I
hope everyone is as excited as I am that this post will not be a catch up of
several weeks’ worth of my adventures here in France! We’ll see how long I can
keep it up! ;)
The
most exciting thing that happened in the past week is my friend, Laura, from
Minnesota arrived Friday 8/1 to visit with me for the week! I was pretty
excited about her coming. I haven’t seen her in over two years. On Friday
morning I went to meet her at the airport. It was quite the adventure. First
the train stopped at the first terminal of the airport and it decided that it
was not going to work anymore. After waiting for 5 or 10 min with no new train,
I went up and found the shuttle to the terminal that I needed. Once I arrived I
still had to wait for Laura to get through boarder patrol and get her baggage.
Once she finally got through it was so good to see her! I still can’t believe
how much she brought; she was only here for a week and brought so much (I’m
pretty sure she brought more clothes than I brought)! We made our way to the
train to take it back into Paris. It took awhile to get there. Laura was all
ready to go out and start exploring, however by the time we got to the train
transfer the jet lag was catching up to her. So we went back to my place and
took a nap. We got home around 1pm. I had to leave again at 4 to go pick up
Greg from school (which I did for the first time by myself). When I was
finished with Greg, Laura was still asleep! Haha she did not resist the
tiredness like I told her to. Ah well. We just stayed in for the rest of the
night, which I was ok with (I’m such a home body).
Saturday
9/1: Today Laura and I took our time getting ready for the day. We were both
really tired and dragging. Plus we had to purchase our tickets for Disneyland
(only 47€ for a one day/two park pass). Once we were up and going we went into
Paris to meet Amanda and Kayla. We met them at Shakespeare and Company. We all
got a warm drink and chatted. Then we went to Notre Dame. It was definitely
less crowded than the last time I was there, which was good. After Notre Dame
we headed over to Sacré Coeur. I hadn’t been there yet, so it was cool to see
that church and notice the differences between the old Notre Dame and the “new”
of Sacré Coeur; both are very beautiful. After going through that church Laura
and I left Amanda and Kayla. We started walking thinking we would go to Pink
Flamingo for dinner, but it was closed. So we headed to La Defense so I could
show her the mall and so we could find something for dinner. We went to a store
FNAC to get a wifi booster for me (I needed better wifi in my little house) and
then to Monoprix to get a few groceries. Then we wandered around the mall a
little. It is “sale time” in France (think Black Friday deals but not as crazy)
so we looked at a couple more stores before going to dinner. We got dinner at a
restaurant called Hippopotamus (kind of like an Applebee’s…kinda). We both got
burgers and fries. After dinner everything in the mall was closing so we headed
back to my place. We had to get to bed anyway, the next day was Disneyland!
The Lock Bridge by Notre Dame
Notre Dame
View of Paris from Sacre Coeur
Sacre Coeur
Sunday
10/1: Disneyland Paris!! Today we left Le Vésinet at about 8:30 to head to
Disneyland Paris (it is clear on the east side of the city and I live in the
west). We got on the train into the city, switched trains and were on our way
to the “happiest place on earth.” The park opened at 10 and we arrived at about
9:40. So we walked around the “Disney Village” area and bought some Minne Mouse
ears and a couple of Disneyland Paris hats (we forgot to bring hats and it was
chilly out)! Once the parks opened we made our way to Walt Disney Studios
first. The first ride we went on was the Aladdin Magic Carpet ride (I know so
exciting, plus it was the first ride we saw!), then we wandered around the park
to find the Ratatouille ride, the wait was pretty long and we weren’t ready to
wait for that, yet. We walked around the park a bit more then decided to go
over to the main Disneyland Park. While there we started doing some window souvenir
shopping. During our souvenir window shopping we decided to have lunch. We at a
hot dog place called Casey’s Corner on Main Street USA. I got a hot dog with
cheese sauce and onions on it; it was kind of fun to have a hot dog when I
hadn’t had one in a really long time (I kind of miss the Ball Park all beef hot
dogs that I would get every once in a while in the US). After lunch we did some
more wandering through gift shops (Laura was looking for stuff for her niece and
nephew). Once we finished on Main Street we headed to Frontierland. We wanted
to go on the Phantom Manor (Haunted House) but it was closed. We looked through
the shops in that area and then headed to Adventureland. In Adventureland we
went on the Indiana Jones rollercoaster. Laura was a hoot to ride with, she
would scream at everything. I’m pretty sure most of my time on the rides was
laughing at her…☺Then we headed into Fantasyland where we walked through Alice
in Wonderland’s Curious Labyrinth and then onto the Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups.
After the Tea Cups we went on It’s a Small World (you have to do It’s a Small
World at Disney), Laura really liked all the puppets in there; she kept taking
pictures. After It’s a Small World we walked through Sleeping Beauty’s Castle
then headed to Discoveryland. There we went on Space Mountain: Mission 2. I
really liked that one, the wait was about 40 minutes, but was totally worth the
wait. After Space Mountain we returned to the shops to get some souvenirs and
then headed back to Disneyland Studios to go on Ratatouille. When didn’t plan
ahead and get fastpasses for this ride so we waited about an hour to go on the
ride. It was a 3D ride and you sit in a little mouse car thing and it goes
through Remy’s kitchen at his restaurant, super cute and fun (this ride was
recommended by Greg). Once we finished the ride we stopped at the souvenir shop
by the ride then headed back into Paris; we made plans with Cat for dinner. We
met Cat at a metro stop close to Sacré Coeur and headed to the Pink Flamingo
(pizza). We really enjoyed our time there. Laura got a pizza called La Snoop
(like Snoop Dogg) that had escargot on it, Cat got a pizza called Ho Chi Minh
it had shrimp on it, and I got l’Obama (bacon and pineapple chutney). It was
really fun; we even got dessert, a nutella pizza! After dinner we made our way
home. At the end of the day we walked about 12 miles! It was a long day and we
were ready for bed!
Disneyland Paris!
Disneyland Paris!
No "selfie-sticks" at Disneyland Paris!
Disneyland Paris!
Disneyland Paris!
Disneyland Paris!
Disneyland Paris!
Disneyland Paris!
Disneyland Paris!
Disneyland Paris!
Disneyland Paris!
Pink Flamingo - L'Obama Pizza
Pink Flamingo - Nutella Pizza
11/1
Monday: Today I had to get up and take Greg to school. When I got home I did my
laundry and then Laura and I got ready to go meet Amanda in Le Marais. We met
Amanda at Starbucks and then went to the best place for falafel in Paris, L’as
du Falafel! After we ate our falafels, we went to get some éclairs at Éclair de
Genie, so good! Then we showed her a little more of Le Marais including the
George Pompidou Centre. Then we had to head back to Le Vésinet so I could pick
up Greg from school. That night Laura went out to Paris by herself to
explore/shop!
L'As du Falafel
Pompidou Centre
12/1
Tuesday: This morning I had to work, so I met up with Laura afterwards on the
Champs Élysée. We looked at l’Arc de Triumph, ate lunch at Brioche Dorée, we
did a little more shopping, got some macarons at La Durée, and headed back home
so I could pick up Greg from school; Laura came with today. Greg wanted to play
at the park so we watched him play. He came over and asked for some water
(which I didn’t bring) so I said I would go get him some from across the street
(there is a Carrefour Express); while we were in the store Greg fell and
knocked out part of his two front teeth!! Luckily one of the moms that were
there saw what happened and was able to call his parents and that one of Greg’s
friends found the parts of teeth! I tried to remain calm as we headed straight
home; on the inside I was freaking out. Greg was pretty upset. Once we got home
his older brother Thomas hugged him and called him a tiger (I wish I had a
before shot, but the way the teeth broke it looked like Greg had some fangs)
and they laughed, that is when Greg felt a little better, and stuck his teeth
in some milk. That night we just hung out instead of playing light saber games;
he showed me all about Minecraft (I still don’t get why it’s such a popular
game). Once his mom got home they were off to the dentist to get his teeth
fixed (luckily they were able to fix his teeth)! That night I came home and
made dinner and went to bed. Touristing while working is hard.
Citron Macaron from La Duree
13/1
Wednesday: Today I had work in the morning; then went to meet Laura at Hôtel de
Ville (Paris). I don’t have Greg on Wednesday nights so we decided to have a
“night out on the town.” I took her to the 5th where I lived when I
first moved here. I showed her my old building and my favorite bakery. Then we
made our way to the Louvre, we didn’t go in – she just wanted to see the glass
pyramid. Then we went to the Eiffel tower. We got there just in time to see them
start to light it up for the evening. We walked around until 6:00pm to see them
do the “light show.” After the light show we made our way towards the metro
with a goal to find somewhere to eat. We first found a cute little toy store
where we stopped and Laura got her niece a little set of wood macarons. Then we
found a little café and we got a small dinner (I had a bowl of onion soup) and
then finally headed home.
Laura and me at the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower - Light Show
14/1
Thursday: Today was a long day at work for me. I had classes in the
morning/afternoon then Greg in the evening. However because it was Laura’s last
night we decided to go into Paris for one last dinner. So once I was finished
with Greg, Laure (Greg’s mom) drove us to the train station and we made our way
to meet Cat. We went to a restaurant, Les Fondus de la Raclette. It was so good!
I had the classic raclette (cheese, ham, prosciutto, and salami), then we all
got chocolate fondue for dessert! It was all so so good! We had a fun night
chatting and then we finally made our way home pretty late! Once we got home
Laura stayed up and packed and I went to bed!
Raclette
Chocolate Fondue
15/1
Friday: Laura’s flight was at 10:30 so she wanted to be to the airport by 8:30.
So at 6:30 we left and I helped her get to the train station, put her on the
train and said goodbye (she made it to the airport and back to MN safely). Then
I came home went to sleep for a little while, got up took Greg to school, made
some breakfast, and then went to work. After work I came home took another nap
and then went to get Greg from school. He wanted to do all of his English
homework so it took us longer to get it finished so we didn’t play any games
that night. After I was finished with Greg I came home, made some dinner and
went straight to bed. I was soooo tired!
16/1-17/1
Saturday and Sunday: Saturday I cleaned my little house and that was it. Haha I
needed a break. Sunday the next door neighbor asked if I could come help her
daughter with an English essay she was working on. So I went over there and
helped her, came back and took a nap, and then headed into La Défense to meet
Cat. Cat invited me to dinner at her place, but needed a few things for dinner.
Once we got what we needed we headed to her place. There we made chicken curry
(this time I helped mix the spices too). It tasted so good. I can’t wait to try
and make it myself sometime. After dinner we watched some Netflix and then I
headed home and made it just in time for both trains, always a blessing! Once I
got home I went straight to bed! Apparently I need the sleep.
Chicken Curry that I helped make!!
18/1
Monday: Today was another super chill day. I woke up and took Greg to school
and came home and went back to sleep, I was not feeling well (headache/upset
stomach). After sleeping for a long time I got up and went and did a load of
laundry, picked up my apartment some more, and then went and picked up Greg. We
came home did some reading and then played with the light sabers. I’m really
glad that he is so entertained by that; it makes the entertaining part of my
job easier.
Well
I am all caught up! I hope you guys are enjoying my life here! I’ll try to keep
up on my vie en France. The next holiday (school vacation) is in a month. I
have no idea what I will be up to in the mean time…but keep on reading! J
