We're back - and what a trip!

Jake is in love with the Eiffel Tower. Back in February, he found a photo of the ET online, and from that moment on, he was hooked. Anytime we took a drive and he would see the big electric towers, he would call them Eiffel Towers. The giant red and white ones were "candy cane Eiffel Towers" and basically anything that was tower shaped would set him off on a conversation about the Eiffel Tower.

In early March Randy and I decided that we needed to try and get the family together if even for a few weeks, so I booked tickets for Jake and I to travel to Germany to see daddy. It was a great trip and after not seeing daddy for almost half a year, it was an emotional and wonderful time.

We spent two weeks hanging out and seeing sights in Germany and Belgium, including castles and picturesque towns and expansive vistas, but by far the highlight of the trip was the day we took Jake to Paris.

We left Ramstein, Germany (about an hour outside of Frankfurt) early on a Tuesday morning. The trip through Germany was quick (gotta love that autobahn!) as well as scenic. Shortly after we crossed over the French border, we hit our first toll booth, which was 3.40 Euro (about $6). As with any time that we take a road trip, about this same time I had to use the restroom. Using the restroom in Europe is VERY DIFFERENT then in the US and they seem to come in two types - really nice and clean and you have to pay to use them, or free and really disgusting and without TP. Luckily, France seems to go the pay-to-pee route, and the restrooms were all well stocked with tissue!

Germany's rest areas are pretty basic, but France, Belgium and Luxembourg all had FAB rest areas - expansive plazas with huge Shell gas stations stocked with tons of yummy European junk food. I spent a lot of time on all of our road trips checking out all the rest area's had to offer!

After my bathroom stop we traveled through another 21.00 Euros worth of tolls, to finally reach our destination a half hour outside of downtown Paris, at Euro Disney. (We decided to park at Disney and ride the train in, so we didn't have to try and park and drive in Paris.) Once inside the outer sanctuary of Disney, we hit the train station and paid our 30 Euros to take the train into town.

Jake thought the train was pretty cool, but I don't think anything prepared us for our departure - off the train and down the tunnel and up the steps and into the light - right in front of the Arc de Triumph! It was truly amazing to be standing there in the heart of Paris, looking at the Arc that Napoleon had built centuries ago to welcome his soldiers home from battle.

We decided to try and cross the crazy busy streets to get a different view of the Arc, and after wandering around and dodging traffic for about 10 minutes, we landed in a spot that had been cleared for some construction and had a large contingent of pigeons gathered. Jake LOVES pigeons, so of course he wanted to stand there and look at them and have his picture taken. Randy and I were looking at the Arc trying to decided if we could make it to the center, when Jake suddenly shouted, THERE! I want to go THERE! We followed his pointing finger, and over the top of the buildings off in the skyline, there it was - the top of the Eiffel Tower.

We consulted our "yes, we're American tourists" giant map of Paris and realized that we were indeed within walking distance, so we set out across city streets toward our destination. The walk was pleasant and scenic (I don't think there is bad scenery in the part of Paris we were in) and before long we came to a beautiful city park and there it was, in all it's glory, standing across the river -Jake's special Eiffel tower.

We sat at the bottom of the tower and had frites (french fries) and crepes with chocolate sauce, and then we walked under the tower to one of the gift shops, where Jake bought himself an Eiffel Tower statue. Then we walked across the expansive lawn to the French Military building.

All of our walks were wonderful, the city is amazing and alive in a way I have never experienced in another city. Jake was in awe and I think he could have walked across the entire city if we would have had the time, but way too soon it was growing dark and we had to head back to Disney to claim our car for the five hour drive back to Ramstein.

When we came out of the train station at Disney, it was close to 9PM, but the Disney village was alive with diners and shoppers and the whole thing was glowing with neon and pulsating with loud disco music. We hadn't eaten much more than our snack at the tower, so we decided to walk through the village and see if we could get a bite to eat. As we came to the far side Jake yelled "I want a cheeseburger!" and sure enough, there was a McDonalds. We sat with Jake while he ate, and then we decided to hit some of the shops, so we spent the next 40 minutes walking through the village and checking out the wares in the myriad of Disney stores. Jake found a stuffed Nemo that he couldn't live without and nearing 10:30 we walked out of the Village gate and headed for our car.

Suddenly Jake stopped. "WAIT!" he shouted?

"What?" Randy and I asked simultaneously.

"I have to dance," Jake said.

Randy and I looked at each other and Jake started dancing to the pulsating disco beat, throwing his whole little body into it, he danced in circles and up and down the empty square. "I'm doing Jake's Disney disco dance!" he shouted. "I'm DANCING!"

Watching him in that square with the neon lights around him and the spotlights shooting into the air behind him, dancing with pure joy and glee to the thumping disco music was by far the highlight of not only our trip to Paris, but our entire trip through Europe. It was like at that moment he realized that he was in a special place, a place that was created for children, where they are allowed to do and be all that they can imagine, and maybe even a little more. Maybe, just maybe even an American disco dancer in Paris.