1. They sell beer at the concession stand
2. You have your choice between salty and sweet popcorn (alas, no butter)
3. You have to pay 0.30 to use the bathrooms, which are still pretty stinky, despite paying someone to keep them clean
The theater is pretty convenient to the house -- we just take the metro into town, and the theater is right outside the metro stop. It's been nice to have the opportunity to see some familiar movies.
Amelia just finished her Carnivale Stage (camp) at our swim club. She had a pretty good time. She was a trooper about it, as most of the kids -- and the 2 teachers -- spoke French. But she didn't complain or say she didn't want to go. I tried to teach her a few key phrases, but I'm not sure she used them, though. I think she'd go back again and participate in another Stage.
There was a Carnivale parade in our neighborhood today, and it was great fun. The music is louder than anything in the US, and it really got everyone moving. They gave away all sorts of candy, fruit (oranges, apples), and toys to the kids. I caught a travel pack of Kleenex...
The kids had a great time and really enjoyed it. It's great to have such things within walking distance to us. The Harrisons joined us for the parade, and they had us over for spaghetti. It was great, since T.J. is in the US for a short business trip.
The kids are working their way through some brief illnesses (I hope). Jack came down with a fever Friday night, but it was gone by morning. Amelia came down with one tonight, and I'm crossing my fingers it disappears just as quickly.
We took a trip to the zoo this morning, and had a great time. We were thisclose to a rhino. If he were any closer, we could've actually petted him (not that one would want to). But basically, there were just some widely spaced bars separating us from him. No moat, no electric fence, nothing. AND the zookeepers had put his breakfast right next to the fence, so obviously he was just hanging out there. Poor guy had both of his horns removed, so the kids couldn't easily identify him as a rhino.
The kids loved the river otters and, of course, the zebras. It's not a pretty zoo (it's actually more of a breeding facility for the Antwerp zoo), so the animals' surroundings are pretty sad and dismal. We couldn't escape without a trip to the gift shop, and I was an easy mark for coming out with matching panda bears for the kids.
On a side note, some of you might have heard about the shootings this week at Kirkwood's (St. Louis) city hall. It's my hometown, and my family has said it's a really tragic -- and moving -- situation. It's hard to imagine that the shooter's family is defending his actions, but they are. It's terrible when things like that strike so close to home, and you see your hometown all over CNN.
Our daylight is increasing by several minutes every day. It's wonderful to have it light before 8 and after 5. I'm sooooo looking forward to springtime (if only the clothing palatte would brighten up too around here. Guess we'll go from dark brown to light brown ...)
I'm off to check on Amelia's fever. Cross your fingers for us. The Echinacea syrup our doctor recommended to us has been staving off illnesses so far, so I'm hoping it will continue to bring us good luck. This has been our first bout of illness in a few weeks, so maybe there is something to Echinacea after all. The doctor says they don't really know why it seems to help, but it does.
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