Paris, Part Two

I noticed that the prior post's map didn't show our route accurately.  Though Google Maps has a train route option, it didn't want to show the train route from Geilenkirchen to Paris, or even show the train route to Aachen to Paris. I mean, really, Aachen used to be called Aix la Chapelle (and still is, for the French), and there is the high speed train from there to Paris.

Paris, Part One

Yes, that's Paris, France, and it means I went there.  :-)


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So about a month or so ago, John suggested that we go to Paris for my birthday, and I stared at him in disbelief because that is what you do when someone hands you the fulfillment of a childhood dream on a plate.   "We could have dinner at the Eiffel Tower," he said.  "Why don't you make reservations?  We could go by train."

I was so floored by this that I didn't even blog that we were going just in case I might jinx it.

J'ai tricoté au Tour de France

Which is my high school French attempt at saying, "I have knitted at the Tour de France." Here is a picture of what I was knitting, a cell phone (or "handy" as they say here in Germany) sock. I'm making it out of wool and silk tweed yarn, using a US size 3 Skacel Addi lace knitting needle and "magic loop" method. Why? Because 1) I kept running out of minutes on my cellphone while it was in my purse and it would get hit on this or that button and dial whatever number without my knowledge, 2) it was the first yarn I picked up and hurriedly packed away before I went to bed last night, 3) and we were going to be sitting there waiting for hours before the bicyclists would whiz by.  Unfortunately, the deep aubergine color (note, I use French for "eggplant") does not show up well in this light. At least the needles show up somewhat (I bought them at the Unraveled Yarn shop back in Federal Way, WA--I also think I might have bought the yarn there, too).

Happy Independence Day - and the Tour de France

Happy Independence Day, all you United States citizens, wherever you may be.

I'm feeling this day more than usual, as I'm not in the States, and I do miss it. On this day at home, we'd be hearing fireworks shot off here and there, sometimes even starting the day before. John would be suddenly seized with a bit of pyromania and have gone on a trip off to the fireworks stand to load up on explosives. I would be fixing something to be prepared on the grill, while our friends would be doing the same. We would often get together with our long-time friends, the Thompsons, and pool our food and our fireworks in a display of gustatory and pyrotechnic indulgence.

Waterloo

You may imagine the excitement I felt when John told me that there was the opportunity on June 20th to see a reenactment of the Battle of Waterloo--at Waterloo in Belgium! He told me this last week, but I didn't mention this on my blog, or e-mail about it to any of my friends (other than the local ones who were going along), just in case mentioning it might jinx it. Yes, that's how anxious and excited I was to attend this once-every-five-years event.

It meant that we had to get up at an ungodly hour of the morning (for me, anyway), get ready, and be at the place where the tour bus would pick us up. The bus would leave at 6:30 am, so we had to be there before that time. But heck, this was research! I would of course get up at 5 am to attend such a marvelous event, no complaints. I already had our lunch packed the night before, and was ready to go, and then the doorbell rang when our ride to the bus (Doug and Anna) arrived.