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Published: January 15th 2007
Strasbourg Friends
Left to right: Isabella, Henry, Me, Kel, Martine, Jose A Note from Strasbourg and Errands in Frankfurt
French Hospitality After writing our final blog entry from Strasbourg we headed out to dinner. A lady who worked in our hotel suggested a restaurant a little off the beaten path called Le Cloud. While very close to our hotel (about a ten minute walk) it was on a side street we never would have found on our own.
When we arrived at the restaurant it was pretty booked up with the exception of a long table in the middle of the room which was open to walk-ins. As it was pretty early there was no one at the table yet so we were seated one chair in from the end of the table, sitting opposite each other.
As more people showed up they were seated next to us at the same table. The couple next to us was very animated and said hi but the conversation ended when we didn’t know French. Its moments like these that we wish we spoke every language known to man. It would make travel so much more interesting.
After awhile more people showed up and the French
Frankfurt
The only old section in town... couple next to us struck up a conversation with the people on the other side of them who spoke French. While we ate, and eavesdropped, we could tell the couple on the other side of the French couple next to us spoke French in a broken way which we took to mean they were travelers too. Kel and I lamented, as we ate, that we would have liked to have been part of the conversation too, but alas no luck.
As we moved on to dessert, which was delicious, the French man next to me realized that the girl next to him spoke English as well as French. Seconds later Kel and I were involved in the conversation as Henry (the French man next to me) is formally introducing Isabella (the young woman next to him) to both me and Kel.
Introductions first: Henry and his girlfriend Martine were sitting next to us and next to them was Jose Magro and his daughter Isabella. Henry and Martine are both from France, Martine from Strasbourg originally and Henry from Marseille. Jose is originally from Portugal but now lives in Brazil where his daughter Isabella is from.
This all
Frankfurt
The only old section in town... gets very complicated but let me try to explain. Martine, Jose and Isabella all spoke varying degrees of English. Isabella, who seemed about 21, spoke English perfectly because she had studied at American private schools in Brazil. Jose was next in line followed by Martine who spoke great English but sometimes had to rely on others for more complicated words. Henry spoke barely any English at all but made up to it with animation and friendliness…I remind you that Henry was the mastermind behind the whole conversation.
At this point we were completely finished with our meal and in the typical American way were afraid that the owner of the restaurant wanted us to leave. Everyone else was in for the long haul and therefore so were we. We had arrived at dinner at 7:30pm, were ready to leave at 8:30 and actually left at 11:30…WOW! The night was a blast!
If you are tired of detail, please feel free to move on to the next section of the journal…but I have to recount the rest as it speaks wonders for the French sense of hospitality. What many Americans think of the French must be false as the
rest of the evening will show.
We told everyone about our trip which got the usual astonishment from everyone at the table. Jose made a few jokes about us being major shareholders in CNN, a la Ted Turner. I told him that if that was the case I would not have been driving a Ford Focus station wagon through Europe. He got the point and everyone laughed.
After a half hour of talking, Henry bought the table a round of Strasbourg’s finest Schnapps. I have had my share of liquor and would have to say that this stuff was rough!! Henry laughed as my face turned bright red! I will note that he drank a beer while everyone else drank schnapps.
Isabella was very impressive to both Kel and I. She was studying Hotel Management and therefore was starting a year near Strasbourg working in a local hotel. She spoke English perfectly, French nearly perfectly and obviously spoke her native language Portuguese. She was incredibly friendly and did a great job of translating into French and out of it to ensure that the conversation kept moving.
As we continued to chat through the evening Henry got
me with a good joke and I returned the favor. We were showing the picture of Catfish our dog to everyone at the table. As I showed it to Henry, he jokingly said “Mother?” to which I absentmindedly nodded my head yes and then quickly recovered to say “NO!!” He laughed and laughed!
Later he was telling us we needed to visit Paris on our return journey because it was so beautiful to which I asked him, “like Germany?” He had told us how much better France was than Germany multiple times. He was aghast that I would even think that Paris was pretty like Germany. Once again a good laugh all around.
I know this might sound trivial to some of you, but it truly is a heart warming experience to meet people from completely different cultures and find that you all get along wonderfully. Everyone at the table was having a great time and enjoying each others company. Sure, there were language obstacles that had to be overcome, but we overcame them and enjoyed the company even more because it took some work.
We have found that throughout Europe that people are immediately open to
anyone who is nice and willing to share their lives. No one cares that you are an American. Sure, we have gotten a few comments about US policies but we have definitely heard worse in the US.
The evening ended a few hours later. Much fun had been had. Email addresses were exchanged along with phone numbers. Martine and Henry told us we could come stay with them if we came back through Strasbourg which we may do just to see them again. Jose told us we could come see him in Sao Paolo if we decided to head through Brazil on the way back home.
Frankfurt Errands We returned the next day to the place that started our German speaking part of our travels, Frankfurt. Frankfurt really is just a big city but big cities have their usefulness too.
Yesterday (Sunday, 1/14) we came into town and took the car to the Avis. It turned out that Avis is closed on Sunday so we parked it there with the plan of coming back later to return the keys.
Other than returning the car we spent a few hours in an Irish pub
watching Rugby and enjoying hearty Irish food. While there we struck up a brief conversation with a group of international students who were studying German in Frankfurt. They were from Ireland, Wales and the US. They were able to give us advice about how to get some of our errands done on Monday morning which was incredibly useful.
Today we spent the whole day getting things done. After returning the keys to the car, we headed to the local shopping area. We bought me a bathing suit and Kel some socks, then made an appointment to get haircuts. The haircuts turned out pretty good. Kel’s was excellent. The hair dresser spent a ton of time blow drying her hair and curling it which made her look gorgeous. Mine was less than spectacular as I ended up with uneven bangs and uneven back. I look a little lopsided to the right in the back and to the left in the front. Both of these things are easily fixed with a pair of scissors so I’m not concerned.
The rest of the day was spent looking for shoes. Kel is in desperate need of a pair of black slides (pretty
Kel's Haircut
Isn't she a hottie!!! much her shoe of choice in warm weather at home) but it is too early in the season here for slides so our search was in vain. I thought I might find a pair of sandals but once again no luck. Neither of these items is truly integral to our travel so we are not the least bit worried.
Other than that we got our laundry done and got some toiletries to round out our supply of shampoo and deodorant. It was a full day of shopping and errands…it actually felt good to know we can still get stuff done when we need to.
Well, enough from this front. Tomorrow afternoon we fly to Dubai, UAE. This will put us 9 hours ahead of US time and almost on the other side of the world. I think we have internet in our hotel in Dubai so you will hear from us but in case you don’t we will write you when we get to Bangkok on the 20th (once in Bangkok we will be exactly 12 hours ahead of the US and will be officially on the other side of the world, WILD!!).
Hope you are all well, we miss you all!
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Bonnie
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Bon or "The Fish"
I know Catfish is one of the curest dogs alive, but somehow I am not sure I am truly happy having him called "Mother". Love kel's haircut. Bon