Bonjour, Buon giorno, Guten Tag, and Hey…
For the past three weeks, Fred and I have been sort of acting like water bugs, skimming along the surface of about 4000 KM. worth of Europe. This blog will reflect that. Out of over 1000 photos taken, I have room for, maybe, a dozen… So here we go, a-skating!
The trip actually began on Tuesday, May 29 when I picked up my sister, Betty, her daughter, Jessica Wheeler, and Jessica’s daughters, Rachel and Elise, at Newark airport. Betty has continued to live in Aberdeen, SD, where we grew up, and the Wheelers are ranchers from Philip SD, near the geographical center of the state. (ed. Note: Google ‘Rapid City Journal’ and search for Jessica Wheeler. Good story.)
Rachel and about 30 classmates graduated from Philip High School on May 20, and Elise turned 13 just before the first leg of their journey. They drove the 300 miles to Aberdeen, then 350 more to Mpls., where Jessica’s brother, Jeff, lives with his family. From Mpls., they flew to Newark.
Wednesday morning found us on a Metro North train to Manhattan where Jessica had scored tickets to ‘Live with Kelly’. Martin Short was the guest co-host, and we were told to stay seated at the end, as a bonus show was being taped. A new outfit for Kelly, who with Bryant Gumble as new co-host, talked with very special guest FLOTUS Michelle Obama about her new garden book. Then the FLOTUS jumped some double-dutch rope with a championship team! Her presence explained the scanning of bags when we entered, and the suited guys with earbuds scattered throughout the auditorium.
We rounded out the day with lunch at Zabar’s, then a walk around at Ground Zero, with a delightful stroll along the Hudson to greet Lady Liberty. The train returned us to Beacon, and we were able to catch a ferry to ride across the Hudson to Newburgh!
Thursday we stayed local---did some shopping at Woodbury Commons and had a Japanese dinner at Gasho. Fred and I spent Friday and Saturday in CT, assisting with a USPS On-the-Water training, while the SD contingent returned to NY to check out Times Square and Rockefeller Center. Sunday we had yet another surprise treat, as Local Living Legend Pete Seeger was a guest at the UUCRT! At 90-some he sang and sang, and made plans for a return visit, to be announced, that will, he says, fill the space!
Sunday afternoon, El and Kathleen, Linda Lee, and the Carhart cousins gathered to visit with the SD folks and we ate ice cream cake and sang Happy Everything to US!
Monday we girded our cameras with batteries, packed our bags, and were off! The six of us and all our ‘stuff’ fit in the Suburban we hired to bring us to Newark, and soon we were up, up and away!
There has to be an ‘in-flight story’ and ours is that a passenger became ill when we were about 2 hours out over the Atlantic. The MD on board recommended a return to Halifax, Nova Scotia for medical assistance, so we did a 180, and rode the two hours back. Patient was met by EMT’s and wheeled away. We’ll never know if she had a collapsed lung or a panic attack. We do know that United and Air Canada spent the next 3 hours sorting out the necessary steps to get us underway once more, so instead of arriving in Paris at 10:30 a.m., it was 6:30 p.m. No problem for us as we had no commitments for the day.
The rest of the week was filled, however. Location, some say, is everything. Ours was superb! Hotel Tourisme put us in easy walking distance of Le Tour Eiffel, and in the opposite direction, Napoleon’s alma mater, Ecole Militaire. The subway station was just outside the hotel door, (le Moet de Piquot) and on Wednesday and Sunday the Grennell Market, one block away, poured forth meats, cheeses and produce in a stunning array. We rode the Hop-on-Hop-off Bus all around the city, and we rode the Funiculaire up the hill to the Basilica de Sacre Coeur for a magnificent city view. We barely touched the Louvre but were able to--with our own eyes--see the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Michelangelo’s unfinished Slaves. We walked Paris streets in the rain, and basked in the sun at the Toulleries Gardens. We found a secret garden across the street from Notre Dame Cathedral, and had a picnic on the Seine (although we were across the street from the actual river, and Fred doesn’t drink wine and I can’t eat bread, we counted it a success!). Fred engraved our initials on a padlock to lock onto the Pont (bridge) du Notre Dame, and we ceremoniously tossed the keys into the River.
We had a dinner cruise on the Seine with (and courtesy of) Betty, while Jessica and the girls did a bike tour. Passed the French miniature Statue of Liberty (prototype for the French gift to US) and also a flame from her torch, mounted over the mouth of the tunnel where Princess Diana died. We had morning coffee on the sidewalk in front of Starbucks and people watched, always noting the striped shirts! The South Dakotans took the chunnel to London for a day; I joined them on Saturday for a ride to Normandy. Jessica’s husband’s uncle died there, and she was generously helped to locate his name on the ‘Wall of the Missing” where sand was rubbed in the engraving to make his name stand out, and photos were taken with French and American flags. The flags and a commemorative folder were gifts to the Wheeler family, and Jessica signed a special guest book for family members of the 3000+ fallen soldiers remembered there. The average age of a soldier in a grave is 24.
We drank wine and sparkling water (water with gas), we ate snails and French onion soup, and we ate at McDonald’s. We walked the Champs d’ Elysse, noting the French flag flying in the Arch de Triumph on the anniversary of D-Day, and we walked the pedestrian-only Rue Cler. We shopped on Rue Rivoli, and browsed in the Shakespeare Bookstore. Betty and I got lost searching for a fabric store, but we prevailed and at the end of the week, we felt that we’d nipped at the surface of Paris.
On Tuesday the 12th, we all returned to Charles de Gaulle airport, waved adieu to the four South Dakotans, and Fred and I made our way to the next part of our adventure, which began at the Hertz counter.
Our plan was to drive south, along the Mediterranean, then up to Siena in Tuscany, Italy where we would take day trips to Rome and Florence. From Siena we would go to Venice, and on to Germany where son Geoff has recently been relocated to Schweinfurt Army Base. We would then take grandson Peter, now 13, and spend 4-5 days sightseeing with him while his parents prepared for the Change of Command ceremony. The reason for, and therefore the highlight of our trip was to be present for Geoff, when he was handed the colors and became 7th Army Signal Brigade Commander on Tuesday, June 26.
Obviously, this was not to be an in depth European vacation, but rather a ‘get a feel for the areas and find out what we’d like to return to’ sort of trip.
First stop was Valence, on the left bank of the Rhone River, (which we did not see) where we relaxed over a 9 p.m. dinner and enjoyed breakfast in the newly renovated Hotel de France. Wednesday’s stop was San Remo, after a wonderful drive through Provance, and past signs indicating roads leading to Marseilles, Nice, Cannes, and Monaco. Next time.
San Remo was delightful—getting to our hotel an exercise in hill-climbing (think Princess Grace, or “An Affair to Remember”. It REALLY is that hilly, beautiful and convoluted!). I waded in the Mediterranean Sea, a ‘bucket list’ check. From San Remo we wound our way through the Alps—tunnel after tunnel after scary (to me—I had no control as a passenger, and no guts as a driver.) tunnel. We laughed at Gigi, our GPS voice as she attempted to lead us to our hotel in Siena. It was indeed a maze, and she was sorely vexed when we missed impossible turns. She finally uttered the blessed words “You have reached your destination” and she said it as we approached a piazza with one car in it. Fred pounced, I ran across to the hotel to confirm our reservation, and it was with joy that we surrendered the keys for 4 days!
We simply bailed on the proposed tour of Rome. 3 days would be a minimum stay in Rome, and silly me, I’d said ” how about 3 hours for a tour---after a 3 hour train ride each way from Siena.?” Learn, learn, learn. We thoroughly enjoyed a ‘lay day’ in Siena. Il Campo, the pedestrian only town center was 2 blocks away. We roamed the circle, taking in the restaurants, the bell tower, and the racetrack, where on July 2 and August 16 a horse race is run! It is a very big deal and members from competing sections of the City don medieval costumes and parade to raise enthusiasm for their horse. One parade passed our hotel, as did an impromptu drum and flag led march from the Stadium to Il Campo for a celebration after Siena won the Europe Cup in Basketball for the 6th consecutive time! It was never dull!
We did take the bus to Florence (an easy walk to the station at each end), but switched to an afternoon tour so we could do our personal version of ‘early’. That meant that we went to the Uffizi Museum rather than the Academie (where the David lives), so we have a good excuse to return! The tour was wonderful and having the city and the art in the museum explained by a lover of Florence, of Italy and of Art was delicious.
On Sunday, (Father’s Day) we were lucky to find Paolo, who gave us a tour of Tuscany. He scored an educational wine tasting session at Tenuta Torciano, Degustazione, Venditi, Vini, Olio. Got that? The 5th generation vintner and his wife provided a plate of food to try with 6 different wines. It was great! Paolo then took us to ---I don’t know where---the Manhattan of Tuscany, as it has several tall buildings. Turns out they, too were having a festival---one that Paolo had never seen, either. ½ hour of marching clerics, knights, serfs, ladies, oxen, clowns and horses. Fantastico! From there, Paolo made a special trip to his ‘pretty place’ with a wonderful view of Siena, his home. It was a great send off, as the next morning we were en route to Venice.
We arrived early enough to step out of the hotel onto a ‘water bus’ for a ride through the Grand Canal. People use this boat to commute from jobs in the City to the ‘people mover’ a train to the mainland (you do remember that Venice is on an island, yes?). They flocked off the boat, and we hopped on, walked about in St. Mark’s square, were amazed by the architecture---that so much has survived since the 15th century boggles the mind. Dinner was very European---at 9 p.m. with several courses, and we were pooped when the water bus deposited us at the hotel.
Tuesday was hot, hot, hot, not to mention very humid. We decided to complete our Venetian experience (and tour the glass factory) on the next trip, and drove off ( in the air conditioned car) toward Germany. Back into the beautiful Alps, which this time seemed manageable! We did get lost---Gigi said turn right, but really meant turn left, and we stayed on the wee back roads for most of the afternoon. Delightful! Had no place booked for the night, so we found an ad in Schoenburg, just south of Innsbruck, and chose a pension. An awesome choice. Beautiful room in an immaculate home, fabulous tub for soaking, and a delicious breakfast in the morning----all for a fraction of hotel rates! Loved it!
On Wednesday we had an easy drive to Wurtzburg, Germany where we lucked out and were able to book the only hotel room in town (six hotels told us so). A single room in a Best Western Premium hotel. Ask Fred about it. J. Amy and Geoff were an hour away in Schweinfurt, and on Thursday we picked up Peter and moved into the Hotel Frankenland in Bad Kissengen.
Over the next 3 days we toured the Residenz in Wurtzburg, (a palace frequented by, among others, our old friend, Napoleon); took a boat ride on the Main River, lunched in a 100 year old mill café on the Bridge of the Saints, rode the ‘Tschu-tschu’ train around Bad Kissengen, drank coffee at the airport while Pete had his first ever ride in a 2 seater airplane (with parental approval, of course!), toured Stanau on der Strasz, home of the Brothers Grimm, visited a Schloss (castle) there, and also toured a Bat Cave sans bats. When the bats arrive in October, people are turned away. Pete was disappointed
We moved to the Base housing at Schweinfurt on Monday evening in order to be ready for the Change of Command ceremony at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The ceremony went off without a hitch---4 battalions responded to the first order given by the Colonel (newly installed) --- “Pass in Review!” And they did. It was very moving to see the pride and precision with which they marched by the reviewing stand. Chatting with members of the military at the reception, we were again stunned by their youth. We have very dedicated young men and women in our service, and we are immensely grateful for the sacrifices they make on our behalf.
After a delicious celebratory dinner at a restaurant frequented mostly by the locals, Fred and I said our farewells, and right after breakfast on Wednesday we were underway, closing the loop we’d made around Europe by heading back to Paris.
On the way, we were lucky (again) to connect with friends we met while we were on the North American Great Loop. Gen and Bill were cruising on their American Tug, POTLUCK, when we met them in Hampton Roads, VA. Saw them again in Stuart, FL and Sanibel in 2010. That year they sold POTLUCK and bought the RIVER PIPET, a canal barge in France. We’d missed them in Paris, but as they moved along the Moselle River, we were able to meet in Toul, France. Had a great dinner and most enjoyable visit. Love the way friends pop up in the cruising world!
Back in Paris, we returned our Skoda---ever heard of that? An Eastern European vehicle (Russian? Czech?) that was actually pretty comfortable. Four doors and an automatic transmission! Nearly 4000 KM in our loop, and the Skoda, and especially Gigi, served us well!
We’re home in New York, now, briefly. Fly to MS on Tuesday to reclaim YOUNG AMERICA, who has been sweltering there in record heat waves. Our next task is to follow CAROLYN ANN and LAZY DOLPHIN, who have a serious head start on our trip to WVA.
Be well, and keep in touch!
We’ll ‘talk’ again….
Fred and Linda
No comments:
Post a Comment