Saturday, June 28, 2008
Notes from our Paris vacation
We're back from Paris. It was a wonderful vacation. We saw all sorts of great places and have so many amazing pictures from Musee Du Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Seine River, Arc de Triomphe, Versailles, Sainte-Chapelle, the Orsey museum, the catacombs, etc... 8 days of heaven. I loved the art museums and was thrilled to see the originals that I had studied in college art history classes. But with three kids in tow, we had to keep the pace up pretty quick in order to survive museum etiquette. The French were extremely polite and friendly and we never had any problems asking for directions and getting around the city. We used the metro for several days and also an open tour bus for several days.
The food was amazing after the bland Mediterranean diet we've eaten at restaurants for the last 8 months, but expensive!!! We spent anywhere from $75 to $130 per meal. Ahh, the food was soo good, every time! However, breakfast was usually cold cereal or muffins and juice in our apartment and we made picnic lunches for four days. I also brought a bunch of snack food and trail mix that worked out perfect for all the walking and touring we did each day. Travis cringed every time he had to pay $7.00 for a soda - needless to say we didn't drink many. Crepes are heaven! Some Nutella (chocolate spread) and a banana on a hot crepe for our nighttime snack was delightful. They eat crepes all day long. Sometimes with eggs or ham in them, or just about anything you can think of. Delicious.
Like in Spain the French stay up until 0100 or later, so we went to bed later than usual every night. The sun didn't even set until almost 11:00. The weather was perfect. A little misty one day, but the temperatures were excellent every day. The first few days I felt like we were walking in a huge postcard. The buildings are so big and so ornate and there are so many of them that it hardly felt real. It was awe inspiring. The bus tours had headphones and commentary so each time we jumped on the bus, we'd hear about the city history and listen to french music. It was lovely.
I'll post some pictures and hopefully not go overboard here. When Travis was in the U.S. he bought me a nice scrapbook with papers and European stickers so I can scrap all our postcards, ticket stubs, and memories of Europe. So, I better focus on that for the next couple weeks while the memories are fresh. But I wanted to include a few thoughts here too. This was a vacation of a lifetime for us! By the way, yesterday I was perusing some of my favorite blog sites and found that one of my "blogger friends" was in Paris the same time as us. Too bad we didn't meet! She expresses her thoughts so poetically, artistically and spiriturally that I just have to include a link to her site to share her observance of Paris. Here are a few direct links:
http://aholyexperience.com/2008/06/thankful.html
http://aholyexperience.com/2008/06/lasting-monument.html
http://aholyexperience.com/2008/06/still-and-see.html
http://aholyexperience.com/2008/06/living-in-heart.html
http://aholyexperience.com/2008/06/brave-strokes.html
Now we are happy to be back home and enjoy the long, lazy days of summer in Spain. Since this is our first summer here, it continues to feel like vacation most of the time. I wonder if we'll ever get to the point where we feel like this is where we belong and everything is normal, more or less, or if it will always be "foreign to us". I'm still not used to the European lifestyles (don't even get me started on the beach scene...eek!) Life is definitely an adventure!
The food was amazing after the bland Mediterranean diet we've eaten at restaurants for the last 8 months, but expensive!!! We spent anywhere from $75 to $130 per meal. Ahh, the food was soo good, every time! However, breakfast was usually cold cereal or muffins and juice in our apartment and we made picnic lunches for four days. I also brought a bunch of snack food and trail mix that worked out perfect for all the walking and touring we did each day. Travis cringed every time he had to pay $7.00 for a soda - needless to say we didn't drink many. Crepes are heaven! Some Nutella (chocolate spread) and a banana on a hot crepe for our nighttime snack was delightful. They eat crepes all day long. Sometimes with eggs or ham in them, or just about anything you can think of. Delicious.
Like in Spain the French stay up until 0100 or later, so we went to bed later than usual every night. The sun didn't even set until almost 11:00. The weather was perfect. A little misty one day, but the temperatures were excellent every day. The first few days I felt like we were walking in a huge postcard. The buildings are so big and so ornate and there are so many of them that it hardly felt real. It was awe inspiring. The bus tours had headphones and commentary so each time we jumped on the bus, we'd hear about the city history and listen to french music. It was lovely.
I'll post some pictures and hopefully not go overboard here. When Travis was in the U.S. he bought me a nice scrapbook with papers and European stickers so I can scrap all our postcards, ticket stubs, and memories of Europe. So, I better focus on that for the next couple weeks while the memories are fresh. But I wanted to include a few thoughts here too. This was a vacation of a lifetime for us! By the way, yesterday I was perusing some of my favorite blog sites and found that one of my "blogger friends" was in Paris the same time as us. Too bad we didn't meet! She expresses her thoughts so poetically, artistically and spiriturally that I just have to include a link to her site to share her observance of Paris. Here are a few direct links:
http://aholyexperience.com/2008/06/thankful.html
http://aholyexperience.com/2008/06/lasting-monument.html
http://aholyexperience.com/2008/06/still-and-see.html
http://aholyexperience.com/2008/06/living-in-heart.html
http://aholyexperience.com/2008/06/brave-strokes.html
Now we are happy to be back home and enjoy the long, lazy days of summer in Spain. Since this is our first summer here, it continues to feel like vacation most of the time. I wonder if we'll ever get to the point where we feel like this is where we belong and everything is normal, more or less, or if it will always be "foreign to us". I'm still not used to the European lifestyles (don't even get me started on the beach scene...eek!) Life is definitely an adventure!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Summer Vacation
Horray, we're going on vacation! Heading out for a couple weeks to explore Paris, France and Madrid, Spain. Stay tuned for pics and highlights after we return.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
In a Week: Thursday
Sloan's last day of Kindergarten class.
Ethan's new summer responsibility! (he loves it)
After work, Travis tested our automatic sprinkler system. Seems to work well now. We will have a fun summer in our yard!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
In a Week: Tuesday
Camryn's pool, school day with friends from her class.
Sloan and I spent some extra time at the library.
Ethan's end of school year class party.
He just lost another tooth about 20 minutes ago!Monday, June 9, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Friday, June 6, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Orangesicle cookies
This recipie is dedicated to my sister Tami. She loves to drink Tang so I bet she's going to love these cookies. Ethan made them from his new cookbook and we all thought they were pretty good. (I still prefer chocolate chip or oatmeal cookies but these were good for a little change)1/2 cup Tang
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 and 1/2 cups vanilla baking chips
1 and 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teas. baking soda
1/2 teas. baking powder
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 egg
1 egg
1 teas. vanilla extract
*preheat oven to 350 *combine all the ingredients *roll heaping Tablespoonfulls into balls *bake for 12-14 minutes, cool on wire rack
Monday, June 2, 2008
Peace abounds
Everything feels right today! The stars must be aligned just right for me. Peace is something that I think everyone seeks and desires and right now I feel peace in my life. It's such a wonderful feeling!
First of all, my man is back in town! Ahhhhh. We survived our three week separation. Having him back with me again is like putting on rose colored glasses. I suppose I won't be doing anything different with my schedule and priorities, but just knowing that he'll be here to support me and be with me makes my responsibilities seem much more doable and pleasant. And I loved waking up this morning and rolling over into his arms. This must be true love...
As if that's not good enough, this morning, we spent almost an hour gazing at the miracle of a new life. My baby is only 1 pound 3 oz right now but he is perfectly formed and very active! Five fingers on each hand, perfect little feet, little eyes, nose and mouth. Perfect spine, bones, kidneys, brain, and a healthy beating heart! What a true blessing to my heart and soul. It's so amazing. It was so peaceful to lay and watch the screen and see him squirm around at the same moments that I felt him move inside of me. Indescribable really.
What more does a girl need than a man who loves me, a healthy developing baby , and three little people to love and nurture. God is good to me today. Thank you Lord, for all of these blessings.
First of all, my man is back in town! Ahhhhh. We survived our three week separation. Having him back with me again is like putting on rose colored glasses. I suppose I won't be doing anything different with my schedule and priorities, but just knowing that he'll be here to support me and be with me makes my responsibilities seem much more doable and pleasant. And I loved waking up this morning and rolling over into his arms. This must be true love...
As if that's not good enough, this morning, we spent almost an hour gazing at the miracle of a new life. My baby is only 1 pound 3 oz right now but he is perfectly formed and very active! Five fingers on each hand, perfect little feet, little eyes, nose and mouth. Perfect spine, bones, kidneys, brain, and a healthy beating heart! What a true blessing to my heart and soul. It's so amazing. It was so peaceful to lay and watch the screen and see him squirm around at the same moments that I felt him move inside of me. Indescribable really.
What more does a girl need than a man who loves me, a healthy developing baby , and three little people to love and nurture. God is good to me today. Thank you Lord, for all of these blessings.
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