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Day 7: Paris Disney to Antwerp, Belgium

Written by Carrie B.
We woke on day two in the Davy Crockett ranch with a positive attitude and renewed energy.  Maybe the magic that Disney promotes was finally breaking through the Paris stress that we had incurred at the half way point of the trip.  Our plan for the day was to wake early in the morning and get to the park so we could be on the road to Belgium no later than noon.  

Disney allows guests of their hotels to enter the park at 8am before any other people can arrive.  We decided to take advantage of this magical perk to beat the lines and let the girls ride as many things as possible before we left.  What a fabulous plan, right?  

After another successful breakfast hunt and gorging ourselves with more croissants than we usually eat within a year, we packed up the car and drove to the park.  Yes, we were actually close to getting there at 8am as planned...we were only an hour behind.  Once we arrived at the park, Elise had decided that she wanted to brave the Tower of Terror and Grace and Ellie were very excited to go back and ride it for the second time.  I wasn’t so sure that I was ready because the first time I rode it seven years ago I was scared to death. I have to admit that this was probably why I allowed Elise to back out of the ride the day before as I could feel my heart beating out of my chest while we were standing in line.  But, since there was no doubt that she was feeling brave this time, I decided I needed to practice what I preach and be a risk taker along with her.  

We walked up to the Disney Studios park and, can you believe it, the park wasn’t open yet!  The girls were disappointed but we quickly turned their disappointment around by walking over to the main park.  Unfortunately a lot of the rides were not running which made our early bird entrance to Disney not so productive.  I would hope that Disney, being a family friendly park, has a panel of people with small children in a focus group that provide them with valuable information regarding early bird entrance.  I would love to be a member of that panel and offer real life feedback such as if you promote opening the park early as a perk of staying at a Disney owned hotel, then maybe you should have all the rides running.  That way parents can decide if we would rather have a lazy, relaxed morning versus racing out of the hotel early so we can beat the crowds.  Believe me, children don’t want to get to Disney two hours before the park opens to shop in the souvenir stores...especially when their parents won’t buy them anything anyway.    

In the Davy Crockett Ranch with our
 mess of dirty laundry

Once we made it to the main park we stood in line for 20 minutes just to ride the carousel which was really uneventful for children that enjoy fast rides.  By the time we were done with the carousel, Disney Studios was ready to open.  On our way out of the park we stopped in one of those souvenir stores that I just spoke so kindly of and bought the girls sweatshirts.  These weren’t bought so the girls could remember going to Disney Paris but out of pure necessity...they needed them because they were out of clean clothes to wear the next day.  They had worn the same pair of pajamas for six nights in a row, their jeans and shirts more than once, and were down to their last pair of clean socks and underwear.  We were desperate for clean clothes...even for Carrie and I.  I figure this is another valuable lesson for the girls when they enter college...pack less and wear your clothes more than once.

Looking scared before the Tower of Terror

Once inside Disney Studios the girls ran to the Tower of Terror and we were excited to see that there was only a 5 minute wait to get on the ride.  Ellie held Elise’s hand while we were waiting in line and coached her through everything just as her mom had done to calm Grace’s fears the day before.  Ellie made sure Elise was aware that the cobwebs were fake and the furniture was created just for the Tower of Terror as everything was staged and not real.  Elise was taking in everything Ellie was telling her and although they wanted to sit next to each other on the ride, they both decided it would be safer if I sat between them.  Honestly, I wasn't sure how it would be safer since I was more scared than both of them put together but I went with it!  The ride wasn’t as scary as I remembered, in fact, the only reason I didn't like the ride before is because of the feeling I got in my stomach when the platform dropped which I learned on this trip is remedied by holding my breath.  After the ride was over, we found the picture of us that they took right as we dropped for the first time and I laughed when saw Ellie looking straight at the camera with a huge smile on her face while I had practically crawled in to Elise’s seat making it look like there were empty seats to the right and left of her.  See what I mean?  I’m not so sure having me sit in between the girls was the "safe" option, especially when I just about smothered my 6-year-old out of fear.  I stayed back to purchase the picture of us while Carrie took the girls to get in line for Crush’s coaster, a roller coaster that we didn’t do the day before (unfortunately it was closed due to technical difficulties).  While I was walking to the coaster to meet the girls, I looked a little closer at the other people in the photo and laughed out loud at the girl in the middle row.  I’m not sure I need to say much, you can look yourself...but let me just say I wouldn’t be surprised if her chin was bruised after the ride.  Wow...talk about defying gravity!     

After lunch, we said goodbye to Mickey Mouse land and got in the car for our drive to Antwerp, Belgium.  Grace’s best friend in Norway, Anika, is from The Netherlands and her family has an apartment in Antwerp as a “home away from home”.  Her mother had offered for us to stay in the apartment during our visit in Antwerp and Carrie and I were happy to take her up on the offer to stay in real accommodations with a washer and dryer.  

Workbook time!

Learning about Belgium

The drive to Belgium was quick and uneventful...just as we like them to be!  It took us a little over 3 hours and I drove then entire way while Carrie L typed about the previous days events so we could update the blog once we were settled inside.  As soon as we opened the door to the apartment,  the girls dropped their bags and immediately began playing with the toys they found in the children’s rooms.  Carrie and I did the same, except it wasn’t toys that we dropped our bags for but our iPhones to see if there was a wifi connection within the apartment. Finally...a connection to the outside world provided by someone within the building.  I wanted to find the owner of bbox2-0edc and give him/her a huge kiss for not password protecting their Internet connection which allowed us to hack in for free.   It was nice to finally be in a place where we didn’t have to continually tell the girls to be quiet and allowed us enough room to spread out and relax.  

We struggled with the idea of venturing out to find a place to eat or just ordering in but after seeing a Domino's menu on the kitchen counter we quickly decided on delivery.  The places in the area near the apartment looked amazing...for young professionals without children.  Carrie and I dreamed of being able to walk down to the bar/restaurant and sit outside by the water with a glass of wine.  But, this wasn’t that kind of trip...you know, the kind where you relax and do whatever you want when you want to do it.  Nope, we were slaves to a itinerary and to the three little children that were traveling along with us.  Instead of joining the hip crowd around the corner, I poured a glass of wine and began sorting loads of laundry, which as sad as it sounds, made me just as happy.  

Ice cream for all!

While waiting for the pizza to arrive the girls got out their workbooks and finished the lesson on Belgium that they had started in the car.  After filling up on pizza and the four containers of Ben and Jerry’s that we couldn’t resist ordering (to celebrate Carrie L's birthday of course), we relaxed in the living room while the girls retreated to the bedroom to watch several episodes of Good Luck Charlie.  It was a very uneventful night but after all the Paris chaos it was exactly what we needed...Internet access, spacious accommodations and clean clothes.  It’s the little things in life that make all the difference.                              

Day 6: Disney Land Paris

Written by Carrie L:
We didn’t set our alarms this morning.  We knew we were in Disney and we should have been excited, up early and ready to take Mikey Mouse by storm, but we were all just so tired.  Even with all my Type A planning, I didn’t take into account just how exhausted, not only the adults would be, but the kids too.  Three kids couldn’t have been more excited to experience Disney so I think it speaks volumes for the fact that no one even moved before 9:00. 

I woke up, still with my socks on and bundled up with my sweats and blankets.  The cabin was anything but cozy…it was down right cold.  Even with the heat cranked up we couldn’t get the chill out of the room.  Who knew layers and layers of wood-like veneer could be so cold?

The cabins (trailers) at the DCR

Now, I know that the concept of the Davy Crockett Ranch was to make it seem like we were actually on a ranch and I will say, the common areas of the resort were quite nice.  Real wood, warm cozy décor, a fabulous indoor pool, etc.  However, the trailers (uh, I mean cabins) reminded me of what Cousin Eddie may have designed had he won the bid for a similar development project.

The Breakfast hike

After waking up and taking showers (which is a whole other complaint in the “how would you rate your stay with us” survey) I got dressed for a day of Disney Magic and recruited Grace to go on my breakfast hike with me.  What’s a “breakfast hike” you may ask?  Well, apparently at the Davy Crockett Ranch guests are given a complementary breakfast.  More value for the money you are thinking, right?  Well, to get to the breakfast one must get dressed and walk to the end of the trailer park (uh, I mean trail) and show your room receipt to get the free “magical” breakfast.  Now, for those of you reading our posts, you will know we are room service folk so hiking for our breakfast was less than ideal.  But hey, it was a crisp morning, we were roughing it in the woods and we were in France.  Things could be worse, right?

The breakfast bread

We moseyed up to our breakfast kiosk and were given our Mickey and Minnie adorned bags with a huge baguette sticking out of one of them.  We have had our fair share of bread since being on the road, but a nice, French baguette with breakfast sounded great.  Grace and I trekked back to our “cabin” and presented the crew with our hard work.  Breakfast for all!  Well, I should say “bread for all” because in addition to the French baguette we opened up the various bags that were packed for us and we were given an assortment of rolls in one and an enormous amount of croissants as well.  And that was it.  That was breakfast.  French baguette, a dozen or so rolls and even more croissants.  Oh, I forgot to mention the freeze dried, instant coffee.  Bon Appetit.

After the nourishing breakfast filled us in ways that was less than, shall we say, diet conscious (how are the French not fat?!?!), we had nothing else to do (having no internet) so we figured it was time to hit the park.

The entrance

Although our accommodations were part of the park, being on a ranch and all, we had to drive about 10 minutes to Disney Land itself.  But, in true Disney fashion, the entrance was, well, in a word, magical.  The girls were so excited to see the entrance to Disney Land and I have to say, it brought back memories for myself as well.  Being one of 4 siblings to parents of teachers, vacations involving air fare were not usually the norm.  So every couple of years or so, my parents would pack up the car and drive us to Florida to see our grandparents and sometimes take us to Disney World.  I will always remember the feeling of driving up to the parks, with my dad behind the wheel and us kids settled into the back of the VW van.   Sitting on nothing but a mattress in the back (the seats in the car just took up too much room, they reasoned back then) we would jump up and down down, screaming as we saw that colorful entrance welcoming us to the world of Walt Disney.  Well, this day had the same feel, however we had the kids buckled in car seats so picture a similar, safety-first kind of scene.

After parking the car and walking towards the parks, Carrie and I laughed as we heard the common, looped announcement in French with that wonderful French accent that always seems romantic to non-French speakers like ourselves.  We weren’t chuckling at the French announcement, but at the translated one in English.  The same man with the gorgeous French voice suddenly sounded like he was from LA, speaking with the most “American-like” accent we have ever heard.  It don’t know why it was so funny but really, as I said, we were tired and even the dumbest things had us ROFL-ing.

We started off at the Walt Disney Studios which is geared towards the movies and cinematography.  We had a few great teachable moments as the “Studio” buildings were good opportunities to explain to the girls how movies and television shows are made and the concepts of “set building.”  One of their favorite shows, Good Luck Charlie  was one of the ones we talked about as we explained that the show was filmed in a studio and not in a real house.  It was interesting to see how they took it all in and started to understand the concept of how tv shows and movies weren’t real but more like fancy story telling.

We went to “Stitch Live” and it was a really cute, interactive show.  I realized I had actually never seen Stitch before nor did I know his backstory so I was riveted with how Stich came to be.  I am now a fan.

The girls got wind of some kids walking by with the most incredible face painting we had ever seen and well, Carrie and I were pretty impressed too.  So, we made our way back to the Studio Building and paid 32Euro for three faces to be made up as a “Lioness”, a “Swan Princess” and a “Blue Fairy.”  I must say, this wasn’t your typical face painting session.  These women were artists and their work was impeccable.  The girls were so happy, I swear we could have left just then and they would have been satisfied with their Disney experience.

Up next?  Convincing them to try the TOWER OF TERROR. (I am writing it like that because I am saying it all scary and haunted in my mind as I type this).  To connect to our lesson about how TV shows and movies are made, we tried to get the girls to understand that this too, was part of the magic of the movies and being the ride-crazed girls they were, they would be missing out on something great if they let the facade of the haunted house actually scare them.  We were honest with them about what they would experience yet reminded them that all three of them were too scared to ride Space Mountain at Hong Kong Disney but eventually tried it and LOVED it so we felt this would be the same kind of thing.

Elise came up with the idea that in the “Toy Story” area there were parachute rides that went up and down, similar to the concept of the Tower of Terror.  She thought that perhaps we should all go on that and then if it wasn’t too scary, they would try the bigger, scarier option.  Good idea!  Let’s go. 

After waiting in line for about 40 minutes and finally getting on the ride that was easy schmeasy we all agreed to give the Tower of Terror a try.  Grace, the most nervous of anyone said, “Are we going on that Tower of Terror now?” “Yes,” I responded.  “Ok,” she sighed.  “Let’s get this over with.”

We had our fast passes already and it was time to go…we got into the “hotel” while we waited for our turn and right away the kids were freaked out.  I must say, Disney does do a great job with this ride making it quite realistic.  It took every bit of teacher training I have ever had to convince Grace and Ellie that this was not real, and it was a show for the ride.  It was not an actual haunted house and they COULD do this.  Ellie takes in everything people tell her and totally started to rationalize what I was saying, explaining to Grace, “Yeah Grace, see that table over there?  That isn’t really a table, it is just made to look like a table.  And see that dust on the light?  That isn’t real dust, Disney just makes it look like real dust.”  Well, not exactly Ellie, but ok, I'll go with it if it works.

Grace was still uneasy but I brought her back to our Hong Kong Disney experience where she was terrified to ride Space Mountain but once she did it, it ended up being her favorite ride of all time.  She went on it about a dozen times over those two days we were in the park.  I reminded her how she would have missed out on a great experience riding Space Mountain if she let her fear get the best of her and the same would happen with the Tower of Terror.  I also told her if she bailed now and Ellie loved it, she would regret not doing it and we weren’t going back for another ride.  Okay, she bought it.  She was in and not turning back.

Elise was a bit harder to convince as she was really scared.  Carrie was working to get her to tough it out but she was also a bit nervous that Elise might freak out in the middle of it and there would be nothing she could do.  Elise decided she needed out and wasn’t going to attempt the ride.  I think Elise was really torn about what to do…she saw Grace and Ellie going but at the same time she was really scared.  What a hard decision for a kid to have to make!  But at the end, Carrie took her out (much to the frustration of Mr. Disney Worker who had to escort them out while we were already in the bowels of the “hotel basement.”) 

Needless to say, as my kids LOVE an exciting ride, they thought the Tower of Terror was AWESOME!  A great learning moment for Grace, she turned to me when the ride was over and said, “Thanks for making me do that mom, it was awesome!”

Elise and Carrie met us outside and the girls kept telling Elise how great the ride was.  I tried to get them to take it down a few notches because I know how Grace would have reacted if she ended up not riding it and Ellie came out overly enthusiastic as to how fantastic it was.  But Elise handled it really well.  Clearly at peace with her decision, she maturely listened to Grace and Ellie describe the ride and she seemed to be happy they had fun, but also happy she made the decision she did.

A lot of the attractions the girls couldn’t ride on due to height restrictions and some things were closed for maintenance so we decided to head out of Walt Disney Studios and check out Disney Land itself.  Carrie and I have taken the kids to Hong Kong and we were hysterical (remember we are tired, stressed and wearing the only clean clothes we have left so we are a bit off our rocker by this point) that this park looked EXACTLY like Hong Kong.  In fact we had de ja vou and momentarily forgot where we were.  We didn’t need a map…we knew where everything was. 

By this point I was already Disney’d out.  Maybe it was the Disney Trailer we were sleeping in or the “Groundhog Day” moment of being at what seemed to be the same park we were just at last year, or the fact that I am going to be at Disney World Florida NEXT WEEK  (Don’t ask…it is a whole other story that maybe I will explain later) but I seriously don’t think, at that moment, I could take another grown woman walking around with Minnie Mouse ears.  Seriously, who does that?  And tell me, who buys those ears and says, “This will be great investment because I won’t look at all ridiculous wearing this anywhere else other than the Disney parks.”  I really wanted to take the next woman I saw wearing those and say, “Really?  Why?  Just tell me WHY!?!?!?!?”

Just before dinner we left the park and went to Disney Village because we saw “Planet Hollywood” and thought it would be a much better option, even if was more expensive then the Ranch buffet we would have been faced with if we went “home.”  Remember, we haven’t had internet for two days and we feel like we have been deprived of an essential, basic human need required for survival.  I walked up to the hostess and before I asked if they had tables or a wait, I asked, “Do you have wifi?”  To my horror, she said, “No, sorry.”  No internet??  WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PLACE?  However the lack of a wait enticed me to sigh, “Okay, table for 5 please.” 

After we sat, still reeling from the fact that we had no wifi in the restaurant, I said to Carrie B, “So, having no internet is like, what?  It is like having no……?”  “Soul?” she responded quickly.  “Okay,” I retorted.  “I was going to say something like shoes but soul could work too.”

We ordered and ate as fast as we could because just before walking into Planet Hollywood we thought we saw the Double Tail-ed Mermaid (did you know it had a double tail?) mascot of Starbucks.  Sure enough, after dinner (which was 25 Euro cheaper than the ranch buffet and Carrie and I even had a glass of wine) we ran to Starbucks, barely noticing or caring if the kids were within a reasonable distance away from us.

We walk in…pull out our iphones and….wait for it….yes!  A connection!  THANK YOU STARBUCKS! Not only do you keep us awake when we need it but you connect us to the world.  I swear, Walt would be turning over in his ice cube if he knew the lack of modern day practices that were taking place in his very own “Tomorrow Land.”

We sat and we surfed.  I had 65 email messages and a zillion Face Book posts (it was my birthday the next day) and I just didn’t have enough time to process all this information so quickly.  It was late and as responsible parents, we really needed to get these kids back home on the range as we had to get up early the next day, hike for our breakfast of bread and head to Belgium.  But we just couldn’t tear ourselves away….we were connected with the real world and it felt really good!  I don’t care how magical Disney claims to be…when you can’t connect to civilization outside of those gates in this day and age, you just can’t appreciate that magic!

In addition, and in my defense, I have a lot going on in my life right now.  While on this trip my husband Peter resigned from the only company he has ever worked for, besides his father’s repair shop, to accept a new job back in the US.   After almost 7 years of living overseas, we will be moving back to a country and culture my kids have never been a part of….and to a state neither Peter nor I are originally from.  And all this is happening in the next 3 weeks.  Also remember, I booked a trip to Disney World NEXT WEEK for TWO WEEKS. (My brother is getting married in Florida so we built it into our trip for that celebration).  Without getting into it too much, we have A LOT to do in a SHORT amount of time and no internet access is keeping me from communicating with Peter to make major, life decisions. 

So, maybe some of my craziness is starting to make sense now?  Only a zany woman like me would do this road trip before a major life change and international move.  But, honestly, knowing this move was a possibility, I had to figure out a way to fit all this in.  I couldn’t be living in Europe, with a car, without a road trip.  And, as my husband clearly has a few things going on, including him on this pipe dream of mine wasn’t possible.  Hence, my seemingly irrational, spontaneous and impulsive phone call to Carrie B asking her to pull her child out of school and come along with me is a bit more understandable, no?

Day 5: Paris (am) and drive to Paris, Disney (pm)

Mostly written by Carrie B:

After a rainy day in Paris the day before, we woke to a clear sky. It was still cold outside but the sun made the day much more enjoyable. After the girls did their morning work, we packed up the car and checked out of the hotel. Our plan was to continue on the hop on/hop off bus so we could actually see the sites of Paris from the top instead of being enclosed on the bottom without a good view of the city. As we were walking to see the Louvre and then catch the bus, Carrie L. and I became distracted by window shopping and decided that we couldnʼt leave Paris without shopping just a little bit. As Carrie and I shopped, the girls had fun trying on sunglasses and picking out souvenirs for their friends and cousins. We also took time to go in the real souvenir stores and purchase tourist items like t-shirts, post cards, berets and such. The men at the shops were happy to see the girls and spoil them with gifts. They have so many key chains now we donʼt know what to do with them!

An hour later we were back on track and continued our walk to the Louvre. Once we were there, we decided to stay on the outside instead of going inside the museum. The girls had fun chasing the pigeons around the courtyard and Carrie and I took several pictures...yes, we even put on the berets and snapped photos like obnoxious tourists do (Carrie Lʼs idea of course)!

After spending time at the Louvre, we were all a bit cold, cranky and dreaming of Starbucks, so we decided to walk back to the hotel with the intention to drive around Paris and then to Disney (Mostly because we so enjoyed driving around Paris the first time). As we were walking, the girls mentioned that they were hungry and thirsty so we found a cafe in which they could eat lunch. The girls ordered hot chocolate and crepes while Carrie had bruschetta and I had a baguette. The food was wonderful and everyone was happy except for Ellie. She was not impressed by the crepe! Elise had a crepe with Nutella and she didnʼt have to say a word about how much she enjoyed it, I practically saw hearts in her eyes with her first bite.

When we left the cafe, it had warmed up considerably and the girls had a renewed energy. We walked towards the hotel and on our way we saw a couple with Starbucks coffees. It didnʼt take long for Carrie L to walk over to them and ask where the Starbucks was that they received those wonderful drinks in and they pointed down the road and to the right. We followed their directions and on our way we passed a giant fountain in which the girls quickly began running in circles and burning off their new found energy. Carrie L was on “Mission Starbucks” and she came to me and said, “I think that man gave us wrong directions, doesnʼt that look like a green awning down there in the other direction?” As I looked, I could not see what she was describing to me and I told her that I think she was seeing a Starbucks mirage. She laughed as I pointed out the real Starbucks sign in the direction the couple had told us it was in to begin with.

The street our apartment is on!

As we made our way to Starbucks, we both burst out in laughter in what was staring at us.  Remember we are now RIGHT behind “Our Novotel?”  Also, recall the fact that we couldn’t find that apartment for HOURS and HOURS?  Check out the road that was directly BEHIND our hotel.  Yup.  The one our original apartment was on. That place is haunting us!

As we were standing in line waiting for our coffee, I mentioned to Carrie that since the girls were no longer cold maybe we should finish up the day on the hop on/off bus just as we had planned on doing. Since the weather had been so bad the day before, we agreed we would feel cheated if we didnʼt go back out to see the city. We made our way on foot to Notre Dame where we looked at the details in the architecture, took pictures and jumped on the bus for our last tour of Paris. We stayed on the bus the entire tour and took in all the sites including Champs de Mars, Musee du Louvre, Musee dʼOrsay, Opera, Champs Elysees-Etoile, Grand Palais, Trocadero, Arch and of course, the Eiffel Tower. True to form Ellie fell asleep on the bus while Elise and Grace had fun sitting together and looking at the sites. Seeing Paris was wonderful but my only regret was not being able to see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night.

After we completed the full tour and arrived back at Notre Dame, we walked back to the Novotel and got in our car to drive to Paris Disney. Disney is a quick 30 minute drive from the city center but we werenʼt about to assume that we would arrive there so quickly and without problems. First, we had to return the key to the apartment that we rented and never used. Although the management team of the website in which we rented from was very kind to us and understood our concerns, we werenʼt lucky enough to have the owner of the apartment refund our money. So, here we went back to the same shady alley that we all know and love to replay my scene from Mission Impossible and return the key. This time it was daylight and since I had completed this task before, I had all the confidence in the world that I could do it again...and I did. I got back in the car and Carrie L said that our good friend, Mr. GPS did not recognize Disney Paris. Well, why would he? He was still obviously perturbed with us from the night before.

I quickly looked for an address but couldnʼt come up with one for the actual park, as all I could find were locations for corporate offices. Once again, we enlisted Peter for the task of helping us figure out where we needed to go but this time he had a hard time finding the information as well.

As we were driving in circles on the complicated streets of Paris for the second time in two days, we drove past the miniature Statue of Liberty. We had already taught the girls that the same man who designed the Eiffel Tower also designed the Statue of Liberty and that it was a present from France to America. Grace and Elise saw the Statue of Liberty but Ellie did not. Ellie response was, “Youʼre joking guys! Are you lying?” We kept trying to point it out to her but she did not see it. When she finally did, she was so shocked that we had been telling the truth. As we continued to drive, we realized that we were driving past the Eiffel Tower once again and since it was getting darker, the lights had been turned on and it was brightening up the sky. The girls loved seeing the lights, as did Carrie and I, and I took the opportunity to stick my camera out the passenger window and take as many pictures as I could. Looks like I got my “Eiffel Tower at night” moment after all!

Night Shot!

We pulled up to a red light and a few moments later a car pulled up next to us. When we looked to our left, the man in the car was looking straight at us. He was so close it seemed as if he was in the car with us! Then, Carrie burst in to laughter and said, “Look at how close this guy's mirror is!” When I looked over, I noticed that his mirror was overlapping ours and if we werenʼt quick enough when the light turned green, his mirror would take ours out! The funny part about this situation is the guy didnʼt even notice that he was that close to us...at least he didnʼt act like he knew. I had never seen anything like that in my entire life.

A few minutes later, after Peter had figured out where we needed to go and texted us the address, we had found our way out of the city and were on our way to Disney. Of course, it took us a lot longer to get out of the city than we thought it would...oh well, at least we were able to check seeing the Eiffel Tour at night off the list!

I received a recommendation from a friend of mine in Singapore (whoʼs husband helped to open Disney Paris) to stay at the Davy Crockett Ranch at Disney where we would have our own cabin and enough room to accommodate all five of us...something we had struggled with finding at every hotel along the way. The girls were more than excited as we pulled up to the ranch to check-in. Carrie L went inside while I stayed in the car with the girls. Iʼm not sure who had it easier as the girls were jumping all around in the car, singing “Itʼs a small world after all” over and over again. It took Carrie a long time to check-in and when she returned to the car she couldnʼt believe the experience she had just had.

Carrie L:


I think I am just jaded from our first night in Paris so I may be extra sensitive to somewhat stressful situations. As I walked into our “lodge” to check in, there were three people working the front desk. Two of them, as I could see while I waited in the line, were clearly competent in English and in the workings of the “ranch” (I still chuckle as I call it the “ranch” for reasons you will learn more about in the next couple of posts). I, of course, had the pleasure of working with the man who clearly started his first day of work at the ranch today and, as I believe, learned English today as well.

I think it took me longer to check in to our accommodations than it did for us to drive to Disney from Paris, including the time it took to get back on track after getting lost in the city. Why? Well, of course when one is learning a job AND a language in the same day, it would stand to reason efficiency wasnʼt high on his list. Honestly, I just donʼt think I have the energy to get into all the details of what exactly this experience was like for me, but letʼs put it this way. I was told that because the cabin is new, I have to remember to put the key in the box in refrigerator after I get in. That way, the lights will work. Excuse moi? Parle vous English, Mr. Disney Worker? I am to put a key in a box in the fridge to turn on the lights? Oh, boy, this is going to be fun. Canʼt wait to get on that ranch. Oh yeah, and once I get on the “ranch” I can go to the Trading Post to get my free cleaning kit. Cleaning kit? Surely he meant something else we were getting for free, right? I didnʼt ask for clarification...I would just figure out what he really meant once I got that kit.

I couldnʼt get back to that car fast enough. Davy Crockett...take me to your cabin.

Carrie B:


Buffet dinner at the ranch

Since we arrived later than expected due to our whole “lost in Paris again” mishap, we had missed dinner and were pretty hungry. Carrie L made a reservation for us at 9pm at the Tavern buffet. We walked in and sat down while Carrie went to pre-pay for dinner. When she came back to the table she said it was 85 Euro (!!) for us to eat. I didnʼt really care until I saw the offerings on the buffet. The buffet was filled with fried foods, limp lettuce salads and lots of unhealthy options....you know, ranch food. Due to our options, we all picked at the food and then decided to get back to the cabin and get some sleep before we spent the next day at Disney.

The upside down phone

We pulled up to our cabin and the girls piled out of the car. We, once again, unpacked the car and took the luggage up to the door. We opened the door and we erupted in laughter. The bedding was tones of brown camouflage and pictures of Mickey Mouse in a coon-skin cap. The curtains were a 1970ʼs brown, green and yellow with giant leaves from top to bottom. The couch was about 12-inches deep and maroon in color with a Native American print. The inside was adorned with fake wood laminate flooring, walls and cabinets. In fact, there wasnʼt a piece of wood in the entire place! The cabin was very cold and there was no internet connection...well, there was an internet connection for people that donʼt use Mac computers but that didnʼt pertain to either one of us. Wifi was nonexistent which made it very difficult for us to keep up with the blog or have any contact with the outside world. Even the telephone was a mystery to us in which Grace even remarked, “What is wrong with this phone? Itʼs upside down!”

Carrie picked up that backwards, upside down phone to enquire about other accommodation options that provided wifi for, as she explained to the front desk, “We are working and require wifi as part of this trip.” The response? “None of our hotels have wifi but you can go to the McDonalds or the gas station down the road and use their free wifi.” Really, Mr. Disney Worker? Disney practically invented the word “magical” and we have to go to McDonalds to get internet? Iʼm Lovinʼ It.

Carrie and I sat down the bags and tried to make sense of this 400 Euro a night cabin. After coming up with nothing, we changed into whatever warm clothes we could find and opened a bottle of wine we had brought with the wine opener we found in the kitchen.  It was such a high quality opener, check out what I had to do to get it open.   By this point Carrie and I were in hysterics, as things like this seem to be par for the course for us in Paris. 

Oh, and by the way…it WAS a cleaning kit.  As in, you have to CLEAN your own trailer and they give you the kit to do it.  For FREE.

Day 4: Paris, France

Written by Carrie L.

"Hotel-Schooling" before exploring

I can’t tell you how happy I was to wake up alive, rested and in a hotel where we could order room service for breakfast.  We had an entire day in Paris ahead of us and yet all any of us wanted to do was sit in that hotel room and take it all in….the clean sheets, the fresh towels and the knowledge that our car was parked safely (albeit for a pretty penny) in the parking garage below us.  Even better, we had free internet on every device we brought with us (2 ipads, 2 iphones, 1 ipod touch and 2 MacBooks).  Even the girls, who only partially understood the events from the night before, knew it was stressful and were grateful for the time to do nothing.

Introducing Paris landmarks

After our very French continental breakfast was delivered to our room, we all showered, regrouped, “hotel-schooled” and were finally ready to take on Paris.  Only problem?  Paris was continuing to take us on.  We didn’t “heart” Paris last night because of the “incident” (as we like to call it) and today Paris gave us less then nice weather.  Cold and rainy, I felt as if I was home in Norway!  At least in Norway when it is dreary outside I have no pressure to sight see…with less than two full days in Paris, however, we had to get out there…rain, sleet or snow! 

The girls’ are in love with the Eiffel Tower ever since Barbie and her entourage went to Paris for a “Fashion Fairytale” in one of their favorite movies ever.  Enticing them with a visit to Barbie’s favorite location was the carrot to get them up and out by noon.  As the girls got their shoes on, Ellie put on her sneakers and Elise and Grace asked if they could wear the other pair of shoes we brought for each girl, their sparkly, ballet-like slipper shoes.  We explained that they had the ability to choose their shoe-wear but that they needed to recognize that the weather was chilly, dreary and it would likely rain.  There was no complaining allowed regarding the shoes, should they choose to go for fashion over form.  Elise was convinced we had a point and quickly acquiesced.  She put on sneakers.  For those of you who know Grace, take a guess as to what she opted for…..drum roll…..the ballet slipper shoes.  Of course.  She was in Paris after all.

We marched over to the Lourve which, if you recall, we would have immediately recognized because it was the building I almost crashed into the night before.  We got on the Hop On Hop Off bus there but because it was cold and rainy, we had to sit on the bottom level which didn’t make for great pictures nor much interest in the kids.  Once on the bus Ellie fell asleep almost immediately (one could argue that by Day 4 we have completely wiped our kids out but if you know Ellie, you know she is infamous for her ability to sleep anywhere, at anytime).  However, once the rain water started to leak onto our seats, that woke the Sleeping Beauty up and she was ready to get her Paris on along with the rest of us.

Once the bus reached the Eiffel Tower location, Ellie was awake and the girls were ready to get off and see what they came to Paris to see!  We got off the bus one stop before the Eiffel Tower, as we figured we could see it from the distance and walk towards it.  That was a great choice!  The girls were blown away when they rounded the corner and saw the massive monument spring up in front of them!

An emotional moment for us all

It was a moment for me, too.  I remember when I drove cross country with my college friends 15(!!) years ago.  California seemed so far away and yet it seemed surreal that I could drive to places I had seen on TV and in the movies.  I had the same feeling seeing the Eiffel Tower at that moment too.  In an instant I became incredibly aware and overwhelmed with the fact that I was in Paris, France.  I was with my daughters who I still can’t believe God gave me the pleasure and responsibility of raising.  I was looking at the most visited monument in the world that, for some reason, I never thought I would ever get to see.  I’ve been fortunate enough to be so many places over years yet this landmark signified for me a moment that I waited my whole life for.  I just can’t believe it took me this long to see it…but God’s timing is always perfect and to see it for the first time along with my children was magical.  In fact, I was grateful that I hadn’t made the trip to Paris before now because it was a moment the girls and I can always say we shared together.  The first time we saw the Eiffel Tower.  Viola.

We were cold.  We were wet.  We were tired.  We were still recovering from the traumas of the night before.  But we were in Paris.  We were at the Eiffel Tower.   We are blessed.

Buying our mini Eiffel Towers

After buying our signature Eiffel Towers in miniature (we bought 9, to be exact, and that is not including the 3 Eiffel Tower Erasers or the multiple mini Eiffels the street vendors randomly handed out to the girls over the next few days), the magic of the “Eiffel Tower Moment” began to diminish the colder and rainier it got.  We “hopped on” our bus and started the ride back to the Louvre stop to then walk back to the hotel we loved so much.  Our Novotel. 

Remember the “shoe debate” I mentioned earlier? Well, even those of us with smart footware struggled with the cold, wet and soreness.  Any guesses as to how Grace was feeling in her demure slipper shoes?  Yeah…it wasn’t pretty.  But, I must say, she did recall the conversation earlier and muscled through what was probably a painful and humbling walk home from the bus stop.  She decided that from now on, for the rest of the trip, she would probably be wearing her sneakers.  Good choice, Grace.  Need I remind her that I was right?  Nah, I'll let that one slide.

Room Service? Oui Oui!

We were back in the room by 4:00, cold, tired and hungry.  Room Service?  Yes, please!   We all put on our comfies on and cuddled up to our free internet until the food was delivered.  (By now you can only imagine the Euro we were racking up….not including our room service fetish, don’t forget we were still paying for that apartment we rented and never used).  We got lots of carb-filled foods with French fries and sodas.  Carrie and I had been supporting each other on a semi-intensive workout program for the last month which we both did really well on. Now we are supporting each other on who can eat more crap in one sitting.

Full, fat and fatigued, we were ready for bed!  The girls cuddled up together in Carrie B.’s bed for a movie while she worked on our blog posts and I posted FB pics and got some work done for my real job….a full time one that I seem to have forgotten about these last few days.  I was awake until 1:15 for that job….good thing I love it so much.

Memorable Quotes:

“France doesn’t have much color.”

-Elise

Carrie L:  “Grace, does Paris remind you of anywhere?”

Grace: “Yeah, Bali.”

Carrie L:  “Bali? How does Paris remind you of Bali?”

Grace:  “Oh no, I mean Thailand.”

“Those mean men are carrying guns!”

-Elise as French military men walked by

Ellie:  “There are NOT dinosaurs in Paris.”

Elise:  “Mom, write that down!  Write that down!”

“Can I do a French man?”

-Grace while asking to make a toilet paper French man like the German boy we made while in Germany

Day 3: Heidelberg, Germany (am) and driving to Paris, France (pm)

Because the day was so long, complicated and multi-dimensional, we both had to contribute to this blog so you will see above each section the name of the person who wrote it.

Carrie B:

Heidelberg Castle

Heidelberg Castle

We woke today to beautiful weather in Germany!  After the girls completed their workbooks, we headed downstairs for breakfast in our quaint hotel in Heidelberg.  Once breakfast was over, we called our husbands and updated the blog while the girls watched High School Musical.  Once we were finally organized and ready to start our day, we packed up the car and walked behind the hotel to the Heidelberg castle.  After buying the girls postcards, we began our walk up the steep hill towards the castle.  Ellie, in her athletic way, ran up the hill while the rest of us walked.  During our hike to the top, Grace turned to her mom and said, “This reminds me of that big wall in China.”  

Rolling down the castle hills

 

Teachable moment

The castle was beautiful and although the girls weren’t happy that they couldn’t explore the interior rooms, they had a nice time looking out over Heidelberg and studying the architecture.  Once we were at the top, Carrie and I found a cafe that allowed us to sit and relax.  After a quick talk with the girls about staying within our sight, I went inside the cafe and returned with coffee, pretzels and drinks for the girls.  Carrie and I sat outside and watched as they barrel rolled down a patch of grass on the castle grounds.  

Once we were finished with our coffee, we took the girls inside and had a teachable moment about apothecaries.  We didn’t know much about it ourselves so our teachable moment was very brief!  Afterwards, we walked around the castle courtyard a bit more and of course, afraid to miss a moment of documentation, we clicked away on our cameras. 

Carrie L:

Parking in Europe

Once we made the trek back down the hill, we had our bathroom break in the lobby of the hotel and headed back the car to get a move on towards France.  In another reminder of just how big our car is out here, the hardest part about getting back on the road was actually getting back in the car!  The girls all squeezed in from the back but Carrie and I, and our lack of “limberness” couldn’t have possibly contorted ourselves in that way.  Carrie squeezed herself into the driver’s seat while I waited for her to pull out and then jumped in myself.

Heidelberg, Germany

We drove around Heidelberg a bit before getting on the highway, although not exactly by choice.  These little European towns can test the abilities of any GPS, not to mention the people who are following it.  After doing a circle three times around the city center, we finally figured out how to get in the correct lanes, make the turns at the right times and follow the German signs.  Carrie B. may have been getting a little frustrated because she kept missing turns and lanes, but it gave me a chance to snap more pictures and take in more of Heidelberg around us.  

Finally on our way around 1:30pm, we prepared for the 5 1/2 hour drive to Paris.  We should have been able to make it there by 7:00pm and, giving a little time for traffic and dinner, we thought 8:00pm was a realistic estimated time of arrival.  We couldn’t have been more wrong!

Leaving for Paris in the dirty car

The drive to France was actually pretty uneventful.  Carrie B drove the first half while I worked with the girls on finishing up our lessons about Germany.  They made their toilet paper roll German boys and we started to introduce a bit about France and the French language, of which I know nothing other than phrases that would be down right inappropriate to teach little people.  I did make a feeble attempt at a French accent and told the girls that in France the way they pronounce “Paris” is “Pare-eee”.  I even rolled my “r” sound a bit to make it all that much more authentic.  Well, Ellie decided she was great at rolling her r’s the French way and started in on her rendition of “Pare-eee” but we were hysterical listening to her because she can’t roll her r’s.  Instead, she builds up enough saliva in her throat and gurgles the r sound to make it seem like she is rolling it.  When asked how she learned how to do that she said, “I listen to my classmate Maurits speak Dutch and that is what he does with his letters.  He makes sounds come out of his throat.”  She then went on to continue her “Pare-eee” accent with gurgling r’s and added “Platypus” at the end, in honor of the platypus on Phineas and Ferb, and now to this day refers to Paris as “Pare-eee the Pla-ti-puss” with gurgled r-sounds all over the place.  Really cute and funny, we still laugh every time she says it. Probably because she really thinks saying “Paris” in her guttural way is authentic!

Once we started driving into the city I was behind the wheel and we realized we had the address of the apartment we rented entered into the GPS, but we actually needed to collect the key from the management company first.  So, we adjusted the GPS destination and made our way into the city.  Remember that 8:00pm estimated time of arrival? Well here is where that goal starts to unravel.  

First off, traffic.  I have driven in major US cities and my fair share of international cities. It could be argued that Singapore is a difficult place to drive or that maneuvering a car in Manhattan is never suggested.  None of them, however, holds a candle to driving in Paris.  I imagine driving in places like Calcutta, India or Bangkok, Thailand would be worse than driving in Paris but no one drives in those places...you hire a driver to take on that beast of a skill.  So, those kinds of cities aside, I am going to argue that driving in Paris is the worst place to drive....and I don’t like to stereotype but in this case, I also have to go out on a limb and say the “friendliness” of the French drivers and pedestrians were less than ideal and added to the misery of that night.  I am pretty sure I single-handedly heightened the already negative nature of the French driving and walking population.

If traffic was the only obstacle we had to encounter that night we still woudn’t have come close to our ETA...but I wish traffic had been the only issue.

In addition to the traffic and rain, add in the fact that it was after 8:00 at night and therefore it was dark. We were trying to decipher the slow response time of the GPS after each turn we made and tried not to get too frustrated each time I made a turn and it said “Recalculating.”  I swear I followed it exactly!  Why does it keep recalculating?!?!?!

At last we saw the checkered flag on the GPS at 8:30pm indicating we had reached our destination.  We did?  Where?  The name of the road we were on was not the name of the road of this management company.  Not to mention the fact that although we don’t speak a lick of French we can recognize a bad neighborhood when we see one and this had “BAD” written all over it, even if it was in a fancy language.  

Finally I pulled over on a crosswalk (which didn’t make people crossing the street very happy but at that point I was telling the French to take a number in the Carrie Lupoli complaint department).  Carrie and I looked at the map, the GPS and around us when realized the “street” we needed to be on was actually an alley behind us.  With no place to park and three kids in the car, we had to make a quick decision as to how we were going to get the key (which was in a locked storage box because we arrived after office hours).  Carrie B. was going to have to make the brave attempt at getting out of the car to get our key!  

Carrie B:

Before I got out of the car, I reached down and pulled an umbrella out of the passenger side door and said, “I’m bringing this umbrella as a weapon.”  I walked down the street with nothing but my umbrella and the information for retrieving the key.  I crossed the street and turned off on to the side road where the place was located.  It was a dark alley with spray painted graffiti covering both sides of the walls.  Two men were walking in front of me and I was a bit nervous to be the only woman, or other person besides these two, in the alley.  Like a scene from “Mission Impossible,” I found the door quickly, entered in the code and was immediately buzzed in.  Inside the building was a row of lock boxes.  Once again I entered in a code, took the key and headed back as fast as I could to the car.  Carrie L. couldn’t believe that I was already back and mentioned that she had texted her husband  just in case something bad happened so he was aware of our last known location.  We had no idea that we would be the victim of even more dangerous situations that evening!   

Carrie L:

As we were waiting in this dark, seedy location, illegally parked with less than presentable people milling about, I immediately locked the doors. I couldn’t have been more relieved to see Carrie running back to the car with a look of success written over her face.  As she pulled open the door and sat back down I realized the car doors weren’t locked after all and, in fact, they don’t lock when the car is running....a fact that would continue to haunt me as the night went on.  It was unnerving knowing that anyone could have opened our doors of the car at anytime.  From that point on, whenever we were parked, I immediately turned off the car to lock the doors, but for the next few hours, while we were aimlessly driving around Paris looking for our apartment, the inability to lock our doors as we stopped at red lights or drove slowly on small, one way back roads only added to my stress levels.

After Carrie got back into the car and re-lived her Mission Impossible moment, I texted Peter to let him know we were fine and on our way to the apartment.  According to our all-reliable GPS, we would be there in 5 minutes as it was only 1.2 km away.  Brilliant.  We were behind schedule but it was only about 8:45pm so we should be settled into our apartment with a glass of wine within the 1/2 hour.  Nope. Not even close.

I mentioned Bangkok before....it is a tough place to navigate and in the times I have been there I always was thankful I didn’t have to figure out those roads myself because there would have been no way I could have done it.  There is no discernible city grid in Bangkok making it impossible to miss a turn and simply go to the next block to get back on track.  Manhattan's city grid is easy...city blocks that are shaped like blocks.  Miss a turn?  Go to the next one and as long as you are thinking like a “square” and make enough turns going in the same direction, you can eventually find the road you missed.  Not so in Bangkok and not so in Paris...only in Bangkok no one would ever be crazy enough to take on those roads as a first time driver in the city...with children in the car....late at night.  In Paris, one would be crazy to do that too.  


Call me Crazy.

We couldn’t find it.  We just couldn’t find the darn apartment.  We followed the GPS point by point, moment by moment but as soon as we would get to a certain point it would “recalcuate” and take us all around the city again.  Remember it is also dark, rainy and LATE.  The girls were still awake and although were so well behaved, they wanted out of that car and into a comfy cozy bed.  We just had no bearings as to where we needed to be or how to get there.  A few times we were actually on the road of the apartment but we were at the wrong end, going the wrong direction and we couldn’t get ourselves turned around to get to where we needed to be.  If I hadn’t gotten enough French drivers and pedestrians mad enough at me the first few hours I drove in Paris, I certainly managed to cover a considerable amount of the population the last few hours we were there.

After a couple hours of this, we just didn’t know what to do.  We were stuck in this city with an apartment we couldn’t find and it was getting later and later.  So late, in fact, that we were really concerned about how we were going to find parking and get the kids and luggage out of the car safely, in a reasonable distance from the apartment (that is, IF we found the apartment).  We heard that parking was an issue in Paris and the owner of the apartment gave us some information on where to park but as we drove around the neighborhood for so long we realized that there was no way we would find acceptable parking that late.

In our ump-teenth attempt to find the apartment we finally just pulled over, turned off the car, locked the doors and tried to re-group.  We had no internet to research where we were and the city map we had was less than helpful.  Looking back now, I have no idea why we didn’t heed a friend’s advice about booking the Novotel Hotel in Paris that had parking.  I guess we thought the apartment was a more economical idea because otherwise we needed two rooms or an expensive suite and that we would manage to figure out the parking once we got there.  That was one of many mistakes we made leading up to this moment.  I texted Peter to see if he could find us a hotel in Paris with parking and to see if he could find the Novotel my friend Sabrina had told me about.  He was out with friends in Norway and desperately tried to help us by searching hotels on his blackberry in the middle of an Irish Pub on St. Patrick’s Day.  Bless him.

We found the Novotel on the GPS at the same time Peter found it on his Blackberry.  After calling and confirming they had rooms and parking, Peter texted to encourage us to give up looking for the apartment and just safely get to the Novotel.  Remember, all this driving around in seedy areas was with a car whose doors didn’t lock.

So, we made up our minds and said, “Let’s forget the apartment and go to the Novotel.  At this point our safety and time are more important then the money.”  We entered in the  Novotel to the GPS...the same GPS that couldn’t find the apartment. I don’t know what made us think it would allow us to find the Novotel.

As we were on our way, tired, scared and frustrated the GPS informed me that I would be taking a right up ahead.  So, as I put on my right blinker and committed to the turn, we noticed the arrows on the street were facing towards us, indicating that I was driving the wrong way on a one way road!  We both screamed and I immediately put the car in reverse, turned around and got out of there when in my rear view mirror I saw about 5 cars going down the very road I had just turned around from.  Apparently I WAS going in the right direction and everyone, it seemed, other than me understood this.  I know I don’t speak French but arrows painted on the road coming at me says “WRONG WAY” in any language.  

So, we irritated Mr. GPS again and he took us on another wild goose chase around the city.  As we randomly took more rights, lefts and received more angry horn blasts that seemed to last longer with increasing aggressiveness, we took a breath as we were presented with a red light.  I closed my eyes for a second to try to re-group and when I opened my eyes I saw “Rue Saint Denis” on our right and left...the very road our apartment was on!  I quickly told Carrie to help me figure out what the numbers were on that part of the street and we saw #180...our apartment was #187!  We were there...we were there!  Ha!  In our attempt to find the Novotel we accidentally stumbled across our apartment location.  


Ah, so in just a few minutes we would be at our original desired destination.

Nope.  Wrong again....well, actually we did find it.  We found it pretty easily to be honest.  By that point we were pretty well versed in most of the streets in that area and we suddenly became smarter than Mr. GPS and ignored his incessant insistence to turn left when we knew we needed to turn right.  It wasn’t a direct hit on the directional bulls eye but after a few wrong turns, we managed to get to 187 Rue Saint Denis.  

Home Sweet Home.  Or not.

I pulled up the street view on Google Maps of where our apartment was located.  I attach them here for your viewing pleasure.

Now, I am sure you are drawn to the XX Video store directly to the right of the entrance or the “Sex Shop” immediately across the street from the front door.  Funny enough, it wasn’t the first thing we saw when we pulled up.  What we noticed were the dozens of men congregated in groups drinking and smoking at the door of the entrance to our elusive apartment.  There was no way we were walking through that group, with our children, up to that apartment.  And anyway, there was no place to park.  One of us would have had to take the kids up to the apartment while the other drove around, aimlessly again, looking for a place to park and then make multiple trips, unaccompanied, to bring up the luggage. No way, Francias.

Carrie said to me, “Forget it.  We found it and at least now we know.  We can’t stay there, it isn’t safe and it isn’t an option.  Let’s go find the Novotel.”  I immediately agreed and felt better for at least being able to justify that we didn’t stay there because of safety reasons instead of because we just couldn’t find the darn place.

Okay, so back to finding that Novotel again. Oh Novotel, where are you?  Mr. GPS got back on board with our quest and directed us through the ever busy streets of Paris.  We were well on our way when I was expected to take a right on the upcoming street.  After driving in more bus lanes than I like to admit, I remembered to stay to the left, allowing the buses to drive on my right, committed to not angering any more French drivers that evening.  I had a green light.  I had my right blinker on.  I was all set to make that right turn.  However I forgot about that darn bus lane again.  The bus lane where the buses drive straight through the intersections, rarely turning right on the small side roads like I wanted to do.  Can you picture this?  I am in the middle lane, about to turn right while the bus speeding up on my right has all intentions of going straight.  

I never saw the bus.  I thought I was free to take a right.  I was, after all in the right-most lane for cars.  I just kept forgetting about those buses.  

I started to turn right and I have no idea what prompted me to suddenly slam on the brakes.  I never saw the bus.  I had no idea it was there.  I really think God was with me at that moment because why would I slam on the breaks immediately after starting to turn right?  I slammed on them just in time for even a fraction of a second later, that bus would have eaten us up...completely and totally.  It was coming at us so fast and it blew its horn at us but it would have been too late if I had reacted to the sound.  Luckily God’s foot on that brake was what saved us.  We weren’t an inch away from that bus as it sped past us.  Add a few more angry French drivers to that list I racked up just then.

The shock of that moment didn’t totally hit until a few seconds later when Carrie B started laughing so hard she started crying and repeated over and over.  “We almost got hit by a bus.  We almost got hit by a bus.  We almost got hit by a bus.”  

At that point all the frustrations, fears and failures of the night came flooding to us and we couldn’t keep it together anymore.  We were laughing and crying hysterically in shock at our near death experience, re-living it over and over as we were completing ignoring Mr. GPS, who, by this point who was getting more and more irritated by us.  I didn’t think it was possible to actually anger a computer, but we managed to do it, I believe.  Or, it could have been our complete and total hysteria setting in making us really believe the GPS was just another French person who had it with the two Carries that night.

We just kept driving.  We were driving and laughing and crying and hyperventilating.  Carrie just kept saying, every few minutes, “We almost got hit by a bus.”  

 Like a mirage in a desert, we saw a big, beautiful hotel called Hotel du Louvre and we immediately texted Peter to see if he could look them up and call to see if they had parking.  We drove around the hotel, but like walking in a dessert thirsty for water and finding none, there was no parking to be found.  I was so intent on looking around me that I didn’t realize I was at an intersection.  I slammed on the breaks, not sure if I should turn left or right....but I didn’t stop quick enough and I found myself going straight...into what seemed to be the arch of a building...not a road!  I started screaming, “I am driving into a building...oh no!!!!”  Carrie just continued to laugh hysterically, and saying, “You can’t do this!”

The "building" I drove into (Google Maps)

But, we committed and there was nothing I could do.  I was driving into what I thought was a historical building in France.  

Ever hear of the Louvre?

I drove into it.  

Inside the Arch (Google maps)

Okay, so not exactly, but kind of.  As I was half way through the arch I realized my car fit and there was an open court yard in front of me.  Still not realizing I was on an actual, legal road, I was just thankful I wasn’t smashed into some ancient Parisian landmark.  I was driving and legal or not, I saw an opening at the other end...a way out.  

The Louvre! (Google Maps)

Eye’s focused on the way out, I quickly turned to my left and saw....yup, the Louvre!  I am HORRIBLE at Parisian landmarks other than the Eiffel Tower but even I knew what that glass pyramid was.  Part of me was blown away by my find but the other half of me was like “Uh oh...I am driving IN the courtyard of the Louvre.”  Surely this wasn’t allowed.  We were still screaming.  We were laughing and screaming. We were laughing, screaming and still not breathing.  All of the sudden I hear Carrie B yell out, “Wait!  Is that?  Yes...yes...look, over there!  The Eiffel Tower!”  That was all we needed.  We were done.  We were hysterical.  We were in Paris, lost and with no direction when suddenly we were literally in the middle of the city with two of the most famous landmarks in the world on either side of us.  

In the open courtyard (Google Maps)

You may be wondering what is going on with the kids during all this.  Elise, luckily was asleep.  Carrie was pretty sure she wouldn’t of handled this stress well.  Grace and Ellie I think were too scared to talk, move or complain.  They just sat there and didn’t say anything until after we were “in” the Louvre...”Mom, you are driving crazy.  Are you sure you have a driver’s license?”  

Yeah, Ellie.  I have my license, I just don’t have my sanity.

Carrie B.

We finally found the Novotel.  After we drove into the Louvre we gave up on Mr. GPS, although we are still convinced he gave up on us.  We had no idea, still where to go, but we were officially in Paris and we didn’t care anymore.  We would figure it out.  We were alive and not in jail.  Both points in the “+” column for the night.  

Suddenly, almost as if it were the moment agreed to give up all control, we saw a sign that said, “ACCESS NOVOTEL.”  Yes!  It was our very own North Star!  In all her assertiveness she learned from her hours as a mad Parisian driver, Carrie L. pulled up onto the front entrance of the hotel and parked directly in front of the doors.  “Go,” she commanded me.  “Get us a room!”  

Novotel Paris w/ onsite parking!

I walked in to the Novotel and the Concierge asked if he could help me with a concerned look.  I was wiping the tears from my eyes from laughing but I’m sure he thought that the tears were ones of sadness.  At the counter, I was approached by the hotel Director that gave me the same worried look.  I asked if he had any rooms available for two nights for five people and he replied, “Yes.”  He then spoke with his colleague in French and then turned to me and said, “I’m sorry ma'am but due to security reasons we cannot put all five of you in one room.  You must either get two rooms or a suite.”  I stood there thinking it over and began telling him about our nights events.  I mentioned that we had three tired children in the car and that we had planned to rent an apartment but once we saw the XXX shop across the street and scary drunk men outside the door we decided against it.  After listening to me ramble on he said the suite was 460 Euro a night but he could offer us a special rate of 340 Euro instead.  Sign us up!!!   


After getting the room, I went back out to the car and gave Carrie the good news.  We had a car and a parking spot in the basement!  We parked, carried in the luggage and went to sleep.  I had never been happier to be in a hotel room in my entire life!