On the Road Again

Cicero, New York

July 10. 2010

On the Road Again

A warm American welcome greeted us when we got home. My sister, Alicia, and nephew, Matthew, cheerfully met us with welcome signs at Dulles International Airport - outside Washington, D.C. in Virginia. As our house is rented out till August 1, we spent three nights in Reston, Virginia with my sister, brother-in-law and two nephews. Along with my mom and dad they treated us to an American BBQ with hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, and a finale of fireworks (to make up for missing 4th of July). We all had a great time being with them and squeezing in quick visits with other friends.

Now we are on the road again - in more way than one. We are traveling to visit family - and I'm driving for the first time since we left! This has been the longest I have not driven since I got my driver's licence. In college I did not have a car but I'd go home on breaks and drive. It's been great not having to drive. But in the wonderful, big US I've go to drive to get across these vast spaces. :o)

We knew we'd be traveling a bit in the US in July and in fact today we are in New York where we traveled for a golf tournament in honor of Paul's cousin, Captain Phil Dykeman, a marine killed in Iraq two years ago (TeamDykeman.com). The money raised goes to pay for a college scholarship created in his honor.

Next we are off to Lake Champlain to visit Paul's mom then heading south to a family reunion in the green mountains of North Carolina. Another trip to a family camp on a pristine lake in the Adirondacks, New York, rounds off the month. We expect to be back and done with travels and in our house around mid-August.

We are working on answering questions people have sent us about our trip - from languages to laundry and will be posting those answers soon.

Happy days,

Jackie

Mind the Gap!

London, England

July 5th, 2010

London is the perfect city in which to wrap up our journey. British people are friendly, eager to help without being asked and filled with a healthy sense of humor.


We've really gotten to know the "Tube" as does anyone that stays in this city for very long. My favotite part of the tube system is the warning to "mind the gap" between the train and the platform. Clearly some people have failed to heed that good advice! Paddington station is our home station, but we've managed to hit most of the city on the subway. Today, Amelia decided we'd best stay above ground so we used the double deckers to really see the city. It was a fresh approach to a city that knows how to do public transportation.





It took five months of constant travel for us to find a hotel that we had to walk out of because the conditions were so shabby that we daren't spend the night but we managed to do that in London. Luckily there are hundreds of hotels offering marginly better service (no gas smell/no mice) than the one we left so we found a suitable alternative within a short walk.






There is so much to see in London that we could have spent a month in this city alone, but we only had a few days so we packed in what we could. London Tower was the highlight from our first day. Jackie and I had a blast helping fire siege weapons at the "Tower". We visited the London Eye, which must be the highest "non-ferriswheel" in the world; it shouldn't be missed. The London Museum and the "Royal Mews" gave us a thorough appreciation of British history and it's place in the history of the world. Buckingham palace enchanted us with the changing of the guards and London's parks couldn't be beat on a warm sunny day.

Our dear friend Chloe came down for a visit and to show us a good time. We had a terrific lunch together and did some sight seeing. It was super to have her with us. Thanks Chloe. After lunch we visited the Lady Di Fountain together and we wish we had more time...

...isn't that the truth. We really wish we had more time. Yes, we're excited to return to Virginia tomorrow, but there is so much more adventure ahead. We won't think of Virginia as the end; we'd rather think of our return to Virginia as another part of our journey. We know it will be fun to be home, and to see family and friends, but there is a great big, wild world out there just beconing us to come see it; who knows how long it will be before we cut loose the dock lines and head out again...

Next blog entry we'll answer your questions and do a trip summary.

--Paul

Bubbles and Squeaks

Windsor, England

July 2, 2010

Bubbles and Squeaks

Today, in a dark English pub near Windsor castle we ordered, "Bubbles and Squeaks." We didn't even ask what it was - we just figured with a name like that we had to try it. The waiter delivered it to the (sticky) table, along with fish and chips, and we learned it was fried mashed potatoes with veggies inside. Actually quite yummy (really anything fried). Traditionally, as a home cooked meal we were told, it's leftover potatoes from a big meal the day before and whatever vegetables are left over as well.

It's been a great two days in England so far - the grandeur of Windsor Castle, a day at nearby Legoland, chatting with very friendly people, and menus filled with lots of potato options (mashed, fried, pies, hash browns, stuffed, and baked) ; it really doesn't get better than that.

Here are a few pics of Windsor Castle and grounds:

Ye Old Windsor Castle (first built by William the Conqueror after his 1066 invasion)

Ye Old Royal Ice Cream Truck (selling Buckingham Palace Ice Cream - which we had to get)

A Few Peasants

And, of course, Ye Old Royal Gravel Flattener

Whither thou be near or far we wish ye and your loved ones the best.

Fare thee well,

Jackie

(We journey to London tomorrow.)

Paris - The Show is in the Streets

Paris , France

(Written in Windsor, England - near the castle)

June 30, 2010

Pictures from Paris

As Beatrice, a Parisian we met on the Nile cruise, said, "In Paris, the show is in the streets." Here are some pictures from the ongoing performance (including one from Disneyland, Paris/Euro Disney - a near end of trip treat for the kids.)

Jackie :o)

The Joys of Country Living

Maison Chouette

Mourceau, France

June 23, 2010

The Joys of Country Living

or

The Dog Stole My Shoe

When we arrived at Maison Chouette I put two pairs of shoes outside that were soaking wet from close encounters with Swiss puddles. The beautiful French sun was doing a glorious job drying them when Amelia gazed out the window and said, "A dog has your shoe." We raced outside and a neighbor's dog, which had been holding one of my shoes, dropped the shoe and ran home. (See picture of dog looking so angelic. Paul thinks he looks sheepish.) Happily I retrieved the shoe. Only then did it become clear that the dog had already absconded with one of each pair of shoes! With one shoe of each pair safely back inside we scanned the road. About 200' down the lane we found one of the missing shoes - a good walking shoe - so I have one complete pair. But alas, even with two days of looking, we have not found the other one (a flip flop). The dog must have found a good spot to stash the goods while they were still hot.

The dog's a cool character - I quizzed him in English and French. Knowing full well he didn't understand 'shoe' in English I interrogated him in French. Yes, I asked Paul how to say, "Bring back my shoe" in French. But that dog just gazed at me with an innocent look that said, "Who me?"

If you see him keep your shoes on.

Tour de France

The towns in the area are getting ready for the Tour de France bike race. It is coming right through the nearby village of Moulins Englibert on July 9th. Paul, a big biker, is crushed he won't be here. The streets are already decorated with flags and yellow bikes (bike above a bit of loveliness in the village) Maybe someday we'll come back...

Country Living

We are all really enjoying this blissful break - getting a chance to unwind and read good books. A short stroll down the country lane takes us by donkeys (well fed with carrots), big white cows and even bigger bulls (at least one who like to run at the fence as bikers go by). We could stay here a long time...but we are off to Paris on Saturday.

Happy summer to all those in the Northern Hemisphere (and happy winter to our other friends),

Jackie

P.S. Choutte is a type of Owl.

At Home in Bourgogne

Mourceau, France

June 20, 2010

Home Away from Home

Bonjour,

This evening a bottle of French wine, fresh cut flowers in a vase, and breakfast makings greeted us as we arrived at our home for the week in France. What a lovely surprise!!

Today we shared good wishes and goodbyes with our friends in Zurich, Switzerland then traveled by train to Lyon, France. There we rented a car with a GPS. Using the GPS got us a wee bit lost - adding at least an hour of driving to our already 2 1/2 hour drive. (However the Mapquest directions we were sent would have gotten us there easy as pie...if we had only printed them out....)

Paul is our French speaker and his abilities came in very handy today. As you can imagine, on a Sunday night in a tiny village in France there are not a lot of people out and about to ask for directions. Winding through the village streets we finally found one pub open with a few people watching the World Cup. Paul was able to ask for directions - and, even better, understand the response - in French. :o) We pulled up to the house as the sun was starting to set.

We are staying in a beautiful stone and wood beam farmhouse, in Mourceau, France, owned by friends of friends, called, "Maison Chouette," which means, "Owl House" (I think :o)). Pictures can't even do it justice. Roses of pink and yellow nod their heads in the garden, a stone and wood barn holds bikes ready for country rides, a jacuzzi is set on the stone patio outside, and we have lots of room to spread out!

Our stay here will be for six nights - the longest we've stayed any one place since we spent a week in Phuket, Thailand in March! Tomorrow in the daylight we look forward to more exploring.

Au revoir and much love,

Jackie :o)

Czeching out of Prague

Zurich, Switzerland

June 19, 2010

Prague, Czech Republic -Munich, Germany-Zurich, Switzerland

The past few days we've taken trains from Prague to Munich to Zurich. Trains are an easy way to get around Europe. Within the European Union there are no passport controls at the borders so you seemlessly enter each country. The last passport control we went through was leaving Turkey and going in to the Greek Islands.

We did see two men being questioned outside the train station in Venice and on the train going in to Germany we overheard an officer asking the people in the cabin next to us for their passports. It does mean you don't get stamps in your passports (wish you could request stamps :o)) and once you are in Europe you are IN(makes it easy).

From Prague we traveled to Munich for one night - literally - we got in after 9 p.m. and had a dark walk through the drizzle to dinner at 10 p.m. just before everything closed up. The next morning we headed out to Zurich, Switzerland where we are now. In Zurich we are staying with friends we met in a Bedouin tent camp in Jordan (!) who kindly offered us a place to stay in Switzerland. They are incredibly interesting and speak three languages (at least!) each. We've had a great time with them and only wish we lived closer so we could hang out longer with them.

Zurich is a green city on a lake surrounded by hills with the Alps in the distance. It's been overcast and raining so we haven't actually seen the Alps but have enjoyed walking through the cobbled pedestrian-only streets of the old town filled with people carrying umbrellas. We looked in store windows at the Swiss chocolate and caught whiffs of pungent cheese floating out of a fondue restaurant. In the gummy bear candy store we joined the locals in trying samples and buying gummy bears to go.

Tomorrow we head out to the French countryside to stay in a lovely home in a quiet village for a week of relaxation.

Jackie