Anyway, we searched and searched online for decently priced train tickets or flights, but couldn't find anything. We decided that it would be cheapest and more fun to rent a car. I looked online at Europcar online and ordered us a car for 48 hours. Sounds perfect! We'll get to ride through the French countryside, enjoy time together, and gain experience driving on French roads. This was all true, however the car happened to be a manual when we picked it up. Asher and I most certainly didn't know how to drive it. I had only been taught by Ava for a couple hours one day. We are, at this point, really scared, and decide to go back to my apartment and watch a dozen Youtube videos on how to drive a stick shift. We were up really late learning, quizzing each other, and practicing. I CANNOT believe we PRACTICED driving a manual car in France with a rental car. It's just further proof that GLS kids are infinitely better than most people at most things.
We also had a lot of trouble getting the car into reverse. I actually was pushing the car out of the spot at one point. A man pulled up behind us, was really frustrated with our terrible driving, and then in French, taught us how to shift to reverse. We were embarrassed a bit, but really glad to be taught something extremely relevant and in French.
We left Grenoble, with a GPS that we rented, around 5 in the morning. French drivers are actually really great. They drive really fast, but they are excellent drivers. They are considerate, they follow all of the rules, and they are all around super efficient drivers. There weren't all that many people on the road so our terrible driving was usually forgiven. Also, we weren't that bad at all. We happened to learn a lot about how stick shifts work and how the transmission works. Cars are super neat, and being in Europe has made me appreciate the machines so much more. We finally arrived at Disneyland Paris around 11:30.
WE WERE SO EXCITED! There weren't two more excited people in the world that day. We got relatively cheap tickets because we are EU students for both parks.
Disneyland Pairs is obviously smaller than Disneyworld in Orlando, but Disney is always magical! We started in the main Disney park, went to Fantasyland, Main Street USA, and all of the other sites. One of the first rides was the Buzz Lightyear ride, which probably ended up one of our favorites. I also have to comment on how many British people were there! It was the day of the Royal Wedding, and every other person in the park was British. They really did all escape the craziness. (Note: my really good friend from high school, Rachel Huddleston is currently studying abroad in Prague. She went to the Royal Wedding, camped in a tent the whole weekend, and was interviewed by USA Today reporters! My friend is famous.)
The Buzz Lightyear ride was really a game where you shot The Evil Emperor Zurg and saved the Galaxy. The game racked up points for each person, and I ended up with Level 3 and Asher had Level 4. The picture above perfectly illustrates how intense it was.
It's A Small World was brilliant as usual, but it was slightly different. The American room was huge and so much better than the other country representations. This seemed odd to us, but we weren't going to complain.
One of my favorite rides was the Pirates of the Caribbean. It was so well done! The characters were perfect and the boat ride was really pleasant. Way to go Disney!
We then went to the Walt Disney Studios park. This is the "Ear"ful Tower. Get it? Because it's in Paris!
Of course, we had to hit the Tower of Terror. The Aerosmith Rockin' Roller Coaster was absolutely awesome. Oh, and the Space Mission 2 in the main park was SO GREAT! It was obviously all indoors, pitch dark, had spins, swirls, loops, drops, and was a pretty long ride. That was my favorite roller coaster of the day by far. (Note: I take for grated that Asher enjoys roller coasters too. Not everyone does, and I'm glad he doesn't make fun of me for being nervous right before).
We went back to the main park when the studios closed. We rode more rides, walked around, shopped a bit, looked at the beautiful palace, and saw some Princesses! We stayed until past closing time.
It was a really perfect, magical day. Honestly, I was so glad to get home that next morning knowing that I had driven a stick shift in a rental car in France. It was a success, and proves that you can learn anything last minute... usually. Also, we will do anything to get to Disney, right?
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