After all my non-blogging, why not jump back in with the new adventure?!
The opportunity came for us to pick up and travel and go somewhere new and see new things and re-immerse ourselves into a type of culture that we love so much. Kris has switched jobs and is now working for Ubisoft, the company that produces Assassin's Creed and so much more. He's the mobile lead for games, so he'll be in charge of the systems on the back end of the mobile game division, so, for example, when a new game comes out and 10 thousand people jump and download it all at once, he's responsible for making sure all those systems run efficiently without incident, processes like that. He's excited, and I'm happy he's getting a change of pace that will be a boost to his skills and his career, in Paris of all places. I love being back in Europe! I love all of the different little neighborhoods. I love that having a pocketful of coins can buy you a beer or an espresso or a pre-made sandwich (with meat and cheese and greens you know are fresh!) I really kind of love that there seems to be a sushi joint on every other block. I'm still dismayed that there's a McDonald's tucked into every area populated with grocery shops, bakeries and cafes. There's a Pizza Hut across the street from our hotel. With all the epic cheap mom and pop pizza shops, somehow, there's a Pizza Hut. Le Sigh. I love that there's a castle right down the street from our hotel and I'd really love to live in it but maybe I could settle for being a tour guide for American tourists.
The atmosphere is different and lovely. There are people bustling everywhere but it's not at all rushed or strained unless it's anywhere near the exact minute of commute hour on the metro. The people are very nice, the coffee is what I've been missing and the food, so far, has been wonderful. We had a quiet dinner in hotel our first night in...the receptionist sent us up a nice welcome package that had pasta, a little jar of sauce, chocolate, tea, coffee, snack mix, two waters and some packaged soup and all we had to do was go to the store, grab some beef and bread and we had a quick bite before we crashed from a long day of travel. We went from Oakland to Salt Lake where we had an eight-hour layover so we could give the dog a rest between flights and grab lunch at The Red Iguana, sure to be the last real good Mexican food we get anywhere for awhile, chilled out with family and a friend of Kris's for a moment, then got back on the flight from Salt Lake straight to Charles De Gaulle airport.
Kris was smart and upgraded us to economy comfort over the pond, which was a bit more room, and while the flight attendant said we couldn't put Chloe's carrier on our laps when we asked, they didn't show up for two hours into the flight to offer us something to drink, then dinner an hour later, then nothing until breakfast, so we got away with it anyway. We just opened her carrier enough to let her pop her head out and covered her with a blanket. As usual, take-off and landing was not fun for her but this was her best flight yet, despite not having been on a plane for a couple years now. Such a pro traveler. We landed to a rainy, gray Paris morning and even though we hadn't slept much and were sore and exhausted, all three of us were so happy to be in a taxi with our bags and our bikes and on route to our hotel, our home for the time being until we find something more permanent. We've been lusting over a particular river boat but admittedly have been looking at others and we may be close to finding something perfect for us, and an apartment wouldn't be out of the question, either, depending on where it is and how much it goes for. We'll have it figured out soon. After all our stressing and re-packing and waiting for paperwork and then rushing to have everything done once paperwork was a go, it's nice to finally be here after months in the making of a new chapter.
More to come, I promise!
Cheers,
Allie H.
The atmosphere is different and lovely. There are people bustling everywhere but it's not at all rushed or strained unless it's anywhere near the exact minute of commute hour on the metro. The people are very nice, the coffee is what I've been missing and the food, so far, has been wonderful. We had a quiet dinner in hotel our first night in...the receptionist sent us up a nice welcome package that had pasta, a little jar of sauce, chocolate, tea, coffee, snack mix, two waters and some packaged soup and all we had to do was go to the store, grab some beef and bread and we had a quick bite before we crashed from a long day of travel. We went from Oakland to Salt Lake where we had an eight-hour layover so we could give the dog a rest between flights and grab lunch at The Red Iguana, sure to be the last real good Mexican food we get anywhere for awhile, chilled out with family and a friend of Kris's for a moment, then got back on the flight from Salt Lake straight to Charles De Gaulle airport.
Kris was smart and upgraded us to economy comfort over the pond, which was a bit more room, and while the flight attendant said we couldn't put Chloe's carrier on our laps when we asked, they didn't show up for two hours into the flight to offer us something to drink, then dinner an hour later, then nothing until breakfast, so we got away with it anyway. We just opened her carrier enough to let her pop her head out and covered her with a blanket. As usual, take-off and landing was not fun for her but this was her best flight yet, despite not having been on a plane for a couple years now. Such a pro traveler. We landed to a rainy, gray Paris morning and even though we hadn't slept much and were sore and exhausted, all three of us were so happy to be in a taxi with our bags and our bikes and on route to our hotel, our home for the time being until we find something more permanent. We've been lusting over a particular river boat but admittedly have been looking at others and we may be close to finding something perfect for us, and an apartment wouldn't be out of the question, either, depending on where it is and how much it goes for. We'll have it figured out soon. After all our stressing and re-packing and waiting for paperwork and then rushing to have everything done once paperwork was a go, it's nice to finally be here after months in the making of a new chapter.
More to come, I promise!
Cheers,
Allie H.
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