks are finally on empty after all this crazy travelling and I need some down time. Whatever the cause, ... the reality is that I'm pretty much a jerk to be around when I'm down like today. Sucks for everybody. I apologize a couple of times to my mom, and Janice, and the kids ... but one more can't hurt: SORRY!So, now that we are all together, we decide to go back to the apartment to make new plans for the day. Samuel is EXHAUSTED and is crying ... saying he doesn't want to go anywhere else. Even bribe offering of ice cream and toys don't work. Hm. Ella is saying she wants to chill at the apartment also. And Janice isn't feeling up to par still. ... So, we decided it would be best for my mom and I to go to the Louvre to explore for a couple of hours and then Janice and the kids will meet up with us around 7pm. As my mom and I head out the door, Ella changes her mind and now wants to come with ... so off we go, leaving Janice and Sam to relax at the apartment.We've heard about the problem of pick-pocketing and thieves in the densely populated Metro stops near the tourist areas of Paris. Today, my first sighting of a Metro thief in action. My mom and I board the Metro. The next stop, two or three people get in, filling the car. No seats left. Its crowded, but not uncomfortable. We aren't shoulder to shoulder. ... The next stop, the door opens, ... no change. No new passengers, nobody leaves. Then, the warning bell sounds. Beeeeeeeeeeep.... , and at the last possible second, a tall black man wearing a windbreaker and a baseball cap lunges in to the car. He looks as though he half trips as he barrels in to the two passengers who had boarded on the previous stop. His hands grab the poles just near the young woman's waist and the other hand above her head. He stands unnecessarily close to her. She grabs her purse tightly and looks away. She isn't oblivious. He remains close to her and I wonder if maybe I'm imagining that he is a thief. Maybe he's just clumsy and socially awkward. But his darting eyes still leave me suspicious. I tell my mom to be careful with her purse as we exit the train and tell her to watch the tall guy. We exit without problem ... but I glance behind and see him exit at the same time. "Great," I think to myself. My adrenaline is pumping now. I'm ready for a fight. But just as the Beeeeeeeep sounds to warn of the closing doors, I see the man repeat the same tactic I witnessed just two stops ago. He's spotted the even more crowded car behind ours ... this one full of young women tourists and he splashes in to the group, not too unlike a mosh pit sort of deal. ... We are safe. But the other tourists? Maybe they will find a missing camera or wallet this afternoon.The Louvre is like several of the large landmarks we've seen on our trip so far: experiencing it in person is completely different than any impression a photo can create. Not just beautiful. Not just huge. Not just ancient. Its all three and more. I tried to take a video to capture the feeling, but watching it later, I realized how much the clip misses the mark. ... And then we descended in to the heart of the museum. Lots of people, but not crowded. Its such a HUGE place, I can't imagine feeling crowded. So many pieces of art. Statues, paintings, carvings. Its crazy. ... If I had to use one word to describe it: OVERWHELMING. We only have a couple of hours, so we make the mandatory pilgrimage to the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo before heading back up to find an early dinner. The size of some of the masterpieces are a surprise to me. Huge walls with paintings twenty and thirty feet high and equally long. Ella enjoys looking at the art and likes the large paintings the best. Its neat to see that Mimi's painting time with her has increased her affinity towards art.The goal when we looked for a place to eat was to find a place away from the main entrance to try to get a better deal. The name of our choice, Hotel de Louvre, tells you everything you need to know: we failed. Hehe... luckily, the food was great! My mom, a lover of foie gras, finally gets a chance to eat some. And I'm feeling a little more brave, so I order a plate of Beef Tartar with fries. I'm happy to report that it was excellent! The portion was just slightly more than I wanted to eat, ... but I think that I'd order it again at a nice restaurant. Back to the Louvre to meet up with the rest of the fam. I'm still in a bad mood at this point, I've been a sour puss most of the day. My poor mom has to deal with a grouchy son in Paris. How lame is that. We head back in the Louvre for a real short visit so that Sam can see the famous pieces.Back outside the Louvre, we decide to try to track down a famous Parisian restaurant that has made a name for itself by serving up world-class hot chocolate. We find the place, ... but sadly, its closed. DOH! We decide to take a LONG walk through the parks outside the Louvre towards Champs-Elysee. On the way, little Ella zonks out completely while in the stroller. She is OUT COLD for the next three hours as we walk and window shop.Sam has been patiently waiting for hot chocolate or ice cream since we found Angelina's closed, so we find a little cafe and stop in for some snacks, Mimi's treat! Sam and I share an order of Goose Rillettes, Janice goes All-American with a cheeseburger, and Mimi ordered a pear-ice-cream thing and Sam gets a banana split (which we all take a couple of bites out of). My mood improves a bit so that I'm at least tolerable. ... An hour or so later, its totally dark outside and we walk to the Arc de Triumph. We've heard the views from the top at night are great.Turns out, the views from the top are GREAT. They weren't lying. The Arc itself is a fabulous structure of course, and then with Champs-Elysee lit up with cars and shops, and in the distance the Eiffel Tower and then all the various sights like the Notre Dame ... breathtaking.Ella wakes up just as the Eiffel Tower lights up on the hour. I hold her in my arms with the crisp cold air around us. She cuddles so closely to me, desperate to keep warm. I'm in heaven.Back down the Arc de Triumph and on to the Metro back to the apartment. Janice and I drop off the fam, and then split for another Metro ride towards the Moulan Rouge. You can't go to Paris without at least seeing the place, right? ... From what I've read, the region its in is Pigalle, the red-light district of Paris. ... And they weren't joking. Its your typical grimy sex shop row, complete with drug dealers, junkie prostitutes on the streets, and dangerous looking characters on every corner. Two blocks away from the Metro, we see the Moulan Rouge ... and immediately head back to the Metro. Not only does the last train leave in thirty minutes, but this doesn't seem like the safest place in the world. And we stick out like a sore thumb.Back home, safe and sound. Janice's stomach is feeling better. Time for sleeeeep.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1219964460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1219964460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1219964460/tpod.html Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:53:01 -0400 Home Exchange 2008 - Spain & France

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Paris, France

Bonjour from your Guest Blogger aka Mimi.Mommy and Daddy took off for a romantic evening in beautiful Paris, leaving me with les enfants for some fun and good ol' fashioned spoiling. Oh la la...We started out with a cool book called Paris Mini, showing some of the places we planned on seeing in Paris and little art projects for each. The book inspired us so much that soon we were creating the Arc de Triomphe and the Tour Eiffel with our Monster chips.Then we put together a cool tractor thing with a wrench and screwdriver - it was a gift to Samuel from the Boudin family - it can be taken apart and made into a helicopter too. Fun watching the little ones with tools and lots of little parts...kind of like Ikea Mini. That done, we headed to a community park and playground - after we visited the very nice lady at Amorino for some limone glace. So good and only a block from our apartment. A great dessert after a sandwich of peanut butter, honey and Nutella on brioche bread. Tres bien!Ella, being world famous for skipping, insisted that we skip all the way to the park. Ol' Mimi rested on a park bench and watched Sam & Ella make their place among the local children. It was adorable to watch Ella dodge the advances of a little girl bully; when Ella couldn't get far enough away from her, she came and asked me what to do. She tried, "Bonjour, je suis Ella." to no avail and was happy that saying "Non!" and shaking her finger finally did the trick.I took out mon Aquarelles and painting board and painted a simple picture of Sam in the sandbox and Ella on le cheval. They recognized themselves (which made me happy) and got excited about painting their own pictures. Very fun and you can see that Samuel painted a little bear holding a heart and a pink tulip; Ella painted an abstract featuring a purple oval.We walked back to the apartment to unload our paints and walked to the Metro, which took us to Le Relais L'Entrecote, a steak and frites restaurant where we'd eaten the night before with Mommy & Daddy. Sam's call...he likes good food just like his Daddy. The Metro brought us back to Denfert-Rochereau just in time for more glace from Amorino. Then it was back home for a bubble bath, a Mimi Massage, a bedtime story about Monsieur Antoine and a back sctratch until they fell asleep, 11pm.So now the hour is 1am and this guest blogger is tres fatigue. Signing off for a bon nuit, dormir avec les anges.Mimi*** ***Asher back at the helm again. Great to have my mommason here!Janice and I are so excited to be able to escape from the hijos today and enjoy Paris by ourselves. First things first, we pack our backpack and head to the hotel ... a one-night stay as a surprise for Janice. We take the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe, and begin our wak down Champs-Elysees towards the Louvre. Two blocks down, we hang a right ... and half a block off the main drag, we find Hotel Galileo. Its a wonderful 3-star hotel. Close to everything. Friendly staff. And a crazy bargain. I got it during peak season (August) at LESS than the standard rate. $149 euros for us... WooHoo!After checking in, we head downstairs and enjoy a leisurely stroll along Champs-Elysees. Window shopping, checking out the amazing car store displays ... and then our stomachs begin to growl. Janice's choice today for food. We stroll off the beaten path in search of a smaller, less touristy (and less expensive hopefully) place to stop for lunch. We find a packed little place called L'Ecluse Francois Ier. Only two seats left in the house, ... PERFECT!As we look over the menu, our neighbor (a guy near our age eating lunch with his father) leans over and suggests that we order the Steak Tar Tar. I've never had it. But seeing the big glob of gooey raw meat on his father's plate is a little too much for me today. I pass on his first recommendation, but ask him for another recommendation. He's eating a nice slab of beef with a little bowl of mashed potatoes. Looks perfect, so I order a plate. Janice gets a nice chicken breast salad. All good food.When the food comes, we continue talking with our neighboring table. Turns out that Xavier (the guy our age) and his father are both native Parisians. We talk a bit about local things to do and see, and I mention the two restaurants that I've planned for our time in Paris (L'entrecote yesterday, and L'alterior de Joel Rubichon for tonight). I can see the look of approval in his eyes, and he tells me that L'entrecote is a local favorite and VERY good (we agree!), and that Joel Rubichon is 'tre bon' ... with the old hand towards the mouth kissing motion and everything. His big smile and approving eyes makes me feel like a million bucks. My research has paid off! : )More talking and laughing with Xavier. His father doesn't speak any English, so we mostly just chat with Xavier. Once again, my complete and utter lack of French speaking ability is a wonderful source of amusement for everybody at the table. More talking ... and then, I'm worried that we've been a bother to them. But ... NO! They tell us they love the opportunity to meet people from other parts of the world. Awesome. I ask if either have been to the States or if they are coming soon. Xavier is coming to CA in three weeks. LA area for the bulk of the trip, but he will make a stop up on SF for three days. I ask him if he has any friend to meet there (nope, its a work trip) and I suggest we meet him and his colleagues for a night on the town. Dinner or drinks maybe. Or .. better yet, a baseball game! Jaione and Inigo loved it so much, and its such an American experience ... Perfect! Its settled then. We will treat him and his friends to a game (we might even bring a blind date for Xavier ... he's handsome and single!) As Xavier and his father get up to leave, we discover that they've bought Janice and I coffee. Too cool! And then... as if it couldn't get any better, it turns out Xavier works in the film industry (upper brass actually) and so he has offered us free tickets to enjoy Wall-E tomorrow. ... in English! Awesome!Its so stinking cool to be making these most random connections. Not only is it enriching our trip beyond measure, ... but I feel like we are making genuine friendships around the globe, ... AND its teaching me so much about social interactions and making new friends at home.After lunch, we feel like we are on cloud nine having met Xavier and his father. How random and crazy cool! I wish all of you could meet him. A great guy.Janice and I enjoy some more walking and window shopping along the boulevard ... and we purchase the museum passes we will need for the next couple of days (a discount card that allows you in all the major sights and lets you skip the lines!) ... before we return to the hotel for some R&R. On the way to the hotel, we spot something that sends Janice in to a smiling frenzy: NESPRESSO HQ! A three story shop of everything Nespresso, complete with two eating/drinking areas where you can be served a special Nespresso creation. Despite the fact that we are both stuffed to the gills, ... we make a stop and enjoy a mocha drink with a scoop of vanillla ice cream plunked right in the drink. Yessss.... and then, to the hotel. One thing we love about Europe is how there always seems to be a tennis match or two on TV! So great to watch these pro's go at it.Before we know it, its time to get dressed and ready for our evening activity: dinner at L'Alterier Joel Robuchon. http://www.joel-robuchon.com/ . This is our largest splurge activity by far on the whole trip. Its not cheap. At all. But just the fact that we got reservations is a flippin' miracle. Normally, you must reserve a spot several months in advance. BUT, it turns out that like many popular high-end Parisian restaurants, this place closes for the summer. Guess the re-opening date? TODAY! Just a couple of days ago was the first time they've taken reservations, and guess who got in? US! SWEET! They only take reservations for one time each night: 6:30pm. Otherwise, you have to stand in line outside and wait for a table to open up. ... When we arrive at 6:20pm, there is already a line outside. Its crazy. And every seat inside is taken when we are finally ushered in. ... An eight course meal gets us one last chance to taste modern French cuisine. YUM! ... The set up for the place is sort of like Sacramento's "The Kitchen", minus the loud chef. A huge open kitchen, with bar stools around. You get to watch the eight or nine chefs working on your plate before its brought to you. Good times. Low camera battery = no pictures of each course. Just trust me. It was awesome.After dinner, we are fully bloated and walk around a bit more before crashing at the hotel for some much needed sleep. What a day!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1219781640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1219781640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1219781640/tpod.html Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:11:24 -0400 Home Exchange 2008 - Spain & France

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Paris, Île-de-France, France

Wake up, get the bags packed, last minute double checking of all our plans in Paris ... bags to front desk and check out... and off to Disney for our final morning in the park.I am SO proud of my son. He cried yesterday after the Nemo ride, CRUSH. Its like a young teenager's version of Space Mountain. Pretty exilerating actually. I don't blame him for crying. But today, after he's thought about it on his own, he has decided that he wants to try it again. He wants to CONQUER CRUSH!!! And he is excited about it. So, thats what we are going to do.First, we hit up the 50 minute stunt show. Pretty dang awesome car and motorcycle stunts. Could have been half as long.Unfortunately, ... the line for Crush was crazy long. But we pushed on. If Sam wants to conquer his fears, we will support him! TWO HOURS LATER, we ride, and he conquers. Yeah baby!Then, we rush back to the hotel, grab the bags ... and to the train station. No problemo ... one hour later, we arrive in the heart of Paris to our final leg of our trip. A great little apartment we've rented for the week: http://www.parisaddress.com  then choose from the dropdown on the left: Paris - LaLa 4Standing outside the apartment ... we are about twenty minutes early for our date with the apartment showing person, so while we wait, I go grab some groceries for our stay, then return while Janice grabs some coffee (and finds that its true what they say about Paris ... paying more to eat on the patio vs eating inside). She returns with boulangerie treats for me and the kids! Yay! ... but not nearly as good as the almond-chocolate crossants in Chateau-Gontier.And then, the motorcycle dude rides up and we get in to the apartment. More grocery shopping for me while I keep an eye out for my mom, who is coming to stay with us for our entire time in Paris (and then two extra days at the end on her own). On my third visit outside to look for her, I bring a note to tape to the door for her, and then ... CLICK ... the door locks behind me. And I've forgotten the code. DOH! ... Fifteen minutes later, a neighbor lets me follow them in and we strike up a conversation. Turns out that he just got done interviewing a journalist from SFMy mommason is planning to get here between 6pm and & 7:30pm ... but no sight of her at 7:40pm ... I call Poppa Dave to see whats up ... and then I check the flight online (its landed) ... another quick check outside for my mom and VIOLA! She is here! Woohoo! We made it here safely ... with gifts of course. The kids are super excited to see Mimi.We eat and help my mom get settled in and once she is coloring with the kids, Janice and I sneak out for a jog in our new city. A 3 mile run gets the sweat goin', and allows us to check out the Luxembourg Gardens and a nearby church (can't remember the name at the moment). Gorgeous city. First thoughts after seeing the streets of Paris = "Janice, ...I could live here."We get back to the apartment and we find that Mimi and the kids have spent their time drawing and coloring ... Samuel had the most hilarious drawing I've ever seen. The instructions were to draw in a wanted poster. Mimi instructed Sam to draw in what bad thing he did to become WANTED. Sam chose an age old classic.Wanted for:  MONEYThe crime (depicted in the anatomically correct diagram): Sam stole a bag of money out a man's butt while he was pee'ing on a newspaper.Thats my boy!After the kids went down ... my mom found another drawing along the same lines. VERY similar really. "This man is thinking about how he ended up in jail."- Whats the sentence for that anyhow?Mommason and I enjoy a twenty minute walk around the neighborhood ... and we all talk till 1am (I blog too!). And now, to bed!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1219873740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1219873740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1219873740/tpod.html Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:07:35 -0400 Home Exchange 2008 - Spain & France

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Paris, France

A relaxing morning. Everybody slept really well ... just not quite enough. This apartment is a comfortable and quite place, close to everything. We LOVE it!I take a quick trip to the boulangerrie for some morning treats while the family relaxes at the house. By the time we get the house organized, pack our picnic backpack, get dressed, etc ... its about 11am. Out the door we go skipping along like a bunch of nerds. But we are happy. : )The metro/bus/train stations are SUPER easy to navigate here. So much nicer and cleaner than some of the other big cities we've stayed in. With no problems whatsoever, we arrive at our destination ... about a five minute stroll along the Siene to ... the Eiffel Tower!We arrive to find that the place is PACKED with people. Lines for tickets, lines for the bathroom, ... people everywhere. And roaming to and fro, there are vendors selling Eiffel Tower junk stuff. Little toys, keychains, etc. But these aren't just salespeople. There was a definite creepy vibe about them, ... and so as I stood in line with my don't-talk-to-me-or-you-will-die look on my face, I did my best to scope out the situation. Within five minutes, I saw the deal. A young boy walked up to a man asking the price for an item. He turned instantly, and went toward the mom (who had two other small children with her) and began discussing prices with her. Soon after three other men came, one alongside the first vendor, and the other behind the woman ...so she was surrounded (yet still in line and amongst a bunch of other tourists). Then, I saw a fourth man, taller than the rest come over ... keeping his distance, eyeing the crowd and the horizon. He was the lookout. He spoke to the other three in short, mono-syllabic grunts and one of them responded. The second vendor who had appeared then pulled out a large drape/rug sort of thing, as if the woman asked to see it and opened it up real big ... creating a perfect blind for a whole section of the area. Now, anybody on my side of the deal couldn't see what was going on. ... Suddenly, the lookout guy grunted something, and on a dime, the other three "vendors" stopped their negotiation and spread out again. ... I tried to see what the lookout saw that prompted him to call off the pickpocketing/thievery ... but I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. No cops or military nearby that I saw. ... Anyhow, these guys were well organized and I kept a tighter grasp on my bag after that.Took a little over an hour to get our tickets and get started on our climb. Oh, and yet another example of the ultra-nice French people. I accidentally stood in a looonnnnnggg line for tickets, only to find out last minute that it was the wrong line. This line would only allow us to access the elevators, not what we wanted to do. I asked an employee for help, absolutely expecting their answer to be that we'd have to wait in line again, ... but instead, the guy made a special phone call and connected me to the front of the line in the right place. All with a big smile. Awesome! ... The rumor of the rude Frenchman is dead in my mind.We finally begin our climb. A good challenge with a backpack full of picnic stuffs and two small kids. I get a nice workout burn in my legs carrying Sam and Ella at various times to help them along. And then we arrive. Its a gorgeous view from both the first and second level. Perfect weather today ... not too windy, a few clouds in the sky to keep it cool. But really, the view isn't what you come for. Just SEEING the Eiffel Tower is the memorable thing. To be at its base, to see its architecture, and ornate designs ... to eat lunch in the park. A wonderful and relaxing experience.The birds here are the bravest I've ever seen. As we ate lunch, Samuel tossed a small bit of crumbs to some really cute little birds nearby. Soon, there were six of them. A few more crumbs, and the six small birds blossomed in to six pigeons and six small birds. And when Ella joined in, ...a big ol' crow appeared. A literal pecking order appeared right before our eyes! The little guys would scurry about trying to get to the food first, ... but if a pigeon came near, they knew well enough to get out of the way, ... but the best and largest pieces all went to the crow, who towered above the other birds with his long, sharp beak. Soon, they were getting super aggressive and we let the kids loose on them. Sam and Ella went running along scaring them away. Poor little Ella. She had a great opportunity to tell me the truth today about something small, but she decided to lie again. Breaks my heart so deeply! She had become really excited about getting ice cream and said, "Iiiii get Ice Cream! .... Brother doesn't get any!". ... We've been trying to teach the kids not to compare with one another, so I ask her, "Ella, what did you just say?". She repeated, "Iiiii get Ice Cream!" .... and thats it. "Ella, you said something else. What was it?" .... "Nothing." .... "Ella, tell me the truth please." .... "For real, all I said was Iiiii get Ice Cream. Thats all." ... We all heard what she said, and the guilty lying face was obvious. .... "Ella, I heard exactly what you said. And I'm disappointed that you lied. And so now you won't get ice cream." ... Later, I walked with her and reviewed the situation and reminded her that all she needed to do was to tell me the truth and that she would get ice cream. In fact, I told her that I was really hopeful that she was going to tell the truth and I was going to celebrate and get her a BIG ice cream. I asked her why ... and she was being genuine and sincere with me and remorseful. I asked her if she was scared (because all lying is from fear, isn't it?), and she said yeah. She said was scared because she compared to brother and didn't want to get in trouble. Still, no ice cream. But I think if I keep giving her opportunities, she will come around.Back to the Metro, back home. I take Ella for a nap (she fights it, but my magic back rub gets her to sleep!), ... and the rest of the crew goes for some awesome looking ice cream down the road (turns out it IS awesome, and super close to the house). When everybody gets home, we ALL go for a nap.And around 6pm, we head out again to experience a local favorite. Fast food, French style. L'Entrecote. This place has one thing on the menu. Seriously. ONE THING. You sit down, and they come up straight away asking what cooking preference you prefer: rare, medium, or well. And then, a small green salad. Then the main course: steak frites with a homemade sauce that, with a healthy scoop of spicy mustard, becomes AMAZING and addictive. The serving is a bit small, so although I'm loving the food, I'm bummed that there isn't quite enough. But ten minutes later, our waitress returns and RE-SERVES the plate a second helping. I can't tell you how happy I was at this moment. Pure bliss. ... And I think my palette has matured a bit on this trip. For the first time in my life, I felt like I actually WANTED a glass of red wine. So, we ordered one up. A perfect meal! In and out of there within 45 minutes, and we ate early enough to avoid the lines. http://www.relaisentrecote.fr/ And then, on to our final destination for the evening, ... Mimi wants to do a river cruise. We had originally thought to pass on the experience, but I'm so glad we listened to Mimi! A short walk to the Seine just as the sun begins to set creates a magical glow to the horizon. The bridges and walkways begin to fill with people enjoying picnics and wine with friends. Its a relaxing, laid back environment. Wonderful. My research online find us a deeply discounted, pre-purchased ticket packet for the boat (saved nearly 20 euros!), and we enjoy a wonderful one hour cruise that starts at 9pm. Its a perfect trip.Tons of historic buildings. And twenty minutes in to the trip, the experience turns from a dusk/sunset cruise to a full on nighttime experience. So we get the best of both worlds. We see a bit of Paris during the day, and also get to experience its wonderful lights! ... The Eiffel Tower stole the show of course (especially when it went all twinkly on the hour), but several other beautifully lit structures along the course as well. This trip has been great to help me discover two ways in which to bond with my little girl Ella. One: skipping. Two: photography. She LOVES to take pictures. So, for the first thirty minutes of the cruise, I let her take all the pictures she wants. She sits on my lap and we laugh and take photos non-stop. "Look Daddy! .... Oh, yes, I got it!" .... "Ella, look ... a bridge is coming." ... "ooooh, I better get it! Got it!" She is so precious to me.As we return to dock, the kids start loosing their minds. They are just like Janice and I when we get silly. They get CRAZY. Its like they are drunk and on speed at the same time. They are so stinking hilarious. I caught a little of it on video with Sam doing a Fulton-and-Marconi-esque Asher repeating thing that was sooooo funny, especially when in the middle of it, he yelled, "Blog this!". ... And a bit of Ella and momma playing CHICKEN with their faces. Hehhehe... Oh, one small note on Samuel and his wiggly fingers. Its so hilarious. We've taught them the hand smacking games (see the video), and whenever he wins ... he does the most hilarious victory celebration cheer with his hands. Makes me smile just thinking about it. I love to see the competitive side of my son. : )Having my mom here is awesome. We were shocked to find out that in all her travels, this is her first trip to Paris! ... Our apartment fits us all perfectly, and its provided an excellent help for Janice and I as our batteries are drained at the end of this long trip. Yesterday, when we got out and ran ... or having Mimi help them get dressed or eat ... little things, but they are making a huge difference. And the kids love seeing a familiar face, somebody different than just our little family.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1219702620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1219702620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1219702620/tpod.html Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:56:40 -0400 Home Exchange 2008 - Spain & France

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Marne-la-Vallée, France

  Man. A day full of Disney is tiring!This morning we decide to sleep in ... at least to 8:30am. Not too bad. We head downstairs and enjoy a breakfast before the trip in to Disney.Notable events:* Sam cried after CRUSH. Pretty intense ride for kids! ... We waited our longest yet ... 1 hour to get on. So cute. Sam and Mom rode together. The first 60 seconds he is SILENT. Then, Janice hears just a tiny wisper of a cry, "Momma." ... not sure how to get it across in writing ... but SO cute. Sadly, he did cry a bit once the ride was over.* Second ride on Phantom Manor for Sam, ... first for Ella. Not scared at all.* Skipping along the boulevard with Ella. She LOVES to skip with Dad (thats me!). Totally reminds me of how much I loved skipping with my pops in Old Sacramento as a kid. I remember how he had a super high leap compared to mine and each skip sent me soaring through the air.* Back to the hotel for more PB&J for lunch. Definitely the way to go here. Saved big bucks. Janice and her magical fingers got the kids to go to sleep, and we all napped until around 6pm. * Quick stop at the train station (en route to Disney), and Janice and I take photos and pick up our week long cards for the Paris visit giving us easy metro / train access. The cards are tre-cool. I'll snap photos at some point.Dinner at McD's. Sam really wanted to go to the Rainforest Cafe, but with the exchange rate, ... just ridiculously priced. McD's made the kids happy enough. * We waited for 1.5 hours to watch the night parade. Janice was going crazy since she had already waited the night before ... But the kids were REALLY going crazy. Funny video of them putting on a parade of their own. ... Really cute Italian family next to us. We ended up sharing popcorn and such with them.* Really lame family came up just before the start of the parade and shoved their three small children through the crowd and in to the street. As the Disney crew came along and waived for everybody to back up, we were FORCED to absorb the kids in to our area, which meant that several children who had waited patiently for over an hour (including our Italian friends), had to give up their prime spots for these kids who snuck in at the end. Pissed me off to no end. Particularly because the parents were actually TEACHING their children to look out for numero uno and who cares about everybody else. Grrrr. So lame. As soon as the fair ended, I tried to have some words with the parents, but alas ... apparently 'rude' doesn't translate to French or Arabic. : ( Disney Paris. Good fun. Perfect timing to encourage the kids for our last leg. With a good nap today, we are able to wrap up the day with no major meltdowns. Tomorrow, we've decided to take it easy in the morning, and hit a couple rides before our train to Paris.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1219605960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1219605960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1219605960/tpod.html Sun, 24 Aug 2008 16:57:33 -0400 Home Exchange 2008 - Spain & France

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Marne-la-Vallée, Île-de-France, France

Wow. 6:45am is EARLY when you've been lounging around for a month waking up at 8:30am or 9am each day.Its a mad scramble around the house to make sure we've packed and cleaned everything. I'm sure we missed some things ... but, what can you do? ... Sorry Franck and Sandrine if we left anything too messy! ... Despite packing and cleaning for several hours on Saturday, we still felt a little frazzled. Thankfully, Franck and Sandrine were very kind enough to volunteer to pick us up and escort us to Angers to see us on our way. We arrive without any problems and are able to see a little bit of Angers. Sandrine tells us a tad bit about the history of the beautiful castle that remains ... apparently, the Duke of Angers was so popular and powerful, that the King of France at the time demanded that the Duke cut the tops off the castle towers as a show of respect. ... It was done ... and the towers have remained at 75% height ever since. ... Every town we've visited here in France has such a rich and long history, its unbelievable. Kisses to Franck and Sandrine ... what a wonderful home exchange partner family they have been. Their house was cozy and comfortable (the kids NEVER wanted to leave ... even at the end!), their friends and family were fabulously kind and outgoing with us, and their town and country were gorgeous. Not to mention that Franck and Sandrine were excellent organizers, great communicators before the exchange, during, and after, ...and great to spend time with. We only wish we could have spent more time hanging out with them and their children. THANK YOU FRANCK AND SANDRINE!....And before we know it, our second home exchange is complete, ... and we are en route to Disney Paris by direct train. The trip will take us a little over 2 hours.....The kids have no clue as to where we are going. They think its time for Paris, with Mimi joining us in a few days. But they are mistaken. We've booked a room at the New York Hotel at Disney Paris for 2 nights for 3 days of fun and amusement park madness.We arrive and step out of the train ... outside, the bus stop is full of busses decked out with Disney designs and characters all over them. The kids are clueless. To the hotel with Disney emblems everywhere, staff with Disney stuff on, Minnie Mouse on the TV showing off the hotel rooms. Still clueless. They like the characters and stuff, but they have no idea we are actually HERE AT DISNEYLAND. Its funny because all summer long they've talked about Disneyland, more than ever before. And all summer long I've drilled in to their heads that there is only one Disneyland ... its in the United States ... and we won't be able to go because we will be traveling. ... Up to the room, with Disney brochures, maps, etc inside ... still clueless. I'm shocked at this point. Downstairs and we start our ten minute walk to the park through Disney Village (the public shopping mall type thing outside the park gates). Lights, Disney Stores, more Mickey Mouse stuff... and the kids are liking it all, super excited, ... but no idea its Disneyland. Sam is just as psyched about the big McD's here as anything at this point!As we approach the gates, we decide to focus them in on whats going on, so Janice points out a sign to Samuel.There are rare times when you are able to make your children absolutely and purely joyful. A trip to Disneyland is one surefire opportunity for that type of moment ... and our reveal did not dissapoint. They were excited when we told them, but it was really a slow rolling, growing sort of excitement. As we showed our tickets, they became more excited, ... entered Mainstreet, ... more excited ... I love the scene of them skipping along Mainstreet. Just thrilled. Good times. And they deserve it really. They have been such troopers on this LOOONNGGG trip of ours.Disney Paris is great. Its definately different than the park in CA. On the positive side of the scale: its more recently built, is a new and different experience than CA with a few different rides, and some different builds of old rides, ... and they allow you to bring some outside food in the park. On the negative side of things: the Disney spirit of the staff is not nearly at the level of their CA counterparts, the grounds and rides aren't kept as well, smoking is allowed (or at least tolerated 100%), and ... it RAINS.Yes, most of our day today had light sprinkles. Sometimes, it was outright pouring. We had no rain gear, but we were relatively warm (though wet), and since it was our first day here ... we just adjusted. So we hit upa lot of indoor rides, movies, shows, etc. One funny memory. An African family roamed the park with three children ... .... and the mom was carrying a huge black umbrella for the family with a large hot pink Playboy logo on it. Classy. Nothing says 'family day at Disneyland' like a Playboy umbrella. ... I saw them a second time in the park, and followed them for nearly five minutes trying to take a picture, but it wasn't in the cards. ... Reminded me of visiting an ancient temple in China and finding a woman with the 'JUICY' logo smack dab on her rear end.Its cool to be in a Disney park thats very similar to our CA park, but with a bunch of different attractions. The kids don't really know the difference, but it definately makes it have a fresh feel to me.As the weather improved, ... a bunch of things fell right in to place for us. First of all, around 4pm, the lines seemed to shrink in half at least. We were line for no more than 10 minutes for Small World. And Snow White, which had been 45 minutes earlier, ... only took us 10 minutes. Then, I made us dinner resrevations at the Blue Lagoon (restaurant inside of the Pirates of the Caribbean) at 6:45pm. We decided to FastPass the PeterPan ride nearby and it turned out to be a 6:15pm. Perfect! When we finished at the Peter Pan ride (skipped a 1.5 hour line with our FastPass! .... oh, excuse me, its 'que', not line here in Europe), we decided to do Pirates for the 2nd time, and found the line EMPTY. We walked nearly up to the loading docks with no wait! ... Then to dinner, and as I was paying, a waitress gave us four Fast Pass admissions to Thunder Mountain around the corner that were good for another ten minutes. ... saved us a 1 hour line! So ... boom, boom, boom ... we knocked out like 75% of the main rides and attractions that were on our Must Do list!Poor Sam, just before dinner, he started complaining about his right leg hurting. He is a growing little guy, and it seems he has these growing pain shin splint sort of pains every once in a while. Totally reminds me of when I was a kid. I HATED that feeling. Ugh.So now, its about 8:30pm, and Ella has been asking to go to the hotel since 6pm .... thats how tired she is. Actually ASKING to leave Disneyland to sleep. I volunteer to take her back to the hotel, while Janice and Sam explore some more (they are still gone as I write this .... nearly 11pm). Their plan was to visit the Phantom Manor and perhaps stay a little later until the parade and fireworks (starting at 10:20pm). They must have decided to do that.Couldn't have asked for a better day. I feel a little bad that the kids are so dead tired, but hopefully with a good night's sleep and a solid breakfast in the morning, we can have another great day tomorrow. Maybe even a nap midway through. ... Still lots to explore. We haven't even ventured in to their version of the CA Adventure park ... Disney Studios. That will be for tomorrow.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1219605900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1219605900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/styrsky/1/1219605900/tpod.html Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:26:09 -0400 Home Exchange 2008 - Spain & France

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Angers, Pays de la Loire, France

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