Boring Templates

So I've changed my template again. I'm not completely happy with this one either but it is less boring than the other blog. Why don't they have more fun free templates? These are such a yawn fest. Anyway, if you are reading my blog, let me know what you think of this deep blue.

Amsterdam Canal Cruise

Aaron flew to Atlanta for CHI conference in April, but got stuck there because of the Volcano eruption in Iceland. When he finally was able to get a flight home, we picked him up at the Airport in Amsterdam and went on a canal cruise together, and then to the Safari Park. If you ever want to visit Amsterdam, I highly recommend you don't drive and just take a canal cruise, perhaps one of those you can hop on and off. We had a great time. It's the best way to see the city.

A trip down Dutch memory lane in Zaanse Schans

We visited this fun little village north of Amsterdam where everything is preserved the way Dutch villages used to look like. People actually live in the houses you see in those pictures. It is not a reconstruction of a village, rather it has been maintained as a cultural heritage.
It is very touristy, but well worth a visit. There is a wood shoe factory there, as well as a cheese factory, pewter shop, and several operating windmills. Good fun. I'll let the pictures speak.

Paris Roadtrip

I'm shocked to see it has been almost two months since my last update. Part of the reason for that is that I find my blog template utterly boring. I have to find a new one. The other reason is that I update my other website www.hopeforezra.com too. Excuses, excuses, I know.

Tired of the Dutch language, lousy weather, and a boring lackluster city, we headed off to find adventure, beauty, and culture in Paris, France, and were not disappointed. I lived in Lille which is in the North of France for 8 months, and in Nancy, North of Switzerland, for 7 months as a missionary. I never made it to Paris (not counting the time I switched trains there). It is a four hour drive from where we live.
We packed up the kids and car and left early Friday morning. At 11 am we made it to Lille where we met up with some of my dearest friends from my mission days. I don't feel like I've aged much. The passing of years is however painfully evident in the lives of others. Where we were single and childless 10 years ago, my friend and I now have 18 years of marriage between the both of us, and 6 children ranging from age 8 years to 4 months. And the darling little 8 year old girl that used to race to jump up into my arms whenever she saw me, is now a beautiful young woman of 18 years, about to finish high school.
We had a great time visiting at the Lille Citadelle where the city has put in a neat playground and a small zoo. We finished off our visit with a lunch at Flunch, which we presume is short for F-amily-Lunch, as it has a kids playground in the restaurant and the kids can eat as many fries as they want to, a fact Ezra took advantage of with four plates of fries.
On our next leg of the voyage I admit I was feeling rather pleased with myself. I had prepared a detailed schedule for Ezra so he would know exactly what was happening and when. We had such a great time, and I felt I had organized everything very neatly, wondering to myself why I was so worried about taking the boys somewhere. We should do this more often. The kids happily read their books and drew galaxies on their etch-a-sketch in the back of the car, while I read a book to Aaron. We arrived in Paris at around 4:30 pm. Our first destination was the Eiffel Tower, because we knew it would be open late, and the kids love elevators. I was amazed at how well they did. We had to wait in line at the bottom for 30 min, to board the first elevator to the second level. At the second level we had to wait in line another 45 minutes to get to the very top level. I highly recommend you avoid bringing your stroller. It was a big nuisance. We had to fold it up and squeeze it through the tight lines. I was anxious because Ezra and waiting in line are usually a disastrous combination. But he handled himself really well, although after the fourth time of queuing up he almost lost it. It was terrific weather and we could see all of Paris for as far as our eyes could reach. The ride to the top was a bit freaky for me. I forgot that I suffer from mild vertigo, but once I was in the enclosed observation deck I was fine.
More waiting in line to get back down, but again, no complaints. It was so fun to hear so many English speakers.

By the time we returned to our car it was past 7 pm. We had found a hotel right next to Euro Disney, which is about a 45 min drive away. Most hotels in Paris are expensive and the rooms too small to fit four. This hotel had a pull out couch and two twin beds. The place was great, but we had possibly one of the worst nights ever. The kids were so wound up they didn't go to sleep until 11 pm. Ezra was awake crying after two hours and wanted me to sleep next to him on the couch, which meant I got hardly any sleep at all because he was moving around so much, fussing, crying, and bouncing up and down on the mattress. I think all in all we got about four hours of sleep. He was up bright and early all hyperactive. I'm sure if someone would have put a secret video camera in our room it would have been fairly entertaining to see two frazzled, very grumpy parents, irritatedly getting ready, aggravated further by the culprit of their grumpiness all happy and chipper bouncing about. Sadly the happiness wore off pretty soon, and after the first walk through the Jardin des Tuilerie he was ready to go home, as was Aaron.
I was tired too, but my excitement far outweighed my fatigue. The weather was absolutely fabulous, a warm, sunny 18 degrees, and really we couldn't have picked a better time to visit Paris. The trees were in full bloom, many still carrying their colorful blossoms. I don't want to sound presumptuous, but I have been to many of the big cities of former Royalty in the world and in my opinion Paris surpasses them all. The French really didn't do anything half way. I couldn't get enough of the sites. I wished I had more time to go shopping in the Indian district, as they had the most exquisite saris in the windows, or that I would have gotten to stroll down Champs Elysee to go look in the shops rather than drive by. I look forward to going back and actually entering the museums. Perhaps when the kids are older or when I can get away for a few days. It was such an incredible pleasure to speak French again, to understand and be understood, and to see the surprised look on their faces when this thoroughly American looking mom, spoke to them in fluent French.

I must say I was most impressed with Notre Dame. The stained glass windows were amazing. The inside wasn't all that impressive, but the outside was just incredible. I loved the massive wood front doors with their intricately woven iron hinges.

We made a tour of the courtyard of the Louvre, and drove around the Arc de Triomphe. I had to stop by the Palais Garnier, the old opera house. It is a magnificent building. I always get a bit nostalgic when I see opera houses, wishing I would not be visiting them as a tourist, but singing in them as an artist.

I'm very proud to say that I made it out of France without re-indulging in my croissant addiction. I didn't have one single pastry or baguette. I did have a macaroon, and felt very grown up at allowing myself a small treat without indulging too far.

Tired and exhausted we left Paris in the early afternoon. We drove through the countryside for two hours to visit friends from Aaron's mission days in the middle of nowhere (Alaincourt). We kept our visit short, as we had three hours left to drive home. The kids did nothing but argue and fight over books and their etch-a-sketch. Had I not been so tired, I probably would have thought it humorous how my self-congratulatory mood from yesterday at my foresight and planning turned into self-accusation for bringing the kids along in the first place. I swore to myself, as I have on many previous occasions that I will not bring them along again. And as usual memory will perform it's magic artistry and paint with a golden brush over the bad parts, so all I'll remember is that I saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time with my two boys and husband.