paris

bonjour! je m'appelle maren. je ne parle pas francais. parlez anglais? no? hmm...

well, this post will be in english. my apologies.

we heard rumors that the french - parisians more specifically - are not known for their kindness. we were warned of this multiple times in the united states as well as in london. but we went with willing attitudes and, i think, no preconceptions. we decided we would all try our very best to communicate as much as possible in french. that's kind of a high standard when the four of us combined went in knowing not much more than moi, oui, parlez-vous francais {la ri la ra la re}, bonjour and pardon. 

and i'm happy to report that the french blew those rumors to shreds. i didn't come across one person who was impolite when asked if they spoke english. some did - and were eager to help us improve our french. some didn't - and we did our best to communicate with our fingers scanning our guide books.

i loved, loved, loved almost everything about paris. i already want to go back. we saw and did so much in just two short days. we arrived tuesday morning via the eurostar from london. our hotel was in a good location - just a few short stops on the metro from most of our desired attractions. but the metro has no elevators. just lots of stairs. and that just plain stinks with luggage. but we made it. 

and then we jumped right back on the metro and hit the ground running. we started off with a boat tour docked at pont de neuf to get the lay of the land. 

and after that, in just two days we saw 14+ major sights and ate a lot of good food. when i say a lot, i mean a lot. and when i say good, i actually mean so-out-of-this-world-good-i-can't-even-begin-to-describe-it. i never thought myself a foodie, but after eating parisian food, i'm beginning to reconsider. rest assured that will be in a post all its own. 

we even saw the french version of my library - or should i say librairie - sign!

it was just as i imagined. there really were musicians performing on the metro and on the streets - the kind of music you imagine in your mind when you think of french music. the kind with accordions. speaking of accordions, i chatted with my mom while i was in france. i mentioned the accordions {she used to play!} and she mentioned she was finally selling hers. yup. the same accordion she promised me she sold years and years ago when i asked her if she could play for me or if i could learn to play. the same accordion she is now giving me so i can learn to play once she re-realized i had wanted her accordion for years. so yes, i thoroughly enjoyed the accordion players. i'm cool like that.

one of the strangest things {to me} about paris is that you have to pay to use a restroom. they charge you! there are something like 400 free toilets in the entire area and the rest you have to pay for. we did find one of the free toilets at the cemetery. its cleanliness rivaled that of china's bathrooms. but the ones you pay for? they're nearly elegant. someone cleans the "stall" {which is actually an entire room with a personal sink inside} after each use. i guess you get what you pay for.

parisian sites rival the food in their sheer awesomeness {is that a word?}. pictures and words could never do them justice, so you'll just have to go yourself. really, you should. it's worth the years spent saving your money. but in the meantime you and i can both look at these pictures and wish we were there.

in no particular order {okay, in alphabetical order this time}, we saw:

arc de triomphe

{probably four times larger than i thought it was. i went knowing it was something i knew i should see and left completely amazed. it was beautiful!}

cemeterie du pere lachaise

{going to a cemetery was a recommendation from the daughter of a friend who just spent a semester abroad in paris. i do enjoy going to cemeteries in different locations and this one did not disappoint. there are lots of cemeteries in france, so we just picked one on our route. just so happened to be huge and awesome. and i got to see chopin's grave while i was there!}

champs elysees

{an incredible beautiful walk from the arc de triomphe to the louvre. if you have some vacation spending money - which we didn't since we're preparing to be students - there is some amazing shopping on the way.}

conciergerie

{a former palace and prison. i'm glad i went as a tourist, not a prisoner. it probably wouldn't have smelled good back in the day.}

eating 

{yes. i consider this an attraction. a very delicious one. more on that later.}

eiffel tower

{a definite highlight of paris for me. it's beautiful in pictures, completely stunning in person and offers an incredible view of the city. we arrived with the sun up, climbed to the top and stayed until sunset. we descended after dusk and took pictures the entire time. of course my camera battery said it was going to die just as it came into view, so i used my last few pictures wisely - for the feet shots, of course. the lights came on - and twinkled for a bit, which was amazing to see. and yes, we will be framing one of these shots to hang in our home. loved. loved. loved.}

hotel des invalides

{originally a hospital and retirement home for war veterans, it is now a group of buildings with monuments and museums that all have to do with the military history of france. we went to the musee de l'armee, the military museum, and had a great time. i saw, among other things, armor, uniforms, hats, taxis, weapons, gas masks, wartime signs, a bbc microphone, german enigma cryptograph machine, a combat parachute, wwii camera and typewriter and phone and printing press. it includes a beautiful chapel - decorated with flags hanging that were all captured in combat. it's also the burial place of napoelon bonaparte.}

ile st louis

{a beautifully quaint island next to the island that houses notre dame. the metro does not go here, so we walked. the shops were wonderful, the food delicious and life was just a little slower paced. it was a highlight for me.}

 

a true french laundromat

{we were quickly running out of underclothes and decided to try our hand at machines with instructions we could not read. we washed our clothes before it closed, but didn't quite make it to the dryers. so our hotel room was a sight that night.}

musee du louvre

{at the risk of sounding completely ridiculous, i'm going to say the louvre was not all that impressive. not that it wasn't impressive at all - it was - but it was a bit overwhelming. the feel was different - it was loud and crowded and a bit unorganized. i just felt lost! we saw some amazing things - the few things we came to see - and we were done. if i go back, it will be with a full day dedicated for that purpose and possibly with someone who knows the ins and outs. ridiculously amazing palace, though.}

marches des fleur

{a beautiful flower market smack in the middle of the city. i found a few treasures here, but i can't reveal what they were because they're christmas presents.}

musee d'orsay

{hands down, my fav. when i was finished with this jam-packed hour of incredible works of art located in an old train station, i just felt like my insides were smiling. i think i enjoyed it more than my three traveling companions, but that probably has something to do with my ap art history in high school and multiple art history classes in college. impressionism is a favorite of mine. i love the unique brush strokes and having to step back to see the whole picture. they had an entire section dedicated to monet, manet, matisse, cezanne, renoir, degas and more. i saw original van goghs, sculptures by rodin, a daguerreotype exhibit featuring julia margaret cameron and george frederic watts. even the frames were works of art. it was simply magnifique!}

notre dame

{again, we walked to the top - the bell tower - and got an amazing view of the city from the opposite end of the eiffel tower. well worth the hike. plus, we got to see linds do her best hunchback impression. also well worth it.}

sacre coeur

{a beautiful white cathedral atop a hill with, again, a beautiful view of the city. no pictures allowed inside. and perhaps a sketchier area of the city, but a good place to visit in the daylight.}

 

sainte-chapelle

{a.ma.zing. the stained glass windows are indescribable and the pictures do not do them justice. it shares an entrance with the legal departments of france and the security was worse than an airport. but still, a.ma.zing.}

and that, in a nutshell, is paris. at least what we saw of it. wonderful and beautiful and incredible. and definitely left me wanting more.

last day of school

leah's last day of school was friday, june 10th. she figured she'd go out with a bang by wearing her back pack all by herself and stepping off the front porch with no assistance from mom. for those who are unfamiliar with leah and her apraxia, this task is downright incredible. she definitely got a few cheers from behind the camera. 

her classmates simply made me melt each day. they are the sweetest bunch of kids i've ever laid eyes on.  

her teacher, miss jenn, and her one-on-one aide, miss eleanor, will be missed immensely. leah was in this classroom with these two longer than any others before. they believed in leah more than we could have dreamed.

the kiss was well deserved.

london: awards and outtakes

i was definitely the record keeper of the trip. at first the other three seemed annoyed, but after a few days, came to the realization that they would never remember everything and they were soon asking me to write things down for them. as we reviewed my notes on the train to paris, we gave london some best and worst awards...

BEST:

attraction: tower of london {lindsey}, westminster abbey {ed and ryan}, les mis and st. paul's {maren - i'm very undecisive}

food: maze grill {ed}, zizzi's italian {ryan}, garfunkel's {maren}, parfait on the eurostar {lindsey}

travel: boat tour {ryan}, bus 91 {ed}, underground {maren}, escalators {lindsey}

desserts: toffee & waffles {maren}, sponge treacle with custard {ed}, banana nutella crepes {ryan}, coconut gelato {lindsey}

sweets: turkish delight {ryan}, blackberry tofita {maren}, s'mints {lindsey}, kinder bueno {ed}

incident or experience: maze kitchen {ryan}, signage {lindsey}, view from the plan while waiting to land {maren}, nap in park {ryan}

funniest incident: "cheers mate" comment at train station {ed}, "is it close?" "no! it's a 30 minute walk!" {maren and lindsey}, "where's this exhibit?" "it's in scotland!" {ryan}

shopping: portobello market {maren and lindsey}, confectionery at harrod's {ed and ryan}

WORST:

attraction: kensington palace {maren}, queen's gallery {ryan}, buckingham palace {lindsey}, london eye {ed}

food: hamburgers at pubs {ed and ryan}, nothing {maren and lindsey}

travel: excessive walking without an ankle brace {ryan}, airport to hotel {ed}, stairs with luggage {maren}, bad shoes {lindsey}

dessert/sweet: licorice ropes {ed, lindsey and ryan}, nothing {maren}

incident/NOT funny: people in our seats at les mis {maren}, crude irish cage fighters at hotel {lindsey}, having to pee while running to dlr {ryan}, having to pee in general {ed}

shopping: harrod's {maren and lindsey}, portobello market {ed and ryan}

the award for being lost in translation goes to lindsey. we actually had the following conversation about the following sign:

lindsey: "what do you think that sign means?"

maren: "i think it's showing where the handicapped accessible emergency exit is"

lindsey: {laughing} "oh. i thought it meant, 'if a man in a wheelchair is chasing you, run this way.'"

and the award for ugliest picture goes to moi. 

and now some london outtakes for your viewing pleasure:

on to paris...

london: travel

we were all thoroughly impressed with modes of transportation in london. we had a "london pass" that included our public transport fees, which made it rather simple for us. but even if we had to purchase tickets, it still would have been seamless. underground and overground trains run constantly - we never waited for longer than 5 minutes. 

the red double decker buses are not a myth. they were everywhere all. the. time. we hopped on the front row of the top deck of bus 91 one at trafalgar square and rode it to the end of the line and back {ended up being 2 hours in total and one of the most relaxing parts of our time in london - i think we all fell asleep at some point!}. 

even walking around that city is not a chore. and we walked a lot. there's always something to see and even on foot it didn't take all that long to get to our next destination. that was most likely because of the incredible planning and mapping ed and i did each night. ryan and lindsey were no help in that matter. 

we all spent some quality time with our maps of the city and the underground and, even with the help of the signs on the road, never could figure out which way cars would be coming from as we entered an intersection...

 

other than teeny tiny elevators and traveling with luggage in tow on our first and last days, i give london travel an A++.  

london: food

overall, we were mostly unimpressed with london food. ed, lindsey and ryan all thought many of their meals were just plain gross. i think i ordered a little better for my tastes because i actually enjoyed most of what i got. but...it was nothing to write home about. we did enjoy the sweets, though. linds was our official food and candy photographer and i just laughed with the amount of sweets she purchased at every stop. living it up for sure. :) it was worth it just to see how happy she was every time we were successful in finding something sweet to eat as witnessed here with her coconut gelato. 

london seems to be more of a quantity over quality place - with the exception of the maze grill where we ate on our last night. it's one of gordon ramsey's restaurants and it was deeeeeeeeeeelicious. we had a great server who was a bit on edge because gordon himself was coming in to eat that night {we missed him by minutes!}. our server also gave us a great tour of the kitchen and how it's all done. so fun!

a sampling of the savory...

and the sweet...

next up: london travel

london

i am seriously struggling to adequately sum up two and a half weeks spent in six very different and incredible-in-their-own-right locations. ultimately, it's impossible to share or even record for myself a picture-perfect memory of all that happened. i've gone back and forth as to how to even organize my experiences - chronologically? geographically? type of activity? ultimately, i've decided on a lame mixture of them all. and so, without further ado, we begin with london. 

ah, london. the land of royalty and red double decker buses. telephone booths on every corner and world renown landmarks dotting the skyline. i flew from salt lake city to chicago and then chicago to london all by my lonesome. well, there were other people on the plane, i just didn't know any of them {ryan flew from san fran and ed and lindsey were on a different airline}. 

my previously assigned seat happened to be right next to a lovely elderly woman who has lived near london her entire life. she told me her must-sees and -dos {which were all already on my list - phew!} and we chatted about everything and nothing for a few hours. she was rather large and had serious knee problems so there were no potty breaks for me unless she was already up - which only happened once and i didn't take advantage. as the clock ticked on and our arrival time drew near, the pilot announced we would need to circle for 20-30 minutes as we had yet to receive clearance to land. 

initially, i was only worried about my lack of a potty break, but that thought quickly fled my mind as we circled london proper. something, according to my friendly british neighbor, you don't normally even come close to seeing when flying into heathrow. i spotted landmark after landmark from my too-good-to-be-true-bird's-eye-view from my window seat and my heart was a flutter. as we glided past the city and lowered to the ground, the tidy row houses and miniature moving red buses came into perfect view and my two and a half week journey truly began.

although i flew "alone", all four of us landed within a half hour of each other. with two internationally-enabled cell phones we all found each other and began the first of many treks through public transport with our luggage in tow. {which, by the way, can i just toot my own horn for a second? the luggage in this picture is all i packed - minus the cute little girl - for the entire 2.5 weeks in seven cities with very different climates, activities and agendas. toot toot.}

forty five minutes later {after a much-needed potty stop for me}, we found our way to each other and the holiday inn express limehouse via the london underground and quickly settled in. 

the next few days were go go go. we had a lot on our wish list and i was determined to get most of it accomplished.

in no particular order, we saw:

the elegance that was st. paul's cathedral

{if you ever find yourself in london, go to st. paul's. and go all the way to the top. don't be afraid of climbing the 1,100+ stairs. it is worth the view.}

the creepiness that was kensington palace

{it's under construction and they've turned it into this strange 'enchanted palace' with stories about princess and larger than life creepy dolls and the lights off with lasers and eerie music playing. if it weren't for the gardens, i might have been down right angry for wasting my time.}

the grandeur that is the tower of london...

{royal armory - henry the viii must have thought a lot of himself, crown jewels and torture chambers, among other things. we loved it!}

...and big ben and parliament

the nerdiness {and i'm not ashamed to admit it} that was the makeshift platform 9 3/4 and millennium bridge

{the real platform 9 3/4 was under construction so they created a smaller version for super cool tourists like me.}

the bringing of textbooks to life that was the british library special collections

{we're talking originals of the magna carta, sacred texts, canterbury tales, handel's messiah, wedding march, bolero, {and others from mozart, haydn and beethoven}, jane austen's writing desk, manuscripts from wordsworth and milton, notes from leonardo da vinci's notebook, illuminated manuscripts the world over, the beatles yesterday lyrics scrap page, items from the travels of sir hans sloane and more. i'm such a nerd!!}

the intricacy that was westminster abbey

{no pics inside...}

the old world preserved that was the british museum...

...and the national gallery

the never ending yumminess that was harrods

{we only made it through the food area}

the royalty that was buckingham palace
{although we felt a little short changed when we heard the changing of the guards was an actual short changing of the guards that day - not the real deal.}

the awesomeness that was portobello market

{only open on saturday mornings. we got there bright and early and found some gems!}

the expensiveness that was the london eye

{and should have been included in our london pass, but sadly, was not. boo.}

the dream come true that was les mis at the queen's theatre

{except when someone stole our seats for the entire first half and when linds and i got locked out of the theatre after a bathroom break at intermission!}

and i'll never forget 

• sprinting, seriously sprinting, to catch the dlr before it closed when we all had to go to the bathroom
• freezing cold night pictures of big ben
• a two hour bus ride to crouch end and back
• asking someone where a particular gallery was and them replying, "it's in scotland!"
• ed crouching down to get a picture of the train platform and the conductor gliding by saying, "cheers mate. you do that again and you'll be out of the station."
• horribly crude irish men at our hotel the night we tried to play cards in the lobby.
• hilarious tour guide on the city cruise boat tour {"wave back you miserable git!"}
• church at the peckham ward

our minds were filled with the lyrics to fergie's london bridge and "i'm hen-er-y the eighth i am..." for a majority of the journey. we nearly perfected our british accents {especially lindsey, who continued to speak that way the entire two weeks}. i don't really want to talk about he frizz that was my hair. lindsey's flat iron was apparently too powerful for europe's outlets and it never worked. in maren-dome this is a very scary thing. but overall, london was a success. ryan would like to live there. it was that good. lots to see and so great to be somewhere so foreign with no language barrier. ah, london.

{p.s. isn't this the greatest pic? the eye, big ben, westminster abbey, a red bus and a telephone booth.}

winner winner!

chicken dinner. thanks to everyone who took a stab at matching my feet to their corresponding attractions. i didn't realize it would be such a challenge. actually, i knew it would be hard. just didn't know anyone would take it so seriously...until i got an email from a friend's husband at 1:00am their time with the subject line "this is bethany at 1:00am thanks to your feet puzzle. :)" and this picture attached:

this is serious stuff, people.

after triple checking because the race was so close, we do have a winner:

Laura!

with 23 correct out of 36, she beat out #2 by just one pair of feet! laura i have your prize and i'll drop it off soon. ryan actually won, but i disqualified him before he even entered. he was with me for 34 of the pictures! and, he nearly flipped his lid when he didn't get 100%. he got over it. 

i'm nearly sorted through london pictures and a post is coming soon, but i decided to play play play with miss ribbons today instead. forgive me?

for any who are interested, here are the answers to the puzzle: 1-h (conciergerie, paris), 2-o (jfk to boston), 3-aa (omaha beach, normandy), 4-t (lion of lucerne, switzerland), 5-u (london underground, london), 6-a (american cemetery, normandy), 7-i (double decker bus with a view of trafalgar square, london), 8-v (mont st michel, france), 9-p (jong frau, switzerland), 10-x (napoleon's tomb, paris), 11-r (lake lucerne, switzerland), 12-d (bern switzerland LDS temple), 13-n (ile st louis, paris), 14-bb (park on champs elysees, paris), 15-j (eiffel tower, paris), 16-gg (sainte chapelle, paris), 17-y (national gallery, london), 18-b (arc de triomphe, paris), 19-ee (ristorante rissini, switzerland), 20-m (hotel invalides, paris), 21-hh (st. paul's cathedral, london), 22-w (musee d'orsay, paris), 23-jj (the louvre, paris), 24-z (notre dame, paris), 25-k (grindelwald, switzerland), 26-ff (sacre coure, paris), 27-q (lake lucerne boat tour, switzerland), 28-c (banana nutella creperie, paris), 29-e (boston common, boston), 30-s (laundromat, paris), 31-g (cheers, boston), 32-dd (pont neuf, paris), 33-cc (pointe du hoc, normandy), 34-l (hotel citadines, paris), 35-f (cemeterie du pere lachaise, paris), 36-ii (st paul's cathedral, london 2)

spring recital 2011

tonight i had my eighth and final {at least for a few years?} piano recital in california. i made the ugly crying face...a lot. and ryan illegally took pictures of it. 

leah was on her best behavior - which means she was giggling so hard ryan had to keep her out in the hallway. i guess that's a step up from the reason they've been in the hallway in the past.

all of my students did so great! i was beyond proud. only one mishap this time with some sheet music left at home. the student could have done it without, but nerves got the best of her. so - dad to the rescue - he ran home to get her music and made it back in time to perform near the end. she played beautifully. 

i even played a piece this time - and had it memorized - a miracle all its own.

i've so loved teaching each and every one of these fantastic kids {and adult!}. watching them grow - in talent and stature - each week for four years has been a joy. they are smart and funny and kind and fun and talented. and i feel more than blessed to know them and their families. they are one of the reasons my heart will have a big, gaping hole in it as we make our move back east. i'm so happy to have been a small part of their lives.

preschool promotion

leah graduated from preschool...again. i guess when you start attending at two years old, you're bound to graduate more than once? we preferred to call this particular graduation a promotion...from california preschool to new hampshire preschool. that sounds better. 

i nearly missed the program as it was announced to start at 11:00, but started 15 minutes prior. and when the ceremony consists of 15 or so impatient three and four year olds, it doesn't take long. they were calling her name as i entered the gate. her teachers - and a very impatient leah - waited for me to run to their end of the school yard so i could snap a few shots. and mom, don't get the wrong idea - i was still 5 minutes early!

leah wasn't nearly as cooperative as she was last year. she was not a fan off the cap, but again started a new fashion trend. she giggled, i took a picture and the other adults panicked. i'm such a good mom. 

ryan really wanted to be there, but since this is his last month of work, his place of employment has decided to utilize him to his utmost capacity. maybe next year, ry. 

after she and the others were presented with their diplomas, we ate some snacks and ran around on the playground. when i got in the car to drive her home, i turned around and saw this almost immediately. it's a perfect picture to sum up her year. she worked her little heart out, but i think it payed off. 

back on the grid

i'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack. after nearly three weeks away, i'm back on the map...with 100+ emails, 300+ unread blog posts and numerous voicemails waiting for me. i have to admit, it was kind of a nice break to not have any technology to worry about, but i did feel a bit disconnected. 

a big, huge, enormous thanks to all the lovely ladies who uplifted us all while i was gone. i loved every single post and plan to refer back to them often. i know they all appreciate your kind words as well. 

i'm drowning in thousands of beautiful images the four of us captured on our cameras while we were away. it's a good kind of drowning. but as i try to rise to the surface and organize my thoughts, i've created a quintessential-maren-foot-post for your viewing pleasure. {and, believe it or not, this is just a sampling of them!} i feel blessed to have walked where i have walked in the past weeks.

take a stab at identifying which feet go with each description - you have until friday at noon. the winner gets a deliciously creamy treat from switzerland. yum.

if you don't want your answers to be public, email them to me at marejl at gmail dot com. or you can leave your answers in a comment on this post. 

{click on the image to make it larger.} good luck!

the answers, in alphabetical order:

a- american cemetery, normandy

b- arc du triomphe, paris

c- banana nutella creperie, paris

d- bern switzerland lds temple

e- boston commons, boston

f- cemeterie du pere lachaise, paris
g- cheers, boston

h- conciergerie, paris

i- double decker bus {with a view of trafalgar square}, london

j- eiffel tower, paris

k- grindelwald, switzerland

l- hotel citadines, paris

m- hotel invalides, paris

n- ile st louis, paris

o- jfk to bos flight

p- jong frau, switzerland

q- lake lucerne boat tour, switzerland

r- lake lucerne, switzerland

s- laundromat, paris

t- lion of lucerne, switzerland

u- london underground, london

v- mont st michel

w- musee d'orsay, paris

x- napoleon's tomb, paris

y- national gallery, london

z- notre dame, paris

aa- omaha beach, normandy

bb- park on champs elysees, paris

cc- pointe du hoc, normandy

dd-pont du neuf, paris

ee- ristorante rossini, switzerland

ff- sacre coure, paris

gg- sainte chapelle, paris

hh- st paul's cathedral, london

ii- st paul's cathedral, london 2

jj- the louvre, paris