The taken suitcase and Puppet Shows

Yesterday we were indoors most of the day. We were bumming out and cleaning for the apartment's next guest. One of the ways that the owner of Zane's school is earning money for our school is by renting out the school apartment. Much more money can be made for our teachers and for other school costs if we are not at the apartment. So, we are moving on to a cheap spot so the apartment can make money for the things most important to us; our children's global education. After getting the place all cleaned up we grabbed our things, planned our route, and we headed out to our new place. There were two problems however. One it was raining and two we were hungry. We stopped at a nearby cafe and chilled out. We organized our suitcases (three of them) in our view (and an arm's length away) and we fully enjoyed the moment.
When it was time to leave Zane asks me "Mommy where is your suitcase?!"
"Right here." I said.
"No it's not!"
He was right. The suitcase was gone. Only the two largest suitcases remained. I did a quick mental check of what was in the bag, tooth brush, deodorant, a bunch of summer clothes that I haven't been able to wear because it's too cool. The only things I'd miss was a cute pair of stillettos and a sexy red wrap dress that I'd purchased at Bouchic Boutique in Atlanta. Oh well, c'est la vie. I was not going to let the loss of things ruin my day! Zane in the other hand was furious. Our little crew searched nearby streets and garbage cans without luck. I thought of this as a good chance to teach him about what is important in life. "Zane we are all safe and happy, everything in the bag, including the bag, can be replaced.". He understood my point and I understood his 8 year old frustration. There was no point in sticking around and sweating the small stuff. I was tired and ready to get to our new next place to stay. We all slept good that night and were well rested for the next morning.

The next morning I discover that I'd moved about 4 outfits into the boys much bigger bag before my suitcase was stolen. I initially thought I'd only been left with the clothes on my back so this was a very pleasant surprise! We got dressed, grabbed breakfast an headed to a nearby park. We were there for hours, coincidentally just in time for a puppet show at the park's tiny puppet theatre

Puppet Theatre

Tree climbing in the parc!

 

 

Puppet show time!

The playground. Midnight stroll.

Today we spent most of the day at the park. Parks are different in different countries. In France less seems to be more in the world of child's play. As long as there is grass the kids are expected to play among themselves while their patents or caretakers sit on the benches for uninterrupted adult time. There were no giant million dollar structures for kids to fall off of or to need help climbing. The kids just ran and played around the few trees, bushes, and statues. We stumbled upon this park on our way to the post office. We stopped to watch as a nearby school let out and followed the nannies and parents to the park.

Before our trip I read an article about the "superior French parenting style". Since being here I've been able to observe French parenting for myself. It has been explained to me that the French believe that children are born "wrong" and must be corrected and molded into sophisticated adults. The kids are given many responsibilities, excuses are not accepted, and independence from parents is the goal. Kids are not to be babied or spoiled. I am definitely seeing many of these parenting styles mentioned in the article. Whether it is "superior" is definitely a matter of opinion. But I will tell you one thing, I have yet to see a French child throw a tantrum. I'm willing to admit that the only screaming child I've seen is Dude, and boy do we get "looks"!

After their long play time we stopped at the grocery store and went back to the school apartment. The kids played with Legos and drew pictures for hours.  At about 10 pm we went for a night stroll to a chinese restaurant. The kids were giddy and having the time of their lives. By the time we made it home it was midnight and they all went to bed without a fight. Tomorrow will be a very busy day, which is ok, because everyone will sleep well tonight.

These pictures are of dude drinking out of a kids fountain at the park. I took the picture because this fountain made so much sense. Back home I always have to lift him to get a drink. He used this fountain on his own!

The next picture is a Lego plane that Zane built during down time and finally
we have a picture from our night stroll.

 

 

The best part about traveling with kids.

Before having children I traveled. It was something that I had to do. Few people understood why.  I felt a burning sensation inside that pulled me like a magnet all around the planet.  Thankfully the people in my life always encouraged me to follow my heart and go. Once I had children, stopping that lifestyle was not really an option. For me, exploring is as much a necessity as breathing. Traveling with the kids is a much different experience, but that's ok. Before many more nightclubs were involved, with the boys we see far more parks. They have caused me to slow down. Dude's little legs don't allow me to speed walk around the world's most beautiful cities. Thanks to him I get to completely soak in the beauty around me. Zane's interests are much different from mine and cause me to step off the path of an already unknown road. I get to see the world from my perspective and from the eyes of a child.

During our travels they learn responsibility, flexibility, and respect. We teach them these things but the traveling itself is the greatest teacher. Only pack what you need; they learn the difference between needs and wants. Pay attention to your surroundings; they learn self awareness, international street smarts, and culture. Different doesn't mean inferior; they respect others and learn from them. Carry your passport copy at all times; they learn responsibility and safety. The list goes on and on.

People give me many excuses as to why they cannot or will not travel with their children. Any excuse you give me about your child's behavior has its origins at home and is not a result of the traveling that they have never experienced. As easily as you can correct bad behavior at home you can also correct it on the road. You are equally likely to be in danger while traveling, as being at home. If you are American you are probably in more danger at home than in other parts of the world!

For those of you who have traveled internationally with your children please comment on how they've benefitted from traveling. If you are a parent who wants to travel with your children what do you hope they learn from the experience?

Red Carpet Market & an evening at the Eiffel Tower

We got to such a late start today. It was a little chilly and it drizzled on and off all day. That made me extra lazy. The kids were also chilled out. They found movies on the iPads, played with Legos, and drew pictures. They seemed in no rush to do anything but relax. Zane also used this time to practice magic tricks that he learned from YouTube. One of his classmates informed me," Zane, took all the Euro coins out of my body except for one, but don't worry he says he'll take that one out tomorrow when it's not so close to my brain.". I laughed so hard and Zane was happy that his coin trick was actually believable! Even though this poor child was content with holding onto said Euro, for another 24 hours I made Zane take it out.

Before leaving the apartment we whipped up a big lunch then put on coats and headed out to see the Eiffel Tower. On the way there we happened upon an open market with a lovely red carpet. Only in Paris could you find a red carpet outdoor market, so sophisticated! We ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the antique furniture, chandeliers, and mink coats. We didn't stay long though because we were on a mission to see the most famous tower in the world.

As we walked I continually searched for it in the sky without success. Then suddenly it appeared almost out of nowhere; it was just as I imagined it would be. The kids were elated. I had no idea that Zane and Dude even cared to see it. They both gave me double the amount of hugs and kisses that I get in a normal day. These two know how to melt a mom's heart! We stopped on the tower's lawns and let the kids run and play, only stopping them for an ice cream break and photo shoots.
We continued to walk under the tower and crossed the street to Trocadero. There we found an awesome carousel and a free concert/ street party. We hung out there a long time dancing and playing. The drizzle didn't bother us at all, we were having too good of a time. At about 9pm (remember that's still daylight here until about 10pm) we hesitantly headed back home, only stopping to grab a quick dinner. As we left our little diner the tower was lite up and reminded all of us tourist why Paris is the world's most popular vacation destination.

The kids ran and jumped back home. They were free in the streets of Paris and at home in the world.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Potty training in Paris. Loving the Louvre.

Paris was beautiful this morning. We woke up lugged my stuff down the spiraling six flights of fury and headed for the metro on route to the school apartment. When we got there I was blown away by what the owner of Zane's school had done. This apartment was amazingly gorgeous! Just to give you a little background on Zane's school, he attends The Swiss Trilingual School. The school is a small homeschool group that educates its students in either Spanish/ Chinese/ English or French/ Japanese/ English. The school uses the languages to teach core subjects like math, science, etc. but love compassion and happiness are also equally important subjects. Zane is in the Spanish-Chinese as a third grader and Dude will start 3 year old kindergarten in August. For more info see their website.

After we showered and ate I had a serious talk with Dude about no longer wearing his pamper. Dude is three and potty trained, however, during our journey in Berlin we didn't want to risk any "accidents" in our host's home or in the cold streets. We were also unaware of the public urination laws in Germany we just figured pampers would be the safest bet. Now that we are in Paris I feel we can resume our normal potty routine. So today my little sweetheart was pamper free and he did great. No accidents! Yey Dude!! I think he was happy to return to big boy status and let go of that gross thing.

Today's journey brought us down many beautiful street. Paris is just beautiful. The architecture is lovely and the whole ambiance is manifique! We walked to the river Seine, the Louvre, L'arch de Triomphe, and Champs Elysées. I had no idea all of these famous sites were in walking distance from each other, that just made it even better. We saw the Eiffel Tower in the distance but decided to save that for a long picnic tomorrow.

The children played, laughed, and met tourist from all over the world. They also played with boats in an enormous fountain near the Louvre, and played in the many kid friendly gardens we passed.
We walked until we were exhausted. The city is so beautiful that we didn't even realize how long we'd been walking. The French language, the crowds, the music, elaborate buildings, the smell of baguettes and crepes. Today we focused on being in Paris and using our five senses to experience all things Parisienne, I'm so grateful that I can experience this with my boys and they can also
experience this part of the world with their friends.

 

 

 

 

Auf Wiefersehen Berlin! Bonjour Paris!

We left our German host's house at 5 am to head to our two separate airports. Since the sun had already been up an hour, it wasn't as bad as it could have been if it were still dark. AlphaPoppa made sure The boys and I got on our correct train, gave the boys a pep talk about behaving themselves and listening to/ helping mommy. We had a group hug and gave each other a million kisses and off we went.

The Easy Jet Airline check in was super easy and while waiting to board the plane I met a great young Canadian couple who had graduated from high school and then spend 4 months backpacking across Europe. Paris was their last stop and they loved every minute of their traveling experience. They begged me to continue encouraging my students and others to travel. They now feel that they have a priceless education and want to share that feeling with everyone.

The boys and I arrived in Paris at about 10:30 am. Our first order if business was to buy a sim card for my unlocked cell phone. Then I needed to figure out how to get me and the two boys and our two bags to the apartment I was renting for one night from the airbnb.com website. We just needed this apartment for one night until we met up with the owner of Grant's school and the students with whom she'd been traveling. The apartment for us all would be available the following day. After getting my sim card I was instructed to buy tickets for the OrlyBus, get on it at platform 4, and get off at the last stop. That last stop would be the metro station them I was to get on the 6 train and get off at the Picpus train station. The apartment would be walking distance from there. I did as I was instructed, many kind people helped me lift and lug bags along the way.

Once again buying a metro tickets was like a visit to Pluto but people were helpful and nderstanding. I successfully arrived at my station and a woman stopped me on the platform to ask (in Spanish) if I needed help carrying up a bag. I accepted her offer. Another golden rule in travel is that is a sane/safe looking person offers you help (or a gift) graciously accept that offer or gift. I will explain why later. As she helped me, she asked where I was from and mentioned she heard me speaking Spanish. She herself was from Spain but she'd been living in Paris for some years. Like me she only speaks To her two sons in Spanish. So since I had a new friend I showed her the address where I needed to be and she pointed me in the right direction. Another angel placed in our traveling path.

The apartment owner met us at the apartment got us settled in and asked me to leave the key under the door mat when I left in the morning.  The apartment was one extremely small room on the sixth floor! Zane and I thought we'd have heart attacks by the third level of of our new tiny spiral staircase! If you are not familiar with these European staircases please google them or something because my words cannot accurately describe!

We were hungry and exhausted. By now it was after 2pm. Some of the nearby cafes were mind-blowingly expensive but I finally found a cheaper spot and got myself some pasta and the boys French fries and burger patties. Dude was so hungry and tired that his head almost fell in his plate when he finished his fries.

I then rushed us to a grocery store to buy juice, water, milk, and pan au chocolate. After almost meeting our death on the staircase we got in bed and slept!! After a 2 hour nap I woke up my homies and we decided to walk and explore. We walked for about an hour looking around and buying fruit from street vendors. As we finished our last orange wedge. We looked up and saw the owner of Zane's school running down the street with her arms wide open. She and the three kids had been waiting for us in front of our apartment and it was a complete love fest for the kids to all be with their friends in France!

We walked over to a nearby park and let the kids play quietly. They then joined in a game of Patonk with some adults who were willing to teach them the game.  After that we found cheap chinese food. All of the kids spoke to the restaurant owners in chinese and won their hearts. We later returned to my small new crib. We talked for hours and the kids played happily for hours. Once we realized how late it was we decided to just all sleep at my place then to head to the school apartment in the morning.

Random thoughts I had in Germany

- OK, so people in Germany just ride the train in complete silence.

- Aldi is a German grocery store?!

- Don't forget to put the money on the counter, not in the cashier's hand. Put the money on the counter, on the counter, on the counter...

- Dope! You idiot! You put the money in her hand! Now see the dirty looks she's giving you. Awh man!

- OK, so people just shop in Aldi in complete silence.

- I really hope that people don't understand Zane singing,"Curry Wurst is the best, but when it comes out your butt Curry Wurst is the worst!"

- Huh?

- My children are the loudest people in Germany.

- Whoa! Here Taxis are Mercedes and bulldozers are Volvo.

- OK, no more sausage for me.

- Boy, I sure hope I put that garbage in the right can. (there are 5 recycling bins on every corner).

- Is summer really this cold in Germany?!

- Where is the turnstile to get on the train?

- Am I the shortest woman in this country? Geez Germans are tall?

- Berlin is unbelievably peaceful.

- Google maps is equally accurate here in Berlin as back home.

- People are actually reading my blog. Woo-hoo!!

- I'm so happy that I live in the age of Skype, FaceBook, cellphones, and wifi.

- What's going on in this time zone? The sun rises at 4am and sets at 10pm.

- People really think this is the hood?! I need to take them to the US for the shock of their lives.

- Hey, I actually know where we are! Berlin is easy to get around.

- You've just given me the temperature in Celsius, now what's that in Fahrenheit? I really gotta learn the metric system.