Strike!

I feel the need to write a quick blurb about the strike that occurred the other day in Paris because I noticed it made the international news.

The people of France are very upset with the newest proposal to increase the number of years an individual most work before they can retire. The current law is set at 37 years of work before you can collect retirement. The new law is going to be 40 years.

I have become quite adjusted to the idea of the strike: Elise's teachers have struck a handful of times for various reasons that usually involve an injustice to another group of people. The sympathy strike. It's my favorite. And it almost always extends to the public transportation in one form or another. The RER B is a huge line that travels through the middle of the city from north to south. They are always sympathizing.

Fortunately for our family, Brian rides his bike to work and Elise and I walk to school. We are rarely affected by the striking and life proceeds as usual. However, this time was a kicker. A friend was in town Thursday and our big adventure for that night was to explore Musee d'Orsay for the extended evening hours; Thursday night they stay open until 9:30 which was perfect for Anne and I to go to after Brian got home from work. We slowly work our way to the city and walk over to the musee around 5:30 only to learn that, you guessed it, they canceled the extended hours due to lack of staff. Most of their people were out striking. Awesome! Welcome to Paris. Highest tourist time and they strike! You just got to love it!!!

Foot & Riots...The Real European Adventure!

As many of you know, on Wednesday the US defeated Algeria 1 - 0 after a thrilling goal by Landon Donovan during the extra time. As some of you may not know, France has a very large Algerian popluation and I think just about every die hard Algerian immigrant soccer fan in Paris watched the US victory at the Stade Chately, a stadium about 1.5 blocks east of our residence. After last weeks tie versus England and crazy riots on the streets of Paris, the police force came prepared to battle a disorderly crowd and keep the peace on the streets of the 14th, our neighborhood. This is what I love about being in Europe during the World Cup: RIOTS!

Now a quick disclaimer: there had been some serious riots in the city center after the game in which a lot of property was damaged, people were injured, and there were several arrests. I must adamantly declare that I am extremely grateful that we were no where near the violence and in no way am I promoting extreme force or destruction. The uprising that was occurring by our house was very mild and well under control. Now, with that...

I am quite impressed with the intensity with which many Europeans watch this game of football. It is something else to be here and witness the insanity and true love that many people devote to this game. Now, I'm not saying that most Americans aren't die hard sports fans, but the game of foot has some magical obsessive hold over people all over the world. It's a game that gets people of all races, nationalities, and religions so very excited! It's unlike anything I have ever seen before. It is intense!

Now, imagine if you can the Trams that pass by our apartment on a 3 to 5 minute interval. They are passing by in both directions and their noises add to the already existing sounds of cars, bikes, and ambulances. I'm not complaining about the noise, I just want to give you an idea of what the Boulevard Jourdan is like on a daily basis. It's busy: cars, trams, bikes, ambulances. Now, all that was shut down for this disruption. Police vans were parked on the tram tracks and nothing was allowed to get through the area. It was CRAZY, but super cool at the same time! Besides the noise from disgruntled fans, it was quiet!

Like I explained earlier, there were some dangerous riots in the city center but the riots by us where very tame. It wasn't like people were burning cars or beating each other up; the police had complete control of the situation and they had people barricaded into groups along the streets and they were quickly trying to help those groups disperse. The ironic part was that no transportation was allowed in or out of the immediate area, the park was shut down, and fans were mostly just standing around. My friend and I decided not to join the madness and excitement by declaring our loyalty to the winners of the USA! Instead we quickly left the scene and took the Metro to the city. As much as I enjoyed witnessing the madness, it was nice to leave it quietly and without any harm being done to anyone.

The foot is crazy and I'm pretty excited I got to see some of the insanity live. I am even more excited that the insanity I witnessed was very orderly and the fine Paris Police had complete control of the situation. In our immediate area, there was no harm or destruction of buildings and cars. However, Brian did see a blackened motorcycle in the streets the following day and we're guessing it was a result of the riots. We got a little piece of the action. Not bad.

Greece

This is going to be a long entry. I have a little quiet time left before we go pic-nic-ing but I wanted to share (and document for my own selfish reasons) our Greece adventure! And there's lots to share!

It all started on Tuesday, the 15th of June...we're off to Greece and waiting at the platform for our train to take us to the airport....

We discover that there has been an accident along the RER B line. All the trains are packed and running slowly. We had to wait some time for a train with space and even then we weren't guaranteed if we were going to make it to CDG. But we at least were able to make our way north to Gare du Nord. Once there, we were able to transfer to a CDG train and we made it to the airport with 45 minutes to spare. I thought for sure we were in big trouble but it all worked out. Nice.

We had an easy flight and made it to Athens only to learn that the train line that we need to take the following day back to the airport is on strike. Not a huge deal because there are other ways to get to the airport, but this trip was beginning to feel like it was a big mistake. Transportation had become a huge issue and that's never fun to deal with when you just want to have fun!

But we weren't going to let that slow us down. We checked into our hotel and went off to playand explore in the ancient Agora of Athens. We played for as long as we could handle the sun and heat and then ate a wonderful dinner of saganaki, greek salad, stuffed vine leaves, and lamb. Fabulous!

We finished off the evening at the hotel with cold showers and an incredible view of the Acropolis. The next morning we rose early and were off to see the Acropolis. It was a really hot hike but once we got to the Acropolis is was very interesting and fascinating to see.

Before we sat to eat lunch, we learned of an indirect way to the airport via two non-striking lines. So we enjoy a nice lunch of saganaki and gyros before heading out of Athens for Santorini.

Unfortunately our indirect route ended up being a problem. The green line never reaches yellow line. Luckily we quickly jump off the green before it heads back to Athens, take a bus to the yellow, jump on the yellow line, and make it to the airport for our flight with 30 minutes to spare! As I sit back here and reflect on our stressful traveling adventures, I'm amazed with the flexibility and ease in which the ladies travel. It's hard to be 2 and 3 years old, be hot, sit on trains, and hear people speaking funny languages. They take each challenge with ease and although they have their fair share of freak outs and crying fits, I love taking them on trips all over Europe. They are great traveling companions that adjust well to adversity and keep me relaxed. It's nice to be with little people that can be easily entertained with a sticker, a straw, garbage trucks, or (my favorite) chocolate and ice cream! They keep life simple and sane.

We made it Santorini and here's another quick run down of our adventure there...Once there we jump in the pool and cool off. Brian has to go register at his conference so the ladies and I take naps, relax, and jump in the pool real quick before meeting him for dinner.

Thursday is our easy day: we explore Fira, eat a great lunch, and get in naps, pool, and relaxation. The ladies and I have dinner on a beautiful terrace as we watch the sun set and then visit Brian at his poster presentation. A very nice, easy day on a fabulous island!

Friday we are off to the beach. We all take a bus to Perivolos where we are four of eight people on the beach and love it. The water is so amazingly clear and beautiful. I wish I could have stayed under water forever. It was the most wonderful sea/beach experience of my life. The black sand was hot and fun to run around in and Elise loved swimming in the sea. Celia prefered to sit back on the beach chair but still enjoyed herself with Cheetos and juice!

When we finally made it back to Fira on Friday afternoon, Brian had to rush off to conference talks and the ladies and I relaxed in our air-conditioned room. It felt good to get out of the hot sun and cool off. We all ate dinner at the same great sun setting restaurant as we did the other night and Celia chomped down on Brian's lamb leg.

Saturday we decided to rent a car and explore parts of the island unattainable by bus.

made it to the beautiful Red Beach. Accessible after a short hike on a beautiful cliff, the Red Beach is on a small cover on the south western tip of the island. Although taken over by sun umbrellas and beach chairs, it was fun to be a bit off the beaten track and once again Brian and I loved getting into the beautiful water and swimming the crystal clear sea!

We only stayed for an hour or so and then left the Red Beach to explore more of the island for

lunch. We found great little spot on the caldera side of the island and fested on fresh caught fish and greek salad. The ladies really enjoyed munching on the tiny fish!

We stopped at one more beach for the day: the New Beach. Not yet taken over by tourists or the people of Santorini, the New Beach was one of our favorites. It had amazing rock formations with interesting errosion on the sea side. The white cliffs were fabulous to look at and we enjoyed one more swim in the waters before heading back to the hotel.

We finished off our vacation on Sunday with some shopping and more exploring of Fira. Then we spent most of the day in the pool. The ladies became fabulous swimmers during our stay at Dream Island. Celia has mastered her floating suit and Elise can successfully swim under water. They are both naturals and the pool was a perfect setting to learn: both ladies could stand up in the shallow end!

Sorry for the super long post. I hope you were able to enjoy it and live our Greece adventure! It was a fabulous time for our family and we are looking forward to many more escapades this summer. I hope everyone out there is having a great time and finding time to enjoy the summer sun!