Disney Land!

So, as some of you may already know, this weekend just gone I went to DISNEY LAND PARIS!! In an effort not to miss out any of the many treats and wonders I have experienced between Friday and Sunday, I shall commence with Friday morning...

Friday morning started with a pain au raisin and a 7.50am bus to Blois, whereupon I met the lovely Erin and caught up on all her news over a maxi pain au chocolat and later a delicious lunch in her apartment. She also lent me moral support in the Orange phone shop when I asked why I had received a text telling me I was 15€ over my usual monthly pay plan (to cut a long story short, I thought I had internet on my contract - and had briefly used it in Périgueux - when I actually don't, and I've gone over my minutes, oops). Oh well, it gave me an opportunity to practise my French!

I then met Carine (my French friend from the MAJO) at the train station whereupon we hastily made our way back to her house, I had my second lunch of the day, and we made lunch for Saturday at Disney Land (I would later find out why...). Carine also made a galette to take as a gift for her cousin and co. who would be hosting us for the weekend. Then, off we went in Carine's little car to Paris. Map-reading in France and giving directions in French is another experience all together, but with my OTC nav skills, a bit of common sense and her SatNav, we made it to her cousin's house all in one piece, you'll be glad to hear. Although you're probably not surprised, since I am able to write this blog post.

The time until bed was spent talking with Carine's cousin and her family, absolutely owning the French language and discussing all manner of things, from the dominance of nuclear power as France's main source of energy, to the inability of France and the French to embrace change, to the diffusion of the English language into French (our verb 'fight' has been conquered and turned into 'fighter', I discovered - I did my best to smile and carry on with the conversation)... All in all, a highly successful evening in linguistic terms, with some excellent food to accompany it. The galette for pudding went down a treat - and the children hid beneath the table and said the name of the person who the slice of galette was for, as per tradition as a way of allocating la fêve by chance. We also had a rather nice red wine from Bordeaux and some rosé champagne as well!

Quality Stuff. So glad I'm
not going to have to give
it up upon my return to the UK.

Saturday morning started exceptionally well, and was a good indicator of how the rest of the day was going to pan out. Namely, with a brilliant breakfast consisting of: coco pops, hot chocolate (drunk out of bowls, of course), pain au lait (sweet bread) with nutella, brioche with a chocolate centre, madeleines (essentially cakes) and yoghurts.

Carine and I were then driven the short distance to Disney Land, we bought our tickets, and decided to go to the small park during the morning (we arrived at 10am) and then hit the big park for the rest of the day until the closing of the park at 9.30pm. And let's just say, Disney Land blew my socks off. The scenery and themed statues and attractions and things to do took me back to my childhood - I used the scream-o-meters which feature in the film Monsters Inc., I posed beneath a giant Buzz Lightyear statue (in an effort to understand why my Yr 11 tutor said I reminded him of the character...), I saw Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Goofy, and I went to the Disney Show whereupon I was transported back to memories of my favourite childhood Disney films and songs.

Next, Carine and I decided to try a roller coaster, but a gentle one to warm ourselves up, but not too violently after I had stuffed my face (comme d'habitude) at breakfast. Crush's Coaster (based on the 'Finding Nemo' scene where the turtles ride the East Australian Current) won our vote, and two hours later (after two technical incidents occurring when we were close enough to being let onto the ride that it wasn't worth leaving - clearly this aspect of roller coasters is still the same in other countries) we were being whizzed around in the dark, screaming, and absolutely loving it (well, I was - Carine was fully exercising her lungs and her range of French swear words).

Entrance to the larger park
 (note Mickey in the foreground!)

The afternoon was consequently spent in the larger park, my first sightings of which genuinely took my breath away. For those who have not had the privilege of going, as you first approach there is a huge castle-like façade with a fountain and flower beds in the shape of Mickey Mouse (see photo), and when you arrive through the turnstiles, there is a long boulevard of old-fashioned American style shops selling souvenirs and merchandise, but also restaurants and ice-cream parlours and so on. And at the end of it, is the Disney Castle, majestically rising up in front of you. I couldn't believe that they had actually built the entire freaking castle! It utterly embodies how I imagine a fairy tale castle, with a small moat, and beneath it there is a mechanical (/real, depending on your imagination) dragon, and on the second floor are scenes and stained glass windows with images from Sleeping Beauty.

The Disney Castle!

The scenery is what I loved most about the park: the shops were in timber houses; the Alice in Wonderland maze and Mad Hatter's tea party; the Pirate caves and Pirate Ship. We spent the afternoon on gentle rides (tea cups, merry-go-round, Dumbo, little boats doing a tour of scenes from classic Fairy Tales, tours of the stories of Aladdin, Peter Pan and Pinocchio) and generally appreciating the sheer size and scale of the park. I loved being reminded of Disney films that I had forgotten, either by scenery or by hearing the music played on the park speakers.

And here are my two Disney Land Highlights:
1. The Parade.
At 5pm, Carine and I were waiting at the start point of the Parade so as to get a good view. I was sceptical, but intrigued. What came next put the biggest grin on my face in a long, long time. A cheesy song on repeat, previously-out-of-work actors and actresses trying to make a living dressed up in costumes of Disney characters, monstrous floats combining robotics and more smiling, waving characters... but I absolutely adored it. I felt like I was five years old again, and felt all warm and fuzzy inside when Mickey Mouse waved at me. My words here don't do it justice, but I couldn't stop smiling either during nor for a good five minutes after the Parade had passed.

Toy Story float

2. The closing of the park Show.
At 9pm, frozen and with aching feet, Carine and I walked up the shopping boulevard until we had a good view of the entire castle without craning our necks. And so commenced what was, for me, one of the most magical things I have ever seen. A story of many, many Disney characters was told, accompanied by fireworks, belches of fire, enormous sprays of coloured water, projections onto what was previously simply air, lighting tricks, and classic Disney songs. I know it's a cliché  but it took me back to my childhood memories and it genuinely amazed me. For me, magic exists in as much as 'magic' is something that I do not understand. The show was bursting with magic and I was swept away by the splendour of it all. The night could not have ended in a better way.

Starry-eyed from the final fireworks and the magic I had just witnessed, we made our way back to the car and so back to our abode whereupon we were welcomed by raclette (which is beyond delicious) i.e. potatoes - you have to take the skins off to (try to) appear French - and cured meats, which you then smother in raclette cheese which you melt yourself beneath the little grill in the machine. An excellent bottle of white wine was opened, whereupon I took one for the team and had several glasses of it. We then squeezed a few crepes (with nutella, of course) into our bulging stomachs, before we toddled off to bed.

4€ well spent in my opinion...

Sunday brought with it another excellent breakfast (this time including left over pancakes with nutella, too) shortly followed - since I only got up at 10.30 - by a lovely lunch. At 2pm, we successfully map-read back to Romorantin and I came down from the tremendous emotional high of the weekend with the realisation that I needed to plan lessons for 9am on Monday and generally sort my life out. I had an incredible weekend though, and the memories from it will continue to remind me of this.

P.S. the reason we made lunch for Saturday at Carine's house on Friday, was because Disney Land is horribly, horribly expensive. Burger, chips and a drink prices started at 12€. Hot chocolate and a donut was 6€. A candyfloss (albeit twice the size of my head) was 4€. Quite apart from the cost of the entrance tickets themselves... However I do admit, I did cave in and buy myself a cuddly Mickey Mouse (18€) to remind myself of what an incredible day I spent at Disney Land Paris on Saturday 2nd February, 2013. I believe in magic.