France
Edie writes: Eiffel Tower!
The sights in Paris are amazing, but my favorite by far was the Eiffel Tower. When we got to the park where the Eiffel Tower stands, we took some pictures and then got in line to go to the top. It took about thirty minutes to get the tickets. Once we got our tickets, we took a deep breath and started walking up the stairs. Once we got to the first level and did a restroom stop, we kept on walking up to the second level. It took longer to get to the second. It seemed as if the staircase would last for days, but we finally made it. When we did, oh how beautiful the views were! We were at the second level for a long time, and then decided to go to the top. Dad said that he wanted to stay behind so Mom, Isaac, and I got on the elevator and headed up. When we pile out of the elevator, we gasped. We were amazed by the views. Once we were ready, we took the elevator back down. We picked up Dad and kept going down. When we got to the bottom, I realised that I, Eden Lerner, had just lived a dream.
Sunday, by Rivane Neuenschwander
For our stay in Paris, the Pompidou Centre stood out quite a bit. The modern art museum captivated Edie on first sight with it’s crazy exterior. With it’s colorful open look, the building is quite a sight. On display were fantastic works of art, some strange and some beautiful. This piece in particular grabbed my attention more than others.
This video was shown on a huge projection screen in a sealed off room. My mom processed the video to no conclusion but I thought of the video as instructions to teach you parrot to speak.
The Lawnmower of Escource
The hour long drive from the Bordeaux train station to the farm house was flat, as is the rest of the surrounding horizon in that territory. With Escource as our final destination, the highway was nothing but a long road cutting into the endless beautiful farmlands and barns. And after we had been in Escource for a couple of days, we realized that all that Escource was and ever will be is flat. The points of interest in the (I dare call it) – town is a large roundabout and a nice go-kart track.
As we reached the property, we were greeted by two of the kindest and most generous people we had ever met; Paule and her husband, Cristian. They led us through the beautifully furnished barn that would be our home for the week and showed us how to use the furnace that would heat the house. Dad loved the furnace and thought that it heated the barn better than any heating system that we had had so far in our trip.
Over the week, Paule practically became Edie’s and my third grandmother (no offense to you, Grammy and Safta). Her wonderful character and delicious food was the key to our wonderful stay. Paule’s kitchen is state of the art, and it had better be because she is in there half of the day. She can cook almost anything, from her oven roasted duck to her homemade assortment of jams. Paule and her neighbor also keep a few bee hives. One huge gallon of honey that we were given by her ended up being the most delicious honey that we had ever tasted. We even made a batch of Challah with her honey, and gave them a loaf. (Note the the tastier the honey, the tastier the Challah!) We also were given a jar of her newest batch of orange marmalade and a box of truffles. The marmalade, like the honey, was also the best we had ever had. Thank you, Paule! Cristian had amazing skills on the guitar (and guitar skills is the key to being an awesome person…). Thanks to Cristian, Edie and I were able to drive the whopping 14.5 horsepower lawnmower around the property. After a couple of days, he awarded us with his “Official Driving License for Cristian Knittel’s Lawnmower”.
Near the end of our stay, we got the opportunity to head over to the go-kart track a couple of miles north. As we pulled up to the parking lot, we were welcomed by the sound of a roaring tin can (a.k.a. go-kart) and the friendly owners. We bought four- ten minute sessions. I learned about apexes and accelerating out of the corners. Dad zipped around like a pro, and even Mom got in for one session. Eden got to drive for the first time in a smaller kart around the kids’ track. I was old enough to drive the big karts. The big track was so much fun!
As we left, 500 goodbyes from Edie and Paule were said and a promise was made to get more Americans to rent from her. So… if any of you fellow Americans are in the area of Bordeaux and want a break from all the Metropolis, this is the best place to go. Thank you Paule and Cristian for a magnificent stay.
SLO Lerners 