Bon jour! It has been a fantastic week in Paris. We have seen and done so much. We've seen St. Chapelle, Notre Dame, the Orsay Museum, and of course the Eiffel tower. Which is where the birds eye view comes in! We went all the way to the top of the Eiffel tower. You really have no idea how tall it is until you get right up on it or should I say right on top of it! For some reason, the older I get the more afraid of heights I get! It was bad! I was clinging to the side of the tower like a cat with tears in my eyes while my children were standing on things trying to scare me to death! I can't even write about it. I'm getting that feeling in my stomach just thinking about it. I did survive, and the children thought it was the best day ever! Go figure! I guess now I'm glad I did it!
One of the reasons we wanted to take this trip was to show the children the world and how other people live. Not that other ways are better, let's face it, life is pretty good in Germantown, TN. We wanted the children to learn to appreciate different cultures, understand differences and maybe learn, and hopefully start to understand why tolerance is so important. No, I'm not talking about the tolerance that you are thinking about. I would have shot Osama Bin Laden myself. I'm talking day to day tolerance that we all deal with. The tolerance we deal with at school, at work, at the grocery or even at home. And, we have had to have some tolerance here let me tell you! I hope you don't have this grand idea in your head of Todd and I sitting at some wonderful cafe overlooking the Seine enjoying a great bottle of wine while looking into each others eyes! Life is the same just a different country! Todd working, school work, laundry, paying bills, picking up the house (apartment), cooking, Todd and I wanting to kill each other at times.....same life just slightly different! Some of the differences are: oh no, we are out of toilet paper, where do we go to get some? I'll go to the market and get a fresh roasted chicken for dinner. Let's just go to that fabulous cafe for dinner that's just right around the corner. Hey, should we go run the steps of Notre Dame for exercise today? You get the picture. With no t.v. and phone, you have to be creative. We've played lots of games, listened to lots of music, and danced like crazy people. I'm sure the neighbors are wondering what is going on in that place! I found an English cookbook, Barefoot In Paris by Ina Garten. I have poured over that cookbook and have loved every minute of it! She has an apartment in Paris, so everywhere I go, I'm looking up hoping to see her!
We only have a couple of more days in Paris. Already getting sad. How quickly I've found comfort in this apartment, the same streets, the same market, and the same cafes. The children have gotten a lot of work done and really seem to be having a great time. If you haven't looked at their blogs, you should. They are hilarious! I'll post some pictures of the last couple of days. We are headed into a busy week. I'll keep you posted on that! Miss all of you!
Callie and Todd
by the way, in the world of technology, the children figured out how to get their favorite shows here. We've seen Castle, NCIS Los Angeles, the Packers. And, in English not French! Like I said, just a different country!
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