Baguettes, Brie, and Berthillon

For the sake of documenting our fabulous trip to Paris, this posting will be a bit more detailed than usual in the hopes that it will be recreated by myself and others. 

What. A. Trip. I keep writing sentences and deleting them because my words aren't coming anywhere near to capturing just how lovely it was to spend four days exploring the beauty of Paris with my two dear friends. Each time I visit, I fall more in love with the city that I once detested for its haughty waiters, sketchy metro and long lines; having visited a few more times, my previous perceptions couldn't have further from the truth. While I am certainly no expert, this past trip was a perfect "First-Visit-to-Paris" adventure that I feel compelled to share our itinerary with the hopes that others will be able to use it as well!

On a Monday, we took the 6 AM train to the city and navigated the crowded metro to our apartment near Notre Dame. I've taken to seeking AirBNB properties in the St. German/Latin Quarter Arrondissements (had to look up the spelling of that one!) because I love the proximity to the sites and the little shops peppered throughout the streets. We stayed here, and seriously it was one of the nicest places I've stayed at with AirBNB; plus the owner was incredibly nice and helpful. Stay here if you go!

weee! I slept up here!

After checking in we immediately set out to explore. If you're doing Paris for the first time, don't attempt to cram it in to a couple of days because you'll end up hating it like Mike & I did in the beginning. (The girls and I were sad to leave even after four days of being there!)

We started our stay with Notre Dame and walking along the Seine. Can I say how much I loved visiting in March when there were no lines and it wasn't miserably hot? So worth the risk of spring showers; I think it helped that we visited during the week as well. 

Hey! It's Notre Dame!

 shot #1 that I was berating myself for not lugging the big camera on this trip...

The Latin Quarter came next... quite touristy but fun to walk through nonetheless. Whatever you do, don't get sucked in to the restaurants there. No bueno.

Our stroll continued along the Seine stopping quite frequently at the used book stalls that line the street, eventually ending up at the Louvre. I insisted the girls take the obligatory "Look at me I'm touching the top of the pyramid!" shots:

No shame in dumb tourist photos!

It was also on this day that we went down into the Louvre to buy the "Paris Museum Pass" to use later. More on that in the next post, but according to our sweet friend Kate, you can find a secret entrance to the Louvre by the mini Arc du Triumph (called the Carousel) instead of "waiting in line with the schleps at the pyramid." Thanks, Kate!

Because the metro happened to be free that day, we opted to take it to the Eiffel Tower. Surely you can walk, but I've found that you're less exhausted at the end of the day if you figure out the metro or awesome bike system that Paris offers. 

Behold...the Eiffel tower in all it's glory!

And crepes. Not the best if you get them from right next to the tower, but sufficient. 

Now, for my biggest travel tip of the day-- wherever you go, consider taking a bike tour on your first day to get an overview of the city! Look on TripAdvisor for a highly rated company and just do it, regardless if you haven't been on a bike in a while. We had a FANTASTIC time on the Fat Tire night tour (I've done it in Paris twice now) which takes you to the major sights at night and gives you a little history about each one. At the end of the tour, you take a boat tour on the Seine and watch the Eiffel Tower all lit up sparkly while drinking wine. Yep, real life. 

 i love to ride my bicycleeee i love to ride my biiiike

Riding our bikes in circles around the courtyard of the empty Louvre was easily one of the highlights of the trip!

Did I mention you stop for delicious ice cream half way through? Forget that your hands are already freezing and dig in!

We were quite tuckered out by the end of the day, what with our early train and walking 11 miles that day. But oh, what a good start to an amazing trip! More to follow in the preceding days... I'm late for our weekly Thursday night brewery visit :)

Day 1 Itinerary

-10 AM arrival, check in, freshen up

-Grab a baguette sandwich on the walk over

-Notre Dame (1 hr)

-Latin Quarter (stop for macaroons) 

-walk to Louvre, through Tuilleries on way to Metro 

-Metro to Eiffel Tower (eat a crepe)

-6PM Fat Tire Bike Tour (ice cream & wine on trip) 

German Carnival

A couple weekends ago we decided to give Carnival a try. Now, I don't know how the rest of the world celebrates, but in Germany, it involves a lot of old guys dressing up in sweet costumes and strutting around like they own the town.

Mike, Dan, Martha and I took the s-bahn 45 minutes out to Mainz, a smaller city near Frankfurt known to have a decent Carnival scene. We waited an hour and a half for the parade, which we soon realized was for children. And by 'for children,' I mean it was a parade with the local kindergarteners as the marchers, with your friendly local marching band donning short skirts and playing the triangle. It was strange... maybe we should have known when realizing we were the only adults hanging over the railing trying to score candy. 

At least the day provided excellent people watching opportunities!

 I have my "I-love-Germany" face on again...

On the way home, Dan was accosted by a drunk lady on the train who wanted to draw a heart on his face with her mascara. She was relentless, even to the point of chasing Dan up and down the aisles. Finally, Martha had the brilliant idea of telling her to draw someone on the police officer's face, who promptly kicked her off at the next stop. Win for Martha!

The next three days we traveled to Cologne for their own celebration with our friend Vikas and his own two friends who flew in from the states, this time festively dressing up in costumes of our own. They had American flag onesies; people kept asking them for a picture!

Mike was a parrot, and I was just red and warm. Feel free to ignore the beers in each hand. And the special facial expression. 

We found a great local bar with older people dressed up and decided to park it for a while. Cologne is proud of its kölsch beer which comes served in smaller glasses, and traditionally will continue to be replaced one after the other by the server without you asking until you tap out and place your coaster over the top. 

 Imagine loud German music and this guy twirling his scarf over his head. Yep. 

The Americans and the communists attempt to find a common ground

So completely inappropriate, but kind of funny at the same time. There were quite a few people dressed as monks/nuns/Jesus/terrorists, stuff that wouldn't fly in the states...

Phone died after this, which was probably a good thing. 

Oh! And there was a cathedral--an incredible one at that:

(Not the main cathedral) 

Check that one off the bucket list!

Day trip to the Freilichtmuseum Hessenpark

I enjoy creating lists so much that I decided to devote an entire book to epic lists of all kinds, including (but not limited to) restaurants to try, crafty things to make, favorite names..if you have any suggestions for lists that should be forever made then let me know. 

And no, Pinterest does not cut it for certain things. 

Referring to the "Day Trips from Frankfurt" section combined with the fact that it wasn't raining, we settled on the Freilichtmuseum Hessenpark in the Taunus hills outside Frankfurt. 'Hesse' is this region of Germany and the open-air museum is devoted to sharing its rich history. Picture 1600s German houses that were transplanted from their original spots to create a sort of town, with all the different facets of early German life.

Of course, the brewery barn has to be first. We're in Germany; gotta keep your priorities straight!

I loved how most of the houses had carvings into the beams over the doors. Some shared the names of the families who lived there, who helped build the house, etc. Others gave props to God. 

Those were my favorite.

(God with us) 

(God's promises are new every morning)

And the little Lutheran chapels captivated my heart... can you imagine worshiping here with your tiny community? What happened to all these sweet Lutheran chapels and the churched population? Maybe two world wars and insane leaders had something to do with it...

Life in Hesse wouldn't be the same without MASSIVE cows. I couldn't stop laughing. Why is he sleeping?

and don't forget his four broads lined up in a row....

A German schoolhouse! I felt like I was back in St. Augustine with the creepy wax robots that move around. This one was way cooler, I have to admit.

Finally, a windmill, because they're just plain awesome.

If you've stumbled upon this posting and are in the area, I highly recommend making the trek out, especially in the summer when there's promised demonstrations and people dressed up like the times. If you don't have a car like us, it's easy to take the S5 to Bad Homburg, then bus #5 (on the weekends only) which drops you right off. Half of the descriptions are in English. And there's a fantastic bakery in the market square! Worth it just for the käse kuchen :)

Mini-Jobs

Life is shifting over here on our expat adventures. This one got herself what the Germans call a 'mini-job' working a whopping nine hours a week as an administrative assistant. For all you teacher friends, think of it as being paid to help Pam out with the tasks that 'ain't nobody got time for.' Yesterday as I sat filing expense reports from 2012, I found myself mulling over the idea of working in the business world... seemingly so different from the teaching realm, yet (after my four hours of working there) something I could possibly see myself pursuing? One day, perhaps. The plan is to work my way up from coffee girl to head consultant-- ready, set, go!

On another note, I have maybe two outfits that are appropriate for a business environment. Picture my room yesterday with every article of clothing strewn manically about; turns out most of my teacher clothes I've been wearing for the past 5 years are too dingy and have holes and/or paint stains (how did ya'll let me wear these things?!) so some Pinterest outfit research and a mini-shopping spree tomorrow should do the trick! I guess when facing 12 year olds on a daily basis, I could care less about the state of my clothing, as long as I'm covered and comfortable...

And, in case you're wondering, (is anyone even reading my rambling thoughts anymore? I just spilled half my coffee directly onto my iphone/couch...) the *keep your fingers crossed* life plan is to stick around Frankfurt for a bit longer. We love it here. It's the right call for Mike's career.

Hopefully the higher-ups will go along with said plan, and in a timely manner this time.


Check out this cool obligatory "I'm At Work!" picture I took yesterday in a rush before anyone caught me attempting a work selfie. I have access to a label-maker and unlimited office supplies. Have they figured out yet that I'm an extremely unorganized person?

Sunny Days

It wasn't quite warm today, but the sun did make a feeble attempt to stretch its rays out in the hopes of reaching solid ground. Days that promise sunshine result in time spent in the woods, long walks meandering through the trails and finding simple distractions. Like this cool tree--

... and these ... um.... fungi? what's the word for them? oh well.

Winter woods promise quiet moments of solitude and for me, rejuvenation away from city life and the hustle/bustle of things. Especially if we catch a rare glimpse of the sun.

It was quite a while before I got up from this spot... basking in the bright light and reminiscing about sitting on the edge of the St. Augustine fort's wall looking out over the inlet. Except the ground was freezing, the wind wasn't so forgiving, and the sun quickly disappeared as soon as I settled myself. 

Dreaming of warmth, or at least snow, SOMETHING other than cold, gloomy weather...