Last week I picked up Lucy at her preschool where they wear uniforms. When we got home she took her perfect white shoes off and wanted to clean them with a paper towel - not a spot on them. I want her to clean my house! I can't believe she starts kindergarten n less than a year.
In a few days we will arrive in Paris - I thought about when I had been there before. 1995 - Ross working for 18 months in England - 2 kids in college and me working full time. Niece Sara, my kids Jenny and Chris and Chris' friend Ryan flew to London - 4 college kids, 2 adults, 2 bedroom apartment in Hastings, England. Ross "had to work" so the kids and I (me a month after gallbladder surgery) took the hovercraft to France, train to Paris. There was a heat wave and they confiscated our water bottles at the Louvre so we had to buy cokes at a nearby place - $4 each!!!! I have many many many stories to tell about this trip - more later! We did meet Ross in Munich and the kids stayed in a hostel and we stayed in a nice hotel:). We left them there to continue and we flew back to England - not the kind of hovercraft parents out there now! Sara and Jenny near the Eiffel:
Jenny, Chris, Ryan and Sara waiting for the train to Munich or somewhere - notice the big smiles. I remember them lifting my bag for me as I was not supposed to lift anything heavy. This was the first time we saw nude picknickers in a public park in Munich - very hard not to stare. We also drank beer with them in a beer garden and I'm not sure if any of them were 21 but it's legal in Deutschland!
First trip to Paris with friend Beth and another friend - 1971 - less than a year before we were married. I used up all my vacation time and money to do 3 weeks in Europe. Rail pass, no reservations, cheap places to stay and went all over Europe - another great experience. Lots of stories on that one too. I think I remember that the total including air was about $1500 - that's all I had! Flew on Icelandair and had the free cognac and cod for breakfast.....and lunch.....and dinner.
I've been microplanning our trip and ran across this blog about the Dordogne area where we will have a car!!! First sentence is about arrival at the train station in Sarlat and finding a taxi. Next is about the drive and use of my least favorite friend the GPS. I do have another name for it.
We asked the gentleman behind the desk if he could do so for us and he said sure, but that he wasn’t sure if George (the cab driver) would be working.
The GPS seemed like a great idea at first, but as we learned later (the hard way), you’re much better off not using it unless you are absolutely lost. On the way there we had entrusted in our faithful GPS, only to be led through some very precarious and treacherous roads. Had we followed the numerous signs on the nicely paved roads we would have been fine, but in an attempt to save time, our handy GPS decided to lead us off on to some dirt roads that we were not sure were even roads. Either way, they were definitely not built for 2 cars. We felt as though we were driving on a rally course and it didn’t help that these single car lanes (which were meant for 2 cars) wrapped around hills that had virtually nothing to keep us from falling over the edge. I can say now that I’m on solid ground, that this was an interesting way to see some “off the beaten path” (literally) parts of France, but it is by no means recommended.
First photo -Our place in Sarlat ground floor - "Steve" made a "proposition" to me to pick us up at the train station because of the "touch sketchy" taxi service. Next photo - place in Bordeaux where we have a 2nd floor (no elevator - called a lift there) which is actually 3rd floor to us. So we will be hefting up this curvy stone staircase at least once or twice a day - not bad though as my little suitcase will only have to go up once:).
Next post possibly from Paris. We are invited to friends there for dinner and I'm bring "selectively hand harvested wild rice 100% naturally grown in Minnesota's lakes and rivers" AND Pearson's salted nut rolls from St. Paul. My brother Keith who died in his 30s from leukemia once worked at the Pearson Candy Factory - woohoo - I don't remember the details but possibly on a college break.
Au Revior!
No comments:
Post a Comment