The Floods

The storm that caught all of us off guard is continuing to kick our asses. We aren't knocked out, but we're definitely on our knees with some pretty nasty black eyes. You know, the kind that waste no time and bruise right away...

The flood waters have reached over 200 miles so far and have devastated 17 counties, mine being one of them. The loss of life, of land, and of property is heartbreaking. 19,000 homes have been damaged and just over 1,500 of those are completely destroyed.

President Obama declared Boulder County, El Paso County, and our county of Larimer in a state of emergency on the 13th of September and a few days later added 12 more Colorado counties.

I haven't made it to Boulder, which was hit the worst getting 21 inches of rain in 6 days. Boulder Creek officials reported they had more than 5000 cubic feet of water per second when the average runs between 150 - 200.

I have had a chance to drive around certain parts of Larimer County to check out the damage and it is absolutely awful. Fort Collins sits on the banks of the Cache La Poudre River and just to the South of the Big Thompson River, both which have received catastrophic flash floods.

I was able to find a handful of pictures taken from the News and other websites to show the damaged spots which our family has close ties to.

In April, I surprised my husband with a weekend away in Estes Park. One of the top five things I wanted to do was visit the world famous Saint Malo Church hidden in the valley between Estes and Allenspark.

Although the church itself received minimal damage, the run off from the water left the valley wiped out.

The very first day our family arrived in Colorado after our move from California, we drove directly from the airport to the Alluvial Fan in Rocky Mountain National Park. It is a place I have very fond memories of as a kid and wanted to make the same for my own child.

One of her favorite things was to sit by the bridge and throw rocks in the water.

The bridge is now partially missing and was tossed half way down the mountain onto its side.

I've spent more time wandering the streets of Estes Park than any other town. I've literally spent more time here than the downtown of Fort Collins. Something about its small town charm and the mom and pop shops  make it worth the long drive up the canyon and we come at least once a month.

My friend Marsh Blake owns Blake Trading, the store on the far right. She sent me this pic to show the water mark on her store front. Notice the water is lapping over the bench in the middle-left of the picture. She had 4 inches of mud that had to be shoveled from her carpet once the water receded and thousands of dollars in damage to merchandise and displays.

In January, I took Kalynn up the canyon for the Estes Park Winterfest so she could ride the ponies, get her face painted, and watch the balloon animals be constructed.

The same parking lot is straight mud now.

When Jason got his Colorado fishing licence, the very first place he wanted to fish was Lake Estes.

It is so filled with debris, it's almost unrecognizable.

My favorite view in the entire state is completely destroyed.

Although put on the highest priority, there are so many spots on Highway 34 that are missing, it could take a year to repair.

A few months ago, I wrote a post about the little town of Glen Haven and how the tiny general store makes the best fresh cinnamon rolls I've ever had in my life.

Glen Haven was one of the worst to get hit. The Town Hall is collapsed, the general store is gutted, the fire department is completely gone, not even it's bare structure was left standing.

The roads were washed away. The empty hole on the left is where the fire department used to stand.

Kalynn's favorite spot to watch the creek and climb in the Indian tee pee didn't survive.

Now it is just a pile of broken trees and a spot for washed up remains to be collected.

At the bottom of Highway 34 where the canyon meets Loveland, is the Dam Store. The best store by a dam! Its tall structure in the back of the building sits just high enough to climb all the way to the top and see not only the highway 34 damn, but also the brown water pipe that runs through the Front Range and part of the Rockies.

The pipe is still standing strong, but the highway itself is missing. The debris that has traveled from the devastated cabins, homes, hotels and businesses all the way up the canyon is now piling at the bottom of the foothills.

As for my beloved Dam Store, they're still mostly intact! The back end of the building was taken off, but I've heard unconfirmed reports that the staircase tower and the front room of the store are still there. 

Up the Poudre Canyon, closest to Fort Collins, the damage is unfortunately just as bad. The road we travel to go camping is devoured.

All of the bridges in Fort Collins were closed for days because they were either completely missing or needed the foundation inspected before reopening.  

Kalynn loves the creepy creatures at the  Swetsville Zoo right outside Fort Collins in Timnath, Colorado.

Unfortunately, most of them were head deep under water when the were found the morning of September 13th.

We may require a little love, but we won't be held down for too long.

We've seen the sun poke through the clouds this last few days and it is reaching down with a helping hand to help us back up again.

Yes, we'll be ok. We're strong.

Mountain Strong.

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Disneyland Paris

I've been trying to finish my Paris posts for weeks, but the combo of losing employees at work and having to cover all the unfilled shifts, the awful Colorado flood last weekend, and every other daily distraction, my writing has been few and far between.

My final Paris post is a quick one!

We all know how I feel about the happiest place on Earth ...

Because going to all 5 Disney theme parks is on my bucket list, I was just dying to find out how the Paris Disneyland stacked up against the California original.

Initially, Euro Disney received really poor reviews for numerous reasons. First of all, France considered Disneyland Paris to be a sick representation of American consumerism. Further, the American managers required nothing but English to be spoken throughout the park. And lastly, it probably seemed a bit ridiculous to them that we romanticised Kings, Queens and Princesses and that we had a strange obsession with enchanted castles. Royalty were the every day norm for them and you don't see Europeans going around dressing up like the President of the United States and decorating their bedrooms like the White House.

Eventually, Paris and the rest of Europe either got sick of fighting it, turned the other cheek, or just relaxed a little and let it go. Either way, the upward climb of business has been amazing and now it is the number one most visited attraction in all of France and Europe.

Yes, it's true that most people don't fly all the way across an ocean to visit another country and then end up at Disneyland. But this is my family we're talking about here. We're Disney fanatics. So the option of not going wasn't even thrown into the ring.  Also a tradition in my family, you can't just go as your normal self. All three of us picked a character and dressed accordingly.

Pulling up seemed familiar. We were really early so it appeared as though the only other people there were employees. This just gave us more time to take it all in.

Some obvious differences were clear right from the get go. Everything was in French. I assumed the fairy from Pinocchio was still saying "when you wish upon a star," but for all I know she could be spouting off profanities.

Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant = The Castle of the Beauty who was Dormant in the Wood otherwise known as Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

In California, the riverboat that plunges through the Rivers of America is called the Mark Twain. In Paris, the riverboat is named the Molly Brown. As in "the unsinkable Molly Brown," survivor of the infamous Titanic.

Pirates of the Caribbean is almost the same as the one we're used to. The outside façade is very different but the ride itself is very similar. We got our picture taken going down the first steep slope in our boat, but the "Dead Men Tell No Tales" anthem was still prevalent all the way through, the option of taking a wench for a bride was still available, and the damn dog still won't give up the key.

Instead of the Haunted Mansion, we were now entering the Haunted Manor. Guests still sit through the ride in the usual "doom buggies," but instead this house tells the story of The Phantom of the Opera and it is designed to be scarier and darker than it's sister mansion.

We rode It's A Small World twice. Once to get the picture of the Eiffel Tower out front,

and then again because we thought it was funny that the American part of the ride was stereotyped with a Greenbay Packer and a New York Met.

My favorite thing about the entire park was that Alice has an entire wonderland spread over the majority of Fantasyland. Not just a ride and some teacups, but a separate labyrinth, a castle, a ride, a photo station, statues and some teacups. She's kind of big deal.

The Mad Hatter's Teacup ride is under its own little weather proof station.

Pretty much the coolest ride I've ever seen.

Of course we spun our cup as fast as we could go, but when a photo opportunity presents itself, we know when to slow down for the camera.

So to say au revoir to France, we did it the way our family knows best, which is to give back a little to the American Economy.

Now that we're back across the pond and in the States, I'm happy to say that we're all safe and sound from the terrible floods that destroyed our little corner of Colorado. Both my house and my sister's house was luckily spared from any damage as we're both far enough away from our beloved Big Thompson River and the Cache Le Poudre River. None the less, our poor towns and the towns we love around us are destroyed and it will take quite a while for roads and bridges to be repaired. 

I'll keep you posted! 

Until then, please keep the rescue workers, those who lost their lives, property, friends and family in your thoughts.

La Tour Eiffel

As an American, I see the Eiffel Tower everywhere. 

Even in America. 

I think it's probably as equal in popularity as our own Statue of Liberty or Hollywood sign as far as pop culture symbols go. 

In every movie and television show which visits Paris, or anywhere in France for that matter, the Eiffel Tower makes at least a quick cameo. It's not just France either, I suppose. When anyone visits anywhere in Europe, it usually isn't the Tower of Pisa or Big Ben or even the Coliseum that is publicized. Almost always, it's this gorgeous Iron Lady.

We live in a world where each big city is usually defined by one particular icon, and it's quite possible that the Tour Eiffel was just so beautiful and original, it kicked off the trend. It doesn't surprise me that every other city in the world wanted something this monumental. Whether France wanted competition or not, many have tried to make something as alluring as the Grande Dame herself, but it is truly hard to compare.

Construction on the tower began in 1887 for the purpose of being the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair. Back then, the World's Fair was basically an exhibition of all things technological. It gave a chance for countries all over the world to show off and trade industrialized inventions and innovations. Although steel was the up and coming metal at the time for engineers, Gustav Eiffel stuck to his guns and used very pure wrought iron instead. For one, wrought iron is extremely strong. For two, it is much lighter than steel, so dismantling of the tower after the finish of the fair would be much easier.

This cutting edge tower was to be the tallest and most magnificent in the world, beating out the Washington Monument and the Cologne Cathedral for the title. But this structure wasn't to salute a leader or give thanks to God, this tower was strictly a tourist attraction.

The idea caught some slack at first by a group of cranky artists who wanted to rage against the machine. They completely hated the concept of this giant metal erection bombarding their skyline. But eventually, they were overruled and construction marched forward.    

This particular World's Fair happened to celebrate the centennial of the French Revolution. France wanted to show the World that it was now the most contemporary, most advanced, and that it was the best. 

But, it didn't want to spend a lot of money in the process.

Mr. Eiffel (businessman extraordinaire) was so confident in the tower devised by his engineering team, he told the French government that if they would pay him just a small commission to build it, and give him a promise of at least 20 years to make his money back, he would raise the funds of the construction on his own. Every last dime.

And although they laughed him off the Champ de Mars, they agreed.

So because he paid for it outright selling stocks to investors, every penny that was brought in by it went straight to his pockets.

Any guesses of how long it took to make his money back? 5 years? 10 years?

Oh, no, no. 

It took only 6 months.  

Who do you think was laughing now? Ol' Mr. Eiffel found himself to be a very rich man.

I'm telling you, when our cab driver turned the corner and I laid eyes on the tower up close for the first time, I almost cried. The way it takes command of the skyline is a hard concept to grasp unless you're there to see it for yourself, but it is impressive and absolute. To say the least.  

I know it's rude to kiss and tell, but here's a view I took right up her skirt.

There are thousands of skyscrapers in the world today, but the way this one was built with the wide base, the very narrow tip and the intricate lattice wrought iron work it is very stable against attacks from the wind. It doesn't blow it over, it just moves right through it.

One of the things that I hadn't counted on awing me so much was how large the 4 reliefs were. The fe-fi-fo-fumness of them had a great way of making me feel incredibly insignificant. One foot was so big, there was a restaurant in its toes. An ant at a picnic would have felt more powerful than I did.

Just like we did with the Palace of Versailles, our group had purchased "skip the line" tickets prior to our visit. I don't even know how long it would have taken to get in. Hours I'm sure. But when they say "skip the line," they really mean it. Of course, we had to enter through a metal detector and security guarded entrance, but there wasn't anyone ahead of us or behind us. We were like VIPs and our tickets were specifically timed for sunset. It just can't be beat.

This was our tour guide but her name escapes me. She was the cutest little thing from Ireland and she was in Paris paying her way through a study abroad program (the Iron Lady?! What a broad to study!!) She knew so much information in that head of hers, I could barely keep up. She was awesome and truly made our trip even more amazing.

The view of the green space called Champs de Mars is on the Northwest side of the tower. The wide flat building at the end of the green, the Ecole Militaire, is the military school in Paris and was attended by Napoleon Bonaparte himself.  The Champs de Mars was originally made for practicing military drills and was later used for all of the Paris hosted World Fairs.

The lonely skyscraper in the background is the Montparnasse Tower. It was built in the late 60s and early 70s as the beginning of what would have been a skyline to rival New York City's. It was the tallest cloud toucher in France. But as soon as it was completed, Parisians threw such a giant temper tantrum, there was an immediate law passed saying that no building could ever be built over 7 stories within city limits. Sadly, I do have to agree with the Parisians, it looks completely out of place.

There is a restaurant on the very top of Montparnasse, and I hear it thinks itself as the most beautiful view in Paris. Probably because it can't see itself.

 In 2008 it was voted the second ugliest building in the world. Because the Eiffel Tower was constructed elsewhere and then put together on site, perhaps it was the original IKEA furniture and Montparnasse was the box it came out of.

The opposite Southeast side of the Tower you can see the Trocadero, site of the Palais de Chaillot. I don't know a lot about it other than it has an amazing view of the tower from the steps and that there is an outstanding creperie stand to the left of the fountain where you can get the best Nutella crepes on the planet. I'm not sure where I was when she was explaining this place to us, but I missed the memo. I know this is where the battle of Trocadero was won from Spain, that now there is a gorgeous garden out front, and that the fountain smells just as bad as the ones in Versailles.

Other than that, I know it's super pretty.

Those are skyscrapers in the background but they are technically outside city limits so they can get away with being there.

As the sun started to set, you could see the gold starting to drape across the entire city. One of the best sights from the top is of the golden Dome des Invalides. It it one of 7 buildings in a complex of historical military buildings and serves as a hospital and nursing home for war veterans. It also houses Napoleon's tomb along with other French military heroes.

It had been cloudy all afternoon, so we all assumed we would miss the sunset we were promised. But literally 10 minutes before the sun started sinking, the entire sky cleared up like a genie had snapped her fingers and wished it for us. Unbelievable.

The view from up there was like being in heaven. Looking down on every beautiful building we had seen and learned about during our short visit was like a dream. To see them all at once, with the light of the sun in front, and the glow of the moon in the back was indescribable. I didn't know if I should laugh, cry or just do nothing.

So I just did nothing.
Except look.
And make pictures.

At this point we had only taken the elevator to the second floor. We did make it to the top eventually, but I didn't stay very long. I did it so I could say I did it. But really, I had seen what I needed to see.

Even the Arc de Triomphe was dressed up in his finest glow.

On New Years Eve 1999, the Eiffel Tower hosted a millennium party that would have impressed the gods. 20,000 flashing lights were placed up and down the iron lattice and fireworks were set off all over the building. After the celebration was over, the city decided to keep the lights up and they're now set to go off on the hour from 10pm- midnight. We happened to be on the second floor at 10 pm when they went off, so I leaned over backwards as far as my little torso would let me and I grabbed this 10 second clip before my brain screamed at me to keep both feet on the ground!

Originally, the tower has been sentenced to a death after only 20 years. But the cultural iconization and global impact of it forced them to drop the charges instead of the guillotine and it has had a permanent home in Paris ever since.

Says Roland Barthes about the tower: "it will be there, connecting me above Paris to each of my friends that I know are seeing it."
I agree with that. It's sort of like Paris' personal little moon. And we all know how I feel about the moon...