Luxembourg and Trier April 07

The 80 year old hooker...check out the shoes!



The American Cemetery





Patton's marker...facing his troops




The German Cemetery


The German Cemetery from the memorial facing the entrance



Typical Luxembourg


The Petrusse Valley

Trier

Trier buildings

More great views

Looking towards the black gate

The Porta Nigra

The Roman baths

Mosel River view

The Roman Bridge

Luxembourg and Trier (April 07)

Easter weekend is a four day holiday for most European countries. So it was a perfect time to get out and explore a few more places that we hadn’t been to yet. We decided on going to Luxembourg City and Trier. We live in about a 2 ½ hour drive from Luxembourg if the traffic is running smoothly. So we figured that we would drive down on Good Friday and spend the day in the city. We left the house and two hours into the trip we a stau (the German word to traffic jam). It took us 20 minutes to go a kilometer and it was getting pretty frustrating, but we pushed on. I was also getting pretty toasty in the sunlight as it has been a bright and almost rain free spring. We have already hit temps in the high 70, which I’m sure means that we will have a really hot summer. On a quick side note, during our quick restroom stop along the way we saw what I believe to be an 80- year old hooker

We finally drove into the city proper and began our quest for a place to park…which is not an easy task. The town was packed and there was a ton of on-going road construction projects that just added to the noise and confusion. The city is split by a river valley (there is no longer a river) with one side being more modern and industrialized and the other is the old city center and tourist region. A “ring” road encircles the city and the views from the bridges over the “valley” are simply stunning. Part of the road is in a tunnel that goes under the old city for almost the entire eastern side of the city and if you aren’t paying attention or if you don’t drive aggressively you get funneled on to the tunnel road time and time again…even if you want to take the surface roads. After driving the “ring” road three times and driving through the tunnel we finally managed to get onto the correct exit (under construction) and took the surface roads into the city center. Many European cities have well marked parking signs and even list the number of spaces available in each lot. We just kept seeing signs that said “vol” or “full.” There were lines of cars waiting to go into the underground parking areas and we began to give up hope. We ended up taking a side street and followed a local repair van on an unplanned random tour. After a few minutes that pulled over to a construction site…I think that there were lost too. Since our frustration level was growing we decided that it would be better to drive to Spangdahlem, AFB where we were staying and to try to visit the city again at an earlier time on Saturday.

For those of you who are non-military, let me try to describe the BX culture. The BX/PX (Base Exchange/Post Exchange), “is really a poor man’s Wal-Mart. We don’t have a US BX at Geilenkirchen and the one at Schinnen is really small and dumpy, so even if you really don’t need anything, it is considered bad form to pass up an obvious opportunity to shop at a bigger BX at another base. Service members and their families quickly learn which BX or BX-tra has the best DVDs, electronics, furniture, clothing, and so on. For example, it is well known that the BX at Spangdahlem has a newly renovated Power Zone (the electronics store) but if you want clothes or a wide selection of household goods you should drive to the Bitburg BX, which is about 25 minutes away. Ninety minutes south of that region is Ramstein AFB, Vogelweh AFB, and a few other tiny bases. If you want regional gifts, a good book store, or house wares you go to the BX at Ramstein, but if you want electronics Vogelweh is the BX to be at. In fact it is almost criminal to go to a base and note check out the BX…even though they all pretty much have the same crap. It’s just that some have more crap than others. The other “must do” when you travel to other bases is to eat at the American chain restaurants that your base doesn’t have. Here we only have Burger King and Anthony’s Pizza (which is really horrible) so during our stay at Spangdahlem I was able to dine on Taco Bell, Popeye’s, and Charlie’s Steakery. Ok, so sure I should be experiencing European fine dinning, but I can do that back in Geilenkirchen. So shop and ate we did!

Saturday morning we headed back towards Luxembourg City, which was only about an hour’s driving. We first visited the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/lx.php where General Patton is buried. As far as making an impression, after being to cemetery in Normandy it seemed pretty darn small…which I guess is a good thing. The entire area was impeccably manicured and I don’t think a blade of grass was allowed to grow out of order. I’m sure that Patton likes it that way too! His grave was at a special location at the “top” of the field of graves so that he can always look down to his troops.

We also stopped at the Germany cemetery http://www.marville.org/misc/mamisc-3a.html which was very interesting and different. This cemetery wasn’t established until the last 60’s and was internationally funded as a place for friendship, peace, and understanding. We were the only car in the parking lot and we saw only one other person there who was walking out when we arrived. You have to walk on a wide trail through the woods to get to the entrance and instead of the white marble, polished brass, and a pristine setting as seen in the American cemeteries, you had to walk through a small door in the brown rock and brick wall to get to the grave markers that were formed in the iron cross shape, but made from brown stone. The wall housed a small chapel and across the ground there was a small mound with a large brown cross for all of the unnamed German solders. Most of the marked graves had at least three bodies in them and I have no clue as to how many bodies were in the mass unknown grave. The cemetery had a very natural feel about it which seemed to reflect the Germans love of nature and hiking. (Hiking over to invade their neighbors maybe?) To be honest, it was in no way a memorial to the Nazis and it seemed very sad, lonely, and tragic.

After our visit to the cemeteries we headed back into the city and onto that damned ring road. Luckily we had already learned our way around the city the day before and we found an open parking lot only halfway around the ring. By the time we pulled up there were 5 spots left. We drove down a ramp under a park and began a very narrow drive looping around and around and driving deeper underground. There were about 5 levels that maybe held about 10 public parking places and around 40 privately owned spots. When we reached the bottom floor we crossed over to the ramp heading upwards before we found one of the 5 coveted parking sports. Back on the top side we headed over to the “Place de la Constitution” where the Luxembourg Memorial was located and where we could look down over the Petrusse Valley.

There are a lot of catacombs carved into the wall of the valley but the main one near us was closed. I was a bit bummed as I have developed a real taste for historical catacomb and cave tours. The city had a small trolley tour that goes down into the valley and a plethora of the “Hop On, Hop Off” busses, but we decided to head into the centum for lunch. We ate at a Mexican place that had fairly decent fajitas and the margarita was passable….but barely. Afterwards we took the trolley tour. The trolley itself is designed to look like a train, so we felt a bit silly when we first boarded, but considering that it ended up being a sold out tour I guess that it wasn’t that silly.

The drive down into the valley was really nice and we listed to a recorded tour that was poorly done. Everyone had ear buds that plugged into a personal radio where the listener could select from five languages. There was way too much music and not enough history on the different buildings that we were seeing. The one thing that I did learn was that almost everyone has over-run Luxembourg at one time or another. In fact, I think that the Chinese might be the only nation that hasn’t had political control of the city at one point. Part of the recording told about how King Siegfried or “Siggi” as he was referred to in the recording, and the water sprite from the now non-existent rive married and settled in the valley over 1000 years ago. Afterwards the invasion began and didn’t stop until WWII ended. The musical accompaniment was a mix of classical and some really bad funky jazz that was mixed with different quotes about the city. The worst was the advertising refrain, “Luxembourg, so small yet so grand.” After hearing that about 20 time most of the people had their head phones off and were chanting away with their seatmates.

Once we were off the trolley we strolled around a bit more, enjoyed the architecture, drank a beer and just enjoyed the beautiful day. We made it back to out billet in Spangdahlem by early evening.

The next day we drove about 90 minutes to get to Trier which is the oldest city in Germany. The city itself is located in the Mosel valley and was first founded by the Romans as one of their western most trading ports in continental Europe. The place is just littered with Roman baths and ruins that have all become designated as world cultural heritages sites by UNESCO. The most famous of these sites is the Porta Nigra or “black gate.”

The city center is one of my favorites that I have visited so far. It was really beautiful with a lot of attention to details such as ornate dormers, carved statues mounted on the buildings, and the fact that almost everything had been restored so it looked stunning. Throughout the town there are brass places placed on the cobblestones know as “stumbling blocks.” Inscribed on the “blocks” are the names of former residents who were victims of the Nazi persecution. In many cases the blocks are located in front of a home that a family was forced out of by the Nazis. The blocks also locate former significant Jewish historical sites within the city such as the former location of the old Synagogue.

The day was beautiful so we decided to take the tour trolley that was offered. This one was a lot better that the Luxembourg one. There was a much better explanation of the historical sites and a better historical background offered in the presentation. We even got to see the house that Karl Marx was born in, which leads me to believe that he was just a spoiled rotten brat. The city is filled with outstanding buildings and amazing nooks and crannies to walk down. One of the most famous alleys is the Judengasse which was the Jewish ghetto off of the main square until the Jews were first forced to leave the city in the 15th century. After that the other “undesirable” groups lived and worked in the homes in the narrow alley. Of course later on the Jews and their business were welcomed back into the protection of the walls only to be forced out again generations later.

After visiting the city center we decided to walk down to the Mosel River and take a 2 hour cruise. The sun was a bit bright and it was very hot until we finally pulled away from the dock and we could enjoy the pleasant breeze on the river. On our trip we cruised under the “Roman Bridge” constructed in the middle of the 2nd century. Let’s face it, this place is old and here in the states people whine if a 50 year old building is slated for destruction.

If you get a chance to visit Trier it’s well worth it. It’s really impossible to describe how beautiful it is of the diverse architecture that ranges from Roman to medieval, to modern (out side the city center of course).

Tater Leeland van der Katzen

The first group photo....and boy is Spud pissed!



First photo at 3 months.



Ain't he just the cutest?

What a great yawn!

Crazy kat caught in the middle of a yawn.

(This was written on 12 June 07. Tater was adopted on the 7th)

Well, I cleaned up so much cat hair yesterday that I had enough to make a new kitten....and boy is Spud ever pissed at me! I think that it's going to take days before they can even be in the same room together.

OK, the new guy doesn't have a name yet, but he is the sweetest fuzzbutt! He rubs his head against mine, has given me kisses, and smooshes against my nose so hard that I think he is trying to wipe his boogers on me.

There really is a bit of story to tell about his adoption too. The German shelter wanted a note from my landlord, which I didn't mind because it's in the animals’ best interest. However, I didn't want to bother him and the German shelter didn't have any orange kittens old enough for adoption. A Belgian cat shelter about an hour's drive from here had a great kitten on their web page, but alas he wasn't old enough either. Today I went to three shelters in Holland. The first one had orange kittens, but again they were too young. I found a great 10 month female gray tiger at the second shelter, but she had to wait 2 weeks before she could be adopted.

So when I got home at 2:00pm I thought that I would take a nap, but something made me look up the shelter list for the Dutch province of Limburg again and I saw that there was one more place about 40 minutes north. I called and they had a male, red and white available. So I drove out, got lost about 4 times and finally found the place in the boondocks on a dirt road. When I saw they little guy it was love at first sight.

The best part is that their prices were the cheapest yet. So I made a small donation along with the purchase price. Tomorrow I have to get him a little scratching post though...and some better toys as he may be alone in his room for a while....poor guy.

I just know that Spud will like him...once he stops being a turd. Holy cow can Spud ever hiss, growls, moan, and cry!! But the little guy isn't taking it lying down. He hissed and growled right back...which has been pretty funny.

So please welcome the newest Weisbecker!

TDY-Lakenheath, England

The Cat Mummy at the Nutshell


Cris, Stacey, Dana, Michelle (front)


The gang at The Dog and Partridge: Bill, Michelle, Cris, Stacey, Margaret, Audrey, and Tim (behind the glass)


Cris and Audrey, showing off out cool St. Pat's hats!


Cris and John (The Happiness Fairy)

TDY-Lakenheath, England

During the last week of February, I was sent TDY (tour of duty) to RAF Lakenheath. This is a small US Air Force Base in Suffolk, England about an hour from Cambridge. It is also located about 5 minutes from RAF Mildenhall. I was sent to attend a School Liaison Officers (SLO) training and conference hosted by the SLO at Lakenheath and United States Air Force Europe Headquarters (USAFEHQ). As usual, things got very interesting from the very start of my trip.

Mike had to drive me to Dusseldorf Airport which is about an hour from the house. About 20 minutes into the drive we hit a “stau” which is the German word for traffic jam. It took us almost twice as long as usual to get to the airport and even though Mike wanted to park to use the restroom he had to drop me off in departures so I would have a chance at making the flight in time. I checked in just under the gun and hustled through security, passport control, and took a quick potty break. I arrive at the gate just in time…to discover that the plane had been delayed.

Forty minutes later we took off for London, Heathrow and I was confident that I would still be able to make my free US military provided bus to Lakenheath. Upon arrival I hustled through the airport and even made it through British passport control without issues. Then the shit hit the fan. We had to wait over 30 minutes to get our luggage. British Air publicly apologized for the delay and it was really frustrating to wait as other passenger from later flights picked up their bags and exited through customs. By the time I got my bag it was the scheduled time for my bus to leave from terminal 3, of course I was in terminal 1.

Since there was a chance, ever so slight, that my bus would be late in departing I hauled ass to get to the bus lot in terminal 3, wheeling my suitcase behind me. If you don’t know, Heathrow Airport is frigging huge and it took at least 10 minutes to get to where I needed to be. Of course the bus was long gone. While I was disappointed, I knew that I had a few other options. So I went to the bus station that was located next to terminal 3 and tried to get a bus to Lakenheath. Well, it seems that the lady helping me had never heard of the place or even Mildenhall and after doing a search she determined that there were no busses going to Lakenheath. As I had no idea where these bases were located I took her word for it. In fact, I felt that it was my fault for not doing more research ahead of time so that I knew where the bases were located.

My next option was taking a cab. The cabs were located outside the bus station and I hopped into one, feeling hopeful. That was until I was told that the price for the ride was over 200 British pounds ($400). Yikes, that was not a solution. So I immediately exited the cab. I dug in my bag and pulled out the TDY info that I had been sent and saw that I would be reimbursed if I had to pay for a cab, but I would only be allowed to use 3 companies and they were all based out of Lakenheath. The paper also explained that if I called one of those cabs I would have to wait for over two hours as that was how long it would take them to drive to Heathrow. So I decided that taking a cab was not a good option.
Since I had missed the bus due to British Air leaving Dusseldorf so late and for screwing around with our bags I decided that they could pay for my cab. Dragging my bag behind me, I hiked all the way back to Terminal 1. While the employees of British Air were polite, (would one expect anything different?) they determined that BA could not help me. Officially it was my fault for not booking an earlier flight so that I would not have missed the bus due to their lateness. They were able to help me determine that Lakenheath was in Suffolk. The manager also suggested that I take the tube into London, then a train out to Suffolk. Then I could take a taxi from the station at the end of the line which would be much cheaper.

While this seemed like a bit of a good idea, I was still really upset and just knew that there had to be a better way to get to where I needed to go. I talked to a person at a shuttle bus desk and he had no idea about where I wanted to go. So I figured that I would have to go online to get more information about the base. After seeing the rates at the Heathrow Internet Café, I decided to try the bus station one more time. So off I headed, past Terminal 3, pulling my suitcase behind me.

After a short wait in line I found someone who had actually heard of the Air Force bases and even informed me that I had missed the free bus that left from the tour bus lot at Terminal 3….gee thanks! Anyway, I told her that I just wanted to get as close to Lakenheath as possible and as I knew that many military people would miss the free busses I just knew that there had to be a good way to get out there. She agreed and booked me on the bus going to the village of Mildenhall. It didn’t leave until 3pm, but I was just delighted to have my problem solved.

After I arrived in Mildenhall I meet a British woman who was a US military spouse and she was also going to Lakenheath. She had a home in the village and I needed to go to the base. I suggested that we share a cab and we had a great conversation during our ride. I didn’t have any small bills so before I got out of the cab at the base guest housing I gave the cabbie 20 pounds with the intention of paying him 5 ($10). That would cover half of the total fare and leave him a nice tip. Because I was so tired I didn’t realize that he gave me back a ten and two fivers. So when the lady asked me if I had paid the cabbie I said “yes.” Two minutes later, as I was checking in, she came into the lobby and politely informed me that I had not paid my portion of the fare. I was so embarrassed that I could have died on the spot. I had told her about my saga during the ride so hopefully she wrote it off as exhaustion and not as intentional. I apologized, thanked her again and gave her the 5 pounds.

My Air Force Inn room was about two blocks from the lobby and off I went, still dragging my suitcase behind me. Par the course; I was on the third floor and Air Force Inn does not have elevators. Once in the room I tried to contact the local SLO, but I kept miss-dialing or getting no answer. The group was going to meet at a Mexican Pub (imagine that) at 6:30 and as it was already 6:00 I figured that I was just going to have to miss out and eat at a fast food place on base. As I was getting settled in I heard two women talking in the hall so I popped my head out and asked them if they were there for the SLO Conference. Finally my luck changed, yes they were and they were also going to the group dinner.

We met with some more of the group in front of a nearby building then headed out to the Mexican pub that was just outside of the gate. I was so relived when I got there that I practically downed my Guinness in one gulp. I really enjoyed meeting some of the other SLOs in attendance. It turns out that the pub was owned by a family from San Antonio and the food was AWESOME. I had the best mole’ ever! (A spicy Mexican stew served over Spanish rice). After some more beer and a lot of laughing, we piled back into the cars and headed back to base. I usually don’t sleep well in these “hotels” but I was so exhausted that it was probably the best night’s sleep that I’ve had in ages.

The conference began at 9 the next morning, but the hosts served a tasty breakfast before hand. I won’t go into detail about the conference as I already wrote an official trip report for my boss. I did find most of the topics useful and informative. That night the group went to a “fancy” pub that was a bit too expensive. I did like the fact that the waiter referred to me as “My Queen.” What can I say; I had to like the guy after that! There was a bigger group this night as most of the SLOs went, along with some of the military VIPs who happen to be visiting the Airman & Family Readiness Center (A&FRC) on the base. I did try a few English Ales as recommended by Tim, the SLO at Fairford.

After the second day of the conference, eight of us went on a pub crawl to Bury-St.-Edmonds. We piled into Tim’s Land Rover and drove about 20 minutes to the scenic village. There was a nice church in town, but let’s face it, I was there for the beer. The first pub stop was “The Nut Shell” which is the smallest pub in England. It was pretty small too. There were already 6 people inside and four more of us packed into the tiny smoked filled space. I had a pint while the others took in a ½ pint. The rest of the group decided that it was too smoky and they waited outside. One of the most interesting things about this pub, beside the two of the weirdo regulars, was the 400 year old mummified cat that that hung from the ceiling. Builders used to wall in a live cat near the hearth of a building to keep out bad spirits and when the building underwent renovation the mummy was “discovered. Someone also hung a nasty dead rat up with the cat to “keep it company.”

The next pub was less colorful as the décor was more modern and it didn’t really have a “pub” feel to it. By then we were all hungry and most of us had a bit to eat along with our beer. As I wasn’t starving, I enjoyed a nice hot bowl of leek soup with bread. Our final visit was to the Dog & Partridge. This was a great place as it was divided into little rooms so we had an area to ourselves that wasn’t smoked filled. Behind the bar there were decoration up for St. Patrick’s Day and I noticed that they would be giving away Guinness hats. When I was asked, “Is that all?” I mentioned to the bar keep that I would love to have one of the hats. She told me that I had to come back for St. Pat’s and I told her that I had to go back to Germany before then. So she said that she would give me a hat. On of the other SLOs overheard me and also got in on my action asking for a hat. The bartender came out and handed me a bag of hats saying “I think that’s two.” It was obvious to me that the bag had more than two hats, but instead of playing it cool, the other gal ripped into the bag and the bartender saw that there were more than two hats, so we had to give the extras back instead of sharing with the other SLOs. Needless to say I was a bit miffed. We still managed to have a good time and took lots of group photos.

The following day the conference ended at noon and we ate the “southern buffet” at the Officers Club. It was less than amazing, but it was fun to get to spend more time with my new colleagues. After lunch, seven of us met to go into London for the evening. It was a real adventure too! Tina, one of our “hosts” showed up at the meeting point in a really beat up 12 passenger van. This rental was a stick shift and we quickly discover that Tina was not an expert on a left sided stick shift. Luckily, Audrey was able to sit up front and help as the gear shift was just in terrible shape. One of the other gals sat right in a grease spot on the seat and ruined her new jeans. The van was too low on gas to get us to the station in Epping that we wanted to go to so we had to fill up before we even got started.

On our trip towards England we laughed and joked and got to know Johnnie and Rosie, an Air Force Colonel and his wife who are stationed in Germany and were also visiting Lakenheath. At one point a police car was following us and I thought for sure that we were going to get pulled over. The noise was so loud from the van that it was almost impossible to hear the siren and I don’t even think that there was a rearview mirrors. The traffic was just terrible and it took awhile before Tina could safely maneuver the mammoth beast over. We were all delighted when the police continued on past us. A few miles later we past a car pulled over to the side that had obviously suffered an engine fire.

The parking lot in Epping was huge and packed. I was really amazed as Tina drove the van through the extremely narrow lanes and backed the van into a very tight spot. Well, Johnnie did help by directing her, but still I was still impressed. Once aboard the train we rode about an hour to get into downtown London. I recommended that we go to the Tower of London first and everyone readily agreed. They we not let down as the view from Tower station is really great. We walked partway on the Tower Bridge, them completely around the Tower of London complex before heading of to see Parliament and Big Ben. I had already been to theses locations three times before, but they were really worth seeing again at night and the group really made it a blast. Behind us was the London Eye lit in red. Tina and I had a bit of fun after discovering that we both enjoyed the songs of Johnny Horton and even sang the first verse of "The Battle of New Orleans.” It was even more fun because of where we were. Then I got Johnnie to sing the song about “Bobby’s on bicycles two by two” which was just a blast.

After walking around a bit we headed back to the tube station and out towards Buckingham Palace. We all had to use the restroom so badly once we came out of the station so we went into a nearby pub and decided just to stay there for dinner. I think that I freaked Johnnie out a bit as I went into the men’s room because couldn’t wait for all of the women before I got my turn…oh well. Dinner was scrumptious and I had the Irish stew. I also freaked out the waiter when I asked if the stew was made with fresh Irishmen.

When dinner was done it was already 10pm and we were all pretty beat, so we decided to skip Buckingham Palace as we really couldn’t see much through the fence anyway. After the return train ride to Epping, we disembarked to find an almost completely empty packing lot. We piled into the van, which of course didn’t start. It was dead, dead, dead. Tina decided to go back into the station to call the rental company and Johnnie, being the perfect gentleman escorted her. Of course they wouldn’t leave the van until we had promised to not roll down the windows for strangers. Of cause, nobody was going to be stranger than us…but that didn’t stop them from insisting that we lock all of the doors. Now mind you, we were in a huge empty parking lot. We could see anyone walking towards us for miles and they were acting like Jack the Ripper was in the car next door.

After they came out we were informed that the rental company told Tina to just “pop the clutch.” We were discouraged at first and Johnnie was a bit miffed that not one single cab driver in the station offered to help even after he mention that he was with six women. So we put Audrey in the driver’s seat, got behind the van and pushed. The van was actually a whole heck of a lot lighter than it looked and we were rolling through the lot in no time. Audrey popped the clutch and the van started immediately, much to our delight. We piled in and were on our merry way in no time.

The trip back was a lot of fun too as most of us were singing silly songs from our childhood. Fine tunes such at “The Worms Crawl In, The Worms Crawls Out” and “Found a Peanut.” What a blast. Once we got back to Lakenheath it was hugs all around. What a great trip and an awesome group of people. The next day I had to meet the free bus at 7am…yuck….but it was free! I headed back into Heathrow and stored my luggage so I could go shopping in London. I went to the Piccadilly Circus area and spent most of my time at Borders. It was so nice to be in a bookstore that sold books in English. I just missed browsing while drinking a good coffee. I can browse at the bookstore in Aachen, but considering that most of the books are in German, it just doesn’t have the same thrill. I also went to the largest toy store in England, which was a hoot. Finally I returned back to the airport a few pounds lighter…get it? I spent the rest of my British pounds on gossip magazines that would be fun to share with friends back in Germany. Over all, the TDY was a great success. I hope that I get to go again next year!!

Paris in Late Winter (Feb 07)

Paris

A funny Metro sign....even funnier if you've seen "Jackass."

The Arc de Triomphe

Viewing the Eiffel Tower from the Arc de Triomphe

Viewing Sacre Couer Basilica (at the very top and back)

(Look top right) The not so "golden arches" on Champs Elysses (Once required by law to be white)

Like this MUST be the best tour company in the wrorld (Gain is my maiden name)

The Eiffel Tower at night

Looking up at the Eiffel Tower

Cris & Mike

Looking down from the 1st floor

Looking down at the lines...not too bad right now

Notre Dame gargoyles

Walking up to Versailles Palace

Looking down on Paris at sunset from just below the Sacre Couer Basilica

Ok, now everyone say "frommage." The steps at the Basilica


I think that you can figure this one out...

Napoleon's Tomb

The actual tomb

Look in the center, through the fog. It's the Eiffel Tower...really!

Ah, Paris in the spring…well…late winter

First, I have to admit that what I expected out of Paris and what I got out of it was VERY different. My friend Pam put it best when I was telling her about my trip. “It under promised and over delivered.” Heck, even Mike had fun (ha ha). Of course, we both have our own biases against the French, and many of them are well deserved. I even joked that France would be a great country if the French would just leave it. Now all that aside, I have to confess that I really did enjoy my time in Paris. In fact I would be willing to go back if the opportunity arose. However, I still have many other places that I want to see, so the only way I think that I will ever get back is to convince Mike or someone else to go to Euro Disney with me.

We left Germany by train on Friday evening and arrived at Gard du Nord (a HUGH train station) at 9pm. Our hotel was two blocks up the street so we had to get there, get changed, and get to Moulin Rouge by 10:30. Surprisingly we made it with time to spare. As “athletic shoes” were not allowed I had brought my heels in a bag and slipped into them while we waited. We had to deal with an obnoxious Russian tour group while in line, which just confirmed my feelings that Americans no longer hold the title of being “ugly traveler.” Only one of their group was in line ahead of us. As the others showed up she just kept lifting the rope and letting them in. Of course by that time there were hordes of people behind us so we had no where to go and ended up being jostled and rudely shoved. It’s time like these that make you miss the good old days when the Iron Curtain was still up. What made it even more frustrating is that the 10 “door guards” monitoring the crowed did nothing about it. On a happier note, when they got to the main door the Russian group had all pulled aside and were made to wait as the rest of the people whet into the sweltering lobby.

The coat check was mandatory and cost two Euros per person, which was just setting the mood even lower. Then we were herded into another waiting area to the side of the theater doors. We could hear that the earlier show was still going on and grew even more frustrated as our 11pm show time passed. By now everyone was packed in the different holding areas and sweating like pigs. People were fanning themselves and yet only one over head fan had been turned on. I was grateful that we weren’t trying to see the show during the summer heat wave as I think I might have passed out. Just a side note, you do not have to be dressed very fancy to get into the show. I saw quite a few people in jeans and t-shirts. I didn’t see any sneakers per the theater policy, but I figure that as long as they get their money they probably don’t really care. Finally the doors opened and we had to wait another fifteen minutes while the crown swarmed the coat check and restrooms. Mike and I agreed that the theater needed to put Disney organizers in charge at the crowd management would have been much smoother.

Once the seating began things moved a bit faster and smoother. We were seated at a table to the left of the stage on the first riser, so we would have a great view, not that any table really had a bad view. The actual theater was air conditioned which improved our mood quite a bit and the waiters were hauling ass to get everyone their drinks before the show started. Our table could seat six, but we only have five which made it a bit nicer. I became a bit worried when the first dance number stated as it was a bit lame, well it was really lame. The dancers were wearing very cheesy silver sparkly outfits. The guys were wearing what can only be described as shiny and sparkly “old lady” baseball caps; the kind that have large brims, are slouchy in the crown, and are worn by old women who use too much makeup and wear gaudy clothing. The music and dance number was not impressive and I really began to wonder what I had gotten us into.

I am delighted to report that after the first number, thing got a whole lot better. The three vaudeville acts were all unique and very entertaining. The dance numbers really improved and there was even a section where Medusa threw the “virgin” (yeah, right…not in that outfit) into a large pool of water that had lifted up on stage. In the plexi-glass pool there were about five or six large water pythons and the “virgin” had to “fight” them off. As this was going on, I began to wonder when the PETA protest would start. The swimmer had to grab the snakes, while holding their heads up, roll and dive in the water to pretend like they were trying to drown her. The snakes were more interested in going in the opposite direction from her, so it was amusing. I was not overly much impressed by the “drama.” But the staging was cool.

What I really enjoyed and had been looking forward to was the Cancan number. I was NOT let down. It was just plain fun to watch and the dancers were really impressive. Sure the girls were doing kicks and splits, but I was really blown away by the two male leads that were doing flips and splits. I would highly recommend the show to anyone with the warning that that it’s overpriced, but a once in a lifetime kind of thing.

After the show we got out coats out of hock I slipped back into my sneakers and we headed out to the street. Since it was so late, almost 1:30 am, the Metro was closed so we could either walk or take a taxi back. It was such a nice evening that we decided to walk. This was made more fun as we were headed through the heart of the Red Light District of Pigalle (called Pig Alley by the WWII US service men). For the next few block there were packs of people everywhere waiting to get into clubs or trying to get us to go into the clubs. Unlike Amsterdam, there are no window prostitutes and even the sex shop windows seemed tamer. As the crowds thinned, we stopped at a Greek sandwich shop for some take-out and made our way back to the hotel. The walk was over 30 minutes, but very safe and enjoyable.

Saturday morning we were on the Metro by ten and headed out to out first stop, the Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysees. At the Arc we had a little difficulty finding the right underground passage that would take us to the center of the twelve street traffic circle. Running across the street to get there simply was not an option, unless you seriously had a death wish. Once under the Arc it’s pretty impressive, even more impressive is watching the traffic. The cars in the circle have to yield to the twelve streets of incoming cars and many of these streets are multiple lanes wide. It’s amazing that we didn’t see a single crash while we were there. Mike paid the fee and walked the spiral stairs to the top. He said that the view was fantastic and I took his word for it.

A funny thing happened to me right after he headed up. I had seated myself on a bench at the rich tower and started reading my Rick Steve’s guide book. An older European man with a young boy came up to me and he asked me “Are you going up?”
I shook my head “no.” He then wanted to know if I had family going up. I said “yes,” but I wasn’t sure of where he was headed with this conversation. He then explained that he wanted to take his son to the top, but as he had a small suitcase it would be difficult to take with him. He asked if I wouldn’t mind watching the case for him. I said no problem, but “please hurry” as I was only going to wait as long as my husband took for his visit. He thanked me then asked if I was an American, I nodded yes, and the man and the kid went to go up to the top, leaving me with their bag. Then of course I started thinking to myself, “What if there is a bomb in there?” That would be a perfect way to blow something up and to be able to get away as some dumb tourist watched the bag with the bomb in it. So then I decided that if was my time to go I couldn’t really do much about it and I just hoped that the bomb would kill me rather than cause a painful maiming. Since I was sitting right next to the bomb chances were good that I would die even if he was a crappy bomb maker…so I just kept reading.

About fifteen minutes later the man and his son reappeared and he thanked me for watching his bomb…I mean bag. I found out that he had just taken his son to Euro Disney and that they were doing some Paris sightseeing before heading home. I just found it strange that a few years ago I would have never even thought about such an innocent situation in such a nefarious way. I also know that if someone from the Mid-East asked me to watch their bag I would now think twice. This is sad in a way.

Next we headed down the Champ Elyse which was not a fancy as I had thought that it would be. Sure, the Mercedes Benz dealer had a showroom there and there were plenty of watch shops, but I just can’t consider places like The Gap and The Disney Store as “exclusive.” The Mc Donald’s was doing good business, even if they had to paint their famous arches white. We strolled for quite a distance before getting back onto the Metro and heading towards the Eiffel Tower.

After a short Metro ride across the Seine we arrived at the stop for the Tower and had to walk a few blocks to get to it. When we first exited the station our view was blocked, but once it came into view…wow. I was really impressed. I don’t know what I had been expecting, but the architecture of the tower is really stunning and it was a lot bigger that I had imagined. The lines to go up were quite long so the decision to wait until Sunday to ride up was easy to make. We walked all over the park and even saw a tour company by the name of “Gain,” that had a cool family crest on the back. We had a very delicious, but overpriced lunch just a few blocks from the tower. The crepes were delectable.

After lunch I almost became victim to the latest Gypsy scam. As we were walking back to the Metro a group of four girls were walking towards us. Due to their head scarves I assumed that they were either local Middle Easterners or tourist. One of the girls asked if I spoke English and I assumed that they needed directions to the Tower. So I said “yes,” then she tried to hand me a piece of paper. The typed words were “Ladies and Gentleman…” I quickly put my hands up, shook my head “no” and walked away accompanied by Mike’s snickering. I realized at that point that the girls were more than likely Muslim Gypsies. During the rest of our visit we tried to simply ignore any girl that asked if we spoke English and believe me, these girls were everywhere. My guess is that they know that Americans (and perhaps the British) are very generous and they know that they can get money from a lot of us.

Next were the Catacombs, one of my most favorite stops during the trip. The catacombs are part of the giant limestone quarry that has been excavated under Paris. During the 1780’s all of the cemeteries were filling up and becoming a health hazard. So it was decided that the bodies had to be removed to make more space. Over the next 80 years over 6 million skeletons were exhumed and placed down in a huge section of the old quarry tunnels. After the project began one mayor of Paris decreed that the bodied needed to be carefully and respectfully placed in the catacombs rather than just dumped. The result is miles of passageways that are filled with artistically placed human remains. The spines, ribs, pelvis, and small bones are stacked in the back of niches, in front are the thigh bones and humorous, usually topped off with the skulls. In many of the areas the skulls are placed within the long bones to make designs such as crosses and hearts. I tried to take pictures but flashes are not allowed and it was pretty dark down there. Many of the paths are now closed off, but you can look through the gates and you see nothing but more stacked bones. It was really a macabre but amazing sight.

Our next adventure was less than exciting. We had a few hours to spend before our dinner cruise so we took the bus #69 tour as recommended in the Rick Steve’s guidebook. Well, Rick steered us wrong on this one. We would have been better off sitting in a pub just taking in the atmosphere. We did get a good view of Paris, but it wasn’t what I would consider time well spent…unlike drinking in a pub. At the end of the route I peeked into the Pere Lachaise cemetery but we didn’t have time for a stroll. We never got back there and it is something that I would like to visit if we get back to Paris.

To save time, we took the Metro back to the Seine and got in line at the dock for the dinner cruise tour. I had been hoping to buy our tickets right before the cruise, but there was not a booth there, so we just got in line and hoped that there would be space available. There were two very obvious lines forming, one for couples and one for groups, but to my amazement people just refused to acknowledge the lines and crowed up at the entrance to the dock. I think that only the Brits and Americans understand and appreciate the concept of queuing up in a line. Once the river boat moored up and we were waved on there was a little jockeying for position, but we managed to not let too many people cut in front of us. That just really pisses me off. How can people walk up and pretend to not see the line and then get indignant when you expertly elbow your way rightly ahead of them?

Although there was a little confusion when we first boarded and we were told that there were no extra seats, the head waiter came over before we walked off and asked us to wait to the side as he was sure that they would be able to seat us. We obviously didn’t get the best table, but the meal more than made up for it. The lamb shank was fork tender and most of the food was easily identifiable with only one item that I refused to eat. I simply cannot eat goose liver. I don’t care what fancy name that you give it, it’s still liver. The view of Paris at night was really beautiful and after dinner we went to the top deck and we got to see the Eiffel Tower light up and sparkle at the top of the hour. It’s really incredible to see. After dinner we headed back to our hotel as we wanted to get up early to get in line to go up to the top of the Tower.

On Sunday we were up and in line at the tower at 8:45 with only six people ahead of us. The line grew quickly and within 30 minutes there were a few hundred people behind us. The tower is set up with four elevators, one in each of the “piers,” but people are lemmings so they just got into the one line behind us. As we were waiting at least 3 bus loads of Asian tourist were dropped off and they had to cut through our line to get into the tour group line. Not a single one of that group excused themselves as they cut through the line that we were in. Well, except for the last 5 Japanese tourists from the final bus load. Then some of the Asian tour guides marched brazenly up to the ticket windows, as if they had been waiting there the whole time. Luckily the “line monitor” had shown up and made them go get back in the line with their tour groups and then even yelled at them when one of the guides tried to move the barrier to allowed her tour group to move up to the ticket window. Mind you, we had already been in line for 35 minutes and they had just arrived.

The funniest thing that we saw while waiting was the tour bus of Asians, who were dropped off, walked around under the tower with their guide, took pictures, boarded their bus again and left. There were some stereotypes being filled with that group. We were joking with the others in line that the Asian group had to hurry as there were seeing Europe in a day and had to rush because were eating lunch in London. There were also small groups of French military walking around in groups of three. I was a bit amused as I just don’t think that the Eiffel Tower is that big of a mark for terrorist (think of the logistics and how hard it would be to really get enough explosives up the tower to cause any real catastrophic damage).

In the typical European fashion the three ticket lines were a bit blurred and at 9:15, when the workers moved the entrance to three separate lines (groups, ticket holders, non-ticket holders) at least 20 people just walked up to the front and cut in. I and the American couple behind us were really pissed. The two families in front of us just took it in stride and said nothing. One couple that really upset me was the British couple who should have know better. The only think that made their cutting in front worth it was what they were wearing and the entertainment of making fun of them. She had some big ass floppy knitted hat and poncho from the 70's and he was wearing a black velour track suit with wide framed, Elvis styled, trendy sunglasses that had some fancy designer emblem on the earpiece. I think I saw Katie Holmes wearing the same thing on the cover of “People.” Let’s face it, he was wearing a women’s jogging/lounge suit and sunglasses.

Once the line finally opened the tour groups had to wait as the “singles” were allowed to purchase their tickets. Then we went inside the pier structure to board a two story elevator. The elevator goes up to the second deck of the tower and then you have to get off and board another elevator that goes to the top. Well, “Mr. Tracksuit” and his gal hadn’t noticed that the first elevator had two doors so they had pushed to stay in front of the wrong doors and ended up last in line to get onto the second elevator, so at least the rest of the people in the elevator had some justice for their cutting in line.

The view from the third floor was very impressive and if I ever get a chance to go back I’ll be sure to go up at night. Mike and I also enjoyed all of the historical information that was posted around the viewing platform. As the third floor is small, it filled up fairly quickly so after taking a bunch of photos we made a beeline for the elevator to the much larger 2nd floor platform. We ended up in the elevator alone, well except for the attendant, but it was nice to spend a minute without being squished or jostled. The view from the much larger 2nd floor platform was also very nice. You are high up enough to see everything, but close enough to really make out what it was. We then took another elevator down to the 1st viewing platform which was huge. They had a post office and a little café where I grabbed some coffee and a pain au chocolate (chocolate croissant). Visiting the tower was well worth the wait, but I was also glad that we went early so that we didn’t wait for hours in line.

We took a quick visit to Notre Dame, I opted to not go inside simply because of the long line, (but I really loved seeing the gargoyles). Then we went into the “Archeological Crypt” at the other end of the square. That was really a waste of time and money. Sure it may have been neat to see some old Roman ruins…if I hadn’t already seen so much of the same thing and in much better condition so many times before. Yes, they were “sex ruins,” just some more fucking ruins. We finished our visit quickly than we headed out to Versailles.

The rail system offers a “passport” to Versailles that includes metro, train, and entrance tickets. The train out to the palace takes around an hour then it’s a 10 minute walk to the palace. There was a lot of construction going on at the palace and the courtyard leading up to it was nothing but cobblestone which made walking a real bitch. Once inside we had handhelds that provided the tour narration. While the palace had many impressive rooms, I found myself fast forwarding through some of the descriptions as the narration was just too long winded. It would have been better if you had the option of a short or detailed tour. The world famous “Hall of Mirrors” was under partial restoration, but I was still able to get the idea of it. I was under impressed. The gardens were very beautiful but considering how much we had already walked and the fact that it was getting pretty toasty outside we opted not to stroll in it.

There were a few interesting things about the palace. King Louis XIV took what was his father’s hunting lodge, spruced it up and built onto to it, making it very opulent. After construction was complete, he degreed that it was to be the official home of the Court of France. This was so that all of the nobles and their “hangers on” were way outside of Paris and the King could really rule as he pleased. The king also kept the court busy with fancy dinners, plays and concerts. He also kept a VERY public schedule when he was in residence. This meant that he really had no privacy as people were in his bedroom when he woke up and when he retired.

After the tour we headed back into the “village” of Versailles and found a few streets filled with ubiquitous little European cafés. Surprisingly Mike suggested that we eat at a place that advertised serving American pizza, hamburgers, and Tex Mex. It was actually very good and the chicken enchiladas were the best that I have had in Europe so far. After our late lunch we headed back into Paris.

We really wanted to go the Hard Rock Cafe, but weren’t quit hungry yet when we arrived back in Paris. So we headed to the area where the Moulin Rouge and red light district are located. This vibrant and very busy neighborhood is located on the side of the hill and at the top is the Sacre Coeur Basilica. After getting off the Metro you walk about two blocks through a very busy merchant area and then take the funicular train up the very steep hill. Of course the train was broken that day and we had to walk the stairs. The park areas and stairs were filled with tourist, trinket sellers, and locals. Once we got to the top it I decided that the hike had been definitely worth the view. The very wide stairs up to the basilica were packed with people listening to a street musician and the steps in the park below were our only option for resting. Below us Paris was bathed in the glowing light of the setting sun and it was just about as perfect as one could want.

After a long rest, admiring the very and some intense people watching, we headed off through the neighborhood on an unplanned random tour. We knew that we wanted to head down the hill, but we took our time and explored a lot of the quaint side streets. As the sun finally set we reached the Moulin Rough and then took the Metro to the Hard Rock Café for a freakin’ fantastic bacon cheeseburger as one simply cannot live by crepes alone. This location had a lot of U2 memorabilia which was interesting for me to look at.

Monday was our last day and the weather had changed. Up until today the weather had been bright, sunny and a bit to warm for my taste. Now it was a lot colder and very foggy. Breakfast was a baguette with stinky French cheese as we took the Metro to the Hotel Des Invalides. This is the veterans’ hospital and retirement residence that was constructed under Napoleon. It is currently still in use as a veterans’ home but the grounds also house Napoleons’ Tomb and a really impressive war museum. This place is really worth the visit and I got a good chuckle at viewing the “awesome” war machine of France (heh heh). I’m mean, let’s face it, they have done nothing since Napoleon, other than surrender. The grounds are very close to the Eiffel tower, but the fog was so thick that you couldn’t even see where the first viewing platform was.

We still had plenty of time left before we had to get to the train station so we headed back to Champs Elysees to visit the Virgin Mega Store and The Disney Store. Well, I wanted to go to the Disney Store. We had been joking for month about eating McDonalds in Paris and as it was so convenient we did eat lunch there. Let me assure you, it is not the tourist keeping the place open as we were amongst many native French speakers who were also downing burgers and fries. While strolling down the street, a young girl wearing an iPod came up to Mike and tried the whole “Do you speak English” routine. We ignored her and went into a store. When we went out she had moved down the street, asking everyone the same question and even approached Mike again. We moved on and keep shopping. The third time she was working another block down and as she came up to Mike he said, “Don’t even.” She got the hint. Now, here is my advice for scam artist and street beggars, don’t wear your iPod while you are begging for money. It really ruins your whole “I’m living in poverty” image. After some more shopping and walking we headed back to the hotel.

Once we got our bags we went to a train station café where we were accosted by wild packs of roaming Gypsies. The girls, who are in groups of four, literally worked the crowd over going to each person and asking them if they spoke English. This wouldn’t have been too bad, except for there were about 5 packs of these girls doing this one after the other. I’m not exaggerating here. During the 20 minutes while I had some coffee and cake we were approached no less than five times. After the forth one came us I tossed up a hand before she could even ask if we spoke English. I then bitched to Mike that at least that they could was get to on a schedule as we would have already been picked clean by the other pack that had roamed through. That cracked up some of the other café patrons who were also getting very annoyed at the constant disruptions and begging. Finally the military guards walked through the area so the girls moved on to better pickings. I had one last 1664 (a fine French beer…who knew) and then we boarded our train back to Germany.

Brussels & New Year's

Belguim

Just an example of a typical Belgian house.....coat of paint anyone?

Brussels

The famous restaurant row


Yes, she is doing what you think she's doing.


Mannequin Pis..and yes, he's doing what you think that he's doing


City Platz


Check out my cool Austrain hat


City Platz


More of the city center


Another city center shot


Tammy, Elizabeth, and me...in my most awesome hat!


I'm not sure if I want to try that one......


New Year's Eve

The world famous Vienna Platter

Jaunty Hat Time!!

Catherine & Al

Pam & Doug

Cris & Mike

Mr. Boo give Gracie a New Year's kiss

Now this gal knows how to PAR-TAY!!!


New Year’s in Belgium

The interesting note about Belgium is that it’s just dirty. I don’t mean dirty in a good Red Light District kind of a way either. Everywhere you go the streets are bumpy and have lots of pot holes. The houses are missing roof tiles and the garden walls are crumbling. In many cases you will see farmhouses with at least one wall in need of serious repair and another shed on the property that looks like leftover WWII damage. Plus there tends to be a high amount of trash accumulation on the streets and in the bushes. You really notice it when crossing over from Germany, which is notoriously clean for the most part, then driving through part of Holland which is also very, very clean (The Germans call them the “scrubby Dutch) and then driving over the border into Belgium. It almost looks war torn in comparison to the other two countries. Since the Belgians are not exactly know for their fighting prowess we all joked that they were waiting to be overrun by the Germans again so that the Germans would clean everything up and repair the streets.

To make matters worse at night everything is lit up like the surface of the sun. The Belgians seem to have a love affair with street lamps. In the same space where the US highway department might see a need for one lamp, the Belgian have put up three. In fact, their section of the Autobahn can be viewed from outer space and is referred to as “the Belgian window.” This is true for many of the towns so that you can now view the trash and decimated structures at night.

Of course they do have good hearty food and thousands of different kinds of beers, so I guess that everyone is too busy eating and drinking to care that their village looks like a bomb when off, in fact the mess might be a left over from a bomb…who knows?

After we returned from our great Austria trip we stayed in Belgium for a few more days with our friends so that we could enjoy New Year’s with them. On the 29th, after sleeping in, we drove to Chievres US Air Base, which is their closest US support base. It was pretty darn tiny and made Schinnen (our US Army Garrison support base) seem more like a full service base. For dinner we went into Mons and had a great meal at a place that is referred to as “steak on a rock.” I don’t think that the US laws would allow this type of place, but it was FANTASTIC and fun. The idea is you order your cut of beef or lamb and a sauce for the side. It’s then brought to you raw sitting on a super heated stone brick that is resting in a wooden platter. The meat cooks inches from you and you can cut the meat and cook it to your liking. Of course having this hot rock right in front of you or passed over your shoulder can be scary at times. If this place were to ever open in the US there would be all kinds of lawsuits. I can just see the court case now, “Your honor, my client didn’t know that the brick cooking her meat was hot, so she picked it up to move it out of her way.” Anyway, the meal was fun and the beer even better!

The next day we took a 45 minute train ride into Brussels. Out of the four of us, I had never been there. We met up with Elizabeth and Tammy who we had met on our Austria trip. They both work at the US Embassy and live in Brussels. Tammy wasn’t feeling very well, but she toughed it out enough to join us for lunch. They day was spent just walking around the city center and enjoying each others company…oh and beer of course. Have I mentioned that Belgium has thousands of different beers?

Once we got into the central area we walked down the famous restaurant row, where everyone had a special on mussels. We made a quick detour down a dead end alley to see a little known statue of a girl peeing. This statue was the response to the popularity of the famous “Mannequin Pis,” which is a statue of a little boy peeing. I’m not really sure why there was need of a response. The Brussels city plaza was really beautiful and I enjoyed looking at the details in all of the architecture. We spent most of the morning just walking around and looking. I finally saw the famous statue of the nude boy taking a leak…A.K.A. Mannequin Pis in the flesh…well…it is a naked boy after all. That was a bit of a let down as it’s pretty small…uh, the statue is pretty small..so naturally is his…well, you get the idea. The statue is located in a wall nitch on at the corner section of a building at a crowded intersection filled with lots of other tourist saying “is that it?” After that we stopped in at another pub for a quick pick me up……beer. We ate lunch at a “Shwarma” place (Middle Eastern food, kabobs, gyros and such) as they are all over European cities. Unfortunately both Elizabeth and Tammy had to leave us after lunch, but it was fun spending some time with them.

The weather had been a bit chilly and windy, but luckily for us the rain didn’t start until the evening. We got to see part of the Christmas light show in the main plaza as we were walking back through to catch our train. We did not eat muscles in Brussels, so now I have an excuse to go back.

The next day, New Year’s Eve day, Catherine and I went to the market to pick up a few things for dinner and then stopped at the bakery for breakfast the next morning. Around noon Pam and Doug Wiggins showed up…then the fun began. First there was a Christmas gift exchange, and then out came the snacks and goodies. We basically grazed from 11 am until New Year’s Day. Pam had brought us little decorative hats to wear which were quite festive and lovely. Al had prepared Pam a delightful little platter of Austrian goodies as they had not been able to joining us on the trip. The platter was made up of Vienna Sausages, Vienna Fingers sprinkled with “Viennese” cinnamon, and of course, “Vienna-ger.” We then spent the afternoon watching movies, eating, drinking, eating more, watching another movie, drinking and eating.

When the evening rolled around we set up the living room to play cards. Nope, not poker or bridge, we were preparing to play what is now known as the worlds longest game of UNO. So for hours, we sat wearing our jaunty little hats, stuffing our faces and cursing each other as people kept playing “draw four wild cards” back to back. WHAT FUN!! Catherine had been steaming potatoes to go with dinner, but we were so full from the snacks that when they were done, we each just had potatoes with butter for dinner. Then it was back to the cards…..and the swearing….and the drinking…and the laughing.

Once midnight rolled around we did take a break to enjoy the “local” fireworks show. Now, dear reader, I ask you to think about this. As I mentioned before, the Belgians are not known for their ability to fight off invading powers…so was allowing them to play with dangerous and explosive fireworks really a good idea? At least it had been raining….all year, as it does in Belgium….so the fire danger was quite low.

After the break, it was back to the cards. It was at least another hour before the game finally ended and we had played one hand that that lasted for over two hours. Some of us may never be mentally equipped to play UNO again after that night. But overall, I have to say that this was really one of the best New Year’s I have ever had.

On the first day of the New Year I was able to enjoy a scrumptious breakfast of quiche, baked goods, hot coffee and the company of great friends. I really couldn’t ask for more… what a great time with great friends, that being said, I was dying to get home and sleep in my own bed (grin).