Salùt, mes amis! Un petit blog, ce soir. It's Wednesday, 8 Avril. Here are a few pictures from yesterday's trip to the Parliament. I think I was too asleep to get them done last night.
The Grand Staircase. Yes, we had to walk down it!
This view is actually from inside the Parliament complex. There is a beautiful, large courtyard within the building that is open to the sky. It was stunning.
This is the exterior of the Parliament Building. Some of us wondered why the US flag was not represented here. Then one of the really smart kids reminded us this was the EUROPEAN Parliament. Well, duh!
Today we all went to Europa Park. It's a grand, huge theme park, a lot like Busch Gardens, only much bigger. There are 13 or 14 countries represented in this park, with rides, gift shops, shows, and, of course, FOOD.
Entrance to Europa Park
It took about an hour and 15 minutes to get there, as it is in Germany. We took a large tour bus, and rode in comfort. Only one very sad note- we passed by the remains of a hotel and several other buildings that were recently damaged in the riots you may have heard about. It was a tragedy to see the burned buildings, because of the exceptional value the French have for art, beauty, and the uniqueness of each person. This is indeed the work of extremists- not the average French citizen; and please let me reassure you this occured nowhere near where we are. I saw a little of it on news reports, but if I had not passed this area (immediately prior to the Rhine River and the German border) I would have never known of it's occurance. We had seen a few protestors with the rainbow flags, and there were a few flags fluttering from upper level balconies, but that was pretty much it.
Our kids were absolutely top flight again on this little sortie. They were on time to their check-ins, and never complained. As I am quite literally the QUEEN of field trips, I was asked about how to manage that many kids in the park. We have 30 American kids, and maybe 25 French kids with us today. I knew it- I can hear it from here! Those are BAND PARENTS laughing their heads off! Well, I knew all those trips to Carowinds and Busch Gardens would pay off one day! The French teachers are accostomed to having two or more check-ins during the day. I learned a log time ago that it works better with less, as the lines can be so long kids really don't have time to ride anything if they are forever trooping back to the check in spot for the head count. But this is what they are used to; so I'm really proud of our kids for not protesting. They bunched up into groups, with at least one French student in every group, and off they went to play in the park. The teachers played too! I took a grand little video of all 5 American teachers and 2 French teachers riding in zippy little airplanes. Hope this works, but if it doesn't, picture minature bi-planes, seating two, and suspended from a center pole. Now picture them weaving in and out of themselves; and getting highter off the ground. VERY much fun; but probably designed for 8 year olds!
The video wouldn't load, but these are the little planes! We rode the costers, had lunch in Greece, and in general just enjoyed being with each other during the day. Legs and feet are still protesting; but it was so much fun, we're not paying much attention!
EUROSTAT: an indoor roller coaster like Space Mountain. Looks just like Epcot, oui?
I think this is "Blue Fire", one of the popular nwer coasters. It's really long; with multiple things to scare the life out of you. No; I did NOT ride this one!
On the river ride. Nice, easy, comy ride for us aged folk. Yes, I am the Elder on this trip!
When I got home this evening; I made Sebastien's favorite meal when he was with us: Enchiladas! I was expecting to make it with regular hamburger meat, but my kind host has been looking for DAYS for meat substitute (like Morning star crumbles) but it's very hard to find here. She told me she finally found it two villages away. I was a little concerned about this meal; since I was using new products and new (to me) equipment. But, the worries were groundless. IT came off without a hitch, and Sebastien and his family finally had the enchiladas they had been waiting for so long. I actually sent the recipe to Cathy some months ago, but acording to Sebastien; this didn't work so well. So tonight I taught Cathy to make it herself. It came off beautifully, if I do say so myself!
It's hard to believe it's already Wednesday; and I will be home in just days. This has been the most amazing trip, and I hope you've enjoyed coming along, but truthfully, I'm ready to be home and in my own bed! 
Group photo at Europa Park. The sign above the students is actually beneath a French flag, and reads "Place of Friendship".
Pretty cool, huh?
Blessings and Peace from France.
Bonnie
