The Middle

If you remember from my first post, I spoke of an article (list, more like) of 36 things to do before you settle down. This was written at the beginning of my adventure, and I had already marked off a good amount of these things. Now, 6 months later, and about 3 months left to go, I figured I'd look into it again and see what else I can mark off from the time I have been here.




To Build Your Confidence...
2. Lift weights. Easy.
7. Go to a scary doctor's appointment by yourself. I didn't think about this one before, but I've actually already done this after getting in a wreck by myself in Florida.
9. Fly to a foreign country by yourself. Done this a couple times over by now.


To Get Perspective...
17. Be a good wingwoman. (Jordan :))


To Make the Most of Your Free Time...
28. Throw Yourself into something time-consuming, like learning a foreign language. Well, learning a foreign language I have definitely done here, as well as starting a few other things, like learning Piano.




Ok, so I haven't been able to check off a lot more, but I'm also not exactly looking at this list and trying to check things off. In fact, I don't think I've looked at it since I wrote the first blog. It's more just of a checkpoint to look at every few months to see what I've done and maybe get ideas for new things to do. Also, a lot of the things on this list I can't do until I get back to the states, like "get my finances in order". No way that one is happening while I'm over here. I'm more working on a list of my own of things I want to do here, places I want to go, etc. Maybe I'll share that at the end.


Actually, writing this blog has made me realize I might have a list problem. Maybe I should try to limit the amount of lists I make. If I decide to do that, though, then it will go on my "2012 Goals" list. Which would prove my point. And speaking of lists, Evernote is my new best friend. Seriously, if you like lists, and don't have Evernote or have never heard of it, download it now. It's like Christmas. I think I have about 12 different lists going on right now in Evernote. They even have little check boxes so you can actually check them off! How awesome is that? I feel so productive every time I check one of the boxes. Sometimes I just add things on there so that I can check a box. That's sad, isn't it? Maybe I really do have a problem. I was half-joking before. But nope, I'm definitely an over-lister. I guess I could be worse things.


Anyways, off track again... that is my update on this particular list. Now I'm off to go make a grocery list for tomorrow.


Merry list-making, my fellow over-listers.

Take Note

Since I’ve been here, I’ve been keeping a sort of list (imagine that…me, a list??) of things that I miss about America, as well as things that I love and will miss about Europe, or in some cases, Germany specifically. When my mom was here over Christmas, she helped me fine-tune the list with a new and fresh perspective, christening it the “Take Note” list. I figured I would share if with all of you now, and if you have any additions, feel free to comment!

Take Note, America: 

(what America needs to change)

+The train/tram/bus systems. I want to be able to hop on a train to Greenville if I feel like it.

+The windows that are virtually in every house/building/business here in Germany open two different ways. You can open it like a door on its hinges, or you can open it so that the top angles inward and lets in a nice draft of air (but not too much). They rock.

+More H&M’s.

+Christmas Markets in every town. So beautiful and fun.

+Dogs allowed everywhere. I’ve seen them in the grocery stores here. They can go everywhere. And if there is a building that doesn’t allow dogs (I’ve seen very few), they have a “doggy parking spot” outside with a place to tie them up while you run inside. (Quickly, please, as you shouldn’t leave your dog alone outside too long. Actually, I personally never would.)

+Recycling. The recycling here is on an unbelievable level. They recycle everything. You know how we have giant green trashcans and small recycling bins? Well, it’s reversed here. Their recycling towers over everything else, while their trash bin is smaller than our recycling bins. They also have a separate pick-up for compost. Come on, America, let’s get it together.

+Assigned seating at movies. I haven’t completely made up my mind whether this is a good thing or not. I think it needs an in-between. Like for movies that will possibly be sold-out, have assigned seating so you don’t have to arrive eight months beforehand to get a decent seat. The way they do it is like buying a concert ticket: when you buy your ticket, they show you the seating chart and you pick a seat.

+McDonald’s. I really don’t eat at McDonald’s that much, but when I do, I’d like them to look like the ones here. It’s like eating in a castle compared to the McDonald’s we have in the states.

+Separate Comforters on the beds. I think this one is just in Germany, but everyone has their own twin-sized comforter, so you always get your own. No more cover-hogging arguments = fewer divorces.

+Mercedes Taxis. I know that Europe pretty much has the monopoly on nice cars and it’s easier and cheaper for them to get Mercedes, but you’d think our Taxis could at least smell nice and have comfortable, clean (important word being clean) leather seats like the Taxis in Europe.

Take Note Europe:

(what Europe needs to recognize)

+Drink Prices. Quit making people pay more for their drinks than they do for their food. I don’t want to have to pay more for water than a regular drink and when I pay €2.50 for a Cola Light, I would like to get a bigger size than XXS. I will drink that before my meal even comes, and then I’ll have to order 3 more. Which brings it to €10 in drinks alone.

+To go along with drink prices...obviously, free refills would be appreciated with water, soda, and tea. I know they have fountain machines here, so there is no excuse for not having free refills. Except you’re just being mean. Also: ice. ‘nough said.

+FREE bathrooms. And if you’re going to charge people 50 cents – €2 to use the bathroom, don’t make them have exact change, too. Seriously, again, that’s just mean. Everyone here must have permanent UTIs from having to hold it all the time.

+Slow down and take a chill pill, people. We are not having a “Who’s the most stressed” contest. I thought Europeans were supposed to me more relaxed? Not in Germany. Also, learn to say, “I’m sorry”.

+Good Sushi. I miss you.

+Free sauces with meals. Again, don’t want to pay €1.50 for ketchup. It’s ketchup for crying out loud, not a port wine demi glaze. Oh, and add honey mustard to your repertoire.

+More Christmas Decorations. While the Christmas Markets here are lovely, people do not decorate their homes much for Christmas. It’s kind of sad.

 For the most part, there aren’t a whole lot of huge differences, but some things just smack me in the face in how different they are. I would say the biggest differences are the people and culture of all the different countries, but this is also the most interesting and rewarding part for me.

Again...if you have any other differences, comment below!

Heidelberg

The month of January has been spent on small trips, to cities that are close to me in Germany. One Sunday, my friend Alita (another au pair mädchen here in M'gladbach, who originates from Spain), another friend, Bea, from Spain that is here studying piano, and I set out to visit Aachen: the town built by Charlemagne. It's located (as of now) in Germany about an hour train ride from our residence. It lies very near to the borders of both Belgium and the Netherlands, which is why it has been fought over for centuries, and explains why the citizens of Aachen speak four languages (french, dutch, german, and english). Apart from being one of Charlemagne's favorite residences, it is famous for the hot springs located throughout the city. The city itself is not very large, but it has a lot of history and character. The cathedral, called the Dom, is worth seeing a lot in part because it supposedly holds Charlemagne's ashes in a large, gold, trunk-looking contraption (which I think is very neat). It also has very ornate, beautiful, sparkly, gold-leaf tiling throughout the inside. Pictures just can't do it justice. Apart from the Dom, we visited the Rathaus (Government seat), the hot springs, the Theatre, and the beautiful streets that surround the altstadt (old part of the city).

In front of the Dom in Aachen

The next trip of January was to Heidelberg in celebration Alita's birthday. Orlane, one of our other au-pair friends (this time from France) accompanied us this time. This city holds a special place in my heart because I am a graphics major. And anyone that majored in graphics or printing should know about Heidelberg because of the fact that they are the home to the largest manufacturer of offset printing presses worldwide (holding 47% of the market share). Basically, I learned A LOT about Heidelberg (the printing presses, not the town) when I was in college. After the name Heidelberg is ingrained in your head for four straight years, and then you live in Germany for a year not far from the actual town, well, you have to visit, right? And I'm glad I did. Now I will remember Heidelberg for the gorgeous, historic town that it is as well as for their printing presses.


Heidelberg is occupied by the oldest University in Germany, and has a lot of international students. We went to the University Bibliothek (library) and were stunned by how beautiful it was on the outside. The inside, for the most part, did not retain it's historic charm, but the outside was gorgeous. We saw the famous churches, visited the castle, went to an apothecary museum (very cool) and walked around the altstadt (Sounds familiar, right? This is basically what we do in every european town). Alita and I decided that we want to live in Heidelberg: perfect size, university town, charming...a lot like the town where I grew up.

On our way to Heidelberg. (Orlane in middle, Alita on right).

The Alte Brücke (old bridge) and part of the city.

The courtyard of the castle (Schloss).

View from the castle's patio.

Summary: I would definitely recommend visiting Heidelberg. Aachen is nice for a day visit if you are passing through the area, but doesn't have a lot to do for an entire weekend.


We're planning on making some more 2-day trips in the next couple of months to Frankfurt and Stuttgart, which are also in der Nähe (not far) from us.


bis gleich.

Greener Grass

I was a little shocked this weekend when I realized I haven't said much at all about shopping in Europe yet. To friends and family, it will not come as a shock that I have already done plenty of shopping here. Too much, really, considering in less than 4 months, I will have to figure out a clever way to get it all back to the states. But it can't be helped...when I think about the fact that I won't be able to shop at Zara, Pimpkie, or Mango anymore when I get home, I start to panic a little bit. I mean, I have to buy as much as I can while I'm here, right? At least H&M is available in the states, even if it does require a trip to Atlanta or some other large city.

I certainly got my shopping gene honestly. From a young age, I have been coached on this subject by every female in my family. I'm pretty sure that my family from Mississippi comes to visit us in South Carolina just to come shopping. But it's good family bonding, right? Who needs to play games and make pot roasts together when you can shop together? [Although to be fair, we do play our fair share of Mexican Train Dominoes (is that politically correct?) and eat enough to feed an army (food, not dominoes)].

Like I said (other than H&M), Zara, Pimpkie, and Mango are my other three favorite stores here. (Such cool names, am I right?) They're all the kind of stores where you get lots of bang for your buck. The people here just don't appreciate them as much as they should. Instead, they just talk about wanting a navy blue sweatshirt from Gap that says GAP on the front of it (for the record, they do have some Gaps here, just not everywhere). But seriously, I could come back to Europe with suitcases of these sweatshirts and be rich. Or Levis. I was asked how much Levis are in the states, and had no idea. I don't think I've ever owned a pair of Levis in my life. Not that I'm against them. They're just not a huge novelty to us (or me, at least). Plus, I'll admit I'm kind of a snob about what jeans I wear. They're the only things I am willing to spend lots of money on. For everything else, H&M, Forever 21, and the three stores noted above are my treasure troves for clothes.

Oh yes, and speaking of American stores that are coveted here, this is a good one. When Mom and I were in Paris over Christmas, we of course walked down des Champs Elysees, mostly just to see the store-fronts decorated to the nines for Christmas. About halfway down, we noticed a line of people waiting to get in somewhere. We were confused because it looked like a line waiting to get into a club. The velvet ropes were black and the line was growing by the second. At the front of the line stood a large, fancy iron and gold-leaf gate with two bouncers in matching outfits standing in front. So Mom and I think okay, either this is a really swanky new club or a designer store, right? Wrong. We walked past all of the people waiting in line and I look at the gates, beside which is a plaque. Can you guess what the plaque says? Don't want y'all peeking ahead... Click Here to See. Also, here is a picture of the Gate. Mom and I were flabbergasted by this. That is the only word that correctly conveys how surprised we were. Flabbergasted. A line and gates and bouncers? Seems crazy to us.

I guess it really is a case of the grass is always greener. I'm sure a lot of Europeans would trade me Pimpkie for Hollister. Maybe before I leave, I can make some kind of deal. I'll wager 2 Gaps, 5 J. Crews, and 3 Banana Republics for 5 Pimpkies, 3 Zaras, and 1 Mango in the southeastern US... think the higher powers of shopping that be will go for that?

Visit & Venture Part 3 (trois)

Riding a train is the absolute best way to relax. All you have to do is sit back and ride. There’s nothing to worry about except getting off at your stop. If I sit down at home to read, my brain jumps from one thing to another, thinking of all of the tasks I need to complete on my To Do List. But on a train, there's nothing to do but wait, so my brain is allowed to shut off completely except for the power needed to read my book. For some reason, planes do not function the same way for me. Maybe because they're so uncomfortable compared with trains. So, when Mom and I got on the train from Antwerp to Amsterdam, I was planning to read and eat chocolate. Turns out that was not in the cards. Instead, we were to have the honor of a comedian in our midst, whether he knew that he was our entertainment for the night or not. The ride did start out quiet, with a very empty train car. There was a dark haired, smartly-dressed man with a sweet face in the row opposite us (I'll call him Frank because that's what he looked like), and a few other couples dispersed throughout the car. We read our respective books and ate our snacks for half an hour in contented silence, while Frank  worked on his computer. This is when it began. First, the train started slowing down in the middle of nowhere and the loudspeaker voice announced that they were having technical problems. Mom and I began to hear whisperings behind us. At first they were just mutterings that we could not very well distinguish into actual words, so we kept reading while listening to these mutterings in the back of our minds. We could already tell they were not sweet nothings being whispered from one person to another. After a while, they grew louder and louder. Then we began to smell cigarette smoke. Someone was smoking on the train!? What, are we in the 1940’s again? Today, smoking on trains is not allowed. Well, at that moment, the power in the train went out so we were left in almost complete darkness. Mom and I looked around and we could barely see Smokey McSmokerson standing right outside the glass doors that separated our 2^nd Class seats from 1^st Class. He was stuck in the passage between the electronic doors, talking through the glass and knocking on the door. A few minutes later, the power came back on and he returned to our carriage, sitting a few seats behind us and we realized he was the before unidentified mumbler. Except now they were no longer mumblings… they were coherent sentences. Once our train started moving again and we could understand his mumblings, Mom and I could barely keep ourselves from howling with laughter. Obviously, he was a bit (read: A LOT) drunk, and he didn't appear to have any plans to stop drinking in the near future. This is pretty normal on trains - very different from America. Most young people always have a beer on the trains if it's after 5 on the weekends. Most of them aren't this hammered, though. Now, I will not repeat here exactly what he was muttering for the sake of my grandparents, but I don’t think Mom or I have laughed that hard in a REALLY long time. I had to hold my nose and cover my hand with my mouth so that I wouldn’t laugh out loud and tears were streaming down both of our faces. We looked across at Frank and he met our stares with laughter in his eyes, too. It’s not that Smokey had that much to say. He really repeated the same thing over and over and over and over. He was from England and apparently had a problem with French people. He actually had a rather interesting opinion (although not something many people would agree with) on a lot of countries and their inhabitants. Again, nothing I can repeat here without my grandparent’s eyes burning. We three (Mom, Frank, and me) sat there for the remainder of the trip just listening to him and trying not to sob with laughter, although one hackle did escape from me once and I cringed at the thought of him coming and asking what I was laughing at. Not that he was scary, per say, but he was doing a good job of yelling at people and when someone yells at me, I cry. Can’t help it.

So after our unintentional ab workout, we made it to Amsterdam at around 11. We hopped in a taxi and promptly realized that driving in Amsterdam is a lot like Paris. No rules. They just drive wherever they feel like driving, whether that’s on the wrong side of the road or over a sidewalk and a couple pedestrians, who cares! After 20 minutes of Mom and I squeezing our eyes shut and muttering “Oh no, did we hit her!?”, we made it to our hotel. Our beautiful, warm, eco-friendly hotel. With an actual bathroom that had a toilet, shower, and sink, as all bathrooms should, but which apparently is not common in all of northern Europe. I turned on the TV when we got settled in the room and what was on TV, but Saved by the Bell!!! Let me tell you: that was exciting, that was.

We slept very well that night, then got up to enjoy the day in Amsterdam. We were only staying in Amsterdam the one night, then going to a nearby town called Leiden to say, which had just as much charm as Amsterdam, if not more. Over the next few days, we travelled back and forth between Amsterdam and Leiden, enjoying both towns. One thing that Mom and I both really wanted to do was go to the Anne Frank House. After figuring out their tram/bus system, we finally made it that way only to see a seriously long line. Like 2.5 hour-wait line. They said the lines are shorter in the late afternoon and we decided to try back then. Instead, we went on a canal tour, which was really nice and relaxing, ate a good lunch, went to the Rubens & Van Dyck exhibit at The Hermitage Museum (awesome, by the way), and wandered around the old canal districts. When we went back to the Anne Frank House 30 minutes before closing as instructed, they were already closing and said they were too full. Then they told us to try back again on Sunday (the day we were leaving) and come right when they open. So we did that and the line was even LONGER. We didn’t have time to wait in it before our train back to Germany left, so we didn’t get to see the inside of the Anne Frank House. But that’s ok, we still got to see a good bit of Amsterdam and get an idea of the city. Basically, there’s not too much to write home about. Yes, it’s a neat town to visit, but now that I’ve been, there are other places I’d much rather go back to than Amsterdam. Not as beautiful and culturally interesting as seen in photos or magazines. Maybe Brugge ruined me because it was so magestic. Who knows? I still love The Netherlands and the people that live there.

The Hermitage

New Year’s Eve was spent in Leiden. We took a train to the nearby beach and enjoyed that for a while (but not too long because it was FREEZING). Then on the train ride back to Leiden, we watched fireworks out of our windows and contemplated what we would do for the rest of the evening. We didn’t really know what to do and we were worn out from all of our travels and would be leaving early the next day, so we decided to go back to our B&B to eat junk food, watch a movie, and listen/watch the fireworks out of our window. And let me tell you, the dutch know all about fireworks. We learned that The Netherlands purchases the most fireworks out of any other country in Europe and I believe it. Fireworks blasted all around us until the early hours of the morning. It sounded like we were in a war zone, but it made for a good show.

Freezing on the North Sea :)

Sadly, our train ride back to Germany was uneventful without any crazy people to keep us entertained. We passed the ride reading our books and eating chocolate. Mom resided in Moenchengladbach, and we explored the town a little more until she hopped on a plane back to the states on the 4^th.

Visit & Venture Part 2 (deux)

Mom and I arrived in Brugge at around 9 in the evening on Christmas Day. We both only needed about 5 minutes to figure out that we loved this town. For one, we couldn’t find the address, and after frantic searching around in my email on my iPad, I realized I would need the internet to pull up the website. The taxi driver was so nice and friendly (especially after the unhelpful French) and he told me to connect to the free wifi internet in the city. WHAT? Free wifi in the city? It was like pulling teeth in Paris trying to find somewhere with an internet connection that wasn't Starbucks) That’s when I knew I would like this place. I really don’t mind going without internet, but let’s face it: it’s just better to have it.

So, we arrived at our B&B, where we met the sweet Maria, our landlady. She immediately hugged us, sat us down, and offered us drinks. Then she whipped out a map and got down to business, tracing a route along the map and telling us where to go, places to eat, what to take pictures of, etc. It was so nice and very much needed since we didn’t have much of a clue about what to do in Brugge. We were so worn out after our whirlwhind Paris tour and were looking forward to the more easy-going visit to Brugge. And Maria had it all planned out for us so all we had to do was what we were told. Brilliant. We retired early that night in our adorable loft-style room. Maria must have known all about us from the way she put us in the room with the floor to ceiling shelves packed with books and a TV in the corner (that actually had American movies and TV shows IN ENGLISH!). After getting settled in our room, Mom stepped out into the hall and what did we hear coming up the stairs but The Sound of Music? So we switched on the TV and found it after a good 30 minutes of searching. For the rest of the trip, especially with our landlady being named Maria, I was singing The Sound of Music, much to my Mom’s delight.

To describe Brugge, I would say to just conjure up in your mind what you have always thought old European towns to look like: cobblestone streets, beautiful buildings (in Brugge’s case, stepped-roof houses as typical in Belgium), horse & buggies, canals, happy people everywhere, doing their Christmas shopping, adorable family-owned little shops and restaurants…and there you have Brugge. It is called the Venice of the North, and with all of the canals and magic it is easy to see why it deserves that name over the other canal-heavy cities which adorn Northwestern Europe. In my opinion, Brugge has infinitely more charm and character than Venice. Maybe because it hasn’t been completely overrun by tourists yet, although it is working it’s way there. It was named #3 for the most famous canals in the world (http://www.touropia.com/world-famous-canals/). I bet you can guess the only 2 cities that beat it (in popularity, not necessarily in beauty).

Look at the TINY little building!

Main square in Brugge at night

Getting back to our visit, we basically followed Maria’s map the whole time, visiting the places she told us to, and stopping off on our own at some other places. Everywhere we went and every time we turned a corner, we would exclaim about how much we loved the town. One of my favorite things was all of the horses. I’m pretty sure the horse & buggy to cars ratio is 1:1. I almost got ran over by a horse a few times because there were so many. Luckily their hooves act as horns. My next favorite thing: all of the chocolate! There were chocolate shops EVERYWHERE. And I mean everywhere. And Mom and I sampled a good share of them, which were all delicious. My favorite was The Chocolate Kiss simply because of their signature chocolate piece, which was dark chocolate with a strawberry filling and touch of black pepper. AHHH SO GOOD!

We were both really impressed by the fact that everyone we came across in Brugge spoke English, and not only spoke it, but spoke it well and didn’t MIND speaking it. That was a nice change after France. The people in Belgium are so friendly and nice. No question about it: over our 4-country run, Belgium wins the award for friendliest people with The Netherlands at a really close 2^nd. Or maybe we could just say they tied.

Our plan on the 28^th was to make it to Antwerp early enough to enjoy a day there before leaving late that night for Amsterdam. However, leaving Brugge on the 28^th, we shuffled our feet a bit and delayed our departure as long as possible. We were reluctant to leave. We finally made it to Antwerp after much procrastination at about 4 in the afternoon, which gave us some time, but not enough to actually GO anywhere too far from the train station. So we marveled at the beautiful train station, walked down the street a bit, ate some dinner, and went back to the train station to marvel some more before hopping on a train to The Netherlands and the last leg of our trip.

To be continued…

Visit & Venture Part 1 (un)

Mom arrived in the Düsseldorf airport bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, wheeling 2 suitcases on December 17^th. We hung around in the Mönchengladbach area for a few days, visiting Köln and Düsseldorf, and being frozen by the wind at a Borussia Mönchengladbach fussball (soccer) game. Then on the 21^st, we left gladbach to venture into unknown territory: Paris, France. Except that Thalys, our train company, had a different idea. Their workers decided that the 21^st wasn’t a good day for us to leave, and decided to go on strike. The Deutsche Bahn, being the kind people that they are, put us up in a Koeln hotel for a night, and we tried (successfully this time) to begin our venture again at 6am the next day, neither bright-eyed nor bushy-tailed.

Which brings us to… Paris. Beautiful, clean, enormous, rich, busy, prideful Paris. We both loved Paris as soon as we dragged our bags up the 17 cases of stairs from the underground metro and emerged on the Pont Neuf Bridge, the oldest bridge in Paris. From our first glimpse, we could see the Eiffel Tower, the steeple of the Notre Dame, the Seine, and some very typical sweet Parisian streets. We stood there a few moments taking it all in. And then some deaf and mute people, flapping their arms in our face and blowing us kisses, trying to get us to sign a petition and give them money, almost mowed us down. Are they really deaf and mute? How did they know to point to the English section of the petition? Huh? Tell me that. Also, don’t understand why they all just blow kisses at us? Is there a reason? Can someone please fill me in on this? I don’t mean to sound heartless, but I just don’t believe them. I’ll give money to homeless people, but I don’t trust these people that all look like they’re from the same exact family claiming that they are deaf and mute (Oh, and for the trifecta, their petition also claimed they were orphans). Have you ever known 7 siblings to ALL be deaf and mute? So after fighting our way out of the flailing arms, we made our way to the island in the middle of the Seine, where our hotel was set. It was on a cute little park in a very old building (of course). After getting our key and making our way up a skinny spiral staircase with all of our bags to the 6^th floor (which was about 20 flights of stairs), we both fainted for a few minutes. I then immediately opened the window and breathed in the cool air while taking in our view. It was a very cute, quaint hotel room and just what I was expecting a Paris hotel to be like. It was perfect for us. Minus the part where the toilet was outside on a balcony and extremely scary and potentially spidery in the dark (which it gets to be at 4:30pm here). That was not a perfect part for an acrophobic girl, but I would still return to this hotel for purely the charm.

The view from our hotel window.

After our fainting spell, we were both tired and hungry, so we decided to get something to eat and then visit Notre Dame (a few blocks from our hotel) and the Eiffel Tower (way too far from our hotel). Both were, of course, beautiful. At the Notre Dame, we were accosted again by some new deaf and mute girls, and we watched a bird man who had 20 little birds flying all around him and using him like a tree. We accidentally got too close to him and I had a minor heart attack as birds started flapping in my face and one dived at my head, brushing my ear with its wing. We also had our first experience with the scary gun men. Apparently in Paris, they have military (I guess?) men walking around with GIANT guns and berets and serious faces. We later met a friend who told us this was to keep the gypsies away from the tourists. If that’s the case, it’d be nice if they’d smile every once in a while so we know they aren’t glaring at us in anticipation of shooting us. All these things make it a better experience, though. We took pictures, I took a picture for a guy who wanted one of himself in front of cathedral, and we marveled at all the little statues and the detail put into the façade. I was glad that it was nighttime by the time we made it to the Eiffel Tower. It was unbelievable at night. I was not really sure how I would feel when I saw it… is it overrated or is it really that wonderful? And it’s really that wonderful. It’s just overpowering, I think is the right word. How could the Parisians have hated it when it was first designed and built? We made our way up to the very top in the elevator. Mom started to panic as the people below grew smaller, and I got more excited. We first stopped off at the middle, which is in the open air. It was refreshing, seriously cold, windy, and beautiful. We could see the Arc de Triumph, the Ferris Wheel, and all the other little lights that adorn Paris. Then we got on the elevator to go to the very top, which was not as exciting. It was enclosed, you couldn’t see as much, and packed with smelly, aggravated people. So we quickly went back down to the middle. Dinner that night consisted of ham sandwiches on French baguettes with pommes sitting underneath the tower.

Notre Dame

The next day, we explored the Louvre and the many tourist shops surrounding it, took some more pictures of families, strolled down des Champs Elysees and counted the Shi-Shis, accidentally wandered into stores and bought things, perused and purchased gifts at the Christmas Market and ate scrumptious Churros (mouth is now watering). Not at bad way to spend Christmas Eve-Eve. I do have to say that the Mona Lisa is not THAT small. All of my life, I’ve heard people talk about how small the Mona Lisa is and walking in, I was looking around the walls for a painting only a little larger than a special edition postage stamp. It took me a while to spot the normal-sized portrait painting hanging on the wall in a room off the great hall. It really is not THAT small; it is about the normal size of a typical portrait. Other than the size, it looked exactly how I expected it to look since it’s not possible to get close enough to see any more detail or brush strokes than you can see in your average textbook or art book. In one of the souvenir shops that we visited, there was a sweet girl that could speak very good English (unusual in Paris), and she asked us all kinds of questions about America. Next time we come back, she would like to go back with us to America, she said. This was a good thing to hear in Paris, where so far we hadn’t run into anyone who wanted to speak English to us or who really wanted to help us at all. It’s not even that they are rude. They are perfectly pleasant; it’s just that they don’t care. At one point, the nice shop girl asked us where we were from… and this is how this conversation went, just to show how it goes when most Europeans ask where we are from:

Mom and me: We’re from South Carolina.

Shopgirl: (looks really puzzled)

Mom and me: It’s near Florida (as we’ve grown accustomed to saying).

Shopgirl: (recognition dawns her face) Ohhhhh yes, Miami!

Mom and me: (smiling and nodding) exactly!

Shopgirl: That’s near L.A., right?

Mom and me: (faces drop, realizing it is hopeless) ummmm yeah, sure.

Mom outside the Louvre

Me outside the Louvre

The famous Mona Lisa

On Christmas Eve, we decided to go to Euro Disney since most of the city would be closed. We were so excited! Disney is one of our favorite places in the world, and this was in Paris! And it was amazing. They have 2 parks: a main park, which is basically like Magic Kingdom in our Floridian park, but not as big, and a MGM park. We just went to the main park since we only had the day. It was a happy day, which you can’t help but feel when you are at Disney, because it’s the happiest place on Earth. We rode all the rides we could, ate a lot of food, and took lots of pictures. The only big differences from Disney in Florida were the songs being sung in French and the size of the park. We got back on the train to Paris (about a 40-minute ride) and were soon joined by a family with 3 kids. They were wondering aloud in English if they were on the right train, so I assured them that they were. Once they heard our American accent, they asked us where we were from and we told them SC. Their faces lit up, exclaiming, “Are you serious!? We’re from South Carolina, too!” It continues to amaze me what a small world it is: the same compartment on the same train, at the same time in the same city on the same day.  What are the odds? We talked to them for the remainder of the journey. They were from Charleston and an extremely nice family. Maybe we will be able to meet them in Charleston sometime.

Our last day in Paris was Christmas Day and then we were leaving for Bruges. We decided to do one of the sightseeing double-decker bus tours so that we could see everything that we hadn’t gotten to see yet. A definite on my list was Moulin Rouge, one of my favorite movies/musicals. It was an okay bus tour, as those things tend to be, but it got the job done and accomplished what we wanted it to: we saw A LOT of Paris over 3 hours, and hopped on and off as desired. After scurrying back to our hotel to fetch our luggage, we made our way to the train station and onward to Bruges, Belgium.

I hope to visit Paris again. We had a great time and couldn’t imagine spending Christmas in a more beautiful backdrop. It is a huge city with so much to do. There will always be more to see.

A few things we learned in Paris:

• We need to start perfecting our Australian accents rather than our British accents. Everyone asked us immediately if we were from Australia. I’m really not sure where that comes from, apart from our blonde hair, perhaps? Or maybe our slight southern accents? We were puzzled. Although we do spend a bit of time talking in British accents and trying to perfect them, we realized maybe Australian accents are where our talents lie. **To clarify: we only joke around with each other speaking in other accents. We don't speak to strangers in different accents.
• French Croissants taste the same as German Croissants. Not sure why France gets all the hype for Croissants? They all taste delicious to me.
• I never want to drive a car in Paris. They have no rules. And if they do have rules, I am utterly baffled by them.

This concludes Part 1 of our European Christmas & New Year’s Extravaganza… I will continue with our trips to Belgium and The Netherlands over the next couple of blogs.