Paris to the Boat

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Had an early breakfast and proceeded to the boat at about 9:30. The drive from Paris to Luxembourg was about 2-1/2 hours. The french countryside is quite pretty but our route was all freeway so we didn't get to see as much of it but it was still very bucolic and nice. The weather was not very nice and it rained off and on and was quite windy, probably the leading edge of the hurricane that was over Ireland and the UK.

Our tour guide pointed out objects along side the road and asked us what we thought they were. There would be a bunch of circles and then triangles and then 3 dimensional cubes, totem pole type things...all in iridescent colors. Nobody could quite figure out what heck they were. She told us they were a way of keeping drivers from falling asleep since the road was very monotonous. It was a good strategy because once she pointed them out I wAS ALWAYS on the lookout for them.

We got to Luxembourg at about lunchtime. It was pouring rain and unfortunately the last thing I meant to pack was the umbrella from the car. We found a little shop (it was Sunday so not much was open except this shop and a bunch of restaurants) and bought an umbrella for about 12 euros, stepped outside, opened it and the sun came out. Sigh.

We had an hour for lunch. There was a McDonalds! Um, no. I didn't come this far to eat at McDonalds! We found a little brasserie where I had a capresse salad and Cal had a ginormous Caesar salad. Met up with our group and did a walking tour of Luxembourg. We had an old guy who had lived there all of his life, was very enthusiastic about his city an had lots of information. He was born during the Nazi occupation and showed us a copy of his birth certificate that had a swastica stamped on it. It was kind of haunting to realize that we were truly in a country, along with France that had had Hitler and the German army taking them over. He was interesting and the city was very old and interesting. I got good pictures I hope.

Next stop was the American WWII cemetery where many of the soldiers that fought at the Battle of the Bulge were buried. This was a very somber place with row upon row of stone cross or star of David. This is where General George Patton is buried. He was killed in 1945 in a car accident. He broke his neck, was paralized and died from the injuries. He wanted to be buried "with his men" and so he was interred at this cemetery. All I could think of while visiting here was the poem that I memorized in the 7th grade: "Flanders Field" with the lines

In Flanders Field where poppies blow,Beneith the crosses row on row.

Not really apropo because Flanders field was in Belgium I think and WWI but still...

Then....to our ship at last. We boarded at about 5:00. Had an all hands meeting in the lounge at about 6:30 where we were a captive audience for bad jokes and long winded speeches. Our Cruise Director is a good looking Dutchman named Wesley Peeman (I can't make this stuff up). He apparently learned English by listening to american radio in the 50s and 60s because he would say stuff like "NOW, everyone will have a really GREAT time on this cruise, even if it KILLS you." I can't quite get it but if you've ever listened to a DJ or a satire of a DJ from that era, you will know what I mean. Everyone was bored and waiting for dinner to be served.

Finally at 7:30 we were seated. Viking has only one seating and it's a free-for-all to get a table. We sat with a couple from Seattle, and she kept touching me and calling me "honey". Um no. The other two couples were very nice. The food was really good and the portions quite small which is exactly what we need to keep from gaining 100,000 pounds.

We will stay docked until tomorrow afternoon. The bed is comfortable but I managed to wake up about 1:00 am not able to sleep. I watched the very first episode of "Downtown" Abbey, as it is referred on the guide.

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