France Through Anothers Eyes

Even when living in a foreign country, sometimes you do get used to things, even walking past Notre Dame or the Eiffel Tower.  So when my parents recently came to visit me, it was like seeing this country I live in all over again.

It was pretty fun to see my parents' eyes light up when they first saw Notre Dame, or the spectacular view of Paris spread out in front of them from the top of Galeries Lafayette.  And of course, it also meant stopping every two minutes for a photo break.

Payback from all the years it was me taking the photos.

Even when moving!

It was also interesting to see the things my parents found the most interesting.  For example, my mom now has a picture of every flower in the greater Paris area on her camera.  And my dad was fascinated by concrete phone polls.

And of course, it was fun to see them be bowled over from the Eiffel Tower when it began to twinkle.  I admit, it was pretty amazing.  Some things never get old.


It also came with the fun of discovering French food!  My parents loved trying the cheeses, and my mom especially loved the chocolates pastries, but sadly avoided more of the "interesting" food.  (If you don't know what I'm talking about, see my post on food.)

And of course, there's the culture!  Besides the fun everyday stuff we got to show off to them (going to the local grocery store, translating the French menu to them) they also got to try out some things a bit more exotic.  For example, trying out being royalty:

Or tryouts for the accordion to play on the RER.

It also made me realize how far I've come.  For example, in dealing with the metro, the doors were closing and my dad stood there, looking forlorn that he had just missed the train, when I ran past him and used my body to wedge open the door for everyone.  Or navigating the huge crowds associated with a large city with relative ease.  Or buying food, doing laundry in an impossibly small machine, or understanding pretty much anything.  

Yes, seeing it through another's eyes made me remember I really do live in a special place.  And I think my parents thought that too.