Disneyland Paris

Here is Liva, perhaps the only Latvian in the park that day. I think she had 100 times more fun than I did, so much energy, it was hard to keep up with her sometimes when she held my hand tight !

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While the French were voting in their first round for their future president people from other countries all gathered at this wonderful park to enjoy the day. The lines were not very long, 35 minutes was my longest wait, the entertainment was on par with that of the Disneyland at home, and the overall ambiance, I thought, surpassed that of the park at home. The park itself is like an extension of "it's a small world". One could say that I got on that ride when I entered the park gate and got off when I exited ten hours later. There were Italians, Americans, Germans, Dutch, English, Irish, Scottish, Koreans, Polish, Spanish, as well as my beautiful Latvian companion, Liva, all scattered throughout the park. Liva, crossed pretty much the whole continent to spend the day with me and to experience a Disney park for the first time. Our favorite ride was Space Mountain 2,a bit bumpier than the Space Mountain at home. Liva was determined to go on every ride she could, even the kiddie rides, but that was part of the fun ! I don't think that i've ever enjoyed myself at Disneyland as much as when I went to the one in Paris. There were a couple of differences: There was no Splash Mountain ride to get us soaking wet, and the Euro version of the Indiana Jones ride was a roller coaster, nothing like the large guided jeeps I had at home in California.  Pirates of the Caribbean was a classic and the Haunted Mansion was so well duplicated that I thought I was instantly transported to Anaheim, CA. We ate lunch and I had a cheeseburger for the first time in over seven months (I had been living in France since September '06) and I heard a bluegrass band singing Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" inFrench, and quite well too. They got a standing ovation from a small American audience.  We sampled Star Tours as well as "Honey I shrunk the Audience" all in French which was quite a bit of fun for me. At 8:00 pm we headed out and said farewell to this wonderful little place.