Life on the High Plains

For our first full day on the cruise we had booked a full day tour of Paris.  This was supposed a chance to see some of the sites in Paris that we hadn't been able to with J and B. A few days before the cruise we got an email saying it was going to have to be changed up due to the Olympics.  I should have cancelled so Irv and I could go out and do our own thing. We knew it was going to be a disappointing day when our first stop was at a very tall skyscraper (for Paris standards) where they took us to the observation deck on the top floor and just started pointing out all the sites we had thought we would visit in person. That round ball is the Olympic flame in the Tuileries Garden. Notre Dame was in the far distance.  Did you know that almost all churches are called Notre Dame in France?  Our Lady is another name for Mary, the mother of Jesus.  Any church dedicated to her is called Notre Dame. That gold dome is the Les Invalides, the location of Napoleon's tomb ...

The dreaded day had finally arrived--our last day in Paris and at the Olympics with J and B.  When you only get to see your kids one time per year, saying goodbye is difficult.  We made the best of it though by making an unplanned trip to Disneyland Paris.  J and B had been monitoring the Disney app for the last couple days and the wait times for the rides for almost nonexistent--5 minutes or so.  We decided to go for it, jumped on the train that took us directly to the park. It was true, the place was almost deserted.  Here's Sleeping Beauty's castle or in French "Chateau de la Belle a Bois Dormant".  Did y'all know that I've been doing daily French lessons with Duolingo for the last 250 days?  I wanted to know at least a few phrases so as not to be considered an entitled American. I have to admit I didn't take many pictures of our visit to the park, but I was mesmerized by these yellow and purple flowers. I think I see a painting in the future of the...