The First Paris Excursion

I know, I know...it has been too long since I wrote anything down. The weekend before last there was really nothing interesting going on. I was just getting ready for the arrival of my family, so lots of cleaning and food shopping. It was not worth a whole blog entry so I skipped that weekend altogether. Then the fun stuff began. My family arrived on Tuesday morning from the USA. My sister had quite the ordeal with her transfer flight and almost did not make it. For those of you who travel here at some point, American Airlines does not have an agreement with Lux Air. If you check a bag they will not transfer it. You need to retrieve it, go through customs, go back through security and then check in for your next flight. My sister had checked a bag, my parents came with carry on luggage, so this was her ordeal. She had an hour and a little more to make her flight, if it was not for the people at Lux Air she would not have been here. They escorted her through security and from customs, and when she forgot her purse at security one of the Lux Air employees ran all the way back there to get it for her. They held the plane for her and she made it here on the flight that she was supposed to. I have to say that they definitely went above and beyond, Thank God for all of us. Thankfully, the rest of the trip was not so eventful. No one really slept on the plane, so when they arrived I let them sleep for a little while, not too long though because that is when it is hard to adjust to the time. After that we walked to my favorite coffee place in the center (one of the two places here that has normal size coffee!) and we sat and had some coffee and talked to Peter, the owner. Then we walked around and I showed them some of the places that I think are the most picturesque. Laurence came over for dinner to meet the family, generally it was a low key but nice day. On Wednesday, I took them to Trier, Germany. they really liked it there, we saw a couple more sites than I had seen before such as the electoral palace and the constantine bascilica. We ate some real german food and then headed for home. Thursday was going to be an early day because then we were leaving for Paris. Every morning, I went across the street to the bakery to get fresh croissants. Thursday was no exception. I got some croissants with my father and then we went to the fruit market and got some fruit for the ride as well. Upon arriving back at my place, Jenni informed us that our train was in fact at 8:55 not 9:55 and we needed to leave right then, good thing I am only about 2 blocks from the train station! We did make the train no problem, we switched trains in Metz in France ( and got some drinks to wash down the croissants!) and then arrived in Paris at noon. The first thing that struck me was how overwhelming it was to be in a completely foriegn city for the first time. After a little discussion we opted to take a cab to the hotel, which was not that far away, but without a map I just wanted to get there and be done with it. After dropping our things at the hotel, we went for lunch. We picked a small neighborhood restaurant on the same street since we needed to return back to the hotel in an hour to move our things to the room. The other thing that struck me was how nice the people in Paris were, so many Americans talk about their bad experiences in Paris and I found the people warm and friendly. I do speak some french so maybe the effort helped, but even when they couldn't understand my french and I spoke english, they were always really nice and helpful. After lunch, we went to Notre Dame. We walked the 2 KM from the hotel. On the way we found the Jewish History Museum and decided to go there. My sister is really interested in the history of the Holocaust, unfortunately there was not a lot of that here. Paris is in the process of building another museum soley dedicated to the Holocaust. The history of the Jewish People in Paris was very interesting though. Notre Dame was beautiful and very ornate. There were lots of little individual chapel areas inside and it was really something to see. After leaving Notre Dame it was time for a snack. Mark these moments, because food did not play a major part in this trip! My father called it the slimming tour! In order to fit everything in that people wanted to do the next day we at almost nothing until dinner! Each day was also filled with a little souvenir shopping. All the meals that we did eat were very good. On friday, we tried to squeeze in all that we could. We took the L'Open Tour Buses. They are hop on hop off buses that you can take at your own pace to all the sites and they worked out really well. We went to the Louvre, the Champs-Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and the Catacombes, and all on just the croissant we had in the morning. (Obviously we are big on croissants in this family!) After dinner, we took at ride on the Sienne. Saturday was the last day for Paris, we devoted that day to Pere LaChaise cemetery and the completion of our shopping. Pere Lachaise has so many interesting people buried there, we only made it to a few: Jim Morrison, Chopin, and Seurat. There were so many other ones to see if you had the time, but alas we did not. We arrived back in Luxembourg Satuday evening and went to dinner with Laurence to Chigorie, a traditional French Restaurant. As with the other places, the food was fabulous, this one was better than most though. Then we went for a walk and looked out over the grund at night. Jenni got some pictures of this, it was really cool. Sunday, was the last day they had here, and I did not have too much planned. The only plan that I had was to meet Kathy for lunch since it was her birthday. Before that I tried to squeeze in some of the history of Luxembourg so we went to the history museum. This was cool, it starts on the bottom floor and works it way up to present day, we probably could have spent some more time there but we actually got a little sleep so it was somewhat of a late start. We ate lunch at Beaujolais, a little pizza place in the centre. It was the nicest day we had had all along. Paris was in the 50's and cold. Luxembourg was in the 70's and sunny. All of it was fun anyway, but I was happy to have a nice day. Kathy suggested that after lunch she bring us to the American Cemetary in Luxembourg. General Patton is buried there, which I did not know before coming here, so it was really interesting to see, we also went to the German Cemetary a couple streets away and it was sad to see the difference between the two. The German cemetary was much more somber and had 4 people to a grave, where the American Cemetary was sunny and peaceful. Both were interesting in their own rite. When we completed all the site seeing we could fit in, we went back to the centre for some ice cream and then walked back toward my place to meet Laurence for a drink. It was sad here yesterday with out my family, after all the hustle and bustle of the last week, I got used to the noise and the lack of space. The quiet was almost deafening. Luckily for me the next of my visitors from home arrives on Thursday! My friend Crystal is coming so I have no time to do anything but restock the fridge and get ready for her arrival! I am excited. We are heading for Amsterdam this weekend and then back to Paris the next. Let the good times keep coming!

Phantasialand

Well, this was another busy day at work with lots of plans during the week as well. Monday night, I met Kathy and her friend Diane for dinner. We went to a fondue restuarant in the center. It was a little on the pricey side, but the food was fantastic. We got one order of cheese fondue as an appetizer. It was a tomato basil type fondue, really good. Then we each got an order of meat fondue for dinner. The cuts of meat were very lean and everything was tasty. Way too much for me to eat in one sitting! On Wednesday, I met Justyna for dinner. Justyna is one of my newer friends. She works at the Tube, one of the bars that I go to. It is a small English bar. She is Polish, originally from Warsaw, she speaks 4 languages (Polish, French, English, and German). We went to Namaste, one of the Indian restuarants on my street. We stayed for a long time just talking about our lives and life in general, it was a lot of fun. Thursday was my day to lay low (because I think I went out on Tuesday too but I really can't remember what I did! I am forgetting things already...not good!) Friday, I hung out with some of the guys from my group on Le Place de Paris, one of the blocks that has several outdoor restuarants, I kept it early though because Saturday was Phantasialand! Phantasialand is an amusement park in Germany close to Cologne. It seems like I am doing the amusement park tour of Europe...that's a new one. It was so much fun. I was a little nervous about going because the group from BBH I was going with were people I only know a little, we don't really see eachother more than just to say hello to. They invited me to go with them when I was still in the States and they thought I was going to be a part of their group. The way my exchange worked it was not the case though. I should not have worried though, everyone was so nice and we all went around together. There was 11 of us that went. The bus picked us up at the train station near my house at about 8:30 in the morning. It is a 2 hour ride to Cologne. Jenni, you would be so proud of me, I rode almost all the roller coasters, the only one I would not go on was one that even some of the guys would not go on. The one that I would not go on was called the Talocan, it was a giant spinning wheel with two long rows of spinning seats the spun aroun on an axle while you were plummeting toward the ground. Also I skipped the free fall, but I did go on the Black Mamba, which is supposed to be the biggest attraction there (from the website): A rush like no other! The Black Mamba hurtles through ravines, plunges down chasms and shoots past waterfalls. You won't even have time to scream as loop-the-loops, corkscrews, hairpin bends and stomach-churning drops follow in quick succession, while the tunnels obscure your peripheral vision and alter your perception of speed. All in all it was a fantastic day. We got back to Luxembourg around 8:30 and we were all exhausted, I was too tired to make myself something to eat right away, I went right to sleep and got up around 10pm to eat and then went back to bed. Tonight, I am going to Kathy's house for dinner, she is making a raclette. A raclette is a melting block of cheese that is served with meat potatos and veggies. It is one of the things that they serve at the fondue restuarant as well. Now I am off to get ready for the day.

Revised French Phrase

So in french class we learned the polite was to say things yesterday (a new verb tense) and I realize now that my french phrase is a little too demanding so for those of you who might actually use it and don't want to have someone spit in your beer for being rude...

J'aimerais une autre biere.

Much more polite! Heather....miss the firm deadline again and I might have to book another ticket back to the U.S. :)

German and French Phrase of the week

Ich brauche ein anderes Bier.....I need another beer

and in french for those who have been missing the phrase of the week email.

J'ai besoin d'une autre bière

Laying low

This weekend was very low key. I worked very hard last week, basically from 7am until 8 or 9 pm almost every night. I had intended on going someplace this weekend but after a week like that I just needed to recover and recoup from the long week. So I did the normal boring things that I would do in the US, which is groceries and watching TV, going to the movies and sleeping in. I went to see two movies, Saturday night I went out with Laurence, she left for Tunisia on Sunday to meet her twin sister for vacation. So , we got together before she left so that we could hang out a little. We went out for dinner at the same seafood restuarant that I mentioned earlier, at the mall. I am still amazed that a landlocked country could have a good seafood restuarant! Then we saw Fools Gold, it was cute, a nice way to pass two hours. I also started watching the series Rome from HBO. My friend Jim let me borrow this while he is in Poland. I really like it so far and I have watched the first seven episodes. I worked on putting together a CV (resume) for one of the girls I met over here, and I submitted it for an Admin Position over here. She is a nice girl, smart, she speaks 4 languages, but she hasn't had the opportunity to finish college so I figured I would try and help her out a little. She is a bartender at one of the places that I go regularly and she has always been nice to me, so I hope that this works out for her. Tomorrow I might meet up with Kathy and her friend from the US, who is here visiting, to go out for a little while. Then on Thursday, I think that Justyna, the bartender/new friend, are going to the Indian Restaurant on my street, Namaste. This coming weekend, I will head to Phantasialand in Germany with some of my colleagues, another amusement park, who knew I would go to more amusement parks in Europe than I have in the US! I will have some more pictures for you then. Hopefully something more exciting to tell than working hard and working hard!

Snubbed by the Mouse!

So Disney was fabulous. I suppose anyone who knows me should have no trouble believing that I would have a great time someplace where there are a lot of stuffed animals and make believe characters. We started out on Saturday morning at about 8 am for our 3 hour drive to Disney. The hotel was great, we tried to spend some time enjoying the hotel as well as the Parks. We checked into the Holiday in, each hotel had a theme. Ours was the circus. It was cute in a stylish sort of way, very nice room. We made our way over to the park and had lunch there and looked in some of the shops in Disney Village. I bought myself a couple tops the first day because there were some really cute peasant blouse type tops and I want to wear one the next day. After that we decided that we wanted to relax at the hotel so we went back, checked in and laid by the pool and read for a couple hours. It was nice to be in the sun and have some time to chill out. With the extrodinarily long hours I have been working lately it was much needed. After that we went out for a Steak Dinner in Disney Village. The restuarant was meteocre but the night was beautiful out. We sat outside and then we moved for a drink someplace else. We retired early that night because Sunday was going to be a long day. Sunday we were at the park by 8 am, the lines did not open until 9:15 but it gave us time for breakfast and to get in line for the gates early. We were in the park by 9:30 and it was faboulous. We did both parks, Universal and Magic Kingdom and just picked the things we wanted to see. I am sure Jenni will be happy to hear that I did go on the roller coasters, and that they were a lot of fun. We also did a character lunch where I was so unhappy because Mickey would not stop to take a picture with me. I tried to get a picture with him two times and he just shrugged me off and walked right by! Mickey Francais est stupide!!! I did get a picture with Chip and Dale, Gephetto and Pinnochio, and Goofy. I wore my Minnie ears the whole day and Goofy pulled them off every time he walked by....I think maybe Goofy was flirting with me? How wierd is that? But he is my new favorite now! All in all I love Disney. On the way back on Sunday we stopped in Reims in France so that I could see the cathedral, unfortunately the batteries on my camera ran out!! So I guess I will have to make it a point to go back. Now it is back to reality...French class is going well, I am doing well with communicating, hopefully I will at least be comfortable with speaking when I get back...with any luck fluent but that might be a stretch. I am coming home for the 3th of July, hopefully I will be able to see you all then.

The Cookoff

This weekend was all about the cook-off. Jim has been boasting...since well before I got here, I am sure, that his chicken parm is the best and would rival anyone in the North End. Since it is one of the only two things he can cook, naturally this gloating could not go unnoticed by those of us who cook many different things and never miss an opportunity for a good face off. So Kathy challenged Jim to a chicken parm cook off and I also was invited to take part. I went all out. I got up early Saturday morning because I wanted to make my own Pasta Sauce too and I was off to the store. Since the big grocery store is a twenty minute bus ride, I did not make it back until 11am. Another disadvantage for me is that apparently people do not use breadcrumbs in this country! Who ever heard of a country without breadcrumbs!!! Jim and Kathy had gotten some at the army base when Kathy still had a friend over here, I made my own. Sounds like that would be a bonus, but making breadcrumbs not as easy as you may think, especially without an oven and with fresh not stale bread...Amy S. I think I need a lesson when I get home! Anyway over all I think for having a few bumps in the road it came out pretty well. We all brought our dishes to Kathy's house and baked them in her oven. And being the forward thinking person that I am I made an extra dish to bring for lunch for the week, which has now turned out to be the lunch for my group tomorrow...I am the only girl and I think the only cook, go figure! Kathy invited four of her friends over and they were the judges. She won by a landslide! So the good news is Jim did not win (although his Chicken Parm was really good) and the bad news is I did not. Maybe next time we can pick something that I have made before and something where the ingredients are easily accessible. On a high note, my sauce came out awesome! Sunday was again low key, but it was another beautiful day. I slept late and did some laundry, then I went to one of the many outdoor cafes and read my book and drank some coffee. After that I walked around the Casemates, someplace I had not been to before but really beautiful outdoors. I tried unsuccessfully to take a self portrait and the one that the tourist I stopped took of me was very unflattering so maybe next week we can rectify that. Next week it is off to Disneyland in Paris! I guess the next pictures will be with the Mouse!