I must be a displaced Parisian
My husband and I are just returning from several days in Paris to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. We had the opportunity to fly space-A to anywhere thanks to my in-laws, but our hope was to make it to Paris. We had not booked a hotel room because we weren’t certain of our travel plans. I had spent some time searching for Paris apartments to rent from agencies highlighted in Fodor’s Paris book, although most agencies said they were booked because of the upcoming Air Show. We were fortunate to get on both flights with little difficulty. Although my husband flies to Paris periodically for business, this was my first trip and the experience met every expectation that I had. No doubt we will be returning, hopefully with the kids in hand next time.
Everything about Paris is yummy. Parisians are gorgeous, stylish, mannerly and a little snobbish but the good kind of snobbish, not the bad (and they have every right to be proud). The city architecture is breath-taking with a rich history. If I ever build a home again, it will mimic the French design.
Here’s an abbreviated version of our week:
-Arrived in Paris Tuesday morning with no where to stay. My husband’s business hotel was completely full, so we started emailing apartment agencies from a local cafe that had free Wi-Fi. To our surprise, one of the agencies said they had a recent cancellation so we met the agent in the afternoon to check in. After walking many blocks, we arrived at the apartment located on Rue St. Dominique. The St. Dominique area is lovely and full of locals, so we were immediately ingrained into true Parisian life. The Eiffel Tower could be seen from our street. Our agent, Pierre-Louise, was courteous and accommodating providing us with bits of helpful information. The maid cleaned while we unpacked and washed the airplane muck off. Then off we went towards the Champs de Mars area. Jet lag would have to wait. We toured the Eiffel Tower, the grounds and the Siene river area and found a local cafe to dine at in the evening. After much walking, we collapsed into our bed and slept for about 13 hours.
-We walked everywhere as most people do in Paris and our bodies hurt at times, but we wanted to see as much as possible. We hit all of the usual first-timer sites as you will see from the pictures below. One of the many highlights for me was seeing tiny furniture at Versailles. The chairs are tiny, the gaming tables are tiny, the beds are tiny. And, of course, Napoleon was not known for his tall stature. So, this observation made me wonder if I’m of French origin. I’m petite in stature, and I love quality things. I’d rather have one pair of Chanel shoes than 10 pairs of lesser quality. Yes, I must be a displaced Parisian because I could move my family there tomorrow and (hopefully) blend right in after some wardrobe adjustments. So, you can assume that my wheels are turning on how to ingrain the children into the French culture for the upcoming years. Just yummy..
Now, back to American homeschooling reality–We likely have 3 more full weeks of academics, then who knows after that. Two things pressing on my mind as a result of this recent trip for my own children: the importance of being globally-inclined and the importance of technology and all that goes with that. I was reading an article in the “Herald Tribune” while riding in the car to CDG. The article mentioned how the NSA is actively recruiting hackers from Silicon Valley. So, while my children enjoy summer activities such as camps and free time outdoors, my gut tells me to educate them on these important issues that are affecting their future at a rapid pace.
Merci and au revoir!
Teaching financial skills
My daughter recently became old enough to open a savings account at a local bank, so today my husband took her to do so. The older boys also went. They already have established accounts, so they went to deposit part of their allowances and birthday monies.
My daughter was very excited to show me how much money she put into her account, and she wanted to know how she could get more money to add to that amount. We discussed chores and even inventing products to sell in the future. She’s also started collecting metal from food and drink products, so that she can eventually obtain money from the recycling center. Good for her having a business-type of mind and for wanting to save. I will have to watch her a bit though on this. She was at my girlfriend’s house recently and started to take (steal) my girlfriend’s soda can, so that she could take it home to add to her collection. I stopped her, of course, and we had to discuss stealing versus working towards a goal:) Sneaky…
Another area of focus today-correspondence and manners. I asked my son to write out his thank-you notes and address the envelopes for his recent birthday gifts that he received. Good way for him to practice writing, penmanship, and etiquette. He definitely needs help in the first two areas. Odds are we’ll focus on writing over the summer.
It’s 11:00-I’m tired tonight from a tough work-out. I really should think about going to bed early, but I probably won’t. Too much I want to think about. A colleague asked me tonight how much sleep I average a night. My guess is 6 hours, but it may be a little less than that. I’m just wired this way-always have been. I love sleep, but I love to think, also:)
Destination Hawaii
Aloha!
My husband and I left for the airport last weekend hoping to catch a flight out to Hawaii. We were fortunate to have airline passes to go anywhere for free so we jumped at the chance to get away. We had booked a couple of nights in Honolulu with the assumption that eventually we’d get there. Of course, the real challenge for me was packing my belongings into a carry-on bag! The flight we were trying to catch left at 5:30 Sunday morning so we never went to bed the night before. The gate attendant eventually called our name, and although we had to connect through Houston, TX, we finally landed in the rainbow state.
If you’ve never been to the Hawaiian islands, I recommend adding it to your bucket list. My husband has been there many times, but this was my first time visiting and hopefully not my last. The scenery is amazing. The people are friendly and easy-going. Hawaii has all of the makings of a true retreat. While we could have sat on the beach for the week and not really moved, we instead explored as much of the island of Oahu as possible during our stay. Our hotel was directly located on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. We never left this island as there was so much to see there, and if you wanted to see the other islands, you had to catch another plane flight. So, we were true tourists seeing such sites as Diamond Head, Pearl Harbor, whale-watching, luaus, the Polynesian Cultural Center, the North Shore, Kaena Point, and Pali look-out to name a few. I had to go see where President Obama attended primary school (Punahou School). My husband laughed at me on that excursion:) While touring the Dole Plantation, I learned that Jim Dole graduated from Harvard. And the shopping is amazing. Kalakaua Avenue is just as impressive as Rodeo Drive or Fifth Avenue-yummy.
So, we’re back to reality as we had to leave a day early to get ahead of the Blizzard Nemo! Ugh….from rainbows to snow storms. I’ve definitely got to regroup now and get my head around studies. I did read Paul Lockhart’s “A Mathematician’s Lament” poolside-does that count?