Hello Dearies!
Some of you might recall that our children have only been living in Europe for 3 years in their life. (I do not count Istanbul here). And when we lived in Mexico we became suddenly aware that my husband and me had so much luck that we have been raised in Europe where all the countries are so close. Whenever you move to another county your view on the world map changes. You have new neighbouring countries and and you clearly see that Germany certainly is not the navel of the world... And from Mexico Europe was so far away and so many people have never been there. During our years of studying in a multicultural environment at University even in Germany we had so much opportunities to meet people from all over Europe and travelling there. It was easy: you knew somebody abroad and you just visited them and their family. That had so many benefits: you got to know different countries, you got an inside view because you stayed with locals and you could build up friendships that might last for years or even a lifetime. So blessed we were. And Markus and I we both have been bitten by the travel bug even before we actually met (when we were already in our thirties). And because we have lived at Lake Constance we had 3 other countries nearby: Switzerland and Austria as the neighbouring countries and even France and Italy within a two-hour's drive.
So yes, we travelled a lot through Europe these days and now realized that our children who have been raised in Istanbul, Mexico and now Seoul (see how far is that away from Europe and how the perspective on the world changed again) maybe would not see all this Europe like we did. So when we go back for holidays this upcoming summer they uttered the wish to see the European capitals. We have never been the beach-type family and even the children who have the opportunity to go to the mountains and the beach here in Korea a lot wanted to see another city because they loved our Istanbul experience last summer.
So they have chosen Paris. Markus and I spent a lot of time there already because we both had friends who lived and studied there. But this time will be different: we will be doing this together and with children. So it will be a totally different experience and much more touristy because we really don't need to have a look at all these fantastic sights again and would explore different areas of Paris, but it is wonderful to see it again AND for the first time with the eyes of our children.
They are very exited and wanted to "prepare" for the trip because they learned from our visit to Istanbul that they benefitted from all the stories and anecdotes they have been told about Istanbul. So they knew more and therefore saw more.
And being a (sometimes) clever mom I am also redirecting their lust for knowledge about our next destination to make them learn something: Moritz has to get better with his writing skills and both older children have to learn things at the computer. So now they have assigned tasks for themselves: they will do research about things they are interested in and will read and take notes and prepare some pages for a "travel-album". So being there they can tell us something about the places we are going to visit, about the food, the habits etc. So they can do things at the computer= research and are writing something. And they don't have the feeling they are doing something for school whilst preparing pages and oral presentations for their next trip. So I saved myself some fights over reading and writing more.
But there are more things we do with them to make them get aquainted with France:
We are watching French films with them, they read books from French authors or books that are about Paris or France, they are learning some French words via apps on the iPad or the iPhone (I now really love to have all the technical gadgets to use them for this purpose and not only for my indulges...!)
And we also already started eating French food and telling them which food we already eat is French! We either buy things or try out recipes. We are also showing them a bit of Paris in Korea because so many restaurants and cafes are Paris-inspired or are truly French and have dependances here. And I get stationary and scrapbooking supplies for them to make their own albums and diaries for the trip.
So, what does this all have to do with you except maybe giving you an idea about how to prepare a trip with your children in advance so they might benefit more? I will be sharing each Friday some tips about this journey we are currently on: hints about Apps, photographers, food, recipes, Korean stationary about Paris, films, crafting tips, etc. And because we will be crafting we will also have some Paris-related giveaways from time to time. I am also preparing things for my shop. The shop has been sleeping for ages now but it will be reopened in March with some new things and some oldies but goldies!
Today you'll get a peek onto some cute paper goods made in Korea:
I absolutely love these stickers with all the Parisian images. The same stickers also exist for Tokyo, New York, London, Prague and some other cities.
I cannot wait to use them on actual pages but I also love them how they are: neatly tucked into their tin box!
And not to forget: the gorgeous vintage Parisian map inspired scrapbooking paper from October Afternoon! Oh how I love their products!!!
And here is a sweet little app for iPhone and iPad called: My little Paris. They have a lovely web page and I like the design, their little daily tips and the ecards you can send via the app.
The drawings are so delicate and "French"...
I like the drawing Of Li Edelkoort here:
I like to get a sweet dose of Paris from time to time, don't you?
And if you want a colourful dose of it don't forget to visit SF Girl Bay over at her blog and read last week's post about Paris! That makes you want to move there immediately! And I cannot tell you how much I like her blog and her style!
I am leaving you here after quite a long post today! Hope you are not totally exhausted!
I would be happy if you'd join me on this journey every French Friday from now on!
