Go jump in a lake!

June 27, 2008

We had a fun day today. It was a lazy morning, but Zac seemed to be a little grumpy. I think he’s getting a little homesick for friends, grandma, etc.

In the afternoon, we visited a park called Juraparc – no, not Jurastic Park; no T-Rexes in Switzerland. It’s a kind of zoo where animals are in semi-captivity. They have a large area on the side of a mountain where the animals can roam fairly free but people can still see them from a raised observation platform. We saw several wolves and about five bears, and in other areas, they also had billy goats and American buffalo. They also had a visiting elephant show so we saw a couple of elephants too. At the park, there was also a fun play area for the kids with a zip line and extra long slide that was built onto the side of the mountain so the kids enjoyed themselves.

Then we went to the Lac du Joux; it’s a high mountain lake in the Jura Mountains. Our friends told us that it is the largest lake in Switzerland that freezes over enough in the winter for people to go ice skating on it. There are also several ski resorts in the little mountain valley so I guess it’s a fairly popular destination in the winter. Of course, Zac, Mr. Sensory Boy, jumped right into the lake at one of the summer swimming areas. I think that it did him some good as he had a great time, and that has seemed to carry over because his mood has been better. Alex gradually made her way in too, and Katie and I put our feet in. Becky, Maria and Memo stayed away from the cold mountain water (although it wasn’t really that bad).

An old game and a new baby

June 26, 2008

This morning we taught the kids how to play petanque (similar to bocce balls, but you play with metal balls on a court of pea gravel). Memo used to play quite a bit when he was younger, but I think he only pulls the weeds in the court when he has visitors now. Still, he whipped me, and then with Alex on his team and Zac on mine, they beat us even worse. I don’t think the kids really understand the rules, but they had fun anyway.

This afternoon Noemi and baby Dania came home from the hospital so we drove over to Yverdon to visit the city and lake a little and to see the new baby. Everyone is doing well, and the baby is way cute. Katie wanted to hold the baby the whole time so whenever anyone else held the baby, Katie sat on their lap and held Dania with them.

I just realized that I haven’t gotten any new pictures of Fabio because I usually take pictures when we go out someplace, and we hung out with him mostly at the house. In real time, he’s already left for France, but I’ll get some pictures of him at the wedding.

Pete does his Charles Barkley impersonation

June 25, 2008

Just a day to rest and relax. We stayed around the house today, and everyone seemed fine with that. Memo and Maria put in a three foot portable pool while we were away, and the kids had a great time playing in that with some of the grandkids that came over in the afternoon.

The big projects for Becky and I today was getting caught up with laundry and cleaning out the car. Becky did most of the car, and I took charge of laundry. Maria’s machine is very good and energy efficient, but it takes nearly two hours to do a load, and it’s not a high capacity washer. Also, there is no dryer so clothes have to be hung up to dry either outside or in the basement depending on the weather. With the amount of dirty clothes we had after our ten-day road trip, the laundry was an all-day affair.

This evening Fabio and I went to play basketball with some of his friends. He used to play quite a bit when he was younger (just with friends though), and this was kind of a last time before he gets married get-together. You have to realize though that I am a wrestler, and the only thing in basketball that I’m good at is fouling. We had fun though, and it got me some exercise so I can’t complain.

We missed Disneyland, and we're okay with it.

June 24, 2008

Not a lot of excitement. We talked to the kids and decided not to go to Euro Disney today. We were all pretty tired and ready to get back to a real home in Switzerland; we figured we had also spent enough money since the dollar is pretty weak in Europe right now. Alex who has endless energy was the only one who voted to go to Euro Disney, but even she didn’t seem too disappointed when we decided not to go.

So we slept in a little, took a while to get everything packed into the car, and then hit the road back to Switzerland. We made it back to our friends house at about 7 pm, and I think the whole family was happy to be here. Fabio, who works all over the world for his job, arrived in Switzerland yesterday so we were able to see him. We hadn’t seen him for close to eight years, and it was good to catch up with him. He’s a little stressed with all the wedding stuff, but I’m trying to convince him to relax.

Of course, Maria had a wonderful dinner for everybody, and it was nice for the kids to be able to run around and play again.

Ils sont fous, ces Americains!

With all of the historical mumbo jumbo that we’ve been doing, we wanted to do something for the kids. We were debating between Euro Disney and a more French-based theme park called Parc Asterix. Because we cut out a couple of other things that we thought about doing (due to kid interest and fatigue) we decided that we might try to do a day at each. We decided to start with Parc Asterix as it would be a totally new experience for the kids.

For anyone unfamiliar with the popular French comic books of Asterix and Obelix, they are the two heroes of the last village in all of ancient Gaulle that hasn’t been conquered by the Romans. The local druid has concocted a magic potion that gives the villagers super-human strength, and he dishes it out to the local Gaulois every time that the Romans attack. Their catch phrase is: “Ils sont fous, ces Romains!” (They’re crazy, these Romans) – or some variation thereof. Asterix is the clever little one, and Obelix is the good-natured oafish one who fell into a cauldron of magic potion when he was a baby and has been left permanently stronger than an average mortal. The books are written on multiple levels so they appeal to both children and adults.

Anyway, the park was pretty cool, and the kids enjoyed it. Alex was a little disappointed because there were fairly long lines for the big roller coasters, but the kids’ rides had short waits because the French schools don’t get out until the end of June. The theme and atmosphere of the park is very cool, and the rides were so-so. Zac, of course, now loves Asterix and Obelix, and he is the proud owner of an action figure of each of these heroic characters (yes, Grandma Kit did give the kids money to spend however they want on the trip – Thanks, Grandma). It was fun, but again, not a place that I feel like I would need to go back to again.

The park closed at six since it was a weekday, and we didn’t want to fight traffic back into Paris. Becky wanted to visit the city of Chauny where her mom, dad and sisters had lived when her dad was in the Air Force. Her older sister Dee was even born there (something that I give her a hard time about every time that her “countrymen” do something that annoys us regular American folk). Of course, you have to realize that Dee is a blue-blooded American and has never been to France since she’s been old enough to change her own underwear. She loves it though when I give her a hard time so I do it for her benefit.

I have to admit that I was a little annoyed at first because I was tired from ten days of travel and Becky had underestimated how far away the city was from where we started out. But by the time we got there I agreed that it was a good decision. The kids were excited to see where Grandma Kit had lived before Mommy was born, and we were even able to call Kit from the little town. It turned out to be a good side-trip, and we got back to our hotel about time for everyone to go to bed.

We love Paris in the Springtime (or summer, it's all the same)

June 22, 2008

The question is: Is Paris ready for us? We decided to drive into town and just hope for a parking spot instead of trying to get us all onto the Metro. We had a twenty-minute ride to the center of town where I somehow managed to drive around the crazy 12-lane roundabout that circles the Arc de Triomphe. We parked illegally for a few minutes and took some pictures there. Then we drove by the Obelisk that now marks the Place de la Concorde, and we explained to the kids how a guillotine works and how the French people executed many of their nobles there during the Reign of Terror. It was a lovely conversation.


Then we drove to the Eiffel Tower, and even though it was packed, we lucked into someone leaving, and we got a parking space about a three-minute walk to the Tower. I almost forgot to mention that Zac lost (okay, so I pulled it out) the 2nd of his two front teeth just after we stopped. We had a picnic lunch in the Champs de Mars, and we decided not to go up the Eiffel Tower (more because of the line than the cost). The kids were really interested in the gypsies that targeted Americans to ask for money. It was not quite the picture of gypsies that the kids had in their heads.

We decided not to give up our parking spot, but we wanted to see more of Paris so we debated between walking or taking public transportation. We figured that we wanted the kids good and tired, and we didn’t want to go back to the tiny hotel room until they were ready for bed so we elected to take a walking tour. We went over to the Jardin du Luxembourg and hung out for a while in the park that has the feel of a smaller version of New York’s Central Park. We were able to see the first model of the Statue of Liberty – it’s a much smaller version though as you can see.

After that we walked over to Notre Dame and toured the famous cathedral. To reward the kids for their hours of walking (with still more to come), we bought them a cone of Berthillon Ice Cream on the Ile Saint-Louis, the only place in the world where you can find this kind of ice cream. Even I have to admit that it was pretty dang good, and I’m a little bit of an ice cream snob.

Then we walked back to the car, and by that time we were ready to go back to the hotel. I’m not sure how far we walked but I’m guessing it was at least five miles. There was more in Paris that we wanted to see, but Becky and I had been before, and I think the kids had had enough. Someday we’ll come back and visit the catacombs – maybe that should a Halloween trip to Paris.

From hard ground to a sardine can

June 21, 2008

Nothing really exciting for us today, but there is some good news. Noemi’s baby was born early this morning (although we found out a couple days later). She had a healthy baby girl named Dania right about two weeks early – just like she predicted so that she’d be able to participate in all of Fabio’s wedding festivities.

We spent the day packing up our campsite and then driving to Paris. We’ve spent the last three nights in the tent sleeping on fairly thin mattresses that we borrowed from our Swiss friends. The ground here seemed to be harder than in Normandy, but it was a beautiful setting and had a nice (although cold) pool. The man who ran the campground was friendly but didn’t speak any English. I think he was tickled to find an American who spoke French, and he asked me about American politics and current events, etc. He gave Alex and Zac baseball caps with the symbol of the Vendee region. I told him that if he ever makes it California, he should give us a call. We’ll see.

So we drove to suburb of Paris called Vitry-sur- Seine where we checked into our hotel room. We’re trying to save money by staying in a hotel called the Formula 1 – it’s a chain here that is cheap, but is also very compact and does not have bathrooms or showers in the room. We have to go down the hall, but it wasn’t so bad. The rooms are designed for three people with a large double bed(or small queen; I’m not sure which) on the floor and a single bed built onto a small loft attached to wall. Zac and Alex shared the single and Becky, Katie and I shared the bigger bed. Of course, it wasn’t the best neighborhood so we put almost everything from the car into the room as well. It was pretty crowded, but the beds were comfortable, and we didn’t spend too much time in the room.

Okay, we’re ready to see Paris.

History vs. Hollywood - a la francaise

June 20, 2008

We spent our second day in Puy du Fou; some of the things that I wrote about yesterday actually happened today, but I just wanted to tie all of it in as an experience as a whole. Tonight we had tickets to the big show that is put on during weekend nights in the summer at Puy Du Fou. It is called the Cinescenie, and it boasts the biggest stage in the world. There are huge bleachers that hold over 14,000 people (it feels like you’re bring crammed in for a championship soccer match) that looks down onto an enormous stage area that includes a man-made lake and causeways, the original castle itself, other moveable buildings and several different grassy areas. The cast is in the thousands and the coordination is amazing. It’s really spectacular with the special effects and everything.

However, the history again is a little lacking in my opinion. If French schoolchildren are presented this type of history in school, it explains a lot that I hadn’t understood about some of the feelings towards Americans, etc. The story was supposed to follow the history of one family from the Vendee region from Medieval times to after WWII. It was at best a selective history of France (and this particular region), and it may have even been on the revisionist side (I’m not enough of an expert on the subject to speak definitively). I just know that if Kit had seen it, she would have been mad. One line that drew my particular attention from the show: “In the Second World War, the French army liberated a third of France.” This was said, but not one word was mentioned about the English, American or any other army. Really? I thought to myself. I’ll have to check the history books again, but I’m not sure what third the French army liberated. I know that the French Free Army certainly helped in the liberation, but it seems like most of the actions were combined efforts with the Allied forces. The way it was presented just seemed to show a very limited view.

Now, please don’t get me wrong. I love the French people and culture; that’s why I’ve brought the family here, but I also think that we have to be a little true to history. When I teach my students about the American Revolution, I always ask them to look at it from the British perspective as well as the American. When we talk about the wars with the American Indians, I try to present information from the point of view of the Indians (In fact, my students probably get sick of this since it’s an area of interest for me, and I think our current text is woefully lacking).

Anyway, I’ll get off of my soapbox now. The show was certainly spectacular, and Becky, Alex and I enjoyed it (Zac and Katie fell asleep since they didn’t start it until it got dark here – nearly eleven o’clock at night). The park and show absolutely have a very European feel to them, and they are a wonderful culture experience even if I am a bit critical of the history itself.

I wanna go back in time... (sing this title like Back to the Future)

June 19, 2008

Kind of a mixed bag today. We found a campground near our next site to visit, but they didn’t have the cheaper mobile homes; they only had fancier mini-chalets so we elected for the tent for the three nights we’re planning on staying here.

We are visiting a place called Puy Du Fou, and it is the one place that I really wanted to go. Other sites, we tried to plan things that Becky hadn’t seen yet or that we thought the kids would really enjoy. This is a Medieval-theme park that is built next to the ruins of an castle. In the various areas of the park, they reenact plays that show different time periods of the history of the area. The props, special effects, costumes, etc. are awesome, but as a history teacher (and a person with a brain) I will have to say that the actually history and story for each show is a little iffy.

For example, the Viking show was amazing as they French village looked great, and there were all kinds of live animals the townspeople were herding, etc. When the Vikings attacked, a ship come down hidden railings into a man-made lake, and then mysteriously another ship rises up from the lake. The fighting is well-done, and they use real fire in the attack and to show the buildings burning. However, in the story, the local noble first learns that the Vikings are coming when some priests carrying the coffin of a dead bishop (or pope or something like that) hurry into town for protection. Sometime in the attack, the coffin falls into the lake. When the Vikings are on the verge of killing the noble (after he fights heroically) and his new fiancé, the coffin rises up out of the water and the bishop (or whoever he is) is miraculously alive. The Vikings fall to their knees in shock; they repent of their evil ways and they convert to Christianity. Great visuals, but a little thin on the plot.

There was also a gladiator show (in an amazing coliseum-type stadium), a birds of prey show (that featured two bald eagles among many other birds), a Battle of the Keep show (with jousting, some cool fire effects and siege tours, etc.), and a Richelieu’s Musketeers show (featuring the three of the Musketeers as well as Cyrano de Bergerac) – that one started off okay, but then it somehow turned into a cheesy love story (complete with a glow in the dark horse and an indoor rain shower) between the Hunchback and a mysterious gypsy girl – don’t ask me. All of the shows had the same m.o. – great visual and a lot of work but weak (or at least unbelievable) on the storyline.

What I actually like the best was a new attraction where you go into a cave a see some of the wonders of the past of the region. Again, great special effects, and this one was not quite as corny of a story – it was sort of an Indiana Jones meets French history tour. There were also other smaller shows that were not in English but we were able to enjoy anyway – like a magic minstrel show. There were little towns from different periods of French history along with craftspeople making wooden shoes, perfumes, etc. in exactly the same way it would have been done in the past. The grounds of the park were also amazing with a few little surprises here and there. Overall, the park was fun and I think the kids enjoyed themselves, but it’s not something that I feel like I would need to go back and see again someday.

Walking to see Mickey or St. Michael - either will do

Mont Saint Michel is awesome with the exception of climbing over 300 steps (not including the ones up and down during he tour in the abbey itself) with a baby stroller. It was the “castle” that Mickey and friends went to in the Disney version of the Three Musketeers so we told Katie we were going to the “Mickey castle”.Of course, trying to save a few Euro, we also walked from the town across the causeway to the fortress. It was good experience though and helped us walk off some of the bread, cheese and chocolate we’ve been eating too much of lately.

The kids really liked the Medieval town setting (of course, we explained it to them that it was a castle, not a fortified abbey), but they did get a little bored during the tour itself. It was quite a site to see Katie running around laughing in the courtyard at the very top outside of the cathedral. Some Asian tourists (I think from Japan) asked us permission to take a picture of her. It made us really realize that we had actually made a voyage half-way across the world with three kids in tow.

I would have to recommend this as a site that everyone should really try to see sometime in their lifetime. Very impressive.