Final blog entry - 5 years later

Thus ends our fabulous adventure to France and beyond. It was a wonderful year.

I failed to finish the final entries to this blog contemporaneously. It was my habit to make notes and enter some photo numbers so I could coordinate pictures and blog, then I would sit down a couple of times a week and make the entries. For whatever reason, I did not get that last step done until January of 2016. So the entries from June 3 until the end were entered in that same year.

Roger pointed out that our trip was bracketed by the deaths of our parents - his mother in May, 2010, just over a month before we left, and of course my father, whose death prompted a termination to our trip slightly earlier than expected.

Thank you to any followers who are still out there. I hope all of you enjoyed reading my version of our European explorations.

OBITUARY of JAMES P. WEDEL

OBITUARY of JAMES P. WEDEL

MULESHOE – A celebration of the life of James Powell Wedel, 92, of Muleshoe will be held Saturday, July 2, at 10:00 a.m. at First United Methodist Church with the Rev. Monty Leavell officiating.

          Burial will be in Muleshoe Cemetery under the direction of Ellis Funeral Home.  Family visitation will be from 7:00 pm until 8:00 pm on Friday at the funeral home.

          James was taken by the Lord on Saturday, June 25, 2011.  He was born May 1, 1919, in Hayden, AZ, to Alton Frederick and Mary Fern Wedel.  He married Doris Eleanor Kauffman on Sept. 19, 1942, in Muskogee, OK.  She preceded him in death on October 6, 2001. He was also preceded in death by all of his siblings:  Harold and Gerold Wedel, Alta Fern Bock, June Free, and an infant, Nancy. 

James graduated from Littlefield high school in 1937, and attended Texas Tech, before joining the Cavalry and later the Army Air Corps.  He was assigned to the 417th Bomb group of the Army Air Corps and flew over 60 missions in the Pacific.

He moved from Littlefield to Muleshoe in 1948 and established his farming operation in the West Camp area.  He helped establish the local Farm Bureau, and was a leader in the Progress Methodist church---holding virtually every official position, and later served on various committees of the First United Methodist church in Muleshoe where he was a dedicated member of the Willing Workers Sunday School class.  Throughout his lifetime in Muleshoe, some of his awards and service include:  Blackwater Valley SWCD---Outstanding Conservation Farmer, Soil & Water Conservation District of Texas, Region 1, Resident Conservation Farmer Award.  He also served on the FMHA Loan Committee, and the High Plains Research Foundation.

          But, he will be remembered most for his example of ceaseless generosity in every aspect of his life----from his years of service to his church and community to Meals on Wheels and volunteer work at the nursing home. He will also be remembered for his sense of humor, his gracious acts of kindness, his outstanding moral character, and his dedication to his Christian faith. 

Survivors include his six children: Mary Ellen Stanton of Grand Prairie; Jane Layton of Albuquerque, NM; Wanda Jennings of Boise, Idaho; Carolyn Patrick of La Place, LA; Charlotte Davis of Memphis, TN; Jimmy Wedel of Muleshoe; 10 grandchildren: Christa Mahler, Aaron Stanton, Chuck Lence, Richard Lence, Eric Patrick, Alicia Cardillo, Shelli Richard, T.J. Davis, Jami Moubry, Brant Wedel, 8 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great grandchildren.

Memorials are suggested to First United Methodist Church of Muleshoe, or the Muleshoe Meals on Wheels.

Barcelona leg of hell

Wednesday June 29, 2011                                          Day 364

We had a wakeup call set for 7:00, and Roger also set the alarm, so we woke on time, and then we entered the Barcelona leg of hell. We dressed, assembled our luggage, and were out of the hotel and in a taxi before 7:30. We arrived at the train station and wrestled our luggage in. I left Roger guarding it while I went and checked out the airport train. I found the information and got in line for tickets. When I got to the front, the cost was six Euros, and I had only five. I offered my credit card, but the clerk needed to see ID to use it. Roger handles our passports and I have not carried my Louisiana driver’s license here in Europe, so I had nothing. I left the line and got money from Roger and we headed down to Platform 9. Both the elevator and the escalator were broken, so we had to handle our luggage downstairs. I took two items down, blocking the entire escalator in the process. Then I took the escalator back up and grabbed two more pieces of luggage which Roger left at the top when he saw me coming up. Again, I blocked the entire escalator until halfway down, when a lovely young gentleman came along, grabbed the larger of the two suitcases and carried it down for me. I thanked him profusely and began to orient us. The next airport train was slotted for 8:09 – later than we wanted to be, but it was what it was. Several minutes later I checked the schedule again, and there was a sign about a train being out of service. Then the full schedule popped up again and the next airport train was slotted for 8:19. AAGGGGGHHHHHHH! It was hot waiting for the train – when we got on it, a readout indicated that it was 29 degrees, or 85 degrees F. I had sweat dripping from my brow, and we were both sweating on our chests and backs. Further, the trains were very noicy, making the wait miserable. The train finally arrived and we got to the airport stop at about 8:30 for our 10:00 a.m departure. While on the train, Roger remarked that he hoped there were luggage carts available immediately. No such luck. Instead we had to hop a shuttle bus for the last 4 kilometres to the terminal. I went to the back door of the shuttle to enter because there was more room, but Roger got into the front of the shuttle. I kept looking for him, and he finally called from inside the shuttle that he was already on. I wrestled my three pieces of luggage on, then clambered aboard. As I turned let go of the bag that held our computers, it toppled out of the shuttle. Angry, I got off and hauled it back on, and thus began my first meltdown of the day. Back on the shuttle, I shouted at the luggage and kicked the two other bags – I figured that the red bag with our computers had had enough abuse already. Then I called out “sorry, pardon, desolé” to everyone on the bus and sat down to cry/ My anxiety level was high because I was tired and frustrated and fearful that we would miss our transatlantic flight. I was also thirsty, but I left our water bottle in the hotel, knowing we could not take it through security. Further, it was already 26 degrees (80 degrees F.) in Barcelona at 8:00 a.m., and it had been even hotter in the subway terminal. Sweat was dripping off my brow as we waited for the train, and we were both sweating down our chests and backs. Later I realized that I was also hungry, as we had planned to breakfast in the airport, and never had time for that.

We arrived at the terminal and found the Delta Atlanta line almost empty, thankfully. One of our bags was overweight and we had to play musical-belongings. We were also informed that we had too many carry-ons, and we would have to check one (at a cost of 70€). We got the luggage issue straightened out and were directed to a *vacant agent for check-in. One of the first questions she asked us was why we were late with our check-in. She accepted the subway train breakdown as an excuse; actually, it was a combination of so many things – fatigue, lack of familiarity with the process for getting the train to the airport, lots of luggage, and the subway issue being among the top ones. She checked us through and gave us our boarding passes for Atlanta, but instructed us to get our boarding passes for Barcelona at the gate. Then it was on to security, where I had my next meltdown. At security in Barcelona, you put all your belongings in those trays, then you have to carry the trays around a partition and load them into the machine – there is no mechanism for just pushing them all the way from the table to the machine. While I was loading the first of our six or so tray, a woman came and stood behind me, in front of Roger. I looked at her and snapped “Are you going to Atlanta? Because if you are not, you had better not think of getting in our way!” and I stepped around her to grab another tray. When I turned back again for another tray, she was gone, but I was so angry at this point that I was starting to shout at her and at the world in general. The security agent at the scanner suggested that I had better calm down, and I broke into tears. I am not totally stupid, however. I did calm down, and I apologized to him as I came through. Our belongings came through without a problem, but Roger forgot to take off his hat, which is full of hat pins, so he had to go through additional security measures; fortunately there was no strip search. Next was customs, where we lucked out – a customs official opened a new line just as we were approaching and we were first in his line. That took only a moment and we were on our way to the gate.

There were plenty of people still standing around at the gate. Roger offered to go get some water, as I had complained for a second time of being thirsty, while I took the passports and got our boarding passes. When I got to the desk, there were only two boarding passes on the desk – with our names on them! Alleluia! Roger was nowhere in sight but I got in line for boarding. I stepped aside once, waiting on him, but he finally showed up, carrying not only water but a muffin!! Bless his heart!! He really takes care of me – and this time he was a real lifesaver! This was when I finally realized I was hungry. My hands were full, so he fed me pieces of muffin all the way down the escalator.

Our seats were not together – we had known they would not be. When we discovered that mine was an aisle seat and his was not, we swapped – his long legs really suffer from being unable to stretch out in a center seat. Finally, I was able to relax. I settled into my seat and began to talk with a seatmate. I hadn’t been sitting there long when Roger came to my rescue again, bringing me the rest of the muffin.

Once the flight was underway, I settled in to sleep. I don’t know how long I had been sleeping when I felt someone tapping my hand. I opened my eyes to see Roger handing me something, which turned out to be my vitamin and my two glucosamine tablets. The former was a little worse for the wear, and he told me later that he gave me the better of the two. He had placed them in his shirt pocket for distribution to us later in the day, and they had gotten wet from sweat. I had shucked my sweater and my jacket in the subway, and both had ended up in the backpack, which Roger had back at his seat. This left me in a sleeveless sweater, so I asked him for the jacket and sweater, and he brought them both. Thus warmed, I fell asleep until lunch was served. I had two glasses of wine with lunch, which mellowed me considerably, and I slept again after lunch until my watch read about 2:00 p.m. Considerably refreshed and rested, and in a MUCH better mood, I opened my computer and began to blog. Roger came by later and remarked that I was finally awake – I don’t know how many times he came to check on me.

To add insult to injury, in the Atlanta airport, after we finished our processing and left Concourse E to go to Concourse B for our flight to Dallas, we hopped aboard the shuttle in the lower level of the terminal to take us there. It went to Concourse D, then broke down and refused to move. What is it with us and trains these days???

Train breakdown

Tuesday June 28, 2011                                    Day 363

We began cleaning the apartment, washing the sheets, mattress pad and towels and leaving all the bedding clean.

At 11:30, I left to go to Orange one last time, and Roger went to the grocery store to recycle all the batteries we have accumulated since our arrival. On the way to Orange, I dropped into the bakery we patronized for most of our stay here, and told the young lady there that we were leaving, and I shook her hand. She thanked me and wished us well. Orange went more smoothly than I had feared – the clerk was standing outside smoking a cigarette when I arrived, so we were alone in the shop. I explained what I wanted to do, and told her I couldn’t handle the phone tree because of my limited French. I also showed her the PUK number Mara had gotten for me. She said the PUK was not what I needed, and set about making a call. At one point the phone rang, and she had a phone in her left hand, held to her right ear, and another one in her right hand, held to her left ear. I grabbed my camera, but she finished the intervening phone call before I could snap a photo. A short time later, a jingle came across the cell phone and she told me it was unlocked. She gave me the codes she had used. Just at this time, Roger showed up, so our timing was excellent.

Roger discovered yesterday that his Montpellier hat pin had lost its medallion – he had no idea where, it was just gone. So we walked next to the shop where he bought it, and they sold him another one, giving him a one-Euro discount off the five-Euro cost. We then walked to La Coquille, the restaurant at which we had our very first meal in Montpellier. We felt the bookends would be appropriate – our first and last meals here at the same restaurant. We had the usual trouble getting our check, but otherwise enjoyed the meal. We returned to the apartment to finish packing and cleaning. It was hot, and the apartment has no air conditioning, so we stopped for breaks a couple of times. At one point, I left to take some clothing to Judi for a Red Cross donation, Judi being the friend who runs the English Corner Shop right around the corner from us. Also printing  *** told guy goodbye, shook his hand.

I wrote letter to SNCF asking for a refund of the monies paid for the tickets. I included the account number and information, asking them to credit the account from which the funds were drawn, as we will not be in Montpellier to receive a refund by mail, nor to receive any correspondence whatsoever. I enclosed the tickets, a copy of the electronic obituary of Daddy’s death, and a copy of my passport showing my name matching that in the obituary. It may well just be 420€ down the drain, but all we can do is try. We knew when we bought the tickets that they were non-refundable and, non-transferrable.

Francis came shortly before 5:00 and our checkout went smoothly. He was surprised that we had done the laundry – he had expected to take bedding and towels with him when he left, to bring them back clean the next day, as new tenants are expected on Friday. He promised to email us a copy of the final paperwork. We left about 5:30, with Francis helping us get our seven pieces of luggage down the three flights of stairs. Roger guarded the luggage while I went to the mailbox halfway up rue St. Guilem, and on the way back down, I paused in the bakery to tell the afternoon clerk there that we were leaving as well, and shook her hand. She also wished me well, and said to tell my husband the same. I then returned to the street in front of our apartment and joined Roger. We wrangled our seven bags down the street to the train station, arriving almost an hour early . . . and so we entered SNCF hell.

The plan was to take the train to Figueras, city and train stop just inside the Spanish border, where we would change trains and take a Renfo Spanish train into Barcelona. We got to Perapignan, which is one train stop from Figueras, and the train engine broke. An announcement came over the speaker telling us that we would have to detrain, and that buses would take us to Figueras. What the announcement didn’t tell us was that the buses would not get there for more than 2 hours. Silly us! We passengers expected to walk to the end of the platform and get on buses immediately. Instead, we stood or sat around for more than 2 hours. The young SNCF lady trying to handle the matter got a little too smug at one point, felt threatened by some of the passengers, and had to call security. Four SNCF security guards showed up and stayed until our bus finally left. The woman did not do a good job of dealing with the issues or the irate passengers. She shrugged a lot and had a simpering smile on her face that made many of us want to slap her silly!

The first bus arrived about 10:00, headed for Barcelona, and we had too much luggage to manage to snag a seat. The second bus arrived half an hour later or so and was reputed to be bound for Figureras, so we stood back. After 10 minutes or so, an announcement came through that it would go to Barcelona as well. I grabbed two small carry-ons and pressed forward while Roger manhandled the larger luggage around to the other side of the bus and loaded it on. There were several seats available, and I snagged a duo for Roger and myself. Finally! We had to go to Figueras first, of course, to drop of those passengers, but after that the bus was rather empty and Roger and I each had a pair of seats so stretch out in. We arrived at Barcelona Sants train station at 2:00 a.m. We were unable to orient ourselves with the map we had, and we finally went to the taxi stand and after a 10-minute wait, snagged a taxi to the hotel. We showered and plopped into bed, but I could not sleep until I went through my back exercises. Once they were finished I was able to drop off. 

Scrambling, scrambling

Monday June 27, 2011                                                Day 362

We finally settled on a train trip to Barcelona Tuesday evening, then a flight from there to Atlanta, with connections to DFW, on Wednesday. We went to the SNCF boutique to inquire into a refund for our Thursday trip and to purchase Barcelona tickets. The only thing the agent could do for us was give us the address for customer service and advise that we write SNCF at that address to inquire into a refund.

I went to Orange to try to get our phone unlocked. The agent there gave me a phone number to call, but when I tried it later, it was a voice tree in French, which defeated me. I called our neighbor who lives below and asked her if she would help us when she got home from work. She agreed, and buzzed me at the door buzzer when she got home. I fixed some lemonade and took it, along with some ice and a couple of glasses, downstairs, and explained the problem. She made a couple of calls and finally produced a number for me, a PUK number, but she said she thought I still needed something else. Sensing that I was at the end of my likelihood of success, I thanked her and left.

We got out our luggage and spread it around the house and began filling it. We called Francis, who is our landlord’s local manger, to arrange for checkout tomorrow afternoon at 5:00.

Roger went to chess today for the last time, armed with his chess set and twenty euros. He bought a round of sodas for everyone present and gave his chess set to one of the players, whom he was sure would show up almost every day and put it to good use. 

Goodbye, Daddy

Sunday June 26, 2011                                               Day 361

It was a little after midnight and I had just closed my computer to begin my nightly ablutions when Roger, who had gone to bed earlier, came in to hug me and hold me and tell me that Shelli had called with the news that Daddy had died. We talked for a while, and I returned to the computer to send a couple of messages. In the meantime Shelli called again and we talked a bit. I finished getting ready for bed but had trouble drifting off – my mind was racing in a thousand different directions. Wanda sent an email telling me that if I didn’t come home for the funeral, she thought everyone would understand. But it was when I read her words that I knew I couldn’t miss my father’s funeral. So we began making plans. I called Jimmy to tell him I would be coming home, and would let him know when we finalized our plans. He told me that Jane was already in transit to Muleshoe. I put in calls to Alicia, Eric, Mary Ellen, Wanda (Skype) and Charlotte. I needed to hear everyone’s voices and talk with them a bit. I did not get to speak to Eric or to Charlotte, but I rectified that later.

This afternoon we rented bicycles and rode out to a wildlife refuge along the Lez near where we used to walk with Peggy and Egan. There were problems with my bicycle—the front fender was rubbing against the tire and making it very hard to ride. Roger managed to bend the fender out of the way, and we swapped bikes. There were lots of hills to traverse, and we are out of shape. When we got to the wildlife refuge, we walked into it about 20 minutes, then turned around and walked back out, as it is a narrow linear park along the river, with only one entrance and one exit. We were utterly exhausted when we got back.

We rested a bit and I called Jimmy again to discuss timing with him, suggesting that he schedule the funeral for Saturday, fully a week after Daddy’s death. This is a long delay for a Protestant funeral in West Texas, where they usually bury their dead within two to three days of death, but I felt like it would also be easier on the younger generation, many of whom have work considerations and find it easier to take off on a weekend, and we had not yet finalized our plans. There was the complication that Saturday commences the Independence Day weekend, but we finally settled on Saturday, with Jimmy admonishing me that they would hold the funeral that day whether I was there or not. Jane was there with him, We did a speakerphone call with Jimmy, Susan and Jane on the other end; as a result, I did not get to speak to Jane separately.

Roger spent a good deal of time on the internet looking at possibilities for flights – out of Dublin, Paris, Barcelona, and elsewhere. We did not make a reservation yet, as we struggled with what to do with our existing tickets for flight out of Dublin on July 20, and also our non-refundable train tickets to Paris and on to London on Thursday. 

Final market day

Saturday June 25, 2011                                             Day 360

We went for our final market outing this morning. The fruit, nut and olive vendor gave us about a pound of dried fruits – mangoes, pineapples, strawberries, kiwi, and a few others. We bought only a few things because we need to get the perishables in the apartment down to nothing.

We planned to go to a free concert outside St. Anne’s church this evening, but we failed to remember it until it was too late. 

Returning the crib

Friday June 24, 2011                                                Day 359

We returned the crib to Lael today. We agreed to meet her husband, Mark, at a parking lot near the market at 5:30, but when I called him at 5:00 to confirm, he asked me to wait – he said it would take him about the same time to get from work to the parking lot as it would take us to walk there, and he was not ready to leave work yet. The crib and mattress are bulky and are too much for me to handle alone, so Roger said he would leave chess to help get them to the parking lot.

Roger got home a little after 5:00 from chess – he didn’t intend to quit for the day, but to return after we took care of the crib, so he left his chess set at the chess tables. Mark called 20 minutes later to tell us he was leaving, and we set out as well. We got part way there, struggling with the bulky items, when Roger hit upon the great idea of grabbing a rental bike from a rack along our path. I got out my card and we rented a bike – first time in probably seven or eight months. He walked the bike and we balanced the packaged crib and the mattress on the seat. It worked out pretty well – easier than carrying the items. We had only about a five-minute wait before Mark showed up, picked up the items and went on his way. Then Roger took the bicycle and rode it to chess – there is a rental stand near the chess tables.

Peggy wrote back to say that she is in Michigan and will not be back before our departure. I went to see Judi at the English Corner Shop, who is a mutual friend, and asked her if she would hold a couple of things for Peggy.

Winding down our trip

Thursday June 23, 2011                                               Day 358

It saddens me not to hear the baby birds cheeping. As I have contemplated the matter more, I am inclined to think that the nest was probably raided by a predator – I really find it quite unlikely that all five babies fell from their nest.

We will depart from France a week from today, so we are beginning to move into the final stages of leaving.

I sent Peggy an email telling her that I hoped to see her one more time before we leave, as I have a few things I need to give her, including a spider plant and a painting I did of a pot of flowers in her garden in November. I do not seem to have saved a photo of this painting. Pity - it was a lovely painting.

I worked some more on a painting – parts of it are coming along okay, but other parts do not please me at all. Sigh.

Happy Birthday!

Wednesday June 22, 2011                                               Day 357

Happy birthday to me!

We went strolling this afternoon, and we passed the Sac a Malice shop, which is a play on sac a main (handbag). We paused while I admired a purse, and Roger declared that he would buy it for me since it was my birthday.

In the evening we returned to La Symphony, where we ate when Jane, Mary Ellen and Aaron visited us. The food was not quite as good this time, or maybe it’s just me. This is the only repeat restaurant visit we have had for our entire stay in Europe – for the most part, we feel that there are so many good restaurants out there waiting for us that we do not want to eat at the same establishment twice.

What happened to the birds?

Tuesday June 21, 2011                                               Day 356

We were unable to see any sign of the baby birds today. They were far from old enough to fledge when we left – they did not even have any real feathers yet, and those beaks were still larger than the rest of their heads! It would seem that they have all fallen out of the nest. This must be a real blow to the parents. I saw one of the parents sitting on the drying rack outside the window across the airshaft just before dusk.

When we went to the market today, we told two or three of our favorite vendors – those who are our “friends” – that we will be leaving next week and shook hands. One vendor, the fruit, nut and olive vendor, told us to come on Saturday and he would have a gift for us. This is totally unexpected! All I really wanted to do is thank them for their kindness and courtesy over these past 10 months. 

Heading home from Munich - an all-day trip

Monday June 20, 2011                                             Day 355

We left Munich this morning. In the train station before our departure, we purchased some lunch – a barbequed chicken quarter and a buttered pretzel for me, a sandwich for Roger consisting of a thick slab of meat inside a bun. It turned out to be one of the better meals we have had on a train – the chicken was outstanding, and Roger said his sandwich was quite good, even if he could not determine what kind of meat was in it!

The train from Munich had a power source, so I charged my computer for the duration. The other two trains did not have any electrical outlets. Unfortunately, my computer has a battery life of only one hour forty-five minutes.

We changed trains in Stuttgart to a French SNCF train. We had only seven minutes, and we were concerned about making the connection, but our train was on time, and the connecting train was on the same platform, so there was no problem finding it and getting settled in promptly.

We changed trains again in Paris, but this involved a change of stations as well. We expected to have two hours for the change, but our train was late getting into Paris; even so, we had more than an hour. We made the metro trip without incident, and once we arrived in Gare de Lyon, I left the station in search of some fruit and a dinner other than sandwiches. I found a Monop, which is a small version of a Monoprix grocery store with lots of ready-to-eat items. I found a cold chicken and pasta salad for me and a hot chicken pasta dish for Roger, which I heated in the microwave oven in the store. I also bought some strawberries and some cookies. We got home about 9:00.

I called Daddy and chatted with him for a bit, wishing him Happy Father’s Day. He seems content in his new surroundings, although it is hard to tell whether he is really happy or not – he doesn’t express a lot of joy or sorrow. I apologized for not calling him on Father’s Day, and we had a nice chat. We spent some time on the internet, then collapsed for the night.

Exploring Munich

Sunday June 19, 2011                                                 Day 354

We did not get up to see Brennan and his entourage off this morning – their rising time was 5:15 a.m. Instead, we lazed in bed past 8:30. After breakfast, we took a tram to the Pinakothek Neue, which is one of Munich’s art museums. This one had a number of impressionists, including Serat, Monet, Van Gogh, and others, as well as several Rodin sculptures. The museum itself was very well done, with bright but indirect lighting from above in most of the rooms which illuminated the art works very well. In one room, the light was dimmer, and it had a blue cast, which was unfortunate because the art work in the room was mostly rather dark and would have benefited from the more yellow light of the other rooms. Most of the paintings were protected by glass, and the reflections on the glass sometimes made it difficult to see the works without glare, but overall the displays were quite good. I never thought I would become a museum critic, but since the delightful and perfect lighting of the Cantini Art Museum in Marseilles, I have become very aware of the physicality of art museums. We picked the perfect day to go there – entry on Sundays is only 1€ instead of the usual 8.50€.

And now for the art: we devoted ourselves mostly to the impressionist works, although there were some wonderful bas relief carvings as well. We actually covered most of the museum before I gave out. Roger’s favorite piece was of a partially nude woman wearing a snake and was entitled “Sin.” I, on the other hand, was fascinated by two pieces by Ainmiller, which are paintings of the interior of Westminster Abbey and are detailed beyond belief. I think I admire them particularly because they require just the kind of perfection that I do not like to devote to my paintings.

9103, 9108

It was raining off and on as we dressed and went to breakfast, then made our way to the museum. It continued to rain for the two hours we were at the museum, so we chose to eat lunch in the museum restaurant. We had Quiche Lorraine and some rosé both of which were quite good, and some carrot cake.

When we left the museum the rain had stopped and the sun was out, but we were too tired to go on to the English Gardens, a destination we had hoped to achieve. However, we have learned to content ourselves with the thought we cannot see everything, wherever we are. So we retired to our room for an afternoon of napping and surfing. In the evening, we went out to an Ethiopian restaurant, the description for which appeared in a brochure we picked up at the hotel. The food was quite good – perhaps not as good as that which we had in Rome, but delicious nevertheless. 

München

Saturday June 18, 2011                                        Day 353

We set out for the Marianplatz, which is a major tourist area in Munich. Our goal was to see the Glockenspiel at 11:00, but we were there almost an hour early, so we separated and went in diverse directions for a while. It rained for most of the morning, and I found my Itty Bitty Brella inadequate for keeping me dry long term. Short term it is fine, but I was going to be soaking wet if I didn’t do something, so we located an umbrella at a United Colors of Benneton, of all places, and I was much happier after that. We returned to the plaza and watched the famed Glockenspiel dance. There was a festival ongoing in the plaza, with singers and dancers and bands performing on a stage and people on stilts walking through the crowd, soliciting blood donations.

Shelli needed to feed Brennan, so all of us but Roger went to a tea salon and had a cup of tea while she changed him and nursed him. While at the tea salon, we suddenly heard a rupture of what we first thought was thunder – really loud cracks, quite close. We soon realized it was, instead, gunfire, and we moved to the windows to watch as several men in costume fired round after round from muzzle-loading guns from atop a tower, apparently as part of the festival going on in the Marianplazt below. Brennan was particularly distracted by the gunfire and by the high-energy atmosphere of the restaurant and found it hard to focus on eating.

I left early and met Roger, and we scoped out a place for lunch. Many of the eating establishments are stand-up only – small butcher shops with wonderful-smelling meats for custom-made sandwiches, but we wanted to sit down. We finally located one suited to our needs and returned to pick up the rest of the group. We settled in for lunch while Brennan nursed a bit more, then fell asleep. 

Afterward, Roger and I escorted Kathy back to the hotel so she could rest, then Roger and I went to the Deutsches Museum – Munich’s science and technology museum. I wore out after a couple of hours and we returned to the hotel. Shelli, Ronnie, Pam and Brennan planned to stay longer at the museum, then go to the English Gardens, which are reputed to be quite lovely. However, they got a couple of blocks from the museum in the rain, looked at each other and asked what in the world they were thinking, then returned to the hotel themselves for some much-needed rest.

Before coming on this venture, we had agreed with Ronnie and Shelli that we would watch Brennan for a few hours while they rode bicycles at Mike’s Bikes. The weather refused to cooperate, however, and they did not separate from us to do any activities beyond the hour this morning at the Marianplatz.

For dinner we were going to go to Hofbräuhaus, a famous beer establishment in Munich. When we entered, however, it was noisy beyond belief with an oompah band and singing and general chatter. We would have had to shout to be heard to each other, and Brennan would have been overstimulated, so we backed out. Roger had eyeballed a restaurant across the street, and we headed there. We had a really great meal of good solid German food, with a waiter who made the meal a great experience. Afterward, we returned to the hotel.

Shelli invited us to the room for some more face time with Brennan, and I helped bathe him. Then we all hugged goodbye and we went to bed. It is hard to see them go, but we are consoled by the knowledge that we will see them again in about five weeks.

Neuschuanstein Castle.and Munich

Friday June 17, 2011                                             Day 352

We rose for an early breakfast and went to Brennan’s room for some face time with him while Ronnie and Shelli had their own breakfast. Then we left for the train station along with Brennan, Ronnie, Shelli, Pam and Kathy, and headed for a day trip to Füssen and Neuschuanstein Castle.

Mad King Ludwig II had real notions of grandeur and was building himself a fairy-tale castle when his minions declared him mentally incompetent to rule. He died under mysterious circumstances, supposedly drowned in a lake along with his psychiatrist.

Neuschuanstein Castle

Ronnie, Shelli and Brennan

 

Brennan did quite well for most of the trip, getting cranky only a couple of times. Indeed, he has done very well for all the trip, according to Shelli and Ronnie. He is now quite the cosmopolitan traveler!

We ate dinner at a German restaurant around the corner from our hotel. The food was very good, and the restaurant surprisingly empty for a Friday night. We had no trouble getting a table and had plenty of room for Brennan’s stroller. Ronnie propped him into a high chair and he sat up for the entirety of the meal, doing very well with it. 

Munich, here we come!

Thursday June 16, 2011                                Day 351

We took the 10:25 train out of Montpellier heading for Paris, and ultimately for Munich.

In Paris, we changed train stations via the metro – an experience made a little difficult by the fact that the line we needed to transfer to was closed at the transfer point, so we had to do a little “musical metro stations” to get to Gare Est. We arrived, however, with plenty of time to spare, so we bought some dinner and boarded the train. Our seats were located in the bar car – something I have never seen before. Our seatmates were two young men who had just graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy and had two months off before reporting to their first assignments.

I made a mistake and did not pull up the hotel information on my computer before we left the house this morning, so when we got to Munich, we had to scramble to find an internet connection. Thank you, Starbucks! We had sent a text message to Ronnie while on the train, asking them to meet us at the terminal, but they were not there when we detrained. We located the Starbucks, bought some tea and logged into our gmail account using their free wifi connection. I made a note of the name and address of the hotel, and we made our way to a local map. We were just beginning to locate the surrounding streets when Ronnie and Shelli showed up – not having gotten our text message until they arrived at the hotel themselves a short while earlier. They took us to the hotel where we enjoyed Brennan for a short while before heading for bed.

More preparations for leaving

Wednesday June 15, 2011                                  Day 350

We cleaned the apartment and packed away the portable crib. I corresponded with Lael about getting the crib back to her.

I wrote the landlord about vacating the apartment, then wrote Francis, who will check us out on the last day and go over the inventory with us. Elliott said he will have tenants in the next day, so we will leave the flowers behind. 

Flowers we bought to beautify the apartment for our guests

Changing our train tickets

Tuesday June 14, 2011                                    Day 349

Roger had purchased our train tickets over the internet, and while he was at chess, I went to the train station to arrange to cancel them. When I got to the station, however, there were two trains listed on the board which were delayed over an hour, and the line at the ticket agent’s windows was long and snaky, so I returned home.

I painted a bit this afternoon, but the picture is a struggle and is not coming along well. So around 5:00, I gave up and returned to the train station, getting a wonderful agent this time who speaks reasonable English. I purchased the tickets for our trip to Munich, but was unable to cancel ours to Switzerland because I did not have the right credit card. Roger and I have separate HSBC France account numbers, although we share the same account, and his card has a different number from mine. The agent assured me that, if we have bought them on the internet and not yet printed them out, we can cancel them on the internet.

I alarmed Roger a bit when I told him that I had charged the new tickets without canceling the old ones, as our HSBC account is running low and our funds transfer request has not yet come in. So he got online and canceled the Switzerland tickets – a feat I had tried earlier but was unable to accomplish. Fortunately, the issue with the bank did not arise, as we never got an overdraft notice nor were we charged any fees, so things worked out okay.

Returning from the train station, I saw a woman . . .

. . . setting up an exhibit.

Skipping Geneva - too expensive!

Monday June 13, 2011                                      Day 348

We plan to meet Brennan and his entourage in Munich on Thursday, and we had hoped to spend a couple of nights in Geneva to get a taste of that city. We were, however, unable to arrange for a hotel there, as the ones in our price range were all booked. We could have had one for about 1,200 Euros; alternatively, we could have stayed about 25 kilometers out of the city, with more than an hour transport each direction. We opted out. 

Au revoir, Bennan. See you soon!

Sunday June 12, 2011                                             Day 347

We saw Brennan and his entourage off on the train this morning for Marseilles and the côte d’azure. Unfortunately it was standing room only – I hope they got a seat by the time they reached Nimes.

A gift for Pam at lunchtime

Saturday June 11, 2011                                          Day 346

We got moving a bit earlier than yesterday, but not much. We arrived at the market a little later than usual, but still managed to snag some falafal to snack on and pass out to our guests. Brennan declined, but everyone else partook. We chose some salad makings, sausage, cheese and bread for dinner.

We ate lunch at a restaurant beneath one of my favorite tromps l’oiel. We ordered and were sitting there chatting when a pigeon delivered a little gift to Pam, splattering it on the table in front of her and soiling her blouse, the glasses and the tableware sitting in front of her. Fortunately, we did not have our food yet, so it was just a matter of the waitress cleaning the table and removing the service ware. The lunch experience improved after that and we had a delightful midday repast.

After lunch we separated, with Pam and Kathy going to shop along rue Jean Moulin, and the rest of heading for Esplanade Charles de Gaulle, where Roger wanted to show off Brennan. Ronnie, Shelli and I paused to go into a nifty toy shop, while Roger took the stroller and went on down to chess. From the toy shop we dropped into an ice cream salon as well, and arrived to find Roger keeping one eye on Brennan and one on the chess boards.

We returned to the apartment and called Pam and Kathy to come on over – they knew the way to our place by this time. Dinner from the market was delicious, supplemented with a bottle of wine from our wine-tasting experience yesterday.

Brennan trying on Granddad's cap

I fully expected Ronnie and Shelli to go out on the town and leave Brennan with us. This is a town full of open-air bars and restaurants and young people, after all. But Shelli said they have sort of turned into responsible parents and wouldn’t be going out. 

Wine tasting at Chateau Flaugergues

Friday June 10, 2011                                           Day 345

Roger went out and got pastries for us, then later walked to get Pam and Kathy, dropping by the bakery again for breakfast for them.

We took the stroller and set out for a lovely walk, showing off the Comédie and the Esplanade Charles de Gaulle where Roger plays chess. We ambled our way down toward Place de l’Europe and the river. It was lunch time, so we ate outdoors again. We selected the particular restaurant because they had moussaka on the menu, but when we placed our order, the waitress told us they were all out of moussaka, so we managed without and had a good lunch anyway.

Most of our guests were interested in visiting a French chateau and also in a wine tasting, so we set out after lunch for Chateau Flaugergues, which offers both. This is the same chateau to which we bicycled last fall, when we took in the chateau and gardens but did not indulge in wine tasting. We took a bus from Place de l’Europe and had a 10-minute walk after we disembarked. Fortunately for Brennan, the bus was reasonably stroller-friendly.

We had time to explore the gardens before the guided tour. Roger stayed down below and entertained Brennan while the rest of us took the tour. Actually, I think each lulled the other to sleep – it was Roger’s afternoon nap time by the time we arrived at the chateau.

Granddad's big hand, Brennan's little on

Granddad and Brennan

The chateau’s claim to fame is a hanging staircase – two flights of heavy stone, hanging without supporting posts. The chateau has been in the same family for about two hundred years, and the count who lives there works the vineyards and the grounds with his family.

Shelli and Ronnie strolling up the lane toward the Chateau

Gardens at Chateau Flaugergues

We ended the evening with pizza at a restaurant around the corner from the apartment. Again, we ate outside, and almost paid for it – the clouds began to spit a tiny bit before our order came, but they receded and we were able to eat without getting rained on. 

Brennan arrives!

Thursday June 9, 2011                                             Day 344

We cleaned the apartment and got ready for Brennan and his entourage. Roger decided to skip chess, as our guests were slated to arrive around 5:30. He doesn’t usually leave chess until well after 7:00.

We had told Shelli and Ronnie that we would meet them on the platform, but when we arrived at the train station, there were four SNCF personnel blocking access to the platform stairs, checking tickets before allowing passengers to go to the train. Thus thwarted, we stood there for several minutes pondering what to do. Then we noticed the elevator access to the platform was not being checked at all, so we simply walked over, took the down elevator and accessed the platform. So much for security! We walked the length of the train, which by now had pulled in and pretty well emptied out. There they were, waiting for us – Brennan, Shelli, Ronnie, Pam and Kathy. What a joyous meeting! We then helped them with their baggage and escorted them out of the train station. It was a walk of less than 10 minutes to reach the hotel where Pam and Kathy were staying, then another walk of the same length to our apartment.

It was our guests’ desire to eat at an outdoor restaurant, and it was a splendid evening for doing so. We chose the Restaurant LaPlace and had a delightful meal with a glass of wine each. Then we returned to the apartment and admired Brennan to no end. Roger walked Pam and Kathy back to their hotel, and we went to bed. 

Brennan is coming!

Wednesday June 8, 2011                                       Day 343

Roger set up the crib in anticipation of Brennan’s arrival tomorrow. He could not get two of the four crib sides to snap into place. Frustrating! We both worked at it for some period of time before finally giving up. There is a changing table which attaches to the top railings of the crib, and we put it on to give added stability to the crib, and it seemed adequate to hold our baby grandson for three nights. We also cleaned the upstairs sleeping area and made up the bed for Shelli and Ronnie.

Getting ready to go home

Tuesday June 7, 2011                                           Day 342

I dropped into the English Corner Shop for a couple of Dr Peppers and to give Judi one of my paintings. I had offered to paint a picture of the shop for her, but she said she would rather have one of my flower paintings. So today I took it to her and she was appropriately grateful. Apparently I no longer have a photo of the painting. 

Borrowing a portable crib

Monday June 6, 2011                                   Day 341

Last week I wrote an email message to Lael, who is in charge of the AWG childrens’ activities, and asked her if she knew anyone who had a portable crib. She volunteered that she did, and arranged to bring it to us today. So Roger left chess early and we walked to the Peyrou to meet Lael, whom I had never met before. She arrived, parked illegally for a few moments, then hopped out and handed over the crib – a large contraption contained in a fabric case, along with the crib mattress and a bag of sheets. It was all over in less than five minutes, and the most amazing thing about it is that I do not know Lael, nor she me, except that we are both AWG members. 

Painting frustrations

Sunday June 5, 2011                                          Day 340

I finished another painting today, or more accurately, I gave up on it. I really feel I should do lots more work on it, but I have no patience with the precision necessary to achieve the perfection I feel the picture deserves. So I have ceased.

Lyon

Saturday June 4, 2011                                                    Day 339

We went out for coffee and pastries then returned to the hotel to pack and check out. We left our bag with the hotel clerk and walked toward the Saône River. Before reaching the river, we found a market and, it being Saturday, we felt compelled to walk through it. I bought a kilo of cherries, and Roger searched in vain for shelled nuts. Thus denied, we crossed the river and found the funicular entry. We rode the funicular to the top, then climbed more stairs and finally found a splendid view of the city – or it would have been splendid if not for the morning mist and smog hanging over the city. It was a good view, nevertheless. We then moved on to view the Roman ruins surrounding an amphitheater and the Roman amphitheater itself. The latter has been restored and modernized and is in use today.

Roman ruins at Lyon

From the ruins, we moved on to the basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourviere, a large church with a splendid view of the city. The interior of the church is ornate beyond belief, teeming with artistry. There are six large mosaics inlaid in part with gold leaf. Each in and of itself is spectacular, and the six of them together are real treasures. There was no surface left undecorated, which resulted in an overwhelming attack on the eyes and the mind. I am not sure how worshipers stay focused on the homily and the mass with all the artistry to look at.

We took the funicular back down and wandered through the old city, enjoying the sights and taking in lunch at a bouchon, which is a typical Lyonnaise eatery. We wandered some more, then decided to visit the Lyon Printing Museum. Unfortunatly, I was too tired to properly enjoy it, and almost dashed through the second half of the museum in order to be able to sit down and rest, as my museum legs had given out. Indeed, Lyon almost killed me. We scheduled ourselves to stay a full day and take an 8:00 p.m. train home. But this gave us far too long a day. I was worn out by 4:00. The venture into the museum was truly too much for me.

We got to the train station with time to spare, and discovered that the train was running more than half an hour late. We had plenty of time to buy dinner and eat it, and explore the train station as well. At last the train arrived and we boarded. The trip was uneventful until just after Nimes, when the train came to a halt. An announcement came over the speakers telling us that there were people on the tracks in Montpellier and that the engineer did not have authority to enter the terminal. We sat there for almost 30 minutes until finally we were able to go again. We arrived in Montpellier more than an hour late, traipsed home and collapsed.

Vichy - finally!

Friday June 3, 2011                         Day 338

We arose early again, repacked our bag, refilled the water, and headed for the train station, where we took the early train to Nimes – the one that leaves at 7:05 instead of the faster train that leaves at 7:20. We arrived in Nime without incident and were sitting on the platform awaiting our train to Clermont-Ferrand when the TGV train came through. We could have taken that train from Montpellier, but it is the one which was late yesterday and we didn’t want to rely on it – there is only a 10-minute window to make the connection.

Our train north and west was a single-car train with huge windows to accommodate sight-seeing. We were on a 5-hour trip through a very scenic part of France.

We settled into our seats and began to watch the scenery. We hadn’t been on the train for 20 minutes when suddenly a bottle of water dropped from above into Roger’s lap. It was perfectly placed, and for an instant I had a sudden vision of a bottle of water dropping into each passenger’s lap from an overhead compartment, sort of like those oxygen masks on airplanes. As a result, took me several minutes to stop laughing and wipe the tears from my eyes. It turns out that the water bottle we put into the net bottle holder on the side of the suitcase had worked its way loose during our travels and dropped out of the holder.

The trip was beautiful – we traveled along the Allier river for most of the trip, going through mountains, picturesque villages and wonderful scenery. We saw fly fishermen plying the waters in several places. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get much in the way of photos when one is riding on a moving train. When we arrived in Clermont-Ferrand, our train to Vichy was waiting in the station and we boarded promptly. It was a full train, and Vichy was the second stop, so we were there in only 20 minutes.

Upon our arrival, the first thing we did was get some lunch, it being almost 2:00 p.m. by this time. Then we set out for the office of tourism and the touristic train, which gave us a quick view of Vichy. The city was the seat of the French government during the German occupation of WWII. It is known primarily for its numerous warm springs, billing itself as a spa town. It is quite picturesque, full of parks and promenades. It is an old money town and is full of expensive shops.

We enjoyed the charm of Vichy for a couple of hours, then dropped into a tea shop for a pot of tea each. We bought some chocolates to eat later and headed back to the station to catch the train to Lyon. Here, we checked into our hotel, then went across the street for an Italian dinner, then returned to the hotel and sacked out.