Home At Last!!!

Vive La France ! but Oh, my goodness it's good to be home. Despite several gate changes at the airport it was thankfully a very uneventful trip home. The cutest little 6 year old was waiting for me at the airport with a huge sign and has been attached to my hip ever since. I have been told not to go away again.

What an experience. Such beautiful sights. Such great food. And yes, such nice people. I have learned a lot about myself on this trip (good and bad). I would also like to think that France is a little better for having two (sweet and) crazy Americans there for a few days this summer.

Held Hostage On A Double Decker Tour Bus

Today was the day that we would see Paris via Tour Bus. We had discussed it the night before and I told Genvieve we need to get to the bus stand early because all the good seats are taken, which are on top, if you are not there on time. So off we go and the bus stops and we pile on and find two great seats on top up front. Great! NOT, were on the wrong bus tour. We are on the Blue one that only goes around fora short loop. Well I'm not giving up my perfect seat because Genvieve cannot tell Blue from Green. By God we'll see everything Paris has to offer.



So we made the loop, 1 hour, came full circle and exited from the Blue bus and waited eagerly for the Green bus to take us to all the spots we had heard of or read about. Well here it comes and we board, not so lucky this time. All the top seats were taken and to make matters worse the bottom ones that we were forced to sit in, the earphone slots were not working and we could not hear what was going on and only able to see eye level. Everyone on the bottom was vying for the seats on top, people were standing in the stairwell ready to pounce on the vacant ones when someone would exit to see that particular sight more closely. Jennifer would wait patiently and not be forceful at all, this was against every fiber in my body and I had to refrain from pushing her and anyone else that would get in my way to wait for the next vacancy. She must have felt what I was thinking, and not wanting to see a slightly deranged grandmother of 10 and mother of 5,because she got up and told me in her school teacher voice she was going up on the stairwell and I should not move til she motioned to me when it was time to follow her.

I sat and waited for the signal, at last it came and I hauled buns up the stairs. You guessed it we had seats at the back of the bus and the earphones did not work. Genvieve seeing my disappointment said a lot of the people will get off at the Eiffell tower site and we can get seats up front then. Okay, I could take some pics now and then get the good ones later on after the Eiffell tower. Well it was as if everyones rear ends were glued to their seats and did not move.

I told Genvieve to get comfortable because we were riding to the end and then coming back again to hear and see all the sights we had missed because of our earphones. She was such a good sport, since I had threatened to tell all the passengers what I thought about having all their heads and arms in my otherwise perfect pictures. It was a beautiful day

P.S. Yes I do have great pics, just wanted to share some of the "gems" with you. Ah Revore! Ahn.

Attention: France is Out of Crepes

I think I'm gonna burst! You don't think you can eat anything else and then you walk past that little creperie stand and it all smells and looks so good, they suck me in every time. I've had banana, banana and chocolate, stawberry, butter and sugar, and my personal favorite - Nutella. Now if you're not familiar with Nutella, I will wait here while you go to HEB and get a jar. It's better than chocolate - it's a creamy chocolately hazelnut gooey yummy spread. It's by the peanut butter.

Are you back yet? Ok now imagine that spread on a warm crepe and folded so gingerly and handed to you with a smile and a "bon appetit". Who can resist? Not I, apparently. Is it wrong that they gave me a frequent buyers card at the one by our hotel?? Won't they feel an economic let down when I get on the plane tomorrow?

Oh yeah, we did all the Paris stuff today too. Eiffel tower, Champs Elyses, Arc de Triomphe, blah, blah, blah..

Crepes - my Kryptonite

An American in Paris (subtitle: Is it time to go home yet?)

Just a quick note on what Genvieve had to say about The "Psycho" scene. If I had not taken precautions everybody would be singing a different song now.

We have arrived in Paris. What a city!!! Take Houston and New York double them and call it Paris. I have never seen so many cars, bicycles, motorcycles, taxis and pedestrians vying for the same piece of asphalt. These people are territorial. I now know why they drink so much wine.

Today after we unloaded our bags in the room we took off to see the city. Went to see the Luxembourg Gardens, Notre Dame and the River Seine. We must have walked 5 miles.

And then we walked another 5 trying to find our way back to the hotel.

We made it back and then when out to eat dinner. Decided on Italian and it was great. We had a sidewalk table but then it got so cold they had to turn the large portable heaters on. Tomorrow we are taking a bus tour of the city. Am enclosing some scenes from the city.

Bon Jour Ahn

I'm Traveling with MacGyver

It is my opinion that as people get older, they develop a strong sense of paranoia and cynicism. I would like to offer my mother up as one of these people. Let me make my case…

We had just finished the most lovely of dinners at our little hotel in Sentheim. This hotel is owned by a very sweet couple. The husband manages the hotel and restaurant and the wife is the chef. He was so accommodating to us and we chatted a while earlier in the afternoon. He brought us a special dessert and was very attentive to our needs. After dinner we went back upstairs to get packed for our journey to Paris today and finally settled in to bed to snuggle as we were left with but one bed in the micro-room. It’s late – about midnight or so – lights out and we are trying to wind down from the day. My internal clock is still out of whack and I am wide awake. As the window to our room on the second floor opens to the parking lot, I can hear people leaving the restaurant and driving away. I decide to look out the window to check on the situation. I discover that we are the only patrons of the hotel that evening and tell mom . The only other car in the lot must be the owner’s.
Well, you have never seen a 70 year old woman spring to action so quickly - I thought she was moving fast in the train station. Before I knew it a chair and 2 suitcases were wedged against the already locked door. I pointed this out to her. “They have a key!” was her response. “This should slow them down. By the time they get through the door, we can be out the window.” I sat there in awe and amazement. I thought she was protecting us from strangers , but alas no, she was protecting us from Norman Bates and his lovely wife. This is the same couple who would have breakfast waiting for us the next morning so we would have something to eat before we left today in spite of the fact that their restaurant is closed on Monday.

Mom will say she did the right thing because “See, we weren’t attacked last night; were we?” I guess we’ll never know what could have happened if the door were not barricaded so skillfully.

Thank you dear mother for protecting us. Paranoia? You be the judge…

On the Road Again..

We set out this morning for Sentheim after a quick breakfast of every croissant type thing we could find. Got checked out of the hotel in Colmar - so fabulous to us. Here is a picture of the hotel dog. He just hangs out in the lobby waiting for people to love him.

With detailed notes about where we left the car this time, it took us only moments to locate it! Much less stress this time. Loaded with maps and a sense of confidence and adventure on the road we headed for Sentheim - the mother country. Mom's great grandfather came from this town before he adventurously brought his family on a boat out of Strasbourg to Galveston eventually making their way to the Alsatian settlement of Castroville (west of San Antonio). We were here for the reunion. There is actually no one here we are visiting - she just wanted to get a feel for the town and possibly do a little research.

I'm getting a little ahead of myself. I have left out the part where we get totally lost and start to freak out just un tout petit peu. You see it's time for another shout out to my TXDOT homies. Maps and all are great IF there are clear markers on the actual roads. Somehow we ended up on a toll highway -let the freak out begin. This went on forever with no chance of a turn around for miles. When we reached the toll plaza, luckilly everyone stops to pay. I had visions of the Texas toll system where you have to have a TxTag like thing on your car to get through. When we got to the toll taker lady, I pretty much wanted to hand her my purse and say just give me back what you don't need. However, I gained my composure and actually got out some money and we were on our way to Who The Hell Know's Where? After a quck tour (69 seconds) of the MINUTE town of Belfort, we managed to get turned around and headed back to - you guessed it - the toll plaza. This time armed with exact change - like a local - we passed through once more. Crazy American drivers. After a hunch on an exit, eventually got headed in the right directon once more. When we saw the name of the town Guewenheim, clearly we were close, right? Sentheim had to be just moments away. For once we were right. As we rolled into town (if you blink you miss it) and found the hotel, we parked in the lot and took a moment to hold each other and unclench MANY parts.

Once we had gained our composure, we entered the hotel. For those of you who haven't heard the story, this is the hotel where they ONLY had my first name for the reservation and NO OTHER information. The inn keeper took one look at me and said in his too cute accent "Jennifer?". I said "Mais, oui! ". After I pet this hotel's dog, he led us up 2 flights of stairs to room number 1 and we got situated in the smallest but cleanest, most efficent use of space hotel room I have ever been in. Maman will continue with the rest of our afternoon...

First off I was planning on eating lunch here since it had been awhile since we had eaten breakfast. Oh
no,mon cher, that was not going to happen. The Innkeeper said the restaurant was closed for lunch and would not open again til 7:00 for dinner, which is 5 hrs. away! Genvieve suggested a walk to take our minds off of food,fat chance. We strolled all two blocks of the town in about 10 minutes. Here are some of the pics I took. The view from our room. Our automobile is on the far right.

This is a stork on its nest! Last but not least our Hotel.

After the grand tour we returned and I inquired of the Innkeeper if perhaps he had any wine on hand. And yes he did, therefore, I did partake. As I sat there and reminisced about the morning I realized we had to get up a lot earlier tomorrow in order to turn the automobile in and once again catch a train, I don't know if I have it in me to get the first seat.

I could only imagine what lays ahead for us on the road to Mulhouse. I love it when Genvieve in all her urgency says quick which way, make a decision, after she has just told me to get money out for the toll that lies ahead, with a map wrapped around my lap and sheets of directions all over the place because none of them have been right! Ah yes, I did tell her but it cannot be posted here! Paris here we come!!!!!

Weather Report for The Jackal

Weather for Saturday, July 19. We have enjoyed beautiful skies, a slight breeze from the SW at about 4 mph, 66 % humidity, and a glorious temperature of 73 degrees. It was perfect weather for a light lunch of quiche, salad, and people watching. We have discovered a new way to spot "the Americans". Check out which way they hold a fork. It's a dead give away - that and jogging in a park.