Blogs from France, Europe - page 1555

This is where Niels went to college!! College is for the 1st degree, whichis diff than U.S. So Niels, this if for you. It was a lovely drive into the mountains. It's a ski area. Niels, you didn' t tell me you could ski!! One of the buildings is the dorm where the students stay. They come home on weekends. It's like a boarding school for middle school or high school students. Niels, I saw the big mountain that your fitness prof used to make you all climb every Monday morning. No wonder you have grande musculation! It was good for you, no? A lot of school kids were outside and heard us talking English. They said, "Allo!" and giggled. When I said, "Hi! How are you?" they burst into laughter and said, "Fine thank you" ... read more

Half a day of warfare 15/11/05 - The Invalides Hospital in Paris was originally built at the request of Napoleon to ensure his injured troops were taken care of. On the same site are the Musée l’Armée and the Tomb of Napoleon. The Musée l’Armée consumed most of my day; it has an incredible display of everything to do with warfare, arms, uniforms and armour. You can imagine, it is definitely the kind of museum that I could spend most of my day in, but perhaps not Lorenza (so a few days alone in Paris have a positive side). There was a section dealing with WWII that I found incredibly interesting, mainly because as a resident of the southern hemisphere I know a fair amount about the dealings Australia had with Japan during that war, but ... read more

This farmer and I ran into each other while I was out walking. He kept talking about George Bush. He wanted me to come home with him to do his dishes. I called Helena over to translate! I told her to tell him that in America, the men do the dishes. He gave me a great toothless laugh. Jean-Marie was doing funny things after an evening of dinner and a lot of wine. Okay Mark, I took this pic so you could make me a prayer stool. I put my foot in there so you could get a context. This is too cool. On the 1st day at Beatitudes, I told Erica that I wanted to wear a table cloth to the chapel. More private for prayer etc: She cracked up and said basically NO WAY! ... read more

What an amzing city this was. A beautiful spot with buildings from the middle ages. Im having the photos developed right now so I can post them. Also more from castles, Niels school nearby, snow in the Pyrenees, Andorra and a ton of other things. Basically Ive been too busy to post. Its like a mad dash to finish out my 5th (and final) week in France. The week in Cordes Sur Ciel was a week that will go down as one of the best weeks of my life. No competition. It was like something from a well written book. I think I knew that when I felt drawn to go there. In other news, dinner in Chris apartment was an absolute blast! "Allo! Bon!" She is a bundle of energy and an excellent cook. Plus ... read more

My second last evening in Niedermorschwihr was an enjoyable occasion. Bernard (Jean & Beatrice’s friend), his wife Eliane, daughter Miriam (plus her boyfriend, who’s name escapes me - could be Franz?), joined Jean, Beatrice, Ella-Pauline, Nellie and myself for dinner. It was good to share a meal and drinks with them before I departed Niedermorschwihr as they have all been so friendly to Lorenza and me on our two visits to Alsace. Miriam is the president of the local organization responsible for raising funds to maintain and restore the church tower. She is very passionate about her role and cause. She spoke for sometime about the different fund raising projects they had and were trying. It is good to see that someone young is interested in maintaining the history of her birthplace. Bernard got scolded a ... read more