SUNDAY IN HAARLEM.......

Sunday, September 24th, 2000 Haarlem

Bar/Restaurant downstairs was very busy until after 1 am. I used ear plugs (difficult as I have small ears and they don't fit well) and got some better sleep but the drunks do like to keep it going all night long. About 6 am they started setting things up again. This time for a marathon race! Stages, timers, street games, etc. This is a very busy town! We had front row seats all afternoon to watch the runner cross the finish line! But, at times, we could hardly hear our television as the speakers and music were very loud in the plaza.

After breakfast at 9 am we walked around till 10:30 am and went over to what we thought was the Catholic Church called Oud Katholieke Parochie Van De H.H. Anna en Maria. We were right, but they don’t have a priest, so they have a Communion Service starting at 10:45 am on Sunday. It was actually a full Mass except that there is no offertory/consecration done. The Mass was conducted by a Nun and another women. The choir was also in the sanctuary. Actually a very nice service which lasted about the same as a Mass would have. There were very few young people in the church. Only about five children. Mostly gray hairs so we felt right at home. Jim said that it was one of the most sincere “Peace be with you” that he’d ever experienced. Probably due to the fact that the people wanted to be there not just because they felt that they had an obligation to be there. At communion time, there were two children who each held the host dish for the Nun and helper; one at each side of the church. There were about four adults serving the wine in between. The Nun would take the host from the dish and give it to the parishioner who in turn would break the bread and share with the person behind them. A very nice gesture. We had our English missals with us so really felt like we’d attended Mass.

Later, as we walked around town, we saw the Nun on her bike with two parishioners that we’d seen at church. Looked like they were on their way to the local prison. Possibly with communion for the prisoners??? Speaking of bikes…that is definitely the most popular method of transportation in Belgium and especially in Holland. They have their own roads along side the ones for autos. Motorbikes and Motorscooters are also allowed on the bike roads/paths. Most bikes used are similar to the beach cruisers that we see at home. They all have chain guards and lights. The areas in front of the train stations have hundreds of them. It’s a wonder that they can find their own. They do however, use locks. We saw some bikes that had three wheels and a truck bed for transporting items around town.

After a long walk around town to see some of the local canals and their bridges, we headed back after a stop at the car to check on Jim’s duck shirt. We’d forgotten to take it with the laundry last night, so he’d washed it by hand and we’d laid it in the back window of the car to dry during the day. Made the car windows very steamy, but it worked and the shirt dried by the end of the day!

Worked on my journal, bookkeeping, etc. while Jim watched the First Time Formula One Race in Indianapolis, Indiana. Brand new track built inside of the brickyard track.

It didn’t get started until about 8 pm, so he watched lots of Olympics in Sydney. But they were good! For dinner we walked over about a block and found the Syrian Fast Food and got a Falafel and Humus in Pieta Bread. Ate them in the room. Time to sign off. I have lots of postcards to write as I have 15 Netherlands stamps that I must use by tomorrow before we enter Germany. We understand that they will be setting up another street market in the plaza starting about 4 am. Another night of ear plugs!

RIJKSMUSEUM IN AMSTERDAM....

Saturday, September 23rd, 2000 Day in Amsterdam

Finally got started about 10 am, after a nice breakfast. We also made sandwiches for our lunch in Amsterdam. The street market was in full swing and we walked the stalls after breakfast. Jim found a nice gray short sleeved shirt that he purchased.

Ready to leave for a day in Amsterdam, we met an American couple as we left the hotel. Had lots to talk about as they were in the room above ours and had experienced the same night! But, they both used earplugs. Connie & Lyle were from Appleton, Wisconsin. Celebrating their 25^th wedding anniversary. She is with a company that makes wild bird feed and his builds fire engines. Stayed with them until the Museum in Amsterdam. Very nice couple.

Purchased round trip train tickets second class and had four minutes to make the train. We all ran and found our seats before the train pulled out. Conductor never did check our tickets in either direction! Met a very nice young man on the train who was on his way to work. He lives in Haarlan and works in Amsterdam. Has only been here for a few months. He grew up in Yugoslavia. His English was so good he could have been an American. Said he learned it mostly from television, as they don’t dub the movies as much as they do elsewhere. He is a computer geek, as we would say in the states. Arrived in Amsterdam and found the Tram #20 recommended by Rick Steves. Stayed on for the entire city tour and then back to the Rijksmuseum where we finally split up. Never saw Lyle and Connie again as they left for Brugge early Sunday morning.

Jim was thrilled to see several original Rembrandt paintings in the Museum. It has over 200 rooms so we concentrated on the paintings by the masters. Jim found some paintings by Emanuel DeWitt, whose paintings were of interior of churches. We think that he is a long lost ancestor. As we left there were several excellent Mimics of statutes. Found a place to sit and eat our lunch before we got back on the #20 Tram and went to the stop for our second museum. We had to walk a piece and stand in line for a short time before we entered the Anne Frank Museum. It was very emotional to actually be in the rooms where the Frank family hid for all those years.

We then tried to find several of the other items on the map but ended up going for a stroll through the red light district. The crowds are unreal. The girls are sitting in windows, ground floor level and a few on the second floors, in nearly every building. Block after block. They are barely dressed, mostly in skimpy underwear. One guy popped out of a door suddenly and all of his buddies started cheering! He looked very “sheepish” and embarrassed. Probably lost a bet! This was about 3:30 in the afternoon. Tour books say that it starts around noon every day! Lots of red lights on the buildings and some of the windows were rimmed with red florescent lights. Actually a very sad experience. One girl made a face at the women in the crowd and yelled to a man to get a wife as they cost less than she did! Different kind of world. The hotel people had warned us not to try to take any photos as they will grab your camera and put it in the canal! They don’t want anyone taking any photos of the area and/or the people! But we did manage to get a few photos of the red lights and red awnings that advertise their services.

Leaving that area, we found some ice cream and postcards before heading back to the train station. We were close enough to walk the short distance back. Amsterdam has lots of old elegant buildings. Many are very large. There are also many very modern buildings mixed in next to the old ones. Saw the palace from the outside. Decided not to take the tour. Arrived back at the train station and found a train leaving in about twenty minutes. A nice day in Amsterdam. Not a city we’re particularly anxious to return to in the future.

Arrived home, picked up the laundry and headed for the Laundromat that we’d found the day before, with some help from the hotel clerk. Ended up with four loads. Jim had to scout for change and found a gambling hall across the street with a moneychanger. Then we had to take that money and get the actual coins that we needed. Always an ordeal, but we’re always glad that we’ve taken the time to do laundry. Nothing better than clean clothes! Took about two hours and cost about $4.00 a load. Not bad for the results! Got everything back to the hotel and decided to go downstairs to the Lander’s Café for soup for Jim and a salad for me. Ended up with what we wanted and a beer for each. The street market was all taken down by 7 pm and the street cleaned up. And now Saturday night on the square begins!

SEARCHING FOR WINDMILLS IN HOLLAND....

Friday, September 22nd, 2000 Haarlem in the Netherlands

Weather is gray and overcast this morning. May have rain. Up by 8 am, Jim had coffee and rolls ready. I found that I'd received two mosquito bites during the night. One on my index finger which really itches! Packed and straightened up the Holiday House before walking the luggage to the car. Then we walked to the grocery store and arrived just as it opened at 9 am. Our goal was to spend most of the Belgium Franks before going to Haarlem in the Netherlands.

We purchased cokes, six large bottles of water, juice, candy, detergent, breads, some cheese & salami for lunch today on the road and other items we felt we could use on the trip! Bought lots of Trix Candy Bars! They seem to work well as we can share a bar at a time! Also included some canned tuna and sardines (which made Jim very happy). On the way back to the car I purchased 19 postcards, I had 20 picked out but ran out of change so gave one back. Jim had walked ahead to the car with his load of groceries and he had the paper money! Still had some money left so we purchased diesel and changed the paper money for Guldens as soon as we entered into the Netherlands. We prefer to spend the money because of the fees when you change money to a different currency. [The Euro has simplified that for travelers today.]

Loading up the car we still had to drive to the landlord’s house to return the key…this was not an easy task with all of the one way streets. Much easier when you are walking. No rhyme or reason to the layout! Only entered into one pedestrian center and very nice gentlemen stopped us and gave us some directions! Found her house and then had to rediscover the way to the highway. Finally saw a taxi and figured he was headed to the train station so we followed and found the highway! By 10:15 we were on our way towards Antwerp before we leave Belgium.

Sun is trying to come out as we past by Gent on way to Antwerp. Around 1 pm we hit a massive traffic jam around The Hague. Actually had stopped traffic for up to half-hour at a time. Sun had come out and we’ve gotten our diesel and exchanged as much of the money as possible. We had a high school girl who gave us lots of information at the gas station. They all seem to speak great English in Holland! The Gulden is worth about 2.5 to a dollar we think.

Lots of windmills. Saw bits of De Hague as we found our way around the city. Some fantastic buildings. One that was at least twenty stories high had a wing off the top floor that appeared to float over the building next to it. They didn’t touch as far as I could tell.

Arrived in Haarlan about 4 pm. Lots of driving. Finally parked the car and walked into the Centre to find our hotel. Our room is great, but up a very steep and narrow staircase to second floor. It’s on the front of the building overlooking the plaza. We parked in the plaza to unload before taking the car to parking. Heard we were very lucky we didn’t get a ticket as the hotel told us later that autos are not allowed in the plaza after 11 am. The cars that were parked there (and made us think that we could also) had special permits as they were attending a wedding in City Hall. Oh Well! Got settled in, hit the ATM for more money as we need to pay the hotel cash to get the 5% discount. We are in the Landers B&B, which is run by the Hotel Amadeus next door. That’s where we will also eat breakfast. They have a Rick Steves’ tour group in the hotel in for the evening so we’ve been asked to wait till 9 am for breakfast tomorrow.

After dinner at McDonalds (a touch of home) we walked about the town, found the Corrie Ten Boom house, which is not open until after we leave. She hid Jews in her home during the war. Then we found the small Red Light District in town. Prostitution is legal in Holland. Found a church that we think is Catholic. Not sure as there wasn’t any information on the front. Hotel is not sure either. I checked with the bakery shop across the street and asked if it was Catholic or Protestant and she said Protestant. We found out differently from another lady on the street. She said it was the Old Catholic, not the new Catholic????? She said they had a service at 11 am on Sunday.

Walked back to the hotel by 8 pm. Made two calls to the real estate office to check on business. And then also called Wendy. She told us that West Wing had swept the Emmy Awards. Also that Josh’s team had won the finals 7-0. Josh scored 4 of the 7 goals. Said Jay had called and Thomas may be going home from the hospital this weekend. We had a premature grandson born in July and he's been in the hospital for over two months.

We had a bottle of wine (from our money purchases at the store) and some candy for dessert. The plaza was rather quiet and I jokingly said about 9 pm that the music probably doesn’t start until about 10 pm. Whoops! At 10 the music did start. We are over two bars and both were having a booming business on Friday night. By about 2 am, the music stopped then the drunks kept the noise up until about 4 am. Then about 4 the equipment arrived and they started to put together metal pipe stands for the street market!! Jim used earplugs all night and did pretty well. I read my book till 2, took Motrin about 3 and then finally drifted in and out between 3 & 4. By 6 the booths were up and I slept till 8:30 am. It’s going to be a long day!

YPRES AND THEN WATERLOO....WELLINGTON AND NAPOLEON...

Thursday, September 21st, 2000 Road trip to see the sights....

Up about 9 am, Jim had already walked to the bakery for rolls and made coffee for me from the instant in the cupboard of the kitchen. On the road by 9:30 we were on our way to Ypres or Ipre in Belgium. The weather is clear and wonderful. The news had predicted rain for today!! Ypres is a town that was destroyed in WW I by the fighting between Germans and the English/French/Belgium/USA…brick by brick the citizens rebuilt all of the important historic building in the town. There are many cemeteries in the town. We visited two of them after viewing the downtown area. Couldn’t stay too long, as we didn’t have the correct change to buy the parking ticket. Back on the road, a side road due to the blockades by the farmers and their tractors on the major roads in and out of Ypres. Saw them on the TV news this evening after we arrived home. Also heard about it on the radio…we could hear the tractors in the background so we knew what they were talking about!!

Back on the road we arrived in Waterloo where Wellington defeated Napoleon about 3:00 pm. Paid the full fee and enjoyed everything. First we visited the panoramic viewing building. Wonderful job. Then on to the climb up the Lion Hill that was build to honor Wellington and also provide a wonderful place to view the battlefield. There are still buildings standing that were there in 1815 during the battle. Then back to the museum and then two fifteen minute films. The first is a film with a model with lights flashing to show the positions during the battle. In the second film there were children who were pretending to fight and then two of them seeing the actual soldiers…like they were clairvoyant. Both were very well done. Back on the road in the evening traffic. We decided to go around Brussels, which took some doing, and head home for Brugge.

Arrived back about 6 pm, found some dinner and brought it home to eat at the apartment. Jim took the extra towels back to the landlady and asked for more toilet paper! We leave tomorrow morning for Holland. Have too much Belgium money and need to buy things at the store before we leave!

Washed my hair tonight and was delighted to finally learn how to adjust the water so that I could get a steady stream of warm water. It has a strange system of heating the water instantly. Much like our instant hot water faucet at home. Unfortunately, up till now I was only able to get a minute of very hot and then instant ice cold. Turn it off and start over again. By the time I’d finished washing my hair, I had it figured out! Hated to stop!

EXPLORING BRUGGE.....

Wednesday, September 20th, 2000 Brugge

Today is our daughter's birthday; but no phone in our Holiday House, so the calls will have to wait until Friday in Holland. Slept in until after 9 am. Jim was up early and went to pay the owners the bill and return the extra key before I was awake. Also, he got some extra towels. But then we found the ones on a high shelf in the bathroom. That’s probably why the owner was surprised when we asked for extra towels.

Dressed, we walked to the Town Square. Couldn’t get into the church to see the Madonna and Child carved by Michelanglo, closed for morning. So we finally found a bakery and had some coffee, chocolate and a sweet roll about 11 am. Purchased some bread and a candy bar before leaving for an afternoon snack.

Afterwards we went for a half-hour boat ride in the canal. Boats are always full of tourists and are located all over town. Fun and the driver spoke in three different languages. Walked all over and found things closed for lunch. Postcards were available so I got five of them for my scrapbook. But we did manage to find the town tower open and so we climbed to the top. It was 366 steps up a very steep, twisting tower.

That is 88 meters high. The tallest tower in Europe built of bricks. Had a view of the surrounding area, including the coast. Jim wanted to find a special place for lunch and we walked quite a ways, with a stop for toilet at the house on the way. Arrived just before closing and found that we had gone in the wrong direction…bad map reading. I wanted to eat there anyway, but Jim decided it was too expensive. Trouble time. Turned around and walked quietly the other way! By this time everything was closing. But, since it was after 2 pm, the church would now be open.

Yes, we got into the Notre Dame of St. Mary’s that has the beautiful statute of Mary and child by Michaelanglo. It was originally commissioned for a church in Siene. But a family from Bruges purchased it for this church, one of very few that are located outside of Italy.

Afterwards we found the money machine and agreed on Hamburgers, fries and cokes from the Quick Sandwich Shop, a copy of the Macdonalds style franchise. Very, Very good! Tummy is now full and attitudes have improved. Stopped at a lace shop and purchased a lace butterfly for us and a small windmill as a gift for the Realtor that is handling my business while I'm gone. Then home to rest and type this story. Dinner tonight will be bread and either wine or beer at the apartment. That’s ok…my feet are tired. Lots of carriages pulled by horses for the tourist to ride around in; each horse as a bag attached to catch you know what so that it’s not all over the city streets. Nice touch! Wish more cities did that.

Watching Angie Dickerson on Larry King on CNN. Talking about her life and how now she is still working but playing the grandmother. Jim returned with two bottles of wine and two cokes for tomorrow! Dinner is set. Now will read my book and watch TV with Jim.

STAYING IN A B&B IN BRUGGE, BELGIUM.....

Tuesday, September 19, 2000 Traveling into Belgium

We slept in this morning figuring we’d get going when we could. I took three Nyquil gel tablets to stop the nose drip and get some sleep. Did the trick, but also made me drowsy all day! Jim woke in the middle of the night from an upset stomach from too rich of a dessert last night. Got up about 9 am and packed before breakfast. Raining outside. Decided to drive to Claude Monet’s home in Giverny, about an hour south of Rouen. Jim decided to brave the rain and see the famous lily ponds. He took an umbrella and my little camera and set off in the rain while I stayed in the car and worked on my books. Jim came back in about half an hour for his video camera. He was very happy and his very words were “am I beaming?” Took another half-hour to tour more. Meanwhile, I got organized again and put the expenses in my book.

Back on the road to Rouen. Still raining, passed Rouen and headed northeast towards Belgium. Passed Calix, known for the chunnel to England and Dunkeque, made famous in the war by the little boats from England who saved the Allied Armies that had been cornered there by the Nazi soldiers.

We arrived in Brugge, Belgium about 5 pm with no Belgium Franks and a very poor map. Lots of one way streets, very narrow and twisting. We finally stopped at a hotel and asked for directions to our B&B. They couldn’t help us but we did find the street we needed and they gave us a better map than we had. By that time, Jim had found the map in Rick Steves book and located the street also. So off in the car again with more luck this time. We arrived just about 6 pm. So glad we hadn’t tried to find this place after dark. Then we had to find the Holiday house. This is a B&B set up with a separate house where we have the upstairs apartment with a kitchen. Finally found this one, parked nearby and put the luggage in the unit. Very cute, up a very steep set of stairs to the sitting room that has a large fireplace that was originally used for cooking and heating. Owner said that a family of eleven children was raised in this house. Our bedroom is up another set of steep stairs. Nice twin beds, low ceiling and a very clean bathroom with shower. They purchased the house and remodeled it in 1997. There is another apartment on the ground floor. The rent is about $60. Per day. But no breakfast included....but then we can cook our own!

Put things away and started walking to find an Italian Restaurant and a bank machine for money. We need to pay the bill in cash tomorrow for all three days. Walked to the plaza and found two bank machines. One was inside the bank the other one outside. Pomona didn’t work, but the Credit Union card did. Then on to a quaint Italian place on a side street. Had wine with Lasagna. Jim also had onion soup, which was excellent. Food was very hot all the way through the meal, so hot that it burned my tongue. Walked home and got lost before we found the unit. Stopped in a beautiful church, which was very dim and had classical music playing. Stayed for a while, there weren’t many people, but it was very peaceful.

TV has CNN; will be nice to hear the news from home. Most of the European stations have the news of the Olympics, but concentrate on their athletes. Well, it’s starting to rain here also. Had some thunder as the rain has arrived. Jim is busy making plans for everything we want to see tomorrow. Hope to also find a place to do some laundry and maybe a cyber shop if I’m lucky! [In 2000 wifi was very new and very few places even had DSL...so most of my journals were sent via dial up Internet Shops and/or over a telephone connection...very sloooow!]

Could not figure out the hot water in the shower, so took a very cold one! Only found two small hand towels and no soap! Will have to talk to the owner tomorrow. Jim finally got hot water in the kitchen sink, so there must be hot water in the shower? Guess I didn’t run it long enough. Got to bed about 11 pm.

WW II MEMORIAL MUSEUM AT CAEN......

Monday, September 18th, 2000 Caen and Rouen

We departed from St. Malo a day early so that we could take a more leisurely drive to Brugge on the 19^th. We drove until about noon when we reached Caen. We drove around the castles and old buildings in town and then headed for the WW II Museum called the Peace Memorial. It was only completed in 1988 and one could easily spend an entire day there to see everything. All of the information was in English, French and German. It told the story from all perspectives. Even the building layout was very symbolic and part of the story. Very moving display of information. We only stayed a couple of hours and then went on our way to Rouen where we arrived about 3 PM.

Drove to the Villa Centre and found a two star hotel in the square called Hotel Vieille Tour. Very clean, and simply built, but reasonably priced and includes breakfast. Then we walked to the main cathedral, which was painted by Monet several times. Then on to the Abbey and another huge church. The town is full of half timbered buildings, block after block of them.

We finally found the spot where they burned Joan of Arc centuries ago. There was a plaque commemorating that and a very modernistic church, which reminded me of the hats that Dutch Nuns wear with a huge peek and flowing roof that swooped down. The monument was a very tall pole (as in she was burned on a pole) and at the top was a cross.

Nothing open to eat yet, getting very hungry but walked back to the hotel. There we asked the desk clerk for recommendations for Pizza place.He sent us all the way back to where we’d been with Joan of Arc. But, it was worth it. We found Chez Pepe off the side street and were the first to enter as it was about 6:55 pm. A Mother and daughter soon entered with their two dogs and sat next to us during dinner. We had a great shared pizza with beer. Jim had two Coronas and I drank two Heinekens. Then desserts: I enjoyed orange ice cream with Grand Marnier over it. Jim had vanilla ice cream with whipped cream, chocolate, and meringue pieces. Oh so very good. A slow walk home to see the Seine River....yes it travels south from here to Paris!

SUNDAY IN ST. MALO......

Sunday, September 17th, 2000 St. Malo...walked the entire wall!

Up by 9 am, we went to St. Vincent’s church for a High Mass after breakfast at the hotel. The breakfast room was packed with guests, so different from the day before when there were only a few of us. Many of the guests are from Britain.

After church we walked the entire length of the wall. People were actually in their bathing suits and in the water. We had jackets on most of the time. There is a swimming area surrounded by a concrete barrier in the ocean in front of a large hotel. It even has a rail and a diving platform on the far side. As we watched the tide go out, the rail emerged from the water until it was completely on top. Later we saw a photo of the area with the tide very, very low. Because of this manmade pool the hotel was able to still provide a swimming area for their guest inside of the barrier!! As we neared the other side, the sand reef was totally visible so that you could now walk to the Fort National built by Vauban under Louise XIV. We didn’t go into the Fort, as they wanted a fee for that also. But our feet stayed mostly dry during the walk. The tide must have dropped nearly fifteen feet for that to have happened.

After our lunch of bread from breakfast, we went to the Museum of St Malo, which opened at 2 pm. Mostly just very old things. Nothing of WW II history. Back at the hotel we downloaded photos into the computer and rested until time for dinner.

The restaurants close after 2 pm and don’t reopen until 7 pm for dinner...not just here but in most of Europe. Rather late in Jim’s book! Went down to another one recommended by Nicholas at the hotel. It was called Le Florentin. Owner was very friendly, Mother was German/Swiss and his father was American. He spoke English very well. The food was excellent, split a wonderful salad and each had our own pizza. Along with a carafe of blanc wine, we had a great dinner! Home by 9:25 pm we sat the alarm for 7 am to get an early start to Rouen tomorrow.

WALKING ON OMAHA BEACH IN NORMANDY.....

Saturday, September 16th, 2000 Normandy Area

Slept in until 10 am. Then after a big breakfast at the hotel, we left for the day. Drove first to Dinard, a very elegant coastal city, for the very rich the guide book states. Then on to Dinan where we got gasoil (diesel) for the first time. Found a great buy for 5.99 per liter. Fuel for the car is much more expensive in Europe. Had to pay cash, that’s probably why it was cheaper. Dinan is a very old town with lots of half timbered buildings. The bottom floors are all smaller as their tax was based on the square footage of the first floor! Spent about a half-hour there and then proceeded up the coast to Normandy to see the D-Day area.

Went to Omaha Beach and saw the American Cemetery. Also walked down to the beach to get some sand for Pat Wood’s collection. We put the sand and some rocks into a glad bag and the animals are coming to the top to get out! Hoping that they can’t eat though the plastic. Saw some remnants of old German pillboxes for their big guns. Then back to the car and down the coast to see Mont St Michel at night. This is the Abbey that sits on an island and has a causeway built out to it. We were there in 1992 and wanted to see it again. Arrived just before dusk and had dinner at a nice restaurant we found along the road just before you start out to the Abbey. By the time we had dinner, the timing was perfect and although we had to walk a long way from the parking area, it was beautiful and well worth the effort to see it again. Watched the tide come in…it rolled in so fast you could easily be caught if you weren’t careful!

Noticed along the road that the corn is ready for harvest but is still standing in the fields. We arrived home and walked around the St. Malo until nearly 11 PM before calling it a day. During the daytime the narrow streets are crowded with tourists but in the quiet of the night we strolled unfettered by crowds.

ARRIVAL IN ST. MALO....WE'RE IN NORMANDY...

Friday, September 15th, 2000 Traveling north to St. Malo

Early breakfast and we were on the road by 9 am. Lots of traffic getting out of Paris but found our way easily to the A10 and we were on our way! Beautiful toll roads nearly all the way to St. Malo. We took a detour at Le Mans and tried to find the Formula One racetrack….but no luck. Finally gave up and got back on the highway north.

We had rain after Rennes and made it to St. Malo about 3:30 pm. Jim kept at it in the old city and finally found the our hotel. Very narrow streets, lots of sharp turns and very narrow spaces. I was ready to give up and park outside the wall, walk in and find the hotel…but…he found it! Great location in the old city within the walls.

Fifth floor but it has an elevator. Shower is a closet in the bedroom and the sink and toilet are another closet. You can hardly turn around in it and the door is an accordion type. Not very private, but works. Only electrical outlet is the one the TV is plugged into. So, in order to do the camera, computer or anything else, you have to unplug the TV. But, we do have an English speaking TV station….BBC.

The rain finally stopped and we were able to walk about the city. Found a great place for dinner. Dinner was pizza and a green salad. Really enjoyed the salad. The Hotel Lourve where we are staying recommended the restaurant. Pizza had ham on it and we are now very thirsty. After dinner we walked the wall about a quarter of the way around. Couldn’t believe the wind and the waves crashing over the walls at times. We’d put on our long johns and heavier coats before going out to dinner and we were very glad we had! It is getting much colder! Taking our gloves and hats tomorrow.

Saw hundreds of birds, I think they were blackbirds, diving from one tree to another. Fascinating but glad they stayed in the trees.

Walk till you drop day in Paris.....

Wednesday, September 13th, 2000 Walking in Paris

Wednesday was spent walking! First we walked to the car and put the bag of extra books and several of the water bottles in the trunk of the car. [We had not learned that it is okay to drink tap water in Europe at that time and only drank bottled water...has saved us a bundle since we learn to live as the locals and drink the tap water!] Then we walked past the Pompidou Center on our way to Notre Dame. Spent some time inside of the Cathedrale and then headed through the park located behind Notre Dame to enjoy the flowers before crossing the bridge to St-Louis-en-I’lle. On the street we met our concierge from the Du Lettece Hotel that we’d stayed at on the island. That hotel is closed for remodeling we discovered. He seemed very happy to have seen us. Apparently, having stayed with his hotel four times in the past, he remembered us. Had an ice cream and then stopped at the post office for postage before settling down on a bench on the Seine River to have our lunch of bread (from breakfast), a banana and water. Shared the bread with the pigeon. Saw two boats with film crews aboard…one had their stars in a bed on the boat!

On the to Musee Carnavalet for the afternoon. It is the historical Museum of Paris. Found it very informative and always free! Picked up food at the grocery store for dinner in our hotel room. We purchased cheese, bread and a chocolate bar for desert along with a bottle of coke, plastic cups and napkins!

Jim watched TV after washing his hair while I worked on the computer. Lights out about 10 PM, I continued to read by book light until I finished my book about 1 AM. People having a loud evening one floor below continued until about 1 AM. So much for a quiet room. Jim used earplugs and slept through. He seems to wake up about 2 AM each night for several hours…still adjusting to Paris time!

Thursday, September 14th, 2000 Another day in Paris

Thursday morning we were up about 8 am and off to breakfast early. Then Jim left to explore some Museums on his own while I washed my hair and some clothes. Also managed to get ten postcards written and posted to family and friends in the States.

Jim is due back to the hotel by 5 pm. Per instructions from the parish priest, this is our day for some alone time from each other; necessary for surviving the trip he said!

Jim arrived back at the hotel about 4 pm. By 4:30 we were off to find some dinner, we ended up with the Chinese place again with chicken and rice…at least we knew what we had. Walked around a bit, found everyone sitting in the park as they have very small apartments and generally no air conditioners! Found the Laundromat, but too far to go back and get the clothes that were still damp from the morning laundry in the sink. Finally arrived back at the hotel about 8 pm, just in time to make business calls to the USA...yes...I'm still working in real estate and must check in weekly with my Managers. All the TV stations are in French not even CNN that gives the same news over and over and over. I had finished my novel last night and the new ones were in the car. I suggested we take the Metro somewhere but Jim was tired from his five hours of walking in the museums. (Me thinks this is the last day "on our own" as Jim is not comfortable with me wandering the streets of Paris by myself!) He had done the Medieval Museum and the d’Orsay.

So it was early to bed after setting the alarm for 7 am for an early start tomorrow morning for our trip to northern France. Neither slept very well. Had a loud neighbor earlier in the evening but couldn’t really blame any noise. Really didn’t get to sleep until about 2 am. At one point, Jim turned on the TV and found an English movie, it was Thelma and Louise with French subtitles. I played Solitaire until I fell asleep. The alarm rang at 7 am and woke us both up!

EXPLORING PERE LACHAISE CEMETERY AND THE PARIS OPERA....

Tuesday, September 12th, 2000 Paris

Up early the next morning our first stop before breakfast was to talk to Ann, the delightful desk clerk. Jim showed her the write up in the Rick Steves travel book, which mentioned her. She’d never seen it before and was very pleased. Then he asked for a change to a quieter room. She promised us one that would be ready after lunch. Ate breakfast in the hotel, rolls, juice, coffee and chocolate for Jim. Ate the croissants and saved the two rolls for lunch.

Left the hotel and went by Metro to Paris’ most prestigious cemetery called Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise. There we visited the graves of Theodore Gericault, Edith Piaf, Francois Raspail and Jim Morrison of The Doors. Lots of walking to find each of the different graves. Up and down the hills we went. Began to rain, but we had our umbrellas. Weather was humid and warmer than we expected. Back to the hotel by Metro, we changed rooms to a fifth floor room with no view, but very quiet. Back on the Metro, we went to the department store called Printemps. There we went to the sixth floor and found Flo’s Café. A wonderful tearoom under a 3 story stained glass dome that we’d found in 1992 and hadn’t seen since. Jim had a very tart lemon drink and I had a Meringue covered with a Praline sauce. Very tasty!

Leaving the store, we walked several blocks to the Opera house. Cleaned for the millennium celebration, it was beautiful! Paid admission and spent time on the grand staircase, but since the ballet was in rehearsal, we were unable to see the auditorium. Back to the hotel and rest before dressing for dinner with George and Carroll. They are friends from New Orleans that we met through Jim's sister Barbara. A delightful pair who will be celebrating their 50^th year together on March 17, 2002. Took the Metro to their hotel. We had left the umbrellas at the hotel and had to share their umbrellas as the rain finally came down full force on the short walk from their hotel to Bofingers. Bofingers is the oldest Brasserie in Paris! We all enjoyed the fixed price dinner. Jim and Carroll had the beef; George and I had the fish. All the food was exceptional and we spent a wonderful evening there with the meal lasting several hours. Service was exceptionally good! Back on the Metro to a quiet room and a great nights sleep.

WE'RE OFF TO EUROPE IN SEPTEMBER 2000.....

The planning for this trip began in late May when I leaned over the top of the stairs and said to Jim, “I will probably regret this but I miss going to Europe this year!” Jim immediately took the challenge and began planning a trip to Europe. A great way to celebrate our 40^th wedding anniversary we decided. I suggested that we attempt a low budget trip lasting two months since we were going to have to purchase airplane tickets as we didn’t have enough air miles accumulated for one ticket let alone two!

Since the stock market crashed this spring, Jim had lots of time on his hands and was delighted to get on the Internet and start researching hotels! Over the next several months we put together a schedule of dates starting in September and arriving home on November 20^th. Most hotel reservations were made by fax and a few over the Internet. By the time we left we only had two nights without reservation…. Those were in Germany and were travel days. We set our plans with the idea of spending several days in each location and seeing various sites in surrounding towns. A rental car was arranged for the entire trip through Europcar at a cost of approximately a thousand dollars for two months.

Europe was struggling with a crisis of gasoline strikes as our departure date neared. But, fortunately for us, France settled their dispute just days before we were due to arrive.

Sunday, September 10th, 2000 The adventure begins....

Our trip over on American Airlines was very timely and rather uneventful! During our flight over, we both took a sleeping pill after dinner and managed to sleep quite a bit during the flight from Dallas to Paris. This helped us for the first day in Paris by giving us an advantage in staying awake to reset our clocks. Paris is nine hours ahead of California. !

Monday, September 11th, 2000 Paris

Arrived Monday morning about 10:30 AM, picked up the four suitcases from baggage and proceeded through customs with no problems. Found the bathrooms and then on to the car rental. They upgraded us one level and we found our Fiat Brava 2000; a four door metallic blue gray sedan powered by diesel fuel. The next struggle was to get out of the parking lot! We made several trips around the edge before discovering the way out! On the A1…France’s answer to the Freeway, we went north instead of south and decided to continue on for about ten miles to visit the Chateaux Chantilly. A lovely castle just outside of Paris, which we had never visited.

Known for it’s fancy stables because the King who built it thought that he’d be reincarnated as a horse and built a stable fit for a king! They have maintained the stables as a showplace for horse shows. The grounds also had a miniature village, which was the model for the Hamlet at Versailles. By five PM we were back on the road and entering Paris during the rush hour. Difficult staying awake, as we were becoming very jet lagged! But, we managed to find the Hotel Bellevue et du Chariot d'Or in the Marais District on the west bank, get checked in and park the car in the underground garage. The rate is 130 franc per day! Jim went off to find the hotel of friends from New Orleans, George and Carroll, as we had a pre-arranged Tuesday dinner planned for tomorrow.

While Jim was gone I reorganized the luggage now that everything had arrived! We’d sorted things between the different suitcases so that just encase one or more suitcase got lost coming over, we’d still have some of what we needed. Jim walked for an hour in a circle and then took the Metro and finally found the hotel. He left them a note and returned in time to go out for a bite to eat with me. We found a Chinese buffet style, purchased chicken and a rice dish. Sat at a table on the street and split the dinner. Full, we slowly walked back to the hotel about 8 PM for a good night’s sleep even with the unbelievable street noise! We were on the fourth floor directly over a main street! And so another adventure begins...........

A WILD RIDE IN WADI RUM ATIONAL PRESERVE.....

Thursday, December 8th, 2005 Wadi Rum

We’d all agreed to have an extra adventure today before leaving for the airport in Amman. So it was 6 am wakeup calls and on the bus by 7 am. We were all wearing our dusty clothes from yesterday as we were headed for the Wadi Rum National Preserve in the desert. We would be exploring off road in open trucks!

It was an interesting one and half hour drive each way to reach our destination; we saw small towns, a villa belonging to royalty surrounded by a forest of trees and a lot of desert views. The forest of trees bespoke of $$$$$ in this country of brown earth for the amount of water it took to grow and preserve such a beautiful stand of trees.

As we passed through the higher elevations the weather was windy and cold but as we reached the lower planes of the desert the wind died down and it warmed up a bit. One of the last stretches of highway was one that has been designated as an emergency landing strip for airplanes. Very wide and straight with strict prohibition on stopping and/or parking just in case they need to use it for an airplane! We learned that the narrow gauge railroad that is used to haul phosphate to the port at Aquaba for shipping around the world is the width of two horses’ rumps? That’s per the guide. The highway was loaded with trucks hauling oil from Aquaba to Amman.

We finally arrived at Wadi Rum National Preserve. Our “jeeps” are 1970’s Toyota pickup trucks. We split up with four in each truck and started bouncing through the deep desert sands to see the desert of Lawrence of Arabia. We stopped at one dune and tried to slide down after climbing to the top; didn’t work very well, a piece of cardboard would have helped. The preserve has mountains made of soft sandstone with granite added by God to provide strength and color. The artist we’re told was the winds of time. Stunningly beautiful and always changing as the desert is truly a living creature.

Near the end of our drive we stopped at a canyon created by two mountains that came together to create a joint tight enough to prevent anyone from escaping when Lawrence of Arabia used the area for his prison around 1917. The creative Bedouins had a rest stop set up for us with hot tea and of course, opportunities to purchase some of the merchandise. Several of us purchased a full Arabic headdress that Bedouin women wear in public known as a burqa. It may make a great addition someday to a costume.

A long ride back to the hotel, hot showers, pack the bags and quick lunch; then we were ready for the three hour ride back to Amman and the airport for a flight to Cairo.

Arrived safely in Cairo at the hotel where we reclaimed our luggage and stayed for one night. Early the next morning we left on a ten hour flight home to the U.S.A.

We arrived home to a house full of company…our children from San Francisco…about 10 pm on Friday night. Saturday night was our annual Christmas Boat Parade party and we hosted about seventy-five people for a party!

How do you host a party the day after a trip? Lots of preplanning and work before you leave! By Sunday evening we both hit the hay early for a good and long night of sleep.

Hope you’ve enjoyed sharing our trip as much as I’ve enjoyed writing this journal. Posting it again has been a fun journey down memory lane; I'd forgotten how much fun we had on this trip. And, we've remained friends with several of our tour mates over the past six years since we traveled to Egypt and Jordan together.

Tomorrow I will begin a new adventure for you: a two month trip that we took in 2000 that will take us north from Paris into Belgium and then to Holland. We continue down through Germany and Austria before entering Italy. After several weeks in Italy we'll head back into the south of France and then dip into Spain...our first visit there! We complete the journey by traveling in France for another few weeks before arriving in Paris for our trip home.

VISITING THE ANCIENT CITY OF PETRA...THINK INDIANA JONES....

WEDNESDAY, December 7th, 2005 Petra, Jordan

Up for breakfast and ready for a busy day as we were leaving by 8:30 am. Before leaving we enjoyed the mountain views from the hotel lobby window and Samur pointed out the white speck at the top of one of the mountains. It is the tomb of Moses’ older brother Aaron. The white tomb was constructed on this legendary site during the 14th century and is considered a sacred place by the local people. This is the tallest mountain in the area and when the sun rises it peeks over this particular peak first. We saw that happen on Thursday morning when we were up even earlier than today.

This was a very special day to all of us and especially for Jim who has talked for years of visiting Petra. You may recall that scenes from the Indiana Jones movie portray these ancient monuments.

Petra was created by the Nabataeans, Arab nomads who settled in this area because of the availability of water. They carved elaborate temples and tombs out of the red-hued sandstone. There are just a few free-standing buildings left but there are over eight hundred monuments carved into the stone. Petra was a large city during the ancient times and was very important to the trade route between the east and west.

As we entered the historical site there were horses that could be rented for the first part of our journey that drops down rather steeply for about 1700 feet, but we all walked to the beginning of the canyon area. At the beginning of the Sig, a narrow gorge carved by the Wadi Musa (River of Moses), we could rent a horse drawn carriage that they called a chariot, ride a donkey or continue walking. No one could ride a horse beyond this point. We all decided to walk the two and half mile trip that descends gradually for the whole walk to the city. No one can prepare themselves for the experience of walking the first portion of the trip through a canyon that has walls that are about 260 feet tall. At times it is so narrow that you feel the stone crushing in on you and at other times it widens enough that small tombs were built into the sides. The colors of the stone are unreal. It’s called the “Rose City” as the sandstone is all hues of red, threaded with white granite.

Continuing down into the canyon we heard the constant cry of the passing Bedouins in our ears as they pleaded with us to ride in the chariots drawn by the horses and/or their donkeys. That to me would have been a painful experience as the floor of the canyon was uneven stone in many areas. We saw tombs carved into the sides almost as soon as we entered the canyon but they were only a taste of what was to come.

As the canyon deepened and became very narrow we knew that we were nearing the Tomb known as “The Treasury”. We caught our breath as we began to see glimpse of the mammoth structure and suddenly we stopped and gaped at the towering brightness of El Kazneh: a 140 foot high edifice carved in the mountain. Not the largest but definitely the best preserved Tomb because of its sheltered location. Yes, we’d arrived at The Treasury that looked just like the one in the movie about Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. Stopping here to explore the ruins and other smaller tombs nearby, Kevin and I actually climbed into an open “grave?” in a small tomb to get a photo of The Treasury from a different vantage point. Crazy but fun!

At The Treasury we lost the “chariots” and then had the opportunity to continue by riding on donkey or a camel! But we all decided to continue walking as we descended another 2500 feet to the ruins of the theater and then the final descent of about a mile into the site of the city ruins. An outdoor restaurant provided lunch and then we were on our own to explore and eventually find our way back to the bus by 4:00 pm.

Four of us decided to hike the extra mile up the mountain to what is called the Monastery, the largest of all the Tombs. Kevin, Roger, Jim and I headed out. It was 800 steps and took us about forty-five minutes to reach the top. Donkeys are available for riding and their dropping made the going “very interesting”. Well worth the journey, this particular tomb or temple was used by the royals according to history. The Bedouins had vendor stands to sell jewelry, etc about every one hundred steps and then a tent where you could purchase items and/or refreshments at the top. Near the beginning of the climb one of the young girls who was working with her mother heard Kevin’s name spoken and she asked him to purchase her goods…he told her not now that he’d stop on the way down. He was expecting her to be gone by then. It took us about thirty minutes to come down and most of the vendors were closed by then but when we arrived near the girl’s table we heard, “Kevin……I waited for you.” He ended up spending nearly all of the change that he had with him on beads. What’s a fella to do…..

We arrived back at the bus right on schedule at 4:00 pm by walking quickly and directly through the canyon without stopping to do more sightseeing. It was a gradual uphill climb all the way. According to Samur with our extra trip we’d hiked more than seven miles…and our bodies felt every inch of it! Paul and Sue decided to ride the horses for the last part of the climb but otherwise we’d all walked the whole trip! Jim treated us to “cold cokes” at the end of the trail…I didn’t realize just how thirsty I was! Don’t remember a diet coke tasting quite so good for a long time. Back on the bus, tired but sated, we arrived at the hotel just in time to enjoy the sunset from the hotel patio. Time to shower before our 7 pm dinner and then off to bed as we’ve got another early morning tomorrow!