More art and history than possible

Here's a couple quick pics. More later. 

Few from the Louvre

More later.

The Louvre is Free Today!

My mom and dad always told me, "never pass up an opportunity to visit the Louvre for free."  (Actually that might have been Dan Brown and The Davinci Code that taught me that life lesson.)

Anyway, the Louvre is free the first Sunday of every month, and this is just such a day. So here's hoping I don't get so lost in there that I miss my flight back to Ouaga this afternoon. 

I'll write more if they let me in the basement, or if I find Jesus's wife, although I'm sure they moved her after the book came out. :-)

Fly me to the moon

I saw Gravity last week and now the emergency exits all look like astronaut air locks. 

Halloween at ISO

Leila's school had a costume/book parade on Thursday morning. Each class dressed up as characters from books and presented their characters to the other classes. Leila & her friend Fiona were Baby Bear and Mama Bear from the book Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?

Leila's kindergarten class

On Thursday evening, the middle and high school kids organized a Halloween party for the elementary kids. Leila was a fairy princess. She had a great time playing games & trick or treating with her friends, and managed to sleep later than me the next day (Friday was a holiday here so we had the day off) for the first time in weeks. I guess the party tired her out!

Chillin with the Cats

We went to Lion Park in Johannesburg on Thursday night. Got to pet the lion cubs and adult cheetahs. Cuz that's just something we do. 

Back I go!

My conference just finished up in Johannesburg and I'm back at the airport for the long haul to Paris (11 hrs) an overnight and morning in Paris and then six more hours to Ouaga. I'm back on the giant A380. It wasn't so bad last time. It's big but they break up the sections enough that it doesn't feel like a giant submarine. Not that I would know what a giant submarine would feel like anyway. 

Sacred Crocodiles at Bazoule

One of the top things to do near Ouaga is to visit the sacred crocodiles at Bazoule (click here to learn why they are sacred). Leila & I joined a group of friends to go and see them today.

Here we are on the giant crocodile rock near the entrance.

Leila, Maddie & Clayton

Leila following our guide (who is carrying a chicken for reasons you will understand shortly...)

Ah yes, crocodile bait!

Queen of the world!

Mmmm, lunch!

Leila with the crocodiles in the background.

A crocodile with his mouth wide open awaiting a snack.

Yes, that's a chicken in the middle of the picture. When the guides let it off the stick, the crocs all make a mad dash for it (and the people standing nearby jump backwards!!).

Success!

Leila & Clayton

Leila & Mom

Someone is feeling a little uneasy about the crocs behind her

Leila took this picture of me.

So somehow these crocodiles have been habituated to humans over the years, and put up with tourists getting close to them. After giving them all some chickens, the guide let us all take turns getting up close and personal with them. Leila was a little afraid but agreed to come along if she rode on my back.

Look what we found: a crocodile!

After seeing me touch the croc's tail, Leila decided she wanted to try, too. She did manage to touch it quickly, but we didn't get a picture of it. Brave girl!

Candy stash

Leila has taken on the important job of assessing her candy haul from yesterday. Not bad!

Halloween Trunk or Treating

The Embassy's Trunk or Treat party was a hit with everyone! Leila had initially wanted to be a vampire, but a few weeks of reading Halloween books spooked her and she decided a vampire was too scary. SO, she kept the cape & fangs, but replaced the black dress with a white one, and added wings and a tiara. What is she, you ask? A princess-fairy-vampire of course!

Leila & her friend Renee

The back of Leila's costume

A few of the many, many little girls here at post: Leila, Mikayla, Gael (the baby in the back dressed as a caterpiller...see her?), Renee & Ada

Leila, Zoey, Mikayla & Renee

Renee, Ada, Zoey, Leila, Mikayla & Sidaleigh

Leila & I next to our prize-winning decorations (we were voted in the top 3!!)

Face painting: a ghost if you can't quite tell.

Leila, Marvelly & Mikayla on the playground

In South Africa

I made it to Johannesburg today. Here's a picture of the giant Nelson Mandela statue at Mandela Square and also a nice jo'burg sunset. 

Riding the Big Plane

I took my first ride in the huge Airbus 380 from Paris to Johannesburg last night. It hold 500 plus passengers on two floors. It's a huge beast, and takes forever to fill up. 

Trunk or treat!

Since there aren't really neighborhoods in Ouaga, the Embassy organized a Trunk or Treat event for this afternoon where we decorate cars for kids to Trick or Treat at. Leila & I took on the challenge together. 

Here is our "before" picture:

Here are our "after" pictures of our graveyard scene:

We carved these two pumpkins and Leila named them Mr. Monster Heart and Mrs. Love Heart. Sorry to say they have passed away, but their heads seem to have resurfaced for today's adventures.