Fall Bike Rides

Many years ago there were railway lines throughout Catalunya. These lines were built in the 1890's and were heavily used throughout the region for nearly 100 years-- until the 1970's and 80's. In the early 90's the Catalan government decided to turn the unused railways into paths for cycling and running/walking. Genius. Now there are various trails that wind their way from the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean Sea. The old train depots have been revitalized and now hold restrooms, maps of the trails, water fountains, bicycle pumps, etc. It is such an amazing system and one of these days I want to ride the entire trail with the kids (with overnight stops along the way, of course). The trail goes through Girona, so we have the option of heading towards the coast or the mountains.

Last Sunday we decided to head towards the mountains. We wanted to make it to the old train depot in the town of Bescano, which is a little over 10km from our house. 

Eston has been studying plants and trees at school, so he was keen to explain the bark on this particular tree. He knew the words in Catalan and had to translate them to English, which was fine with the exception of the word "bark." He could not remember this word in English, but he told me in Catalan and then I reminded him that the word was "bark."

 The morning was a bit chilly, but we quickly warmed up and began to shed our layers.

 At the old train depot in Bescano!

 Aurelia enjoying the ride:

The weather has been really lovely as of late--low 70's during the day, which is perfect in my book. The other day I rode up to the sanctuary on Els Angels. It is one of my favorite rides and things are so peaceful up here.

The holidays are around the corner and I am proud to say that I am done shopping for everyone. Honestly, I approached this Christmas a bit differently. Our kids have a lot and I think it is time for them to reflect on that and really think about what is needed and not needed. Eston made his list and I encouraged him to think about what things he needed versus what he wanted. Of course, Christmas is meant to be fun and a mix of needs and wants and I certainly don't want to shut him down completely. I just wanted him to consider what things were important. He came up with some solid needs--underwear, socks and pajamas. I am embarrassed to say he is in desperate need of all of these items. His wants: a black marker like mine (Sharpie), a few books, a new soccer ball, and art supplies. In years past I would fulfill these wishes and a few more, but this year I am keeping it a bit more basic. I bought him a few markers, more than a few books and plenty of art supplies. I am tired of having toys they don't play with, so we are keeping our favorites and getting rid of the things they no longer play with. Let me tell you, it feels so great to do this. We spend most of our time outside and when we are inside the kids just want to cook or do art projects. They do love puzzles and board games, but they rarely play with other toys. Aurelia loves her dollhouse (it was Eston's), but they have simple needs. I don't need to overdo it at Christmas simply because things look fun. They made a list for my parents with a few more "wants" but other than that, we are done. I encourage everyone to think about what they really need and want this holiday season, especially in light of recent world events.

My children love jumping off the stairs in our yard. They set up obstacles and have the best time. See?! We don't need more random stuff!

 Charlotte and I have been enjoying some incredible hikes:

 I am trying to be patient as I wait for my new bike, but I am loving the beautiful fall weather on these Catalan roads:

Happy Thanksgiving to those in the USA. It is a holiday that we pretty much forget about here. We talk about what we are grateful for on a weekly basis and the history of Thanksgiving is kind of a sham, so we skip the over eating and just enjoy a normal day. :-)

Disneyland Paris

I spent the first twenty years of my life in Southern California, so I am quite familiar with Disneyland. My parents took us to the park many times throughout my younger years and when I was a teenager my friends and I visited frequently. When Eston was two we took him to Disneyland when we were visiting California, so I was pretty excited for this trip to Disneyland Paris. We had a different vacation planned, but we had a lot of family stuff going on in September, so we decided a fun-filled trip to Disney would be a nice thing to do with the kids.

The kids went to school as normal on Tuesday morning and we picked them up after lunch and drove out to the Girona airport, which is a quick 15 minutes from the city center. The airport is small and has only a handful of flights per day, so it is very easy to park and navigate. Both children now roll their own carry on bags, so traveling has become much easier.

 Eston was in charge of all documents (tickets and passports) and he was quite pleased with this responsibility.

 Aurelia is now over the age of two, so she was pleased as punch to have her own seat. The flight to the Paris area is only an hour and twenty minutes. Aurelia slept while Eston completed a few pages in his workbook.

We rented a car at the Beauvais airport and began what was meant to be a drive of just over an hour. Of course, Paris traffic had other ideas. Thankfully we had all the time in the world, so we enjoyed a beautiful French sunset from the car and the kids amused themselves with books and peering at people in cars.

After much debate, we decided to stay just outside the Disney gates. We did seriously consider one of the Disney hotels (there are four), but in the end we could get a large suite at a beautiful five star hotel for the same price as a two star hotel at Disney, so that pretty much sealed the deal. Our hotel was literally a three minute drive and the hotel had their own private shuttle vans that went back and forth to Disneyland all day long.

We purchased the "Three Days for the Price of Two" deal through the concierge at our hotel, so we were ready to go straight to the park on Wednesday morning. It rained Tuesday night, so we brought our rain jackets, but in the end it never did rain on us. 

 The hotel shuttle dropped us right at the gates and the kids began to run because they were so excited. It was such fun to see their faces light up.

Now, for the park. I could not help but compare everything to California. I mean, come on?! How could I not?!

Things looks very similar on Main Street, USA. Everything was decorated beautifully for Halloween, which the kids loved.

Now, the layout of the two parks are very similar, so we decided to head in the direction of what should have been New Orleans Square. The first big difference came when I realized there was no New Orleans Square. The Haunted Mansion was where it should have been, but that was the extent of New Orleans Square. It was not a big deal and the Mansion was really fantastic. It was our first ride and the kids loved it. Yes, all the ghosts spoke in French!

 Sadly, there is no Jungle Cruise ride in Paris. However, they have preserved the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, which I believe was removed from California a few years back. The kids loved the treehouse and we stopped for some crepes afterward. 

 There were characters all over the park and Aurelia was so excited to see Mickey!! We also met Pluto, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Wendy, Belle, Cinderella, Chip and Dale.

 Many of the rides are different. Indiana Jones et le Temple du Peril is just an outdoor rollercoaster (and kind of a small one at that) instead of the cool ride it is in California. There is no Matterhorn. Space Mountain is a short (and different) roller coaster. However, many of the familiar rides (Pirates of the Caribbean, Dumbo, Star Tours) are planned a bit better in Paris. The entire area is thematic and very well done, so I must commend them for this.

 Since there are not as many rides, the lines in Paris were much longer. We were not there on a particularly crowded day and most lines were at least 45 minutes. We used the FastPass whenever possible and this helped. Thankfully we had three days, so we were able to plan accordingly. 

 Disneyland USA now has California Adventure and Disneyland Paris has Walt Disney Studios. The two are within a 5 minute walk and the kids enjoyed the Cars Land and the Toy Story Land. 

 I think California Adventure is a bit more well done. Honestly, Walk Disney Studios was fun, but it did not seem very Disney-like as far as the grounds are concerned. We did every single ride in the park in less than a day, so it is definitely just an add-on for Disney.

 Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant (Sleeping Beauty castle). The castle was gorgeous and I loved the shops inside.

 We did manage to go on every single ride at Disneyland (Small World was closed for renovations). As you can see, the kids just loved every moment.

 Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was exactly the same, much to our delight. We rode it twice!

 All of the trees were turning colors and the changing foliage was just gorgeous.

 Ratatouille is the new ride in Walt Disney Studios. Every morning we tried to get a FastPass and they were always gone and the line was two hours plus. Finally, FINALLY, we were able to get a FastPass on the last day. The area around the ride was so well done:

 This ride is in 3D and the kids have never worn the glasses or seen anything in 3D, so this was new for them.

 We saw the Harvest Parade on several occasions.

We stayed at the park each day from 10am-7:30pm and on our last day, Friday, we had to leave by 5pm to get back to the airport on time. All of us were definitely tired and a bit ready to go home, but my goodness, what fun we had at Disneyland.

There are so many things to buy when at a theme park. It is hard for kids and even harder for parents. We allow the kids to choose one thing (within $$ reason). They can buy it on the first day or on the last day, but that is it. We reserve the right to veto the item (usually based on price). We went in pretty much every shop in Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios. Aurelia chose a backpack that came with a Minnie Mouse doll and Eston chose a set of airplanes from the Planes movie. Grand total for both items: 34.95. Yes, I was pretty pleased with their choices.

Here is Aurelia with her new backpack at the airport in Beauvais:

 Taking Minnie back to Girona!

I would highly suggest staying in a hotel just outside the park, of which there are many. Nearly all of them have shuttles to the park and there is also a public system that goes to the park. I would also suggest bringing in as much food and drink as possible (they did allow this). We brought in our own water bottles and refilled them in the park and I also walked to a local grocery store and bought healthy snacks (fruit, fig bars, etc). We allowed the kids one unhealthy snack in the park--a plain crepe or waffle. However, you can buy nearly anything--candy, cotton candy, candied apples, etc, etc. We did eat lunch at the park, but we could have easily made sandwiches as well.

We probably won't return to Disneyland Paris in the near future, but it is an excellent option for those living in Europe who want a Disney experience!