Holla From Kampala: December 2012

My vacation in Paris is coming to an end, and I am quite sad about that. I have spent the week eating just about everything this city has to offer – I cannot tell you the number of baguettes I have scarfed down. No worries though, I am pretty sure we walked about 500 miles every day. No, I am not exaggerating. (Ok, maybe just a little). Even though we only had 8 days, we managed to pack quite a lot in, which you can check out in pictures below. However, this blog post wouldn’t be complete without a few funny tales…

The first night we were in Paris, we went out to dinner to a restaurant called Rino (delicious by the way!). We had to take a cab there, so our hotel called us a minivan. We told the driver where to take us, and she started driving down the Champs. There was a ton of traffic and we weren’t moving at all. Our driver suddenly started to frantically take off her coat and say, “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” We all tilted our heads a little and stared at her - I thought she was just having a hot flash or something. She continued to say, “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.” Then she further explained and said, “I’m sorry. I get panic attacks in traffic.”

We all looked at each other with our eyebrows raised and mouthed to each other, “Then why are you a cab driver?” I, unfortunately, laugh in uncomfortable situations. I was trying so hard not to laugh, but failed miserably and was snorting into my arm. My mom almost started laughing because I was laughing and kept saying, “Will someone please stop her?” Fortunately, I think our cab driver was so paralyzed by her panic attack, she didn’t notice my fit of laughter. After five minutes, she calmed down and put her coat back on like nothing happened. You could not get us out of that cab fast enough.

We went to Normandy on the 27th, which was really great, but so cold. We took the train there and back, but the train back was torture. In our car, and in our car only, there was a high pitch buzzing sound coming from the speaker. When we slowed down, the buzzing would get quieter, but it would be ear piercing as we sped up. Robyn said it was like we were in Guantanamo Bay, and my mom wondered if it could cause seizures. I put in my headphones, but it didn't do much to help the sound. Thirty minutes before we arrived back in Paris, the conductor came into our car and it immediately shut off. Of course.

Today we went to Sacré Coeur, and I think my mom found a new boyfriend (or two). While my sister, dad and I went into the church, my mom and grandma waited outside on the steps. A group of men from India, who were in their 20’s, came up to my mom and asked her to take a picture. She assumed they wanted her to take a picture of the group, so she went to take their camera. One of the guys said, “No, I want to take a picture with you.”

My mom replied, “With me?”

“Yes, with you. You are so beautiful.”

My mom just laughed and then complied. She put her arm around him and took the photo with the guy, and then his friend said, “Now me too!” So, my mom took another photo.

Afterward, one of the guys said, “You are so beautiful. Are you from the UK?”

My mom said, “No, I am from the US.”

“Oh I have always wanted to go to the US.”

“Well, if you are there, give me a call!”

He said excitedly, “Oh, yes! I will look you up.”

My mom laughed and replied, “Yes, you do that!”

“Ok! I will find you on Facebook.”

Unfortunately for him, my mom does not have a Facebook. Oh well. Now we have taken to calling my mom Mrs. Robinson.

The rest of our trip will be explained in photos. Enjoy!