ORD-AMS

Here’s the deal, I’ve never really wanted to visit Paris. I know, I know…how can anyone who loves Europe and took 6 years of French class say that??  But it’s true. Once I started traveling in Europe in my late twenties I learned fairly quickly that the BIG cities were just not my thing, too crowded, too confusing and frankly too overwhelming. It was hard for me to enjoy anything when I was worrying about how I was going to get to the next thing (no matter what that next thing was). So when we made plans to visit Paris it really had more to do with proximity than anything else.  I slowly warmed to the idea after all the fabulous input from friends and family about all the cool things to do, and see and eat in Paris.  Then Brussels happened…..

Obviously traveling in this day and age comes with some degree of uncertainty and fear of terrorism, but traveling 3 days after a major attack, on a train that stops in the city where that attack happened, to a city that is still reeling from its own terrorist attack seemed particularly daunting! initially we thought we would have to postpone because the trains weren’t running but much like Chicago after a snowstorm, things quickly get back to business as usual. So unless we wanted to pay for four nights at a Paris hotel room that we wouldn’t be staying in, we needed to be brave and go. We can’t let the terrorists win right?

I’m so incredibly proud of my girls because they were scared but agreed with us that not going was just not an option. We got up at 6:00 am to bike to the train station in the dark to start our journey. The train ride was uneventful, Brussels didn’t appear to be any different then Antwerp from our vantage point. When we arrived at the Paris train station we were greeted by a line to show our passports (apparently a new addition since the attacks in November) but that moved along smoothly. We were now ready to explore Paris. After waiting in line for a taxi for approximately 15 with no movement we decided to brave the Paris Metro with our bags. It was a wise decision since it became our main mode of transportation the entire time we were there and was easy to use as well as clean. When we emerged from the subway the first thing we saw was The Eiffel Tower…….incredible!! I will never forget my first glimpse. It was the perfect introduction to this one of a kind city. I was truly in awe of this incredible structure, and continued to be every time we were in its proximity (which was several times a day due to the location of our hotel).

Looking back now, a week later I’m so grateful we made the trip but Paris is a city of contrasts. Here are some of my personal highs and lows:

The HIGHS

The Architecture

The Eiffel Tower. the Louvre, the Sacre Couer, Notre Dame, the Palais Garnier and The Arc de Triumph, each more beautiful and awe-inspiring then I could have ever imagined.

The Food

Every meal we had from the corner cafe to the Trip Advisor recommendations were delicious. The highlights were lunch at Cafe St. Regis on Ile St. Louis, Berthillon Ice Cream and our behind the scenes tour of Baguette Margot Patisserie in the Montmartre area.

The Fashion

As a tourist who was dealing with rain and cold I accepted the fact that I could not be comfortable and fashionable at the same time but the Parisian women were impeccable. From their perfectly coiffed hair, to their expensive designer shoes, I was floored. They wear skirts and dresses the way Americans wear yoga pants and jeans. Scarves are everywhere and worn in a multitude of ways, each one chicer then the one before! Window shopping and people watching was endlessly entertaining.

The History

As an American living and traveling in Europe you are constantly reminded how young our country is in comparison. Although much of Paris was rebuilt during Napoleon’s reign (thus the similarity of many of the buildings with the lovely wrought iron details) you will come across buildings from the 1600’s and even earlier. I never get tired of the winding cobblestoned streets.

The museums

I have no comment because my family refused to go to any, Heavy sigh.

The LOWS

The Homeless

Every big city has a homeless population but Paris has a large number of homeless women and children (most are refugees from Syria).My heart would break every time I saw a mother with 2-3 children huddled in a doorway begging for money. As much as I have read about the Syrian refugee crisis in Europe to come face to face with the suffering brings it all home.

The Police

The Police were highly visible on our entire visit. They are everywhere and in full force with bulletproof vests, automatic weapons and barriers. It was comforting at times to see them but overall it left us with an underlying feeling of dread. Not exactly what you need when on “vacation”.

The Dog Poop

The French love their dogs and take them everywhere but apparently they do not feel the need to pick up after them. We were constantly scanning the ground so we didn’t spend part of our vacation scraping dog sh*% off our one pair of shoes!

Disneyland Paris

I’m a Disneyphile and felt I could not make a trip to Paris without venturing to Eurodisney (now known as Disneyland Paris) especially with two 12 years who are also Disneyphiles. Unfortunately, this turned out to be my least favorite day of our trip! It started with a 3 hour travel time to finally arrive at the gates. What should have taken 45-50 minutes tripled due to an unexpected stop on the train (we are not quite sure why we stopped since they gave us NO explanation but we speculate that a suspicious package was found at another stop on our route). After we stopped they made us ALL get off the train and told us that there would be special buses to take us where we needed to go. To make a long story as short as possible, we pushed ourselves onto a special bus after wandering around trying to figure out which bus was the correct bus (no one waits in an orderly line in France). Packed like Sardines we drove for 20 minutes got off at another train station that was roped off, there they told us in French to wait for another bus that would take us to another train stop to get back on a train that would then take us to Disney. We only knew this because we befriended a lovely French woman who translated for us (and our two new friends from Northern Ireland who were as confused as we were). We tried for 30 minutes to get on another bus but the mass of humanity trying to push their way was too much for me. We gave up and thanks to Uber finally made it to Disney at 12:45 where it proceeded to rain until approximately 5:30 pm. In addition to the rain about 1/3 of the park was closed for renovations.  My girls still loved it….go figure.

Looking back now with a little perspective I know that this was a trip that we will remember and talk about for years to come….epic. Paris is overall a city that needs to be seen to truly be believed, it every cliché you have heard and yet so much more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 22 began like many other days since we moved, hectic morning get everyone up and out to school and work. The girls were excited to ride to school on their bikes by themselves for the first time. I realized things were different when Lucy texted me to let me know they had arrived safely but that their teacher was late due to some issue with the trains. She asked me if their dad had any issues. I didn’t immediately think this was anything to be concerned about because train delays are normal here in The Netherlands. The trains are comfortable and clean but the timetable is not always reliable. I texted Mike who was on a train but he said it was abnormally crowded did I know what was going on. By the time I checked CNN.com he had already texted back,  “Brussels airport appears to have been bombed this morning”

My heart sank….here we go again. And just like September 11, 2001, November 13, 2015 and so many other dates I thought “what is this world coming to??”.

We are approximately 100 miles away from Brussels. That’s a little farther then Chicago to Milwaukee. It’s too close for comfort. We have plans to travel to Paris on Thursday as well. As of right now those plans are on hold. Trains are not running through most of Belgium which is our route. We had a discussion with our girls last night about terrorism and the randomness of being caught in an attack but my stomach still hurts as well as my heart.

i will continue to live my life as much as possible without fear. This is such a beautiful part of the world and I want to embrace all it has to offer. Pray for peace.

This is the quote our school sent out to address the Brussels tragedy

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of their skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, they can learn to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart then its opposite.” Nelson Mandela

 

Yep, that’s right today.  Today I opened my door and walked out into my new neighborhood, in my new city, in my new country.  I was scared but I did it anyway because that is what this move was all about…new experiences.  My daughters walk through that door everyday to go to their new school, with new teachers and new friends and they come home  with stories that remind me change can be good.  They miss Chicago but don’t let it get in the way of enjoying today and everything that comes with it.

The new door that I opened yesterday brought me to a place where I finally began to make my own new friends here in The Netherlands.  I joined an International Women’s Club and yesterday was a New Members Coffee.  I was nervous to walk into a home of someone I didn’t know into room of complete strangers (when you live in a place for 25 years it is rare to go anywhere without knowing at least one person) but I knew the only way to make new friends was to put myself out there so I went.  The second the hostess opened the door and said Hello in English my stress started to evaporate.  It’s amazing how just hearing my own language being spoken put me at ease.  I spent two hours introducing myself to women from different countries, all ages, some with kids, some without, some have lived in Utrecht for years, some were recent additions like myself.  I walked out of there feeling like a 50 pound weight had been lifted off my chest. On my walk home I saw one of those quaint painted doors that you seem to see everywhere in Europe.  I stopped and took a picture of it.  Soon after I saw another one, and another.  It seems that once you start looking those beautiful doors are everywhere!

I’m just so glad I made the choice to open one

Today I took a walk in the park because the sun was shining and I needed to remind myself of why we did this…because let’s be clear, a move overseas is no walk in the park.

Forgive me for using this well worn saying but it is the best I can do.  I don’t consider myself a writer in any way, shape or form but I will do my best to communicate what it is like after 25 years of living in one place (Chicago) to move to a completely different place in a DIFFERENT COUNTRY!  Be careful what you wish for…

 

It has been a roller coaster ride the last few months.  We chose this move and were super excited for the opportunity to live but overseas but that does not keep you from experiencing all the hiccups along the way.  To pack a house, sell a house, find a new rental in a new city in a new country all during the holiday season is not something I would recommend! Looking back now it’s hard not think we were a little crazy to even attempt such a colossal undertaking.

That was not the hardest part…the hardest part was saying good-bye to friends and family.  We had been in our house for almost 15 years and part of our school community for 10.  My sister and I have always lived within 20 miles of each other.  To say we were imbedded in our city and community would be an understatement. The people closest to us had the hardest time trying to reconcile the Chicago-centric family they knew and loved with this new expat nomad idea.

In the end we sent some of our old life in a container to The Netherlands (trying to bear in mind that whatever home we found to rent there would NOT accommodate US size furniture for the most part).  The rest of our accumulated stuff was stored, sold or given away.  Let me tell you that the process of going through 46 years of belongings will inundate you with memories.  That in and of itself was another moving part of this experience. This came on the heels of a the 20th anniversary of my father’s death.   Giggles and tears came often as I unearthed different artifacts of my life.  This was a cathartic process and one that everyone should experience whether you choose to move overseas or not.  Purge, purge, purge!

The week after Christmas vacation, a day after returning from a Disney Cruise, with one sick child at home the container truck arrived.  Within 3 hours our stuff was loaded and on it’s way to our new Dutch home (wherever that might be).

That was 9 weeks ago and our rental house is finally starting to feel like home.  I will need these walks in the park, bike rides along canals and trips around Central Europe to remind myself WHY we put ourselves and our girls through this tumultuous experience.  We left behind friends, family, an amazing school community, the best block in Chicago and a comfortable life but my hope (as I listen to the church bells ring from Dom Tower) is for an education that goes beyond anything I can even fathom sitting here at my computer today.