Polas on the Go

In Route

We are lucky enough (huge understatement!) to be going to some of the most amazing places in the world and seeing spectacular sights but today (actually, now over a week ago) was a different kind of "great day".

We woke up in The Latin Quarter in Paris on a Monday morning and knew we were taking a train to London at 12:30.  We hadn't decided the night before if we were going to take a cab or the metro to the train station.  I went down to look for a cab and there weren't any of the large ones around so we decided to take the metro.  The kids  did great... we have three big duffle bags, another smaller "catch all" bag full of the last minute stuff that inevitably tends to just get thrown in and then we each have our own backpack. Oh yeah, there is also Brock's stroller, his GIANT "baba" (pillow)  and the halloween pumpkin basket he got in Nerja that he continues to fill with balls and cars from home and from the various places we go.   So, needless to say, we have too much stuff.  (But, after the next couple weeks when we go back to 'chasing the sun' we will get rid of a bunch of it.) 

 Although getting to the train was a little exhausting, it was actually a pleasure to see the family working together. We lugged our stuff across town and up and down stairs to get on crowded trams, made transfers, went through customs and arrived in our seats, with all of our stuff and an extra ten minutes to spare! As you can imagine, a feeling of victory! 

  

 This was another example of how it is not the destination but the journey (not to sound cliche) and  yet  another chance to be reminded just how NICE the French people are. Yep, you read that right.  Since the first hour we arrived in France the people were nothing but friendly and helpful and generous.  The storekeepers gave the kids gifts, the people in the metro helped us with our bags (yes, we looked THAT  pathetic!) and pretty much whenever we pulled out a map the Parisians would stop to give us directions. Several literally walked us to where we were going. 

Pola's in Paris.... By Nate ([email protected])

 My parents  let Gavin and I each choose a city to plan and be in charge of. I chose Paris. I wanted to go to Paris because I really wanted to see the Eiffel Tower and some of the art museums. Paris is famous for the museums, you know.

On our first day, we went on the Paris metro for the first time. When we got off, we were at The Opera Plaza stop where everyone told us to start the double decker bus tour. Gavin was frozen on the top of the bus.

 

 

 

 

When we pased the Eiffel Tower, we decided to get off and go up it. (Took the stairs, of course.) The first floor was really fun because it has a history museum of the Eiffel Tower. There also was a "Folow Gus" scavenger hunt where you had to find the answers to questions about the Eiffel Tower. We learned a lot from it. Gus is the nickname for the architect Gustave Eiffel.   When we went up to the second floor, there was an awesome view of Paris.  I was sad to leave the Eiffel Tower.

 

 

 

We also went to a few museums. We went to the Louvre. Once we entered, I realized why this is the most famous art museum in the world.  When we got the tickets, we got to skip an hour wait because Brock had a stroller.  We were really glad about this especially because it was raining so hard outside.  One of my favorite paintings was the Mona Lisa. I got a great picture of it.  

 

 

That night, we walked over to the Tuileries Garden. From  a distance, there was a part that just looked like a big hedge but when we went back in the daytime I could see little tunnels, leading, who knows where… I climbed through one in the front and ended up in the back of the maze so I had to keep going through it…it’s like teleportation holes. Gavin, Brock and I played hide and seek with some kids from Washington D.C. and one round took 30 minutes!  

 

We also went to the Musee d’ Orsay. Gavin sketched a drawing of a sculpture at the museum. I walked around.

One day we went to the Notre Dame Cathedral. When we looked inside of it, it was gigantic. There was one rose window in the center that was definitely spectacular.

One of my favorite places was this awesome pastry shop. I ordered an almond croissant that was really good. We all ordered something but everyone voted mine the best.

 

We also loved a "tart place" in the Latin Quarter that had the most amazing quiche!

 

In our apartment, there was one bed (or we thought). When we looked up we saw the ceiling. But, when you looked from an angle it was a different color and we figured out it was a bed. At first we didn’t know how to get it down but then we read the instructsion and just yanked on it and it fell down. In the morning, we pushed it back up for the day.

I have to say that Paris is one of the best cities I have been to so far, if not my favorite.  

Sevilla!

Sevilla is still the vibrant, friendly, beautiful city that I remember from when I was there one semester in college… we spent a week touring the Cathedral, playing in Parque Maria Luisa, going to a soccer game and wandering the streets.  The absolute highlight was connecting with the family I lived with almost twenty years ago!   

                         
 
  
 
 

 

 
 
 

 GOALLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ....   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRBiyHTlxYw

Cooking with a Random Grandma in Frigiliana.... By Gavin

  

  

 
 

  

  
 

  

Mom and dad are going to school because they want to improve on their Spanish. Well, Mom said, "Gavin wants to do a cooking class" and  I guess the teacher heard her because he said "Oh you want to do a cooking class" (in Spanish) "si"  Well, the teacher told Mom that his mother in law would do a cooking class for us.  So, Mom told me "Gavin, do you want to have a cooking class with my teacher’s mother in law?  " uhhhhhh... I said.... Sure.” I thought it was going to be in Nerja but it was actually in a town ten minutes away called Frigiliana.  Mom’s teacher met us at the bus and walked us to their house, where we saw the Grandma.   “Hola” I said nervously and then she gave me a big hug... But I didn't even know her.

We went there two times so far. On the first day, we made tortilla de patatas. It is like an egg thing shaped like the inside of a pan with potatoes inside. It is really good. The next day we went there we tried to make two things. Gazpacho and Paella. We don't know how good they tasted because we just made them and are now riding back on the bus! But they look awesome!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG6bsVeaVMw

The grandma has eight kids those kids had 14 kids! So many kids!  The cooking is fun and when I was done I wanted to keep on doing it!  

   

    
 

Nerja.... By Nate

Nerja has a lot of nice places go. You can go to play sports or go to the beach or climb a hill to get exercise that leads to a beach. We have a nice three story apartment. On the first story there is a shared pool, kitchen and a great room to read books. The outdoor patio that leads out to the pool is great for doing art. On the second floor there is a bedroom for me and Gavin, and my parent’s (and Brock) bedroom and another bathroom. On the third floor there is a clothesline and a little shower outside. There is also a bedroom where I sometimes sleep in when it is too noisy downstairs.

And, about the school: It's really nice.  There is a basketball court, a playground, a running track, a slide and a little house. One day, I brought a special basketball and everyone was excited to see it. On other days, I brought different balls like a soccer ball and an American football.   Recess is a really fun part of the day...just like at home!

The teachers really taught us a lot in Spanish. My fourth grade home teacher/music teacher/computer teacher/PE teacher taught us a lot of games and he really helped me learned Spanish.  It was a small class but a really fun class to be with.

Nerja has an awesome beach called Burriana Beach. The beach has a little row of restaurants that you can go to and I have been to most of them. Some are okay and two are really good. When we 
were at the beach one day, we met a family from Ireland. They showed us this restaurant that had a really big surprise when we got our drinks….

 

There are also fun little parks on the beach. The only other park I know of that is not on the beach is the rec center where you play sports. My favorite sports at the rec center are hockey and soccer. The soccer is really fun and I got an award! During hockey it just so happened they had skates my size and I was almost as good as everyone for my first time. And, for soccer, I wasn’t the best but I kept the team from getting crushed.

 

 
Most days for the last two weeks of school we would have a Spanish class. This teacher, named Sophia, would come to our house. She spoke a little bit of English and she would teach us Spanish. One day we asked her what else she did for a job and she said she said she was an artist. Since we love art so much, we asked if we could do some art while we learn Spanish. The next day she came and brought enough paints to last a year and more. She taught us this thing where you get a color liquid, make a drop and the colors smere and it’s really cool. Before we knew it was an “art talking in Spanish class” and we got to learn two things in one class.

 

 I really like Nerja and everything about the town. The school was really fun, I made a lot of friends and learned a lot of Spanish during the six weeks I was there.