Paris

This has definitely been a year full of traveling; who knew that choosing to stay in Los Alamos, buying a house, and eventually selling that house would mean that I would get to go to amazing places like Cairo, Paris, Munich, Albuquerque?

The birth of this trip is a fun story- my good friend Beth and I met at Wheaton and maintained our friendship through the angst of our early 20s: Are we doing what we're called to do? Are we really adults? Is this what I should do for the rest of my life? She was beginning her actuarial exams; I was experiencing my first few years of teaching. We would talk on the phone for hours and wrestle through adulthood-formation.

Beth and I are similar in lots of ways- math majors, brown hair, similar sense of humor, involved in youth ministry. But we're pretty far apart on the risk-taking scale. So when I suggested we plan a Big Trip as something to look forward to in the next decade, our definitions were pretty different. My idea of a Big Trip was, "Let's get one of those around-the-world tickets, and just see what happens!" Her idea of a Big Trip was, "Let's go to Disney World!"

Each of us looked at the other and realized, "Your trip will NOT work for me." Eventually, we compromised- what if we went to Disney, but in another country? That would be familiar enough for her to be comfortable, but different enough for me to be interested. Beth agreed that maybe that could work, possibly to get me to drop the subject, and it stayed buried for half a decade.

But then she passed all her actuarial exams (woohoo!), we each turned 30, and I was itching to find out if this would really happen. So after a many emails and skype conversations, we settled on EuroDisney with some sightseeing in Paris.

And we had a wonderful time! Museums, subways, quirky shops- I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Saint Denis- the headless one. He has a lovely tribute in Notre Dame's facade.
Churches in general were kinda bloody- note the realistically pink tinted heads in this scene of massacre on the bottom pane.

Beth and I "collect" science museums and children's museums- it's our corporate hobby, and this was a good one.
Beth drew a lovely picture at one of the interactive exhibits. Or was this at the modern art museum...? We did see a LOT of museums.
An equally realistic creature, though of course not as lovely.
Of course we explored quirky bookstores on the Left Bank.
Maybe I can be a winged messenger for my next summer job.
I discovered I like sculpture, especially marble, and this was an impressive lion.
But after about 400 idealized Greek bodies, I was especially charmed by this skinny, balding man with a nice smile.
Dudes in kilts are good too.
And when we were all museumed out, we headed to Disney. Did I mention that it was freezing and poured 80% of the time? This was a rare dry moment.
When I was a very small child, my parents took us to Disney in Florida, and I was scared out of my mind by the witch in the Snow White ride. (I believe I proceeded to rebuke her in the name of Jesus).
You can still see the terror in my eyes.
But we survived both the witch and the evil Small World ride, and soon returned for a last event in Paris- climbing the Eiffel Tower.

Beth left the next morning for her home in Connecticut, and I headed to Germany for the next phase of my adventure.