Chocolate stillettos
Peace
Cigarette butts
19 June 2012
B-ball at the Eiffel Tower & Chocolate Heaven
Until I can give more detail I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
No gas
Paris is beautiful, and it knows it. It's so beautiful in fact that it is too cute for gas stations. At home we have gas stations at every interstate exit and every few blocks in most cities. Not in Paris. It took me a while to realize that I haven't seen a gas station in over a week. Where are all the gas stations? How do people fill up their teeny tiny cars? Yesterday was the first day I saw something that even resembled a gas station and it was tucked under a beautiful building, hardly noticeable. I do from time to time see singular gas pumps on the street. Look at my picture below. Paris is too fly for big ugly gas stations, I guess they say no to gas.
Speaking of gas, a common question you hear in restaurants is, "Would you like your water with gas or without gas?" this question perplexes Americans traveling to Europe for the first time. To clarify, water with gas is what we American call perriere water, ya know the water with the bubbles in it? Water without gas is just plain water. To me water with gas is tolerable but not preferable. It's an acquired taste that I haven't fully developed. So I guess that makes me just like the city of Paris, too fly for gas. :-P
Speaking of gas, a common question you hear in restaurants is, "Would you like your water with gas or without gas?" this question perplexes Americans traveling to Europe for the first time. To clarify, water with gas is what we American call perriere water, ya know the water with the bubbles in it? Water without gas is just plain water. To me water with gas is tolerable but not preferable. It's an acquired taste that I haven't fully developed. So I guess that makes me just like the city of Paris, too fly for gas. :-P
18 June 2012
Home sick & Father's Day
Poor Zane is terribly terribly homesick. All he wants in life right now is his dad and grandma. Me, Zane, and his friends are not cutting it. He wanted his daddy and he wants him NOW!!!! Dude is doing well thought. He's perfectly content with Skype conversations and only really cries for FoxyMama when he's being naughty and I tell him "No". I make sure to address Zane's homesickness without giving him too much emotion. If I cross the line and give him too much he falls to pieces. "It's ok that you miss them I miss them too, but right now you are in Paris and you enjoy this present moment to the fullest. You will see them very soon.". I explain to him that he must be stronger. When I was his age my parents put me on a plane (alone) every single summer to visit my favorite aunt and uncle in upstate new York and I would spend 6-8 weeks with them. What would you say or do to Zane to help his homesickness?
Today is Father's Day and we happily Skyped my dad and AlphaPoppa from near the Eiffel Tower. I informed them that their gifts were free trips to Paris and the Eiffel Tower via Skype. After that we had big plans for the day but instead collapsed on the grassy areas at the red carpet market. The kids played for hours, meeting many groups of new friends. The ate pistachio treats and made Eiffel Tower nunchucks. All of big plans went out the window and we decided to "be" instead of "do".
What Parisienne topics would you like me to investigate or give my perspective on? I'm already organizing my thoughts for posts on fashion, race relations in France, and French culture. If you have questions or ideas leave a comment to let me know!
Today is Father's Day and we happily Skyped my dad and AlphaPoppa from near the Eiffel Tower. I informed them that their gifts were free trips to Paris and the Eiffel Tower via Skype. After that we had big plans for the day but instead collapsed on the grassy areas at the red carpet market. The kids played for hours, meeting many groups of new friends. The ate pistachio treats and made Eiffel Tower nunchucks. All of big plans went out the window and we decided to "be" instead of "do".
What Parisienne topics would you like me to investigate or give my perspective on? I'm already organizing my thoughts for posts on fashion, race relations in France, and French culture. If you have questions or ideas leave a comment to let me know!
17 June 2012
Jumping in the rain & a new temporary home
How is it that kids are jumping castle magnets? Right after a late breakfast on the way to our favorite park we ran into a small kid carnival located right on the street corner. There was no way I could get a group of kids past all that! Each activity was 1 Euro and the it was worth it. Zane and his big friends jumped in the jumping castle until they were exhausted and Dude found a little car track for kids his age. I giggled when I notice that each uninterested activity operator/ employee was smoking a cigarette and some even didn't even turn their heads from the kids to blow out the smoke. That would never fly in the US. After about half an hour it began to rain, Dude got off his bike and stood under an awning with me, but Zane and his friends continued to jump since the castle had a covering... or so I thought. After about 11 minutes Zane and his deliriously happy soaking wet friends came to find me. "That was so fun! It was so cool that the jumpy castle had small little holes to let the rain in!". I took the about 10 more minutes to realize how uncomfortable, cold, and according to Zane painfu,l wet jeans and clothes were. By then it was too late because we were already in McDonald's ordering French fries. After our snack we headed to our apartment for a change of clothes and I dragged their little butts to a laundry mat to dry their clothes. Dryers are rarely used on France. From what I'm told people are perfectly content on washing their clothes at home (washing machines are located in the kitchen) then hanging them to dry inside the house or if possible on a clothes line outside. Once we left the laundry mat we headed to our new apartment on a new side of town. The area was lovely and the weather cleared up. One of the first things we ran into was, you'll never guess... A PARK!
The best part about park hoping is watching the kids interact with French children Zane does a great job of making friends despite the language barrier. While they played their school owner surprised then with an assortment of regional candies from all parts of France. Once we got back to our new place the kids quietly played with each other, as is the norm in France then we all tucked ourselves in for a nice long sleep.
The best part about park hoping is watching the kids interact with French children Zane does a great job of making friends despite the language barrier. While they played their school owner surprised then with an assortment of regional candies from all parts of France. Once we got back to our new place the kids quietly played with each other, as is the norm in France then we all tucked ourselves in for a nice long sleep.
15 June 2012
Le Moulin Rouge & Sacre Coeur
Yesterday we went to The Moulin Rouge! Very kid appropriate, right? Believe it or not in the mist of all the sex shops there is the perfect kid activity. There is a wind vent that kids can stand on and watch their clothes blow up like marshmallow men. They can make leaves float and scream into the wind. This kept the kids busy for about a whole hour! While there we took pictures of the Moulin Rouge and of course our silly kids. After that we walked over to Sacre Coeur.
Sacre Corur means sacred heart and this historic cathedral has one of the most beautiful views of the city. It is in walking distance of the Moulin Rouge but in order to reach it you have to climb a very long stair case. When I say long I mean looooong, like you may have a heart attack on the way up long, like your only thought is "this better be good!". There is an alternative to this long walk though, you can instead take a lift that cost you one metro ticket. Since we are on a strict budget we took the stairs. Since I'm forever optimistic I saw this as an opportunity to some exercise and even better a way to get the kids tired enough for a seamless bedtime.
The cathedral and view were worth it. There were hundreds of people sitting on the last stair case before the main entrance just sitting, talking, laughing, drinking, and enjoying the amazing view of Paris. We hung out a while and once the sunset we headed back home. Dude was so exhausted he fell asleep before we got in the train home. Did I mention that his stroller never left Atlanta? I'm happy we didn't bring it even though Dude is like a led weight once he falls asleep. We got home and slept soundly.
Sacre Corur means sacred heart and this historic cathedral has one of the most beautiful views of the city. It is in walking distance of the Moulin Rouge but in order to reach it you have to climb a very long stair case. When I say long I mean looooong, like you may have a heart attack on the way up long, like your only thought is "this better be good!". There is an alternative to this long walk though, you can instead take a lift that cost you one metro ticket. Since we are on a strict budget we took the stairs. Since I'm forever optimistic I saw this as an opportunity to some exercise and even better a way to get the kids tired enough for a seamless bedtime.
The cathedral and view were worth it. There were hundreds of people sitting on the last stair case before the main entrance just sitting, talking, laughing, drinking, and enjoying the amazing view of Paris. We hung out a while and once the sunset we headed back home. Dude was so exhausted he fell asleep before we got in the train home. Did I mention that his stroller never left Atlanta? I'm happy we didn't bring it even though Dude is like a led weight once he falls asleep. We got home and slept soundly.
Sacre Coeur
Sex magazine on the street
Sacre Coeur
Metro Map
Le Moulin Rouge
14 June 2012
Differences
When you travel abroad there is no way that you can miss the little things that are way, way, way different than home. I couldn't wait to share this list and pictures with you.
1. Motorcycle cars- super weird/ awesome cars made by BMW I've never seen one in the US.
2. Chicken flavored potato chips- (made by Lay's) these things freak me out. They taste like delicious well- seasoned homemade chicken breast but all packed in a crunchy potato chip. They taste good but I just can't eat them regularly, sorry... Too weird for me. (I bet you've never heard me say that before!) The kids have created a song and dance for these chips. It involves them folding and flapping their arms like wings and singing "chicken-chips, chicken-chips" for as long as they can until they fall out laughing.
3. Meat sauce flavored potato chips- I was so freaked out by the chicken chips that I have yet to try these. From what I'm told they taste exactly like tomato sauce and ground beef! Lays's potato chips must have Chris Angel or some other magician putting these flavors into chips.
4. Electric rental cars- these cars are seen parked on most streets charging for their next renter. You go to the nearby rental booth, swipe your card and zoom away in your electric rental car.
5. Rental bikes- these bikes are lined up on a bike rack and one is released with each payment to the automatic machine. We see Parisiennes and tourist on them all over the city.
6. Round billboards- while we prefer straight lines in the US, France seems to have a thing for circles and curves. Take a look at the billboard below.
7. Winding roads- The aversion to straight lines doesn't end with billboards. Don't expect to look down a never ending straight street like in the US. You won't find that here. I have yet to see a square shaped block. Many blocks are triangles, hexagons, pentagons, or circles. Some corners intersect 5+ blocks. This set-up ensures that you always see fine architecture everywhere you look. It's beautiful!
8. Public toilets- Many shops don't allow you to go in to use the "toilette" but the city provides them free every few blocks or so. I've seen one in Atlanta's Piedmont Park, but there are many more here.
9. No golden arches?!- There are McDonald's here but they are pretty discreet. Look at this McDonald's that doesn't even have it's famous golden arches. We passed by it about 5 times before we realized that it was a Mickey-Ds!
10. Sex, sex, and more sex!- We haven't watched much tv here but when we do there is plenty of sex to be seen. We've seen what I can only describe as porn commercials with full blown nudity and sex acts, during the DAY!!!! I can hear my European friends laughing at me now, since this is no big deal to them. While walking in the Moulin Rouge area today the kids kept saying "sex shop, sex shop." as they read the store signs on the street. They had a discussion amongst themselves as to what could possibly be being sold at a sex shop, they concluded that in a sex shop you can purchase things for either boys or girl. Since one of the synonms for sex is gender this made perfet sense to them.
11. Street lights- they just don't shine on the street, they also have a light for the sidewalk.
12. Subway car door handles- The only doors on the train that open are the ones opened by the passengers themselves. Whatever door is open will automatically close before the train departs the station. I cannot tell you how many stops I've missed because I've forgotten to click the handle or push the button to get out of the train!
I hope you've found these interesting. There are many more difference that I didn't add but will probably do so in a separate post. These small things make traveling so interesting. I go from being an all-knowing savvy American girl at home, to becoming an awkward, confused, shocked American tourist abroad. These experiences also give me a sense of patience and compassion for other who visit or relocate to my country. I love it!
1. Motorcycle cars- super weird/ awesome cars made by BMW I've never seen one in the US.
2. Chicken flavored potato chips- (made by Lay's) these things freak me out. They taste like delicious well- seasoned homemade chicken breast but all packed in a crunchy potato chip. They taste good but I just can't eat them regularly, sorry... Too weird for me. (I bet you've never heard me say that before!) The kids have created a song and dance for these chips. It involves them folding and flapping their arms like wings and singing "chicken-chips, chicken-chips" for as long as they can until they fall out laughing.
3. Meat sauce flavored potato chips- I was so freaked out by the chicken chips that I have yet to try these. From what I'm told they taste exactly like tomato sauce and ground beef! Lays's potato chips must have Chris Angel or some other magician putting these flavors into chips.
4. Electric rental cars- these cars are seen parked on most streets charging for their next renter. You go to the nearby rental booth, swipe your card and zoom away in your electric rental car.
5. Rental bikes- these bikes are lined up on a bike rack and one is released with each payment to the automatic machine. We see Parisiennes and tourist on them all over the city.
6. Round billboards- while we prefer straight lines in the US, France seems to have a thing for circles and curves. Take a look at the billboard below.
7. Winding roads- The aversion to straight lines doesn't end with billboards. Don't expect to look down a never ending straight street like in the US. You won't find that here. I have yet to see a square shaped block. Many blocks are triangles, hexagons, pentagons, or circles. Some corners intersect 5+ blocks. This set-up ensures that you always see fine architecture everywhere you look. It's beautiful!
8. Public toilets- Many shops don't allow you to go in to use the "toilette" but the city provides them free every few blocks or so. I've seen one in Atlanta's Piedmont Park, but there are many more here.
9. No golden arches?!- There are McDonald's here but they are pretty discreet. Look at this McDonald's that doesn't even have it's famous golden arches. We passed by it about 5 times before we realized that it was a Mickey-Ds!
10. Sex, sex, and more sex!- We haven't watched much tv here but when we do there is plenty of sex to be seen. We've seen what I can only describe as porn commercials with full blown nudity and sex acts, during the DAY!!!! I can hear my European friends laughing at me now, since this is no big deal to them. While walking in the Moulin Rouge area today the kids kept saying "sex shop, sex shop." as they read the store signs on the street. They had a discussion amongst themselves as to what could possibly be being sold at a sex shop, they concluded that in a sex shop you can purchase things for either boys or girl. Since one of the synonms for sex is gender this made perfet sense to them.
11. Street lights- they just don't shine on the street, they also have a light for the sidewalk.
12. Subway car door handles- The only doors on the train that open are the ones opened by the passengers themselves. Whatever door is open will automatically close before the train departs the station. I cannot tell you how many stops I've missed because I've forgotten to click the handle or push the button to get out of the train!
I hope you've found these interesting. There are many more difference that I didn't add but will probably do so in a separate post. These small things make traveling so interesting. I go from being an all-knowing savvy American girl at home, to becoming an awkward, confused, shocked American tourist abroad. These experiences also give me a sense of patience and compassion for other who visit or relocate to my country. I love it!
sex magazines
Meat-sauce chips
Electric rental cars
Chicken Chips
McDonalds sans golden arches
Zane looking at the "Pussy's" sign
Click this up to open the subway train door
Single passenger BMW
Double street and side walk light
free public- self cleaning restroom
Circular billboard
Rental bikes
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