A View from the Top

Leaving Dallas was hard, but easy compared to what it what like when I left for the first time. I was actually ready to get back to Paris and learn the city. There was new motivation. I cried twice during my stay. First when I saw Marla, second when I said good by to Ruthie the Great. Why is it so hard for me to leave my dog?

Luckily, my flight back to Paris was direct. I've never experienced a direct flight, so I was pretty excited about it. My flight left at 5:45pm and I was ready to sleep when I sat down in my seat. It happened to be on row 10, which is directly behind first class. Yes, so I got to see them receive their hot towels to wipe their faces or wash their hands. I watched them get refills of wine and champagne. I also saw them recline their BEDS and sleep, while I sat cramped in my uncomfortable seat attempted to curl up, but not having the room. I was able to stay awake for my lasagna dinner and my friendly neighbor even bought me red wine. How nice. He said the healthiest thing we had for dinner was the wine. He told me about his travels, which he goes between Lebanon and Dallas quite frequently. I asked what occupation he had which allowed him to be so flexible. He said that he is a retired heart surgeon and he grew up and studied in Lebanon, which is where his family still lives. We had some interesting conversation for only a short bit, before falling asleep. I woke up occasionally only to see the movies being shown on the flight - No Reservations and Elf. I saw about five minutes of each.

I woke up when they announced that we were flying over London. The view was fantastic. We were flying into the sunrise, just above the clouds.

Here we are, just above London...you can see the lights in the distance.The sky over the English Channel.Over the beaches of Normandy.
The sunrise in France as we descended through the clouds.The landscape of suburban Paris.
We arrived an hour early thanks to a wonderful tailwind. It was a bit misty out, but great to be back. I had about an hour in a half until I would be back into my apartment. Baggage claim, bus ride via Roissybus, and a taxi from Opera to the haven of rue de Grenelle. I have decided that I will never haul suitcases through metro stations. I will splurge on a taxi from now on. It's not worth it.

I had 120lbs worth of luggage to carry up to my six-floor flat. Once completed, I wanted to die. I opened my suitcases and attempted to unload, but instead hopped into bed and slept for four hours. Hello jetlag, nice to see you again.

I lied - all for the sake of a surprise

Yes, I lied. I have been lying for three months. At the end of September I booked a flight home for Christmas. I talked to my mother about it and we decided to surprise everyone. I called the mother of my most amazing friend, Marla, to see if it would be alright if I flew in to Lubbock to surprise her. I knew it would be a tough three months, but I had the prize in mind...the looks on their faces!

So I got onto myspace to change my comments section to be approved before being posted, in case someone spilled the beans. I made sure all my bases were covered. There were a few scares, but all was good.

I packed up two full suitcases and left on Saturday morning for the airport. It's a bit of a commute, but nothing a taxi and bus ride can't take care of. I didn't have too long of a wait at the airport. Customs didn't say anything about my expired visa and gave a blind eye to my overweight luggage. Thank you France.

Once on the plane, the captain announced that we would be flying a bit north on our way to Chicago. This was a slight understatement. I tried to stay awake, but fell asleep. When I woke up, I could not believe what I was seeing. I woke up my neighbor to tell him to look out the window. We were flying over Greenland, then over Newfoundland. Even though the pictures are pretty great, it still can't capture what it really looked like.
Newfoundland
The flight was so smooth. I love American Airlines. However, we were late arriving, then my flight from Chicago to Dallas was delayed because of bad weather conditions. But it will take a while for another view to compete with these...

My Christmas Party for the Kids...

Tonight had been planned for a little over a week. The family leaves for Morocco on Sunday and I won't see them for a week, so I thought a little American Christmas fun would be a good event.

For the last week I have been on the search for the best American Christmas movie. What do you think would be your top pick? I thought Elf, but was vetoed by both older boys because they thought it was so ridiculous. Zac loved it though. Hmmm, my thoughts were either A Christmas Story or National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. I've looked online at FNAC and they don't carry the first choice...on to the second. I checked three FNACs with no luck. However, I was fortunate to find my second choice last night on the Champs-Elysees.

After I picked up Zac from school, we went to Le Grande Epicerie for the ingredients. It's more of an upscale groceries story, very posh, but it also carries some American products. I didn't find taco shells, but did find a "kit". I also had to buy some baking powder for the cookies and some candy for, well, just because. The lines were long and everyone was in a huff. The aisles were cramped and Scrooge definitely had his hand in that place. Zac and I hurried back to the house, only first stopping at Proxi to get the last ingredients for the tacos.

I remembered I still had all of my queso stuff that Mom sent back in August. Perfect night to make it! We made it back up to the house and I began it all. The boys all came in to help. I stuck with the tacos and I had Barth and Zac make the cookies, while Balthazar was in charge of chopping the tomatoes and lettuce. It all started coming together nicely.

Verena was still at gymnastics which made me a little sad that she missed the whole thing. The parents weren't back yet, but the four of us had a really great time. The queso was tres, tres, tres chaud! Whew...spicy hot! Zac and Barth loved it, but Balthazar wouldn't try it. He hates cheese. Even after trying to convince him that Velveeta isn't really cheese, he didn't budge. He stuck with salsa. The tacos were a hit, the rice was great, the queso hit the spot!

The cookies turned out well. We bought some M&Ms to put on them as well as some icing. Zac had a bit of fun, Barth made a heart, and Balthazar told me they tasted like the first bread that was broken back in the days of Christ. He called them stones. He's my resident food critic. He's a comedy act each night with him and I.


We started the movie and it was really funny. I forgot how great it was. The rest of the family piled in, ate, then joined us for the movie. Lots of laughs. Afterwards, they presented me with some gifts, wonderful gifts. Zac did a few old man impressions by pulling his pants up to his chest, then walking with a limp and saying "ehhhhh".

It was kind of sad to tell them goodbye. I know I will see them soon, but I am really going to miss them. I am kind of jealous that they get to go to Morocco. I've got plans. There are actually a TON of friends staying here for Christmas. There is church service at Notre Dame on Christmas Eve, a Christmas Dinner at a friend's flat, and just a lot time to hang out. It's all good!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

It's December 20th and I realized that I haven't seen much of the Christmas lights in Paris. Don't call me ridiculous. It is so cold here. It really is. I have developed some wharped version of bronchitis that will not go away. Maybe it's that I have a window six inches above my head when I sleep.

Anyway Jasmin and I decided that we would meet on the Champs Elysees after I was through with work. I rushed down to the Varenne metro only to get on the train to head an announcement that they were shutting it down. Then I had to rush out, run about a half mile to get to the Invalides metro up to line 1. What a nightmare.

We met at the Charles de Gaulle/Etoile metro stop. It's directly next to the Arc de Triomphe. Quite a few my people, quite a view! However, I didn't get a picture. I have no idea why. As if I didn't have a heavy, awkwardly shaped camera hanging around my neck. But here are a few - if you look really close, you can see the arch in the background of the second one.
I've been looking for National Lampoons Christmas Vacation for my party for the kids tomorrow night. We went to the FNAC with no luck, but I did see Shrek so it wasn't a completely loss. Then we tried the Virgin Megastore and voila! It came with the sequel as well. The French title of the movie is Le Sapin A Les Boules. Do you want to know what that translated to in English? The Fir Has Balls. Don't ask.
While walking down the strip, we saw a photoshoot taking place. These are the kinds of things that remind me that I am in Paris. This girl had to play like she was drunk, so she was walking crooked and crazy, then she had to fall at the end...and the guy had to act really stunned and try to catch her. It was a grade A performance. Bravo! If you see this ad in any magazine, look for me in the background taking pictures of the photographer taking pictures of them. Hmmm.
Our appetites were quite atrocious by this time, so we walked around and saw nothing we wanted. Jasmin said "Ohhhhhhhhh! Let's have some greasy American food!" Do you really think I turned that down? We hopped back on line 1 to St. Paul. It's a bit of a trek, but the best food was waiting for us. None other than Breakfast In America. I'd never had dinner there, only breakfast. We ordered chicken nachos and a cheeseburger with fries. I wanted a Diet Coke to top it off, but it was 3,50 euros. No thanks. Yes, that's a little more than $5.00. No refills, only about 20 oz.
The food was fanastic, company excellent, weather bitter. It was a good night. It is pretty amazing here at Christmas time, I must admit.

Bruxelles et Bruges dans un week-end

This has the potential to be a long post, but I will try to keep it short. I decided last Tuesday to take a trip to Belgium for the weekend. I met a couple fantastic girls at a Thanksgiving dinner and took them up on the offer to come visit before they finished their semester of study.

On Friday night I took off of work a bit early and rode the metro to Gare du Nord to catch my train. I was quite excited because I bought a first-class ticket. I didn't have much of a choice; it was all that was left. I boarded and was thrilled to sit in a large, reclining seat. I started watching The Three Musketeers on my iPod. It was written by Alexandre Dumas and took place in Paris. The city inspires me to read the literature greats! The women came by to "offer" me dinner. When they said "offer", I didn't know if that meant I had to pay or if they were "giving" it to me. Well I declined and later found out that it came with first-class privileges. I have a lot to learn. Later I asked for wine and I got it. Oh the luxury! They brought chocolate too. I didn't get to finish the movie, but I finally arrived in Brussels at 10:30 or so.

Laura was there to pick me up and we soon headed off to the Christmas Markets. Most of them were closed, but it was absolutely fantastic. The Europeans really do know how to decorate for Christmas. There were carrousels, an ice skating rink, markets, lights, music, smells, all of it!
A Christmas market that sold saucisson (sausages). They carried every kind you could think of, even blueberry.
The Palace of Justice
Le Grande Place
The next morning, I slept in. The bed I died in was the most comfortable bed ever. Especially after sleeping on the hard French beds for six months. We walked around Brussels for a bit and I managed to eat my first authentic Belgian Waffle. If I could only express the amazingness of this waffle, I would. We don't have the proper words in English to do so.
Museum of Music - Art Nouveau style
Waffles are EVERYWHERE!
A Chocolaterie that had a "helper" who assisted me in picking out my chocolates.
A club in Brussels. Apparently, this decoration was intentional.
He is what one would imagine when the 80s rockers grow old. He was seriously rockin' it out. He was banging his foot and screaming some lyrics...great American tunes. As you can see, the little children were confused to see this Santa Clause look-alike singing with such passion.
This caught my eye as I walked by, so I had to grab a picture.
Europeans are the masters of advertising. They take their window displays very seriously. Yes, the cow is real. Not alive, but real.
After walking for a really long time, we met up with some other gals and went to a very famous marionette show. We walked through this quaint alleyway to this bar with mortal puppets who saw their day of fame, but now hang above beer and wine drinkers. The theatre was upstairs, so the bar was the holding room till the show commenced.

It was probably one of the coolest things I have done since I've been in Europe. I can't explain why. The show was The Three Musketeers in French. I laughed so much. It was all male voices, even for the female characters. They, of course, were so overly dramatic.
After-show strolling
The Grande Place at night. This light show was in sync with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.
I now fully understand what window shopping means. The stores are always so fantastic.
After it was over we walked around the Christmas markets again, and this time we FROZE. It was wet and cold and did I mention it was cold? We all fell in love with these little painted dolls from Holland. I don't know what they were, but they were demanding our attention. I didn't buy much because I was out of cash. If you don't have cash in Belgium, you don't buy anything. If you find a place that accepts a debit or credit card, take a picture because it's the only place. We decided it was time to bail. We couldn't take it any longer. But instead of going home, we went to find the Manneken-Pis. This is a tiny statue of a little boy peeing. I don't know why it is so famous. I really don't. You can't go into a store without something of the Manneken-Pis.
We finally made it back to the house. The next morning I planned to have a relaxing bath since I haven't had one in six months. Only showers for six months is enough to
make a girl a little sad. So we had another lazy morning. Laura's friend, Crystal, had changed her flight, so she didn't arrive till Sunday morning. Once she arrived, we left for Brugge. It was only a one hour train ride.
It is another magical city. We had a great lunch with a celebrity-like waiter. We felt as though we were in a movie. I thought he was a Russell Crowe clone, and the girls though he was a young Shawn Connery. He did have the 007 vibe. The weather became a beast and the winds kicked into high gear and the rain began. We still got out and walked around and tasted some chocolates.
Lace Shop
The Nutcracker at a classic Christmas shop
One of the stores at the Christmas market.
After walking around the Christmas markets, we decided to take a carriage ride to show us around the city before we had to leave for Brussels. Our horse's name was Sarah and she was very temperamental. In that weather, I would have been too. The sound of horseshoes on cobblestones is one of my new favorite sounds. We passed by all the famous medieval landmarks. The oldest hospital in Europe is in Brugge and it dates back to the 13th century. It is now a museum for a Belgian artist. After our ride was over, we hitched it back to the train station. An hour back, then I hopped on my next train back to Paris. The weekend was great. It's definitely possible to visit different cities in a few days. I can't wait for my next adventure.