The differences span wide yet the similarities are definitely prominent. Paris was hard to leave for several different reasons. First, I was no longer the minority. I was white in a mass of white french people. Joe and I both often got stopped by "tourists" and asked for directions in French. I blame it on the fact I am so well traveled now (haha). Okay, I really chalk it up to my scarf, pea coat, and boots. I blended in and it felt really nice. Actually, it made me quite homesick. I had access to my family... at all times. I had access to more of the foods I love from The States. I had access to STARBUCKS (gasp!). Joe has access to Crossfit. It was the most normal life has felt. Now, to clear up some possible assumptions, normal isn't always good. Right? We enjoy our life in Marrakech. We have made amazing friends, shared wonderful experiences together as a family, seen beautiful places, met beautiful people. Life here in The 'Kech is a different life-- a life I actually prefer at most times for reasons to be left unsaid. However, Marrakech is not a place I would find myself landing in forever. The experience of traveling overseas and exposing my children to life outside of The States is where I could land forever. Where that may be? The question still stands for me too. I don't think you ever truly know until you dive in head first and just find happiness with exactly where you are and who you are in that moment. That breath. That life.
So, for that reason among many others, I would say that Paris will forever have a piece of my heart. We created some amazing and fond memories that light up my heart when I think of them. I promise to tell you all about our trip now and bore you with more life lessons later:).
Day One:
Chad, Claire and I made our way to Paris via Easyjet. A direct flight from Marrakech Airport to Charles de Gaulle. Unfortunately, Joe didn't arrive until the following day so Chad, Claire and I cozied up in an Ibis Airport Hotel just outside of Terminal 3. We watched Friends and Spongebob in French and went down to the restaurant for dinner. We all zonked out pretty early... probably out of pure excitement for Daddy's arrival the next morning (and maybe because Mommy had two kids and too much luggage that could have toppled me over if it wasn't for my beastly strength:)).
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| Yep... THAT yellow bag. |
Day Two:
Upon awaking, my arms were shaking and my mind couldn't focus on much else than just getting to Terminal 2 to finally see the man we had been waiting weeks to see. We checked out of the hotel, packed our bags on our back, and hopped on the shuttle to Terminal 2. While we waited for Mr. F, we enjoyed some hot chocolate and the kids played while I stood scanning crowd after crowd immersing from the arrivals doorway. Finally, I spotted the man I couldn't wait to hug, dressed up for the occasion looking incredibly handsome. His face, his smile, everything about seeing him was perfect. Fortunately, the kids were not looking in the crowds anymore because we had been there for a quite a while. Mr. F walked over and was able to surprise both kids. Happy's reaction was priceless. She looked at Daddy and got wide-eyed. Looked shocked, puzzled and got very shy/happy. She almost looked like she was living a dream. Wasn't sure what was real and what might be an illusion. She kept hugging Mr. F and looking at his face. Chad''s reaction was as simple as a gigantic hug and lots of questions and talking:) Just perfect for my little man.
We walked over to the VEA Shuttle station to board our bus to arrive at our Hotel... in Disneyland Paris! We decided to spend two nights and three days in Paris Disney for Christmas with our little munchkins. We boarded the bus and started the 45 minute transfer to Disneyland. As soon as we started driving a few things went through my head. 1) I felt like we were driving to Portland. The green, the rain... all very similar to the drive to the valley in Oregon. 2) It was green! It was wet! I loved it! (Coming from a desert this site was incredibly refreshing). 3) I felt complete. I was with my family, in France, on our way to Paris Disney. Could life get any better than this exact moment? We were dropped off at Sequoia Hotel and checked in and apparently I signed us up to be apart of a Garden Club (okay everyone, feel free to oooooo and ahhhhhh). I didn't realize this until check in. I proceeded over to a "special" check in area and was seated in a seat with chocolate candies at hand (more ooooos and ahhhhhhhs are appropriate here). A lady gave me all our information for our stay including fastpasses, food vouchers, pool vouchers, park tickets, etc... Unfortunately, we had to wait an hour until we could check into our room. So we waited, played, talked, did all those things families do.
Then at 3pm, I walked back over to the check in area to get our room keys. Upon sitting down at the desk, the lady took our name and looked incredibly distressed. She was phoning frantically, speaking in French... I knew something was wrong just didn't know what. Finally, she explained to me that our room wasn't ready but she could offer us a suite as a replacement. The panic was written all over her face.
Lady: "I know you booked on the lake side and would like a view of the lake. I can offer you the suite which is much bigger."
Lexie: "Ok, that will work."
Lady: "Yes, (with visibly shaking hands) Here are some pictures of the suite."
Lexie: I smiled and said "We are really fine. The suite will work wonderfully. Thank you."
Lady: (Audible sigh of relief)
I genuinely felt awful for her. She must have dealt with upset people not having their lakeside view room ready... but really... lakeside room versus suite?? We will take it! We headed up to our suite and dropped off our bags, put on our coats, hats and mittens and proceeded to walk to Disney. It was a short 10 minute walk and we were at the entrance. It truly was magical. Lights decorated the Castle Hotel, wreaths and garland dangled making the entrance look absolutely gorgeous and grand. The excitement was apparent when you looked at both of the kids. Especially when Chad spotted the castle!
Oddly, the cold and the drizzling rain didn't matter to any of us. We just put on our hoods and called it perfect! We walked around Disneyland in the dusk into the darkness expressing our excitement and joy to be together in such a magical place for the kids. We decided to wait in our first line. We decided that It's a Small World was a perfect place to start. The Castle was lit up and changed colors as time passed. We waited just a short amount of time and hoped in together on the boat. The ride was magical. Claire and Chad were captivated by the music, moving displays, colors, and all of the beauty captured on a boat ride.
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| Small World Castle |
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| My sad attempt at a family picture on the ride... |
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| A mesmerized little one |
We walked around a bit more in the cold and wet weather. Chad, Claire and I coming from Marrakech were COLD. Joe enjoyed my bundledness because Paris was warm coming from Central Oregon. I braved the elements and soaked in some more adventures. While walking around, we decided to place the children in some awesome chairs and hats... Mad Hatter Style!
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| Wait... he isn't a child... or is he?? :)
The kids became enthralled with the carousel and both of them were pointing and wanting to ride it. Joe and I had hungry bellies but decided... why not? So, we waited in a (luckily) very short line and were able to jump on some horses all together. Claire was a trooper, but really did not want to get off the horse when it was time to exit the carousel. Chad enjoyed acting like a silly six year old riding a real horse. Me... I just loved watching them enjoy the simple things!
   
After the carousels, Joe and I called it. Time to go eat-- Christmas Eve Dinner... but where? We knew a lot of places would be packed in Disney Village, but we tried anyways. We tried to eat at two different places but they were booked with people eating with Santa and Characters. (I swear they must have hired like 12 Santas, 5 Mickeys, etc... they milked making money off that!) That night, we ended up eating at Rain forest Cafe. Chad did NOT want to come in the restaurant because there was a snake hanging from the ceiling. Joe nor I noticed the snake initially. Chad has a hawk eye. I had to prove to him that the snake was fake regardless of the realia of it. I touched it, stood under it... pretended I died... the whole sha-bang. He finally came in. The restaurant was definitely a rain forest... everywhere. Floor to ceiling. Animals on steroids (okay robots), fake rain, vines, rain forest noises. Everything. We ordered cocktails and food. Mr. F was exhausted, rightfully so. Paris is nine hours ahead of Redmond, so our dinner was about his morning time-ish. We ate (some okay, overprices, not impressive food) and walked back to the hotel.
   The kids put on their new Christmas pjs compliments of Nana. Chad claimed he looked like Papa and Claire claimed she looked like a princess.  Joe passed out pretty fast. Chad stayed up like a night owl and I kept having to tell him to go to sleep (Santa had to come and I wanted to sleep too!). Once Chad fell asleep at around 1130p, I finally was able to dig through Joe's American Treasure bag (whoop whooop!) and wrap presents (minus tape equals creative folding and smashing) and jaunt a Santa note. Finally, I climbed into bed and fell fast asleep anticipating what the kiddos reaction would be come Christmas morning. Day Three: Christmas Morning, we all awoke towards 930a because the combination of the hotel and dark clouds kept our room rather dark. The kids woke up and started rustling around the things Santa left of the table. They opened a few gifts and discovered some items full of awesomeness such as these towels:  Once they finished their few gifts, we got the kids ready in their Christmas outfits, complete with winter jackets, hats, gloves and rain boots to fight the elements so we could have a full and wonderful day at Disneyland. I may have provided these festive glasses to help start the day right. By their faces, you can tell my boys absolutely loved sporting them!    We walked our way back to the gates of Disneyland. We started towards Adventure Land and the first ride of the day was a roller coaster called "Big Thunder Mountain" taken by Mr. F and Chad. Claire and I played in the streets while we waited for their return.     The came running back to Claire and I and Chad was filled with excitement and joy. Mr. F explained to me that Chad absolutely loved the ride and was grinning ear to ear the entire ride. We proceeded to try to go find Santa Claus. We heard that he was making an appearance somewhere in Disneyland Paris. We ended up finding him and having quite the visit. Claire refused to get close except in my arms. Even then she was very aggressive with staying away. She kept saying "No Santa Claus! No Santa Claus! Bye bye!" We ended up with a few photos of myself with the kids because Claire just wouldn't go without me.   After Santa, we walked to the next cabin and Minnie Mouse and Goofy awaited our company. Claire had a very sad and similar reaction Minnie and Goofy. She was extremely interested but only wanted to observe-- from afar!    After our visit with Santa, Minnie and Goofy we decided to go try to eat some lunch. We headed down the road and passed "Pirates of the Caribbean." Happy was asleep in the stroller, so Joe and Chad jumped in line and Happy and I waited for them to hear all the stories. Chad was excited talking about all the pirates and skeletons. We headed towards the village where the majority of the restaurants are. However, as we were crossing, we noticed that the parade was about to begin. So, we jumped up to the rope line and waited. Eventually, with a lot of patience, we got to see the Disneyland Christmas Parade in action!          
After the parade, we found a little restaurant to eat at. After lunch, we decided to take one more ride. It was Chad and my turn to go take a ride together. We hopped in line for a ride where we got to drive. I found out I am terrible at controlling the cars. Chad kept telling me to just go straight and I will be fine. A lot of Chad and mommy laughs!
  We hopped off and Mr. F and I took the kids shopping for one Disneyland souvenir of their choice. We walked into a couple shops and the kids decided on their toys. Claire picked out a soft Rapunzel doll, Chad picked out a set of Monster's University figurines that provided hours of entertainment the rest of the trip! Then, Chad was eager to do try swimming, so we headed back to the hotel to try out the indoor pool that we had access to. We all put on our bathing suits and made the cold trek outside. We walked in and saw the pool. It was fun! A water slide, a small pool covered by rocks and floaties for the kids to use. Chad and Claire has a grand time!  
After swimming, we were all hungry for our Christmas dinner! We toweled off and headed to back to the main building of the hotel. We ended up having some drinks in the bar and then heading to the buffet restaurant for a very late dinner! About 930pm, in fact!
      
We ate our dinners and headed up for bed. We needed to prepare for our last day in Disneyland and then prepare for our arrival into Paris. Once we got back, the kids were exhausted and fell asleep quickly. Mr. F and I packed all of the bags so tomorrow we could focus on spending our day in Walt Disney Studios.
Day Four:
We ensured all of our bags were packed and ready to go, dressed the kiddos warm, and headed down to the Garden Club Breakfast. Remember how I somehow apparently signed us up for the "Garden Club?" Well, included in the stay is a continental breakfast but two characters make their rounds to the kids at the tables. We got to see Pluto and Donald Duck that morning before we even stepped food outside of the hotel! Chad was very excited! Claire, still pretty darn apprehensive:) We went back up to our room and called the concierge desk to send up a cart to our room. The man came up and snagged our bags and we went to check out. Checking out and storing our luggage only took a couple of minutes. Mr. F went to book us a taxi pick up for 5pm, so we would arrive at our apartment in Paris at 6pm. Today, our day was dedicated to Walt Disney Studios- essentially what we would associate with the newer characters and movies such as Toy Story, Monsters Inc, etc... Honestly, by this day, I think Mr. F and I were ready to move on from Disneyland. The lines, the people- it was just time for us to rest and relax a bit in adult world! We went on a few rides, but unfortunately due to being the day after Christmas it was PACKED! The lines had estimations of waits upwards to an hour. It was hard to justify waiting in line for an hour when you only had four hours to play! We started in Toy Story land and jumped on the Slinky Dog ride. Chad wasn't impressed, but Claire did not want to get off the ride. We walked around for quite a bit and landed near the Aladdin Magic Carpet ride with a mere 15 minute estimation wait- we ended up waiting in line for about 40! However, as you can see, it was well worth the wait.
 
We decided to walk a bit and we came across the Monsters Inc. statues which was the only characters that Claire was completely comfortable with! She loves her Michael Wazowski!
  
Oddly enough, we ended up running into another parade, so we popped up the kids upon our shoulders and watched all the new characters including Mary Poppins, Lilo and Stitch, and Ariel!
             
Chad and I ran over and found Buzz Lightyear! He got to meet him and say hello! Claire and Joe went and observed Minnie Mouse from afar:)
 
We decided it was time to go fill our bellies and gather our bags to meet the taxi. We stopped at Planet Hollywood to eat some late lunch/early dinner. Definitely an American meal. We talked, watched previews and laughed right along with our kiddos. When about 430 rolled around, we decided to start the short jaunt back to the hotel to snag our bags. We waited about 10 minutes for the taxi to arrive and started the 30 minute drive to the city of Paris to our apartment for the week.
  
Once we arrive d in Paris at our apartment, we had a quick check-in session with the lady from the rental company, Laura. She was very sweet and showed us how to work the appliances and we said our goodbyes and off she went. Joe ran down the street to gather a few dinner and snack items along with some beverages of the adult persuasion. We ate, the crashed as soon as our heads hit the pillow. We were excited for the days ahead-- we wanted to be full of energy so we could explore.
That concludes Part One of our Paris trip-- Disneyland Paris. A magical way to spend Christmas and the days surrounding. We got to watch our children's eyes brighten up at the sound of the music, the twinkle of the lights and the familiar faces of those characters on movies that capture their imagination. We are blessed and more than happy we got to share this experience with our two munchkins!
We love and miss you all at home! xo Lex |
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