Christmas in Paris!

Finally - the Paris Christmas post!!  My sincerest apologies for the long wait.

We were SO lucky to take this incredible trip at a time when we wanted to be with family but couldn't.  Jeremy and I continuously marveled at the fact that we couldn't believe we were actually in Paris for Christmas - something we never imagined we'd be able to do.  And Dalila was just as happy to be there as us.  In fact, she's now started calling all large buildings she sees "the Eiffel Tower" - including the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

We arrived in Paris in the middle of the day, but spent about 2 hours riding in our hired car with a driver who spoke NO English (though the site we booked through promised all drivers could speak English), searching for our rented flat...which turned out to be a little less than desirable, with walls that may has well have been made of glorified cardboard and ceilings to match.  The highlight each night was the earthquake-esque rumbling from the metro running directly below our second story flat that ended around 12 A.M. and began promptly at 5:30 every morning.  Top that off with the rotten eggs in the refrigerator that I was afraid to move in case the owner of the flat was conducting some highly scientific experiment of sorts and the shattered pieces of glass littering the floor which poor Jeremy found lodged in his toe weeks after we left Paris, and we can safely say the flat wasn't what we hoped for.  But, OH - the location!!  So many travelers live by the motto "It's all about the location" and this was certainly the case for us.  We were a 5 minute walk from the Champs Elysees and about 10-15 minutes (with an easily distracted toddler in tow, mind you) from the Arc de Triomphe.  Yes, the location made up for every little downfall of the apartment itself and our troubles in finding it.

Once we finally settled in on our first evening, we spent a very chilly, wet evening at the Christmas market and called it a night.  So the photo highlight reel will begin with our first full day in Paris:

Day One

Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomple and Christmas Market

The family at Champs Elysees

This lady wanted a picture with Dalila SOO badly, but the only way
Dalila would cooperate was when she showed pictures of her grandson. 

A view of the Christmas market before noon - BEST time to go!

Enjoying pork-related items on the street side
at the Christmas Market!  Something that is
frowned upon in our Middle Eastern home.

Next, we met up with some good friends at a park near the entrance to the Louvre.  A brood of small children made entering the Louvre and actually enjoying it impossible, but the walk to it and the photo ops outside provided plenty of entertainment, minus the risk of destruction of priceless artwork.

Dalila and friends enjoying the view of a freezing cold
fountain and pond.

The family outside The Louvre!

Awww - Dalila loves to pose!

After a less than successful attempt to see the world-renowned animatronic Christmas windows at the famous Galleries Lafayette (seriously - the only things that moved in the Christmas windows were some silly little cheerleaders spinning around with pom-poms!), we rested at home, then headed out to experience the evening at the Christmas Market.

Riding the Christmas train with a cute little Parisian girl.

The Christmas Market at night - THERE'S the crowd!!

Day Two - Christmas Eve!

Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Chocolate Crepes (!), Sacre Coeur, and Christmas Eve dinner

A crisp, cool morning walk from the metro
stop to the Eiffel Tower - beautiful!

The top of the Eiffel Tower was SO packed, Dalila wasn't too
pleased with the crowds.  She kept saying, "I want all the
buddies (everybody) to go away!!"  This was the only
photo we could snap of the three of us through the
massive crowds - not even in the peak season, mind you!

Beautiful Notre Dame - again, we didn't dare
enter with a cranky toddler who needed a nap!

The family outside Notre Dame.

  

Chocolate crepes right by Notre Dame - the outer wall of the
cathedral is visible through the window!  Couple that with the
success of finally getting our little one to nap, and we were
quite a happy couple!

Walking along the red-light district with 4 kids, even in
daylight hours is not something I recommend.  But it WAS
pretty cool to see the famous Moulin Rouge...

Dalila and her buddies taking a cute photo outside the Moulin
Rouge, while we tried to ignore the fact that these were about
the only kids on this street... =)

We managed to find another cute little Christmas market,
with a beautiful carousel, on our way to Sacre Coeur.
Dalila was so happy to ride with her latest sweetheart,
Edward.

Sacre Coeur, no photos allowed inside, but it was just
beautiful, especially in the midst of preparations for
Christmas Eve Mass.

The whole group, enjoying a delicious French dinner at a
beautiful little restaurant with a fantastic atmosphere.

Dalila in her Christmas dress (with extra layers for warmth,
of course).

Day Three - Christmas Day

Paris Disneyland!!

Whew!!  This was by far the most exhausting day for the already sleep-deprived Allen family, but SUCH an amazing experience for our Christmas in Paris holiday.  Dalila was so happy to meet with her friends again and spend the day in Disneyland with them.  Here are the photo highlights!

The little metro experts - ready for the 30 minute train ride
to the happiest place on Earth!

She was a little wary of meeting Pooh...

...But her good buddy Edward made it
all better!  Thanks, Edward!!

Big smiles at the entrance to Disneyland!

A big, beautiful Christmas tree right at the
 entrance.

Waiting to meet Mickey....which didn't
happen =(  We had a tired toddler and a
daunting 40 minute line ahead of us.
Those two don't mix so well,
so we had to give up.  When we
returned to try again later in the day, we were
informed that Mickey left for the day just 10
minutes prior to our second attempt.  Boo. 

Riding on Autopia with Daddy!

Go figure - Lila was terrified of Winnie the Pooh, but
instantly loved Jack Skellington from Nightmare Before
Christmas.  I don't know....

Lila and Mommy got to ride on Dumbo together while the less
pregnant adults and taller children went on a roller coaster.
Hmph!  We had more fun anyway, right, Lila!?!

The beautiful Christmas lights of Main Street Disney.

My tired loves after a fun-filled Christmas at Disneyland.
Dalila is proudly showing off her Christmas Minnie Mouse
souvenir - complete with light up sweater and all!

What an incredible trip we had to Paris this Christmas!!  We were so grateful to be fortunate enough to take this vacation to one of our dream destinations - and Christmas in a nice cold place nowhere near our current home in the Middle East made us feel so much more festive!  Joyeux Noel, everyone!!

Christmas - 2012

Once I finally made it to the end of the school term, the holiday season became all about Dalila - as any Christmas season should be!  Jeremy and I made sure to plan as many festive trips as possible, mostly to help us feel Christmas-y in this totally uncalled for 90 degree weather we experienced the first weeks of December.  Sweating in shorts and a t-shirt makes embracing the spirit of the holiday season just a tad difficult - especially when we watch the weather reports for snow and nice chilly days back home.  We definitely needed some help getting into the holiday mood.

This year, we focused most of our holiday outing into one big day in Dubai - where Christmas is much more openly celebrated than in our "little" city of Al Ain.  One of the best places we went last year was Al Wafi Mall - a fairly high-end shopping mall with a surprising Egyptian theme, complete with pyramid structure and hieroglyphics proudly on display throughout the facility.  (Why is the theme surprising?  The idea of multiple deities is almost horrifying to a large majority of the population here - but Dubai can get away with nearly anything!).

As beautiful as the Ancient Egypt-inspired motif is, their seasonal Christmas decorations are even more amazing.  The tree at the center of the Santa display rises almost three stories and is surrounded by the most adorable kitschy animatronic figures in all states of Christmas preparation.  The experience is nice and private in comparison to usual Santa visits where any old passerby can stare as your child sits on Santa's lap to share her wishes.  Here, Santa sits in a private grotto next to a mountain of stuffed animals, presumably to bribe the more uncertain Santa-visitors and/or reward the brave little souls who march in with no fear of the big guy.  Luckily, Dalila was more of the latter - shedding not a single tear nor sharing any worried glances with Mommy and Daddy as she confidently strode up to meet Santa.  She couldn't keep her eyes off of the hill of stuffed animals and I believe her first words to Santa were, "I wanna puppy, please?"  Santa chuckled and complied with the request, allowing our straight-forward little miss to ask for what she REALLY wanted, "I want a pooter, please Santa."  This request was spurred by her desire to "work" alongside Mommy and Daddy who are frequently busy with laptops.  Also...we may have helped her to this decision with the knowledge that Santa just may be bringing Dalila a LeapPad II this year... Either way, our daughter ended up happy.  After the Santa visit, Dalila was invited to participate in the Christmas crafting booth where she made the cutest little Santa fridge magnet ever.

Waiting to see Santa!

Admiring the mountain of puppies before her chat with Santa.

"I want a pooter, please, Santa."

Loving her puppy after visiting Santa's Grotto.

Some of the festive display at Santa's village.

They even had elves on stilts!!

The next couple of locations on our planned Christmas fest ended up falling short, or falling through completely.  The mall we remembered from the previous year with amazing decorations didn't live up to the standard set by our first visit.  Our very favorite location from the year before with a festive Christmas market and the jolliest Santa we had ever had the pleasure to meet was also the site of the last day of the Dubai International Film Festival and the crowds were far too thick for any of us to enjoy ourselves.  We altered our plans slightly and ended up heading to Festival City - another favored area of the city for us - to see what kind of Christmas spirit we could find there.  We were lucky enough to finish our steak dinner (!!) and walk outside right as a laser light show was starting on the boardwalk along the water.  The show was impressive and even got Lila to dance a little for the other audience members, which I'm sure made their nights memorable.  After that, Dalila got to have one more visit with Santa, this time asking for a phone....though I have NO idea what prompted that request.

Another visit with Santa at Festival City.

Once we all felt sufficiently Christmas-y, we made the decision to move our family Christmas celebration up just a few days.  Our trip to Paris would begin on the 22nd and we knew we would be too busy in Paris to stop and celebrate, so we chose to make the 21st our Christmas Day.  Because our BIG gift for the whole family this year was a trip to Paris, presents mostly consisted of things we knew we would need for our vacation (accumulating an appropriate winter wardrobe in the stifling heat that is the U.A.E. is quite impractical, so buying a few staples to keep us warm in Europe was an absolute necessity).  We also wrapped everything we had purchased for Dalila, including socks and her new cup so she could experience the fun of opening her Christmas presents like always.  This strategy worked very well for our little almost three-year-old and she was perfectly happy with her Christmas.  Santa even managed to make a special early stop and bring Dalila her "pooter" before our flight to Paris - Thanks, Santa!!

We capped off our Christmas night with a delicious roast duck prepared by Jeremy and an early bedtime to make our morning flight to Paris the next day.  Somehow, we managed to make the 22nd OUR Christmas.  In fact, it worked so well that I had convinced myself Christmas was over by the time we began our big vacation.  Luckily, Paris did NOT feel the same way as me, and we experienced the city of lights at the most festive time of the year.  Stay tuned for our BIG Paris post, coming soon!!

Eid at the Zoo and Waterpark!

The first trimester at school is by far the best.  Why?  THE BREAKS!!  It seems like we have a day off for some random event every 3 weeks...and I LOVE it!!

For our first major break of the school year, Eid Al Adha, we booked a little get-away to a private zoo and resort.  Jeremy discovered a groupon offering tickets to the zoo and a night in a beautiful chalet.  The zoo was a very short 90 minute drive from home, but felt like jumping the border into a new country.  Driving anywhere in the U.A.E. is always a fun little challenge, but we were pleasantly surprised by the signage that popped up once we finally located the road we needed.  Oddly, the zoo is situated right in the middle of a sandy, barren desert neighborhood.  But the grounds inside the zoo were of a completely different world.  The walk to the hotel front desk was lined with banana trees hanging low over a pretty, winding path with a sweet pair of huge squirrels in their enclosure waiting at the end to greet us.


Check-in was a breeze and we were awe-struck on the short outdoor walk to our chalet.  The resort is situated so that each room opens to the giraffe, zebra and antelope enclosure.  Zoo employees sell bundles of grass for guests to feed the animals.  Dalila couldn't have been happier with the arrangement and plucked pieces of grass one at a time to offer the curious giraffes hanging their heads over the low fence for a little snack.  She had no fear, even when the huge giraffes were inches from her face and licked her little hand clutching a tiny fistful of grass.

The room itself was perfection.  A raised living room, kitchenette and comfortable master suite helped us to feel right at home.  The best part was the massive picture window that opened up to our amazing view of the animal enclosure 10 steps away from our private porch.

Lila and Mommy petting a sheep.

One of the main perks of staying at the resort was the endless access to the zoo.  We stumbled upon a small, hidden gate available for use by hotel guests only the put us right into the heart of the well-maintained zoo.  Some of our favorite U.A.E. friends were able to meet up with us for a walk through the zoo.    

This sweet little boy became Lila's new boyfriend.  His family
stayed in the chalet next to us and the two were inseparable.
She likes older men.

Playing in the sand...because they can't get enough of it
everywhere we go?

Heather and Dalila, trying to get the shy antelope to come to them.

Dalila and her buddy Heather petting a goat.

Our next destination on our fun-filled Eid holiday was a visit with some more of our favorite U.A.E. friends complete with a trip to a waterpark and a Halloween party!  The waterpark was about a 2 hour drive from home and looked a bit sketchy when we pulled up into the parking lot.  Our only other experience with waterparks here, however, was at The Palms Atlantis resort last Christmas, so our standards were arguably high.  Once inside the park, the chipping paint on the exterior was soon forgotten.  This place was perfect for young kids and Dalila couldn't have been any happier with the many kid-friendly pools and slides that she exhausted herself on.

Next came the big Halloween party with some of our best friends who we hadn't seen for months.  Walking up the pathway to the home where the party was held reminded us all of the people back at home who have their home completely decked out for every holiday.  Those people who make a haunted house for the kids right on their front lawn, but it's an amazing haunted house and not at all cheesy.  THAT'S what this house was like.  Just like being at home for Halloween.  The interior was even better and we could spend the whole night noticing decorations that we hadn't seen before.  The company was fantastic and exactly what we needed to cure our homesickness.


Eid holiday always comes with high expectations as the first holiday of the school year, and this break certainly didn't disappoint!

Ummm...I forgot we had a blog?

Yeah, that's it!  I forgot we had a blog!  Why else would I completely neglect my loyal readers (Mom and Dad).

Really, though?  I'm just a blog-slacker.  Sorry everyone!!  I'll break all the big events down into a few posts to make up for falling completely off the radar for the last 2 months.

Big News First!!

Let's begin with the biggest news of all to happen during our 2 month Blogspot hiatus.

Dalila is going to be a big sister!!  We decided it's finally time to expand the family.  Baby Allen will arrive at the end of next May.  We're ecstatic to be able to deliver here in the U.A.E. where our insurance is incredible and we pay nothing more than our co-pay of 30 dirhams (about $7.50 U.S.) for each visit.  That's IT!!  PLUS, my job here offers 45 days of paid maternity leave.  How lucky are we!?!

Second Biggest News

The Allens are headed to Paris!!  Our Christmas this year will be spent taking in the beauty and wonder of the city of lights.  We had hoped to travel home to Idaho, but after many fruitless searches for airfare at an affordable price, we realized that visiting one of our dream destinations will actually end up being far cheaper than travelling home for our winter break.  We're devastated to miss another Christmas with family, but the promise of an amazing trip to a place we never thought we'd be able to go will lessen the pain just a little bit.

That's it for big news that I've neglected to share on our blog.  Now for some more specific posts about holidays and happenings.  Stay tuned!