Oh, The Places You'll Go!

10 December, 13

All good things must come to an end. On Tuesday, it was time to say, "Au revoir!" to the City of Lights. That term is used when you plan to see someone again, so I think it is very appropriate. We will definitely be back one day.

I started thinking about all of our experiences so far. We have been in Spain since August 29. That is 109 days. So what have we accomplished in our first 100 days?

• Found a great apartment
• Started school
• Obtained a car
• Completed our Residency Visa requirements
• Started learning a foreign language
• Taught English classes
• Learned new sports
• Learned new art forms
• Developed independence in our girls
• Eaten some crazy foods
• Demonstrated that we could survive, and even thrive, in another country
• Overcome great adversity
• Hosted the first Thanksgiving celebrations in La Alberca (I think)
• Hosted several other parties
• Started writing
• Found a church
• Made deep and lasting friendships
• Traveled to:
• Granada
• Granadilla
• Cartagena
• Valencia
• Murcia
• Velez Rubio
• La Manga
• Paris

I think I can safely say that we have gone there and back again, as Bilbo Baggins might say. We still have a long way to go. 

What is next:

• Nail down Spanish
• Travel more
• Barcelona
• Madrid
• Seville
• England/Ireland/Scotland
• Italy
• Germany
• Portugal
• Greece
• Start working (we have several opportunities right now)

The Christmas break is approaching, and with it, we will travel back to the USA for some much needed time with family and friends. We are all excited about it.The girls have kept a countdown for about a month. 

My mama gave me Oh, the Places You'll Go! , by Dr. Seuss, when I graduated college. Aside from the plastic lawn mower my Aunt Marilyn gave me, that was the best graduation present ever. I have lived by the words in that book. 

Oh, the Places You'll Go! 

Congratulations! 
Today is your day. 
You're off to Great Places! 
You're off and away! 

You have brains in your head. 
You have feet in your shoes 
You can steer yourself 
any direction you choose. 
You're on your own. And you know what you know. 
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go. 

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care. 
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there." 
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, 
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street. 

And you may not find any 
you'll want to go down. 
In that case, of course, 
you'll head straight out of town. 

It's opener there 
in the wide open air. 

Out there things can happen 
and frequently do 
to people as brainy 
and footsy as you. 

And when things start to happen, 
don't worry. Don't stew. 
Just go right along. 
You'll start happening too. 

OH! 
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO! 

You'll be on your way up! 
You'll be seeing great sights! 
You'll join the high fliers 
who soar to high heights. 

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed. 
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead. 
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best. 
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest. 

Except when you don' t 
Because, sometimes, you won't. 

I'm sorry to say so 
but, sadly, it's true 
and Hang-ups 
can happen to you. 

You can get all hung up 
in a prickle-ly perch. 
And your gang will fly on. 
You'll be left in a Lurch. 

You'll come down from the Lurch 
with an unpleasant bump. 
And the chances are, then, 
that you'll be in a Slump. 

And when you're in a Slump, 
you're not in for much fun. 
Un-slumping yourself 
is not easily done. 

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. 
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked. 
A place you could sprain both you elbow and chin! 
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? 
How much can you lose? How much can you win? 

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right... 
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? 
Or go around back and sneak in from behind? 
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find, 
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind. 

You can get so confused 
that you'll start in to race 
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace 
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, 
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place. 
The Waiting Place... 

...for people just waiting. 
Waiting for a train to go 
or a bus to come, or a plane to go 
or the mail to come, or the rain to go 
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow 
or waiting around for a Yes or a No 
or waiting for their hair to grow. 
Everyone is just waiting. 

Waiting for the fish to bite 
or waiting for wind to fly a kite 
or waiting around for Friday night 
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake 
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break 
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants 
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. 
Everyone is just waiting. 

NO! 
That's not for you! 

Somehow you'll escape 
all that waiting and staying. 
You'll find the bright places 
where Boom Bands are playing. 

With banner flip-flapping, 
once more you'll ride high! 
Ready for anything under the sky. 
Ready because you're that kind of a guy! 

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done! 
There are points to be scored. there are games to be won. 
And the magical things you can do with that ball 
will make you the winning-est winner of all. 
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be, 
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV. 

Except when they don't. 
Because, sometimes, they won't. 

I'm afraid that some times 
you'll play lonely games too. 
Games you can't win 
'cause you'll play against you. 

All Alone! 
Whether you like it or not, 
Alone will be something 
you'll be quite a lot. 

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance 
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. 
There are some, down the road between hither and yon, 
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on. 

But on you will go 
though the weather be foul 
On you will go 
though your enemies prowl 
On you will go 
though the Hakken-Kraks howl 
Onward up many 
a frightening creek, 
though your arms may get sore 
and your sneakers may leak. 

On and on you will hike 
and I know you'll hike far 
and face up to your problems 
whatever they are. 

You'll get mixed up, of course, 
as you already know. 
You'll get mixed up 
with many strange birds as you go. 
So be sure when you step. 
Step with care and great tact 
and remember that Life's 
a Great Balancing Act. 
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. 
And never mix up your right foot with your left. 

And will you succeed? 
Yes! You will, indeed! 
(98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed.) 

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS! 

So... 
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray 
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea, 
you're off to Great Places! 
Today is your day! 
Your mountain is waiting. 
So...get on your way! 

Paris, Day 3

9 December, 13

It is really hard for our family to get out the door for anything. It is especially difficult when we are on vacation. Normally we can’t leave until about 11AM. That is sinful, I know, but it’s just reality.

We got into the island part of Paris, with plans to see St. Chappelle and Notre Dame. I am reading Hunchback of Notre Dame right now, so I was very interested to pick up any historical clues. Victor Hugo actually goes into great detail about Paris and how it evolved. Paris started on the two islands in the middle of the Seine. Hugo quotes Sauval, “The isle of the Cite is like a great ship foundered in the sand and breasting the middle of the water of the Seine.” Paris outgrew her bounds and formed two more parts to the whole—Universite and the Ville. “In the Cite abounded churches, in the Ville palaces, in the Universite, colleges.” (Hugo) Universite occupied the left bank of the river. This is where artists came to congregate, and how we came to know this section as the Left Bank. The Louvre is in the Ville section of town. It was Louis’ palace before completing Versailles. He left some of his art collection behind, which began the museum.

Our first stop was St. Chappelle. This is the home to the oldest stained glass in France.

I am sorry, but there is no way to give justice to the beauty of this building. The pictures aren't big or vibrant enough. Words cannot speak to the incredible colors emanating from every pane. The stories that each window tells is fascinating. I was reminded of my childhood at Wesley United Methodist Church. I used to love to look at all the stained glass, in lieu of listening to the sermon. My friend Don Fuller makes stained glass lamps and art. Maybe he could explain the intricate process of cutting each pane of glass and carefully placing it within the lead caming to form a magnificent mosaic. Who could design such a thing? It was incredible. 

They are restoring the glass right now, so they had a video showing the process. WOW! People did this stuff 800 years ago.

After we left St. Chappelle, we head over to Notre Dame. Victor Hugo talks about how it dominated the Paris skyline, and I can see how. It is awe-inspiring to walk up to this huge building. Your eye cannot take in all the detail. The longer you look, the more figures you see cut into the walls. I can't get my arms around what it must have cost in Time, Talent and Treasure to build something so grand. We just don't do that anymore. The closest example I can think of is putting a man on the moon. That only took 10 years, though.

The inside of the cathedral is just as grand in scope and scale as the outside. I found it interesting to look into each of the little side chapels along the exterior walls. You might find a relic or some famous painting or a rack of coat hangers. Evidently the only thing they didn't think of was storage. Typical architects.

Coming straight from St. Chappelle, which was awash in light and color, Notre Dame was almost like a cave in comparison, dark and monastic. St. Chappelle lifted our spirits. Notre Dame felt like a heavy weight on our shoulders. Everyone in the cathedral maintained silence, speaking in a barely audible whisper. Notre Dame has some spectacular Rose windows, but the light was not coming through them. I have visited cathedrals in several countries, and Notre Dame is by far the darkest and dreariest of them all. That shouldn't take away from its beauty or grandeur. It is just an observation.

The girls had been begging for ice cream the whole trip, so we finally relented and bought some very overpriced glace. 

Then we grabbed a taxi and headed toward Elizabeth's Mecca--Chanel. Coco Chanel is Elizabeth's idol. She wrote a biography of her for school a couple of years ago and actually enjoyed doing the research. We stepped into the main door and took pictures at the actual stairs Coco would use to display her latest works. Elizabeth was walking on air. The rest of us played along.

After our little dream time at Chanel, we headed over to the Eiffel Tower, where Susan had reserved a ride to the top. Our girls have become quite good photographers, and we have some amazing shots. Katherine has an app on her I-Pad that gives her a myriad of choices for filters and photo styles. She is really good at capturing a moment. Elizabeth has actually had training with a high quality camera and professional photographer, when we traveled to Nicaragua with Stop Hunger Now. The only challenge with Elizabeth is to get her to take a picture of something or somebody besides herself. We hung out on top of the Eiffel for about an hour, soaking in the beautiful City of Lights.

 After we descended the tower, we took a boat cruise on the Seine. That was something of a letdown. We were all tired, so sitting for an hour was a good thing. The ride was pretty boring, though, because the tour guide spoke very poor English. I actually had trouble determining if she was speaking English or French, so I read The Hunchback of Notre Dame on my phone instead. That suited me just fine.

We took the Metro back to Abbesses and found a nice little restaurant that served a fabulous meal to some hungry and tired travelers. It was a full day, but it was a great day.

Paris Day 2

8 December, 13

Today we visited the Louvre and Cirque de Soleil. There are over 35,000 items on display in the Louvre, so you really should devote at least a day just to visit every floor. They have piles of sculpture and artwork around every corner. The problem with that is Art Fatigue. At some point, you can't appreciate the next masterpiece. Stalin said one death was a tragedy. A million deaths was just a statistic. Maybe art is the same way.

The funniest section to me was the room housing “Mona Lisa”. I have seen it twice now. The first time was 18 years ago, during my honeymoon. I was underwhelmed by the experience. It seemed much smaller than it should have been, and it was shrouded inside several layers of protective glass. Now, it is center stage, on a wall all by itself, in a very big room. There is a lot of art hanging on the room’s other walls, but they are just there to take up space. It’s all about “Mona Lisa”. I am still not the biggest fan, but what do I know?

I was again drawn to the sculptures. It is amazing to me how someone can make marble look soft and flowing, like the curves of a robe or gown. Every fiber of my being struggled against reaching out and touching the statues, just to confirm they weren’t real. Venus de Milo is the most famous, but my favorite was Emperor Trajan. He looked so imperious and powerful. Trajan is called one of the Five Good Emperors. He was a great military commander and transitioned well into his role as emperor.

It is almost sacrilege to say this, but the Louvre was just something to do in the morning, while we waited for the really big event of the day. We had tickets to go see Cirque du Soleil. Nothing beats a good circus. Susan and I have been dying to go see one of their shows for years. We watched several youtube videos with the girls to help them understand what was in store. This performance is called “Kooza”. I thought it was going to be about those things that keep your beer cold, but it was just a lot of really cool acrobatics instead. Turns out the word is Sanskrit for "magic box", which explains the whole Jack in the Box intro. 

We were not disappointed. The show was amazing. Katherine was about to pee her pants, because she was so sure that somebody was going to die. I was about to pee my pants, because I wanted to get picked for one of their stunts. Elizabeth and Susan were about to pee their pants, because they didn’t go before the show started.

After the show we ate a great dinner in a restaurant in our neighborhood, just off the Abessess subway stop. We walked home, and evidently all of us got our second wind, because we were rustlin’ and tustlin’ for another hour or so, laughing and playing around, before we finally all got into bed. 

It was a great day.