Hola

I realize it's been a while since I last updated so here's what's been going on. My parents planned their annual visit to see us and we all met up in Spain for two weeks. The weather was fabulous and sunny. I don't think it rained at all while we were there. I even came back with a tan!! I'll post more on Spain and our adventures later but since then, it's been back to the real world meaning Marathon Training has started. But that also means new skirts!!! Once they come in, I'll post pictures.

Disneyland Paris Day 2

The second day of DLP, we drove because we were going to be leaving to head home after our time at the park. We again arrived early so we could grab breakfast and then get in line for Crush's Coaster at Walt Disney Studios (the DHS of Paris). This coaster is so popular that everyone starts lining up before rope drop and it was totally worth the wait. You are basically riding a turtle shell through the EAC so you need to "Rip it, roll it and punch it" (not really, I just love that quote). The downside to this ride is, there are no Fast Passes. If you go, this needs to be one of the first rides you hit.

After hanging down under, we grabbed Fast Passes for Tower of Terror and then rode Rock n Roller Coaster. Unlike Disney World, Rock n Roller Coaster did not have a story behind it. It was a coaster that was in the dark with lights flashing like a concert and again Aerosmith music. Orlando's is better. Tower of Terror hasn't been updated yet so it's just the three drops. Again, Orlando's is better. So, after all this, we decided it was lunchtime. We tried out Cafe des Stars. This was pretty fun because there is a life size Remy that comes out under a waiter's tray and he can bust a move! <3

We meandered around, met some characters including Gaston, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumm, Remy and Emile. We then caught Lights, Motors, Action. I was a little disappointed because the videos I've seen made it seem more action packed. But it was interesting and good to get off our feet for a bit. We then caught the Stars and Cars parade.

Toy Story Car

Mary Poppins's Car

The Villain Car

After the parade, we had decided that it was time to make our way home. I think for our next trip, we will just ride Crush's Coaster and then spend the rest of the day at Disneyland Park. It was a wonderful birthday trip :)

If anyone has questions about Disneyland Paris, let me know. It was difficult to plan what to do when there is not a lot of information available.

Disneyland Paris Day 1

For my birthday, my husband took me to Disneyland Paris for the weekend!!

Too excited to keep my eyes open

Couple things to note: Fast Passes are only for 30 minute windows, there are no Mickey Ice Cream Bars or Dole Whips and ear hats are not as big of a thing. :(

Disney always makes me happy (who can't be happy at Disney) but visiting a new park just added that much more excitement. We attempted to plan our trip but there wasn't a lot of information available. So we did the best we could. Prior to our trip, Brian had made reservations at Cafe Mickey with a cake for my birthday so we had one meal set. We stayed off property because it was way too expensive to stay on property and then just took the RER, a Paris commuter train, to the park. We didn't sleep well the night before so we were up early and ready to go. We caught an earlier train and wandered Disney Village (DLP's Downtown Disney). They had a Starbucks, McDonald's, Earl of Sandwich, Rain Forest Cafe and several Disney shops and other Disney themed restaurants, including Cafe Mickey.

We grabbed some coffee and continued our exploration. We also saw a lot of people entering the Parks so we tried our luck at it.

We made it in and only got as far as the bridge to Discoveryland (Tomorrowland) before we were stopped. While waiting, we worked on our game plan. The plan was for me to take the tickets and sprint to Space Mountain for Fast Passes. Brian would come along at a normal pace and take pictures. We would then get in line for Star Tours. This was not everyone's idea as I was the first and only person at the Fast Pass distribution. Everyone else was running for the main line. We rode Star Tours (which has not been redesigned) and the took on Space Mountain, which is a real roller coaster. WOW! I loved it and yes, we rode it again.

Phantom Manor

We also took on Phantom Manor (Haunted Mansion), which tried to be more spooky than fun and Indiana Jones et le Temple du Peril (I wouldn't recommend it without a Fast Pass). By then it was lunch time. It had been so long since we've had a normal hot dog. We live in Germany, there are no hot dogs here, they'll all brats. With that in mind, we decided to eat at Casey's Corner. Not as good as the Orlando one but still hit the spot.

We then took to Fantasyland and It's a Small World. The teacups broke down just before we were able to ride as did the train. We decided to do Space Mountain again and ran into some interesting characters (literally!) like the White Rabbit, Frollo and Abu.

 

We also caught a ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which is more popular because it the only kid friendly coaster.

We then made our way out of the park to Cafe Mickey for dinner!

Dole Whip shirt and wine

Cafe Mickey is character dining so we had fun being kids again. 

Dinner was good and Mickey presented me with my cake. 

We then went back to the park to watch the fireworks :)

Boston

As a runner, a marathoner, I am in shock over what happened at Boston. The running community is close and tight knit, whether you are an elite runner, a Boston qualifier, a back of the packer, or just starting out. This is why I feel personally affected by this event. I feel like my family has been attacked. However, runners are resilient (really, we run marathons and half marathons for fun). We will still run and we will continue to encourage, inspire and uplift others.

So today, on my run, I will run for more than myself. I will run for Boston.

Made My Day :)

My friend Jenny over at Running Halfway Around the World nominated me as a very inspiring blogger. I'm honored that she thought of me as inspiring. Thanks Jenny!

Here are the rules:


The award has three simple rules:

1. Thank and link back to the person who nominated you.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Nominate 15 other bloggers and comment on their blogs to let them know.

So, seven things about myself.

1. Both my husband and I love our alma mater. Our wedding was themed after it. We named one of our cats after it and our future dog will also carry a name from it. (Our other cat is named after cookies.)
2. I didn't watch a single Star Wars movie until I was 27 (and yes, this was like a month ago).
3. I have a goal of visiting 30 countries by the time I turn 30. I'm currently at 16 with 2 years left.
4. I love Spring. The weather is wonderful, it's my birthday season and there are so many festivals here. Just about every weekend is a festival :)
5. I've recently started cooking...for real and not just pasta and crock pot recipes. I make a mean meatloaf.
6. I used to dance. I spent 14 years of my life dancing and doing dance competitions.
7. I've never visited the west coast. I've done Hawaii and Vegas but nothing else between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean.

Nominations: This is going to be tough because Jenny and I read the same blogs so it won't be 15 but I'll do my best!

1. Through Heather's Looking Glass - Heather is an amazing blogger, running skirt lover and Disney enthusiast.
2. Runner's Tales - Rachel has an great weight loss journey and blogs about her races in Florida.
3. Diary of an Everyday Girl - A fellow Running of the Ears member who posts interesting recipes that I will have to try soon (especially the crab and shrimp dip).
4. Love Every Mile - I had the privilege of running part of the marathon with Kimberly and really getting to know her better.

Check out their blogs and enjoy your day!

Rock N Roll Nice -- 10 Miles of Carnival

For President's Day Weekend, the husband and I packed our bags and headed to the Riviera. It was Carnival! We were also running the Inaugural Rock N Roll Nice race.

The weather for the whole weekend was wonderful. It was still chilly for the locals because they were bundled up but we were enjoying the 50 degree sunny weather.

Our race course was along the beach front promenade out to the airport then back to the marina with a finish in front of the carnival grandstands. The course was one giant out and back loop. It was relatively flat but not completely as advertised. There were two massive hills and only one down hill. (Apparently what goes up doesn't always come down.) But the view of the Med was beautiful the entire course. I was less than two minutes off a PR, which isn't bad for two reasons. 1) The longest distance I had run between the marathon and this race was 3 miles. 2) A blister started appearing around mile 3. It was well organized for the first running however the race expo was tiny.

Heading to the marina around mile 7.5/km 12

Heading up the hill the day before the race

Picture of the medal (photo from Rock n Roll)

Marathon In Pictures

Mile 5ish with the Castle and Julie (photo from Mrs. P)

Mile 22 inside Hollywood Studios

Mile 25 "I just want to be done" (photo from Mrs. P)

Post Marathon Feet. 4 blisters as battle scars (photo from Mrs. P)

Marathon Happy with Mr. Mouse himself!