Blogs from France, Europe - page 1268

First of all, I’m sorry for the delay in writing. For the past month, I have been extremely ill. I couldn’t go to the doctor since I don’t have my titre de séjour (which makes me a French resident for while I’m here and, therefore, gives me access to their free health care system), and I didn’t have the money to pay for it. Not to mention that there was about a week when I couldn’t even get out of bed. When I finally found out about the free clinic and went there, I found out just how serious it had gotten. I had just about every “-itis” there is. I’m finally on the way up, though, so all is well. So, we have some catching up to do. First order of business: Pamela. Pamela was ... read more

Paris, October 29 and 30 Monday, rain, and all the museums are closed except The Louvre. It’s the only show in town, and we were right there elbowing our way around with the best of them. We now know why the Mona Lisa smiles the way she does - she’s too polite to laugh out loud at the throngs of people who have trekked their way through miles of the palais to discover how small she is. A fact she already knew. And yet, she’s so compelling. Along with a few Michelangelo marbles - we understand better how special his work with the Carrera (?) marble is - it’s so much whiter and luminescent - with a luster as luscious as the subjects he depicts. For you, our viewing audience: can you find Waldo in this ... read more

This weekend I got up close and personal with the Pyrenees! The Canterots had family friends visiting from Bordeaux (Christine and Sylvie went to high school together), and they invited me to go hiking with them on Saturday afternoon. The weather was absolutely exceptional. The sky was blue and crystal clear. We went to a little piece of heaven called Lac Estaing, which is out past Lourdes. Lourdres, after Rome, is pretty much as top tier as you can get in the ranks of Catholic religious pilgrimages. The virgin Mary was spotted in a grotto there, and the water is supposed to have healing powers. There's also a very impressive chateau, where legend has it (according to the Canterots), that an eagle brought trout to the besiged people in the castle for food when the ... read more

Hello again from Nice France!!! All is well here, cannot believe how little time we have left. I think we are both looking forward to home in our own ways. The thought of lying on the couch, in my favorite pajamas watching a movie has never sounded so good. But at the same time we both wish that it hadn't gone by so fast and we had more time to explore. Where to begin.....I guess I should mention what I left out of the last blog. At the end of the boat cruise that we posted pictures of in Corfu we had to jump into the water and swim to shore...We were some of the last people to jump in and somehow I found the bottom when I jumped in. The result was 6 stiches in ... read more

Versailles!... read more