The wife (Mrs. Poup) and I thought it would be a cool experience for our oldest spawn to do the non-school, and therefore, non-language club trip to France and Spain. (school boards can´t take the risk to even nominally endorse a trip that actually provides some kind of education or meaningful experience these days)
We also thought it would be cool for one of us (me) to go along.
So far we were right. It´s been VERY cool.
So cool, in fact, that I feel kind of guilty for being here.
But I won´t let that stop me from dispelling the BS I´ve heard about France - from, I suspect, people who seem to forget we kind of owe them our independence.
See, here´s the thing: I´m no stranger to world travel. I am quick to enjoy myself, but not to be impressed. I´ve been to London, Port au Prince, Rome, Munich, Baghdad, Kuwait City, Doha, Keflavik, Tegucigulpa, ... I´ve even been to Detroit, LA, Salt Lake City and Ann Arbor (and a bunch of other places - I was just dropping the names of the weird ones) ...and so in the course of my travels I´ve had opportunity to hear all kinds of stories about how weird, dirty, inhospitable, anti-American, overly commercial, and other versions of how shitty France, especially Paris, is as a destination.
And guess what I´ve discovered: not so much.
Granted, a lot of the must-see sites, as is the case in most of Europe, are a tad more religious than I would need them to be, but, also like most of Europe, even those sites represent the amazing ability of humans to overcome and leave something better than they found it.
The fact that these historical sites still exist is proof that WE CAN all just get along... even if many of these sites remind us that we didn´t at some point.
Anyhoo...
Thus far, every day of this trip has been better than the last. We started in Paris (after an overnighter on two planes). Martremont, Sacre Couer, Notre Dame, The Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Seine River Cruise, Sorbonne/Latin Quarter... Two days there was not enough to get more than a taste of it, but the taste was absolutely delicious.
Then it was a train ride to Biarritz. For those of you who have never experienced a train ride in Europe... well, I may as well not even bother trying to describe the beauty of efficient public transportation...clean, comfortable, friendly, cheap... I know... I know, Gov. Kasich is right on: why would Ohioans want anything like that?
Biarritz was a refreshing change from the mad bustle of Paris. Quaint, quiet, calm, but every bit as beautiful and awe-inspiring. And like every other stop thus far, it was better than the last AND it reminded me not to listen to any "conventional wisdom." Everything about France was spectacular!
San Sebastian and Bilbao were next. (and speaking of new experiences, each better than the last, I think I´ve found a new favorite place in the world)
With me are bright, creative, resourceful teachers who love their jobs, work their butts off (even during their summer "off" on a non-school trip), and who seem to genuinely like their students; parents who are actually involved in their kid´s lives BEFORE rehab, uplanned pregnancies, etc.; grandparents who seem way too aware of a life outside of small-town, midwestern America to actually be Americans, at least as the news portrays us; a tour guide who seems to enjoy his work, know his stuff, and who has a sense of humor; and a group of 12 mature, respectful, semi-responsible teenagers who will likely one day look back on this trip as a pretty powerful experience.
There have been several moments thus far on this trip wherein I´ve been confronted with just how lucky I am... to be able to send a daughter on this trip... to have met people and seen sites... to have breathed the air, tasted the food, felt the warmth of the sun, shielded my eyes while watching it sink into the ocean or rise over a mountain range... to have been alive right here, right now...to be excited to get home to another great daughter and wonderful wife and mother...
and it all started there in that dirty, worthless, overly commercial, expensive, anti-American Paris.
Don´t ever go there. It´s horrible.
Oh! the sacrifices we parents make.
Luth,
Out.
