Return to Life

I got back a week ago. Where’d I go, you ask? France and Germany. Why did I not bother to tell anyone who doesn’t see me on a regular basis? I’m an idiot and forgot. Simple as that. I got so wrapped up in mid-terms and packing that the thought barely crossed my mind. Poor Anastasia probably thought I got kidnapped. This’ll be the only trip summary post so prepare yourself for a long one. Soon I’ll get back into regular blogging though I won’t make any promises.

Day 0: Plane trip from LA to NYC (JFK) to Paris

I hate flying. Really, I do. Take-off and landing terrify me and the fact that I have to sit in a seat for that long bores me. No matter how much entertainment I bring with me, I’m bored after two hours. Thankfully the flights weren’t too bad. I kept myself amused working on sock knitting, reading Sky Mall, listening to podcasts, and (when the system finally worked) watching Juno.

Day 1: Paris
When we got to Paris, our bags weren’t there. Okay, no big deal, just file a claim with the American Airlines people and be on our way. They’d probably get us our bags later in the day. Nope, only one flight from JFK to Paris (CDG) each day. We’d have our bags by early morning the next day, we were assured. Decided not to let it bug us and headed off to the Louvre. Made two trips to the Louvre, saw Notre-Dam, checked into at our apartment (very small studio in central Paris), lunch at a wine bar, dinner at a cafe later, and went to sleep.

Day 2: Paris

While Matt waiting for our bags to arrive, I decided to check out the nearest department store, thinking they’d have yarn (like the Phildar website told me). They didn’t. And our bags still weren’t there at 10:30 so we called and told them not to deliver but we’d pick them up at the airport the next day. Visited the the Musee d’Orsay, San Chapelle, Napoleon’s Tomb, climbed the Arc de Triumphe, and saw the Eiffel Tower (didn’t climb it – will explain the 101 in 1001 consequences later).

Day 3: Paris

At the airport we’re told our bags were dropped off at the apartment and someone named Danny signed for them. Eventually determine Danny works for the rental agency and will deliver our bags around lunchtime. Many happy dances when we open the apartment door to see our suitcases. Happy dances and long showers. Meet up with Rendy (on his six month tour of Paris) to see Versailles. Not fun place in the rain with heavy crowds. Best part of day: lunch of whole chicken in Versailles-area market. Sitting on the ground away from rain, picking at it with our fingers.

Day 4: Paris to Beaune

Picked up the rental car, drove to Beaune (with Rendy). Beaune’s a small town in Burgundy. The drive, despite being mostly toll highways, was really pretty. Plus we had a nice big car (Hyundai Santa Fe) to enjoy it in. Used my small amount of French and the reservation clerk’s small amount of English to check in. Pretty sure he missed the fact we had a reservation at all. I finally found a store selling yarn and got enough for three pairs of socks (two for Matt, one for me). Did some wine tasting which often included a tour of the winery’s wine caves. Really neat tour but not so beloved wine. I don’t think our palate is sophisticated enough for it.

Day 5: Beaune

Beaune’s a small town so it didn’t have much to do within its limits. We jumped in the car and explored some of the smaller towns south. Did more wine tasting and basically enjoyed the sights. Rendy was terrified to find many of the towns with few people wandering around (or, in one memorable case, only a chicken). Returned to town for a tour of the Hotel Dieu, a former hospice for the poor and other few city inhabitants to make it through the black plague.

Day 6: Beaune to Colmar

Drove slowly to Colmar, in Alsace. Suddenly felt like we’d been transported to Germany, not another part of France. We stopped in a bunch of small towns along the way, including Eguisheim where we got excellent tarts from a charcuterie (sort of a butcher shop). Colmar was a much larger town than Beaune which was nice, lots to see. Okay, I liked it mostly because it had lots of places to go shopping.

Day 7: Colmar

I don’t remember which day we did what in Colmar, despite my notes. They’re missing a bunch which I thought I’d recall but now can’t. Oops. I do remember touring a small chapel, buying clothes at H & M, visiting a combination art and city history museum, and buying some super cheap acrylic blend yarn (for scarf for Matt and hat for Rendy). Also some great food; Matt enjoyed charcute-garni (something like that) which is essentially a plate of meat with sourkraut. Oh, we also did lots of wine tasting. And drove along the Alsacian wine route. Happily wine tasting is free in this area, the bottles are much cheaper, and we preferred it over Burgundian wine.

Day 8: Colmar to Strasbourg to Bacharach

We drove to the train station in Strasbourg, dropped off the car, and wandered around town. We had about six hours to kill until our train left for Bacharach (in the Rhine Valley in Germany). We said goodbye to Rendy asWe dragged our large amount of luggage though three transfers. Ugh. Wound up on a train going the wrong way but eventually made it to Bacharach eventually where we met up with Amy, Alison, and Simon. Had a really crappy dinner – though the beer was good – and went to bed early.

Day 9: Bacharach (or, really, Sankt Goar)

Amy drove back down the Bacharach to me up with me, Matt, and Alison to give us the Rhine castle tour. We drove alone the river where she pointed out several castles before taking us to her favorite one called Burg Rheinfels. Because it’s partially ruined you can wander wherever you want for four Euros. We had a blast climbing towers and exploring mine shafts – or maybe just dark tunnels as we did see long shafts with sharp angles that went on seemingly forever. Afterwards we had a great lunch at a local place then got to meet Amy’s host family (she’s an au pair) in Diethardt. I haven’t had such confusing conversation in a long time due to our lack of German and their lack of English.

Day 10: Frankfurt to Dallas to Home

Amy dropped us off at Frankfurt airport where we got bombarded with questions. How long have you owned our bags, who packed them, where were they packed, did anyone give you anything to pack, how did you meet them, how long have you known them. Ack! I want to know what happened at that airport to ask so.many.questions. Thankfully the rest of the check in and security process didn’t take that long, despite the fact the customs agent wasn’t happy we didn’t have our passports stamped upon entering France. The flight was a million hours longed but I survived by sock knitting and watching lots of TV and movies. Almost missed the flight from Dallas to LA when customs couldn’t figure out if we owed tax or duty on the 18 bottles of wine we’d bought. And, of course, we didn’t get our luggage until the following day; three wine bottles had been destroyed in the process.

And now for the photos…

The menu at the restaurant where we had lunch our first day in Paris. Thankfully an employee knew English and was able to translate for us. By the time we left France we’d gotten pretty good at menu item translation (and my confidence at speaking French had improved).

I’d planned to take sock progress photos at each major landmark but, well, that didn’t happen. This sock is now done and it’s mate started.

Here’s what you see waiting to go to the top of the Arc de Triumphe.

You probably recognize this. Good ‘ole Notre Dame.

The Musee d’Orsay used to be a train station. It has a large collection of Impressionist works which aren’t my favorite but the architecture more than made up for it.

Inside San Chapelle, a gothic cathedral in Paris. I loved the stained glass in the small upstairs chapel which, apparently, is only seen by half of visitors.

You know what this is, I’m sure of it.

Matt tries to push Rendy off a cliff somewhere near Beaune.

A random street in Beaune (or nearby).

A church in a nearby city to Beaune

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The Hotel Dieu’s famous tiled roof.

View from the top of a fortified bridge in Strasbourg.

Matt, Amy, and Alison take a break from climbing up to Burg Reinfels.

The view from the castle.

Castle’s main tower