silliness at the Panthéon

One of my favorite things that we saw in Paris was the Panthéon.  We had been walking, walking, walking all day and my legs seriously felt like they were going to fall off.  I was about to tell Pablo that enough was enough, let's take the metro home, but I held my tongue because this was one place in Paris that he hadn't been, so I really wanted him to get to see something new too.  And then, as he was trying to figure out the (insert four letter word here) map on his iphone, we turned a corner, and there it was!  This really big, imposing building just peaking out between the rows of apartments.  We got there right around sunset and there weren't too many other people there.  We enjoyed the brisk evening hanging out at the Panthéon, watching the young couples kissing and we took silly photos, though we apparently couldn't get the auto-focus to work.  For some reason, the Pantheon just seemed intimate and sweet and everyone there seemed to be having a really good time, it was worth the effort :)

if you get lost...

If you get lost in the desert, just ask the locals.  A 10 year old driving his brothers and sisters around can surely show you the short cut through the lava rock terrain, past the wandering camels, towards the neighbor's tent that sits right in front of the highway (think two tracks in the sand) that leads right to the Crater.

Without hardly any roadsigns, I was pretty surprised that we only managed to get lost once.  We almost got stuck in a pile of sand, but other than that, it was pretty smooth sailing.  I have to say, though, the Saudi Arabian desert is not a place I would like to get lost.  It is hot.  There is no vegetation.  And there are hardly any people around.

all roads lead to Jeddah

I co-piloted an expedition to Jeddah this past weekend.  It was the driver's first time driving in Saudi and my first time being in charge of directions.  The people in this country drive crazy.  If you are in the left most lane and they want to pass you, why not just use the 4ft wide shoulder?  You have 10 kids in the back of the car and you're going 160km/ hr.  Safe.  Real safe.  

We saw loads of army tanks being transported along the highway, not sure what that is all about, but we made it safely to Jeddah and back.  We visited Ikea (yes, we have this crazy Swedish store, complete with Billy Bookcases) and Al Balad.  We left at 2pm and returned at 9:30pm.  All I can say is praise Allah for imaps.