Use Your Accent

During the kids’ term break, we decided to drive all the way to Freiburg, Germany and back! It was a very involved plan, which changed several times, but we (spoiler alert!) successfully made it to all our destinations. Not exactly in the way we planned, but we made it nonetheless!

CHUNNEL – Our first adventure was getting on LeShuttle through the Chunnel to Calais, France. To be completely candid, I had some anxiety about the train. I mean…if you think too hard about the fact that you are inside your car, inside a train, which is driving through a tunnel 40 meters below the sea bed, which is another 60 meters underwater…I think some anxiety is perfectly healthy! Right? Admittedly, I also made the mistake of Googling “does the Chunnel leak”. That didn’t help.

And it does leak, BTW. It is designed to leak. Mind boggling.

CALAIS, FRANCE –  After arriving in Calais, we took a very frigid walk to find City Hall, which is just beautiful! We could see the clock tower as we were driving into town!

We also made a stop at La Compagnue du Dragon, which requires four people to operate! Apparently, it also breathes real fire, but we didn’t witness this.

My favorite memories of Calais, however, were just walking around the streets talking to the kids and eating delicious fresh baguettes. T1 had a bread chunk in one hand and my hand in his other. At nearly 7 years old, I have to savor any hand-holding he offers! As we ate and walked, I asked both kids if they understood anything that was being said around them and if they would help me order dinner en français. Apparently, even after two trimesters of French class, my kids are only helpful if you want to count to ten. And I must say this…I’m not British, nor have I ever learned French, but my untrained ear hears a strong accent in their French…and it ain’t American! Too bad I can’t eat numbers as a meal.

METZ, FRANCE –  I really wish we had more time in Metz. I really enjoyed the sights! The Porte des Allemands was really striking.

We wandered around the Temple Nuef and Cathedral, as well.

The people in Metz were so pleasant to interact with! (Let’s be honest, not every town has pleasant people. Sorry to say.) It didn’t hurt to have the cutest baby around! Everyone wanted to coo at him!

Now onward to Freiburg!!