Hey all!
Sorry for things being out of order, but yes, I'm back,...... from where? Europe. London, Paris and the French countryside for 12 glorious days. Let me say that I am know a strong believer in vacations. Wow, are they awesome or what. And think I still have 60 hours left that I can use this year or roll over to next year.
So after deparing LAX we stopped in Dallas for an hour ( since I couldn't fathom sitting on a plane for that long) and then on to Heathrow airport. Let me just say that if you ever fly that long take lots of sleeping pills they work wonders. So after 16 hours in the air, we had to find the train station and take a train for 3 hours to the West Coast to the Brittany area where my aunt lives. Just imagine old world town that has a wall around the city, drawbridge, the whole nine yards and yup there you go that's where we went.
After three days in Brittany and seeing their lovely open air markets, poultry that isn't neatly cleaned, package and less the legs, arms and head and of course after eating lots of gillettes (not the razor silly, but very thin pancakes that look like lace) we packed up and headed off to Paris.
Paris is everything you read about, see and talk about. Big, old, dirty, amazing and just awe inspiring. You know how you read fairtales or history books and it talks about those places that are magical in every way, yup that's paris. We stayed at my aunt and uncles flat (that's what they call apartments there since there isn't houses in the city). Their flat is about a block away from Notre Dame and three blocks away from Place des Vouges (this is the oldest, most expensive part of the city where alot of movies are filmed). The first thing I noticed is there are NO elevators ohhh, wait a second, I need to back up. When my other aunt and uncle picked us up from the airport, we were just about in a bind. As they put it I'm an American who packed too much. With a suitcase that is 27" and weighs 68 pounds it almost didn't fit in their car or the taxi's there for that matter. So back to the elevator, so their flat is the third story, so imagine, heat wave of 90 degrees Farenheit, humidity, a 68 pund suitcase and yes there are stairs. Mind you these are no ordinary stairs these are stairs that I think were built in the 13th century and never been repaired, ever time you walked they creaked, the rail wasn't sturdy and they leaned inward. After 70 steps man I was scared. So after that ordeal we moved on.
Sightseeing was wonderful. The musuems, the opera, the churches, the shopping. WOW! WOW! and WOW! We (my mom & I) spent three days in Paris doing everything and anything. Up at 7 am at the bread shop and then home around 2 a.m. She was a real trooper. We did night and daytime site seeing. The best part was having my cousins take us around at night that was fun since they knew where everything was. So those of you who know me, know I LOVE shopping. Paris major department store covers three city street corners and is one block long and seven stories tall. One corner for mens, one for women, one for home. Three hours later and a few trips to the post office on the fourth corner isn't that convienant, I had alot of fun.
So after Paris, we took the chunnel to London for a day. That was alot of fun, more sightseeing, more wonderful places, I didn't get to see the crown jewels but I love those cabbies and their cute cars.Oh I almost forgot Harrods department store. After buying a few new hats, yes hats, I really love them, and two new outits, we decided it was time to head back to Paris.
Back to Paris and to the South of France in the countryside. My aunt and uncles summer home is in a small town that has maybe 300 people, I swear I only say maybe 50 people, but they say there are 300. Their chateau is HUGE. Three stories,11 bedrooms, five acres, and only two bathrooms their back half of their property backs up to the river and caves where archeologist discovered many years ago the oldest drawings of mankind. Kinda cool huh? So the big event was my cousins's wedding. So weddings in France requires lots of clothes, that's why I have such a heavy suitcase.
So the wedding day, first their is one outfit and a civil ceremony at the town hall where we wear business attire, (France only recogizes civil cermonies) then a few hours later is the church wedding and yes that is another summer garden with style attire this is where the hats come into play then there is the cocktail hour and you get the picture another outfit this time it is black casual wear and then dinner starts. So the civil ceremony started at 10 am and dinner started at 9 p.m. oh did you forget that this is another outfit, black tie dress attire. Then after a seven course dinner is desert and then dancing in another outfit. So around 5 a.m. guests started leaving it could be because the alcohol is starting to run low. So off to bed.
The next morning all of the guests come over and trickle in for breakfast and then a quick three hour lunch. After the wedding weekend. I realized I need to come back more often, too many aunts, uncles, cousins and cool people who I fell in love with and really want to see again. I can see the frequent flier miles racking up.
So we come back to the states, and go to JFK and then onto LAX arrive at 2 a.m. and then I'm off to work at 5:30 a.m.
Overall I loved my vacation, I missed my friends and family at home. I didn't take my cell phone, check my e-mail or communicate outside of the world at all while I was there.
