Have some catching up to do!

I cannot believe how long it has been since I last posted, I guess I have just been very busy. Oops! Since my last blog we have been to Mainz for the beginning of the Fasching season and the announcement of the theme for this year. We have also taken a day trip to Paris.
I will begin by talking about Mainz and the Fasching festival. On November 11 at 11:11 AM each year the mayor comes out and announces the theme for the carnivals and parades for each year's fasching season. Most festivals don't start until the beginning of January and last through Easter, with most of the festivities starting the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and lasting til Easter. We made it up to Mainz in time for this years announcement, which is music. I am thinking along the lines of musicals, etc. Not entirely sure. We decided to go to Mainz for the announcement because it is considered one of the three powerhouses for Fasching festivals, the others being Cologne and Dusseldorf. Fasching is said to have started from one of two ideas: the first being that the King used to give the people one day to say whatever and bash the government leading to the idea during Fasching of whatever you do goes. The other idea of origin comes from the time that farm workers would go from house to house collecting different food items for festivities while wearing masks and making lots of noise. Personally I think its a mix of both. Fasching is often referred to as the fifth season here and there is still an idea of whatever you do or say goes. Another aspect of Fasching though is all of the carnivals, balls, music, etc. that occurs. I am not exactly sure how to explain it but maybe a mix of Halloween and Mardi Gras. I look forward to seeing the festivities and parades to follow.
The surprise trip that I planned for Nathan was a day trip to Paris, which by the way he figured out about a week before the trip. We left Baumholder around 2 AM and arrived under the Eiffel Tower about 9 AM. We had to stop for about an hour to let the bus driver rest, plus there was some traffic coming into the city. We arrived just in time for most of the museums, shops, etc. to open. We did arrive in style, some of the friends we went with provided the group of us mimosas on the bus as we were driving into Paris. We immediately started to walk along the river to the Louvre after taking some pictures of the tower. Spent the morning looking at all of the art, yes we did get to see the Mona Lisa. There is no way we could have seen everything that the Louvre had to offer even if we spent a whole weekend there. It was far larger than either of us had ever imagined. We then walked towards a eating/shopping district more for locals than for tourists, but we had some of the best food there! We ate with a group of people so plenty of dishes were sampled including various types of fish, duck, various cuts and cooking methods for beef and some amazing produce. I tried the duck and loved it, when we go back (which we will be going back) I am going to get the duck. In the afternoon we took the subway to the Notre Dame cathedral that everybody thinks of when they think of Notre Dame. It was simply gorgeous! We then had some crepes and headed back towards the Eiffel Tower on the subway. We were able to see the tower all lit up and then we headed back for home. We arrived back here in Baumholder shortly before 2 AM.
We are getting excited for our upcoming trip to Portugal for Thanksgiving. We hope all of our family and friends a safe and happy Thanksgiving! We love you all.