Playing and Jumping

We're having an awesome time playing in the leaves!!! Fall is the Best!

Happy Halloween Everyone!!!

To Austria and Back

Despite the French Unions' best efforts of striking and slowing down life in Paris, we did indeed fly out on the 20th of October to the fabulous town of Innsbruck, Austria. We made it up to CDG after two long, hot, packed train rides and even got to catch a little of the action:

There was a march of protestors along the airport road and we got to see and hear them profess their unhappiness with the French government over the proposal of the new retirement system. It was a site to be scene; especially the riot police all geared up in the Terminator outfits! I was glad to be on their side.

But moving on to bigger and better things: our vacation. We arrived in Innsbruck late that afternoon and relaxed in our apartment in Patsch, a small town to the south. We got to stay in the same place from last year. It was great to be settled in this beautiful town and listen to churchbells chime instead of police sirens of the city! It was great to be out!

Thursday we hit the mountains with Gina. Wonderful, wonderful Nana Penny babysat the kids and we got to enjoy some great snow on a beautiful sunny day. It was so fabulous and really quite amazing to be on fresh snow in late October. You gotta love Austria! I think I read somewhere that they can ski almost year round!

Friday and Saturday we enjoyed the city of Innsbruck: played at some parks, walked along the river, shopped, and ate delicious strudels!

We learned that all European cities, not just Paris, like to create parks that are death traps for children. This Innsbruck park was no exception. The kids loved it and had a great time trying to kill themselves on different wooden contraptions that were way too high off the ground but very fun to hang and jump from!

Sunday we returned to Solden for the World Cup Skiing Championship Series. Brian and I opted to snowboard again during the competition while Gina and crew watched the super fast skiers. We had another great few hours of boarding and just as we decided to head back and turn in our equipment, a huge fog came through and made visibility on the mountain nearly impossible. Brian and I thought for sure that we were going to die; you couldn't see more than an inch in front of you! I miraculously made it down the mountain by following Brian in his white jacket! (yeah, that was really helpful in a white snow fog!) and not falling on my butt during the slow ski among the 25 or so other people that we also trying to not die down the mountain! It was pretty awesome.

They eventually canceled the second round of the competition and we headed home to the ladies.

Monday we woke to this...

Patsch got nailed with a huge snowstorm on Monday and accumulated at least a foot of snow that morning! It was awesome! Elise and Owen did some nice sledding while I ran to the market for a strudel wrap to make lunch. Our plans to go into Innsbruck for a fancy lunch were shut down in favor of not dying on the road in a non-snow tire car! (Not dying seems to be the theme of this trip except if you're the ladies and Owen at the park!) So we had a relaxing morning of playing in the snow and enjoying the beauty and serenity of Patsch!

It's Snowing!

...and I'm loving it! I just took a super long hot back while snowflakes fell all around me! This is the life!

We landed in Innsbruck, Austria today to start a fabulous five days with Gina and her family, and fellow ski coaches and ski students. It's a pretty sweet set-up for Gina and we are lucky enough to reap the benefits. We'll be here until Monday and during our stay we will snowboard, (Yes! Snowboard in October!), visit the wonderful town of Innsbruck for some good Austrian eats, and snowboard/watch the first World Cup Weekend of the season. Not bad for a little getaway, eh?

But this fabulous vacation started with a delicious dinner by Gina and concluded with a wonderful bath with the sky window open just enough to allow tiny snowflakes to fall. Can you beat that? Oh, and the bath. Who doesn't love a bath? I miss them dearly and am so stoked to be in this apartment with a bathtub! Who cares about snowboarding when there's a bath? The boarding is just an added bonus! But I must say, my excitement does not match that of the little people. The ladies and Owen who took a multi-colored bath tonight and I'm sure will be geared up for number 2 in the morning!

That's about it from me for now. I will definitely write in more about our extra long weekend when we get back to city living next week. I know it's been a while since I last entered a post but it's been pretty quiet in the home front as we started l'adaptation for Celia at the creche and adjusted to the drastic weather change in Paris. It suddenly got VERY cold. And not the kind of cold that we love here while snowboarding in the Austrian Alps and on Glaciers. We at least have some sunshine to keep us happy as we dig out the gloves and scarves.

International Sympathy

So my cellphone was lost/stolen the other day. It was part my fault, part wrong place at the wrong time, part big jerk kids running off with my phone instead of returning it. It totally sucks. And for those out there that have experienced this loss, you can sympathize: lost contacts, notes, and calendars. I know no phone numbers and am trying to slowly recollect them via emails so I can rejoin my friends and society! Yes, I'm being dramatic but it's just how it feels. I wanted to call a friend the other day before she left for vacation and I couldn't do it! It was so sad!

But in the midst of these feelings of stupidity, lose, and frustration, I've had a fascinating experience: the international sympathy and understanding that comes from the loss of a cellphone.

Now sure, there are far worse things in life to lose. There are far more disastrous things that can happen to a person that no matter where you are from, it's bad. For me, my family is healthy and happy. We are safe and living a fabulous life. If the worse thing that's going to happen to me is a cellphone being stolen, I'll take it.

But the lose of the cellphone is something that we can all relate to: whether Finish, Israeli, American, German, French, we understand the horrible feeling of losing an essential part of your life: the phone. We all know it. You put all your numbers in there and no one has anything memorized anymore, or even written down! And, sadly, I greatly, almost unhealthily, depended on my cellphone. I couldn't even call my husband to tell him what happened because I don't know his number. My own husband!

But that's why the cellphone is so fabulous. It has made all our lives easier, no matter where you are on this planet! (Which by the way, I couldn't even find because I didn't have my map application to tell me!) And the iPhone is especially so very wonderful. Birthday reminders, pay the rent, learn the weather, awesome time-wasting games, sports' reports, and INTERNET! I could check my email while the ladies tried to kill themselves at the park. What am I supposed to do now? Save them? Lame!

Luckily, I am recovering nicely. Immediately after losing the phone I was able to go into the Bouygues phone store, (awesome coincidence that there was one right there around the corner), cancel the old phone, and get a new one without having to renew my contract. Now, the new one is nothing to write home about. It's super lame but it works. I get to keep my number so I'm slowly collecting old contacts as they call. There's no email or fun games and texting is a huge pain, but it does the job.

Yet, what is fascinating about this experience is the way all my "Paris" friends can sympathize. We come from all over the world and have different traditions and customs. We eat a lot of the same foods, but with our own special touches, flavors, and spices. We celebrate different holidays, have different histories, and often, speak different languages. However, it's really cool when you discover and think about how we are so very similar, no matter where we are from...

We have the same struggles with our kids behavior and we all experiment with different parenting techniques. We can complain to each other about the lack of sleep or kids not eating or behaving. Many of us miss home, miss the traditional food, or our old comfortable beds. We lose our phones and our keys (and sometimes our minds)! Yet, we all made a decision to give this opportunity to live in France a try and there are no regrets. We get to share our lives, traditions, and backgrounds with each other while living in one of the most amazing cities in the world. Each of us admits how great it is to be out here at a point in our lives where we were kind of settled and done with the whole new friend-making thing. We sacrificed comfort for an adventure. And I'm super happy that I'm here doing all this: meeting new people of all kinds, trying new things, and learning about how the other half lives. It's fabulous to be trying a new life, new culture, new everything. And when things go bad, it's nice to know I always have help and sympathy!

Awesome week

The Ladies in Lyon!

I need to chalk up the last seven days as being pretty fabulous. The weather has been cooperating and the dreary rainy days of late September have been driven away by the glorious sun of October. We're 8 days in and I am pleased to report that we are having beautiful fall weather in Paris. Which means it's time to get out and walk.

Which is exactly what Celia and I did last Friday. My little Celia loves to sit in her stroller and explore the city with me. Armed with a package of fruit snacks and the Lyon King book, that lady is content to just sit and glide through the streets of Paris. She also enjoys seeing some sites along the way: we saw "Elise's" Tower just beyond our view of the Arc de Triomphe, we watched lobsters crawl through the water of their tank homes at a fabulous open market, and smelled some beautiful roses of many brilliant colors. There was never a dull moment on our walk. And often the fresh air and calming ride lull the little lady to sleep; giving me an opportunity to stroll guiltlessly through the streets at my own pace and do some window shopping and menu reading. Plus, a short nap in between site seeing and park playing never hurt anyone.

So that's my Friday. Awesome, eh? A great walk through the streets of Paris. Catching a few sites, (forgot to mention the fantastic view of Sacre Coeur off the Boulevard de Courcelles. It was a clear, amazing day and the S.C. looked stunning!), great architecutre, and such neat restaurants and shops. I love wandering upon the different pockets of Paris. Each moment out in the world is so great.

I also love the opportunity to just wonder and think. For the first time in my life I get to get lost in my thoughts. I'm not trying to plan the next day's lesson or think about the choir of cooking that night, (I LOVE the 'choir' of cooking now!) I get to enjoy the moment, enjoy the city and this life, this freedom from responsibility. Especially now that there is NO french paperwork and I have NO responsibilites to the world. I'm just out with my lady taking it all in! And LOVING it!!!

But back to this awesome week: Saturday and Sunday were quiet days full of sunshine and relaxation. Sunday was free museum day and Brian and I took turns strolling though l'Orangerie while the ladies played in the Jardin des Tuileries. It was a great team effort that worked out well because the ladies are not yet fans of the art and don't last long in the musee. They were much more content to play on this huge slide/rope bridge contraption and trying to kill themselves than wonder around a museum where they can't touch anything!

Sunday night we were pleasantly surprised by Andy with an offer to babysit. Brian and I jumped at the opportunity to get out sans filles and enjoyed a pleasant evening out in the Marie district. We walked, ate falafel, and enjoyed some drinks at some different and interesting spots.

Now before this blog entry turns into a novel, I'll finish up my glorious week and sign off.

Monday was another great walk and Tuesday we were off to Lyon. After a great train ride we made it to Lyon late and checked in our hotel and headed to bed. Wednesday the ladies and I explored the city while Brian did some conference work. To me, Lyon is a tiny Paris. Fascinating buildings and architchture, beautiful bridges and rivers, and some good elevation to walk up. What defines Lyon from Paris is the Roman theater and ruins. The ladies and I played in the grass of the ruins and enjoyed the amazing structures and small village that was over 2000 years old. It was very, very cool!

We got to enjoy some delicious Lyonnaise food on Thursday for lunch and we continued to explore the city. We played at some parks, enjoyed the beautiful weather, and new city. It was fun to explore and check it all out.

And now we're back in Paris for a few more days before heading off to Austria. We are very excited to go back to Innsbruck and see our friends plus do a little snowboarding on glaciers in the Alps. It will be grand and most likely another awesome week!