I turned 30 on August 16th. Matt took me out on a boat ride down the Seine in Paris. His mother watched Olivia for us. It was great. The weather was perfect and we got to see the sun set over Notre Dame. I feel very lucky that we could go to Paris for my 30th. Geez never in a milllion years did I think I would make it to Paris for my birthday.

 

Paris was well the New York city of France. It is spectacular meaning there are lots of big bang tourist sites to see. It was also rainy and full of a lot of grumpy-probably-sick-of-tourists-Parisiens. I can't blame most of the people for being a bit grouchy with tourists...if I lived in Paris I would get really sick of people asking silly questions and then yelling in English or other languages even louder when it seems as though they didn't get the answer they wanted. Yes, I did see those people. But you know the French have beautiful grand buildings trimmed with gold and some of the best food in the world. Paris has a lot to offer and we were happy to have the chance to see some of it again and to explore new places with Matt's mom.

 

We are also happy to be home. Yes, Aachen is finally feeling more like home. I missed Germany and the practicality and orderliness of things here. The drivers are very good here and well sorry but Paris is more than a bit scary to drive in. Matt did a great job manuevering his way through the city. I cringed and closed my eyes several times.  Aachen is rainy and it feels more and more like a European version of Seattle at times, especially with the rain. Soon we are going to start proper German lessons and Olivia might just get into one of the kinder group places. So here we are: back home and ready to both take a deep breath and start getting ourselves a bit more organized.

Thank goodness we can jump on a plane and go lots of places. We are fortunate for that. We just got back from visiting Scotland. My childhood friend got married in Scottish style, kilts, bagpipes, horse and carriage and all. It was very nice. And Matt and I feel so refreshed. Olivia also had a grrrreat time playing with some older kids (a six-year-old boy and eight-year-old girl, the ringbearer and flowergirl.

 

I highly recommend Scotland. The countryside was breathtaking, especially when it was foggy. It was nice to sit and watch the waves of ocean was over the rocks. The people are friendly, charming, and always very helpful. And the churches and buildings in Edinburgh were solid old pieces of beautiful craftsmanship, especially the old churches with wood carvings. I am part Irish and it was nice to feel the Gaelic culture is alive and well. The whole trip made me feel inspired to go home and start doing creative things again. We really needed a little break from thinking in a foreign language so it was nice to chat a bit with the locals and catch up with old friends. So here we are: back home and ready to start getting ourselves organized again. Cheers!