More Paris!

 Picking up where I left off- our B & B was just a few blocks from the Pompidou Center, where there were sculptures representing Stravinsky pieces. Keith was anxious to go there! This museum was very unique in structure, with the escalators outside the buildings in tubes. You can imagine how well that worked for the person with a fear of heights!

We had lunch at another outdoor cafe, but this was right in the area of the Pompidou- next to the sculptures! It was easily the best food we had in Paris, called the Dame Tartine. We were entertained by a dog and his owner playing frisbie.

Our waiter was nice enough to take a picture for us! He also was pretty cute- coming to take our order          ( speaking French) I must have had the 'deer in the headlights' look, as he laughed and then asked, "menu in Spanish or English?" It gave us a good giggle.
We lucked out also, as this was our anniversary, and we just happened by a poster of a Vivaldi concert that night! We waited in line for almost an hour to see if there was anything available, and amazingly enough- we got in. This was at the Saint Chapell Cathedral, noted for its stain glass windows, and a place we had wanted to tour, but the lines were SO long- and security was really tight  and kind of frightening, military people with machine guns,( we'd find out why a little later), we gave up on it earlier in the day, only to find ourselves INSIDE at a concert that evening. The concert was lovely, and as an even more special surprise, a piece not listed on the concert was played, and it was Pachelbel's Canon, the piece that Kathy walked in to at her wedding!!  Yes, this Mom teared up.

We also toured the West Bank that day, and visited the Shakespeare Bookstore-

We became very fond of our double door entrance to the Bed and Breakfast- here are a couple of shots I took there.

It was a very comfortable place, and we were able to relax and enjoy ourselves.
The next day, Day 6 if you're counting- we had fresh raspberries and cream for breakfast, and took a baguette and cheese along on our trek to Montmartre. We rode the Metro for the first time that day-

This is part of Keith (!) on the Metro. We were really pleased to have navigated our way there, getting the tickets, and finding the right line to take us where we were going, and not without difficulty, as the first train we got on stopped at the next location, had an announcement (in French) and everyone got off! We followed with NO idea what was going on, but happily, figured out to wait for the next one which came through just a few minutes later. The line ran underground as well as above, so part of the time we could see the city whizzing by. It was a pretty neat experience. Similar to the NYC subways, but somehow more friendly and less frantic.

We went to La Basilique du Sacré Coeur, 

It again involved many steps, and this time- in the rain! Visitors were able to enter even during Mass, which I felt a bit uneasy about, but we did it anyway! It was beautiful, and the service was breathtaking- even though I didn't understand a word! Some things don't need language. Leaving there, we met 3 college age folks who heard us talking, and were SO excited to find English speaking people. It was really cute. They stopped for Keith to take my picture, and when I said "thank you!" the guys about fell over they were so happy to hear someone from America!

We found the Dali Museum that Keith really wanted to see, and Keith got an "old" ticket! It was a funny moment with the girl selling tickets.

Here is Keith studying some of the information- you can see a huge Dali photo in the background.

We left the Dali Museum and promptly got lost in Montmartre. It was pretty cool and rainy, so wandering lost wasn't very pleasant! Happily, I found a warm spot for our lunch, taking a cue from homeless in New York- we parked above a Metro grate!

Keith thought it was hilarious- I thought it to be pretty smart!

Eventually, we found the Montmartre Museum where Renoir, Utillo, LaTrec and Soutine had lived. We also met a Chat Noir- for real!

                                  and this poster was on display in the museum!
 We found our way back down the hill to the Metro, and found it to be much more crowded than the morning trip. We went back to our new favorite place, the Dame Tartine for our last meal in Paris, and then returned to the B&B to pack for the next leg of our journey-Montenegro. Our taxi was coming at 5 a.m., and our lovely hostess actually got up and had coffee ready for us at 4:30!!! We also found out that the new President's inauguration was the day before-that was why there was so much security and military with machine guns everywhere! Leaving Paris-  Next stop- Podgorica, Montenegro!

Paris 2012, The Anniversary trip continues

Day 3 started with the rue Cler street market, and breakfast at Cafe du Marche. Before heading to the Arc de Triomphe, we checked out the bargains at the weekend street market, with many vendors and all sorts of interesting things.

                                          She wasn't for sale, just minding the store!
It almost made me feel as if I was back home, with the flea market booths and odd random things to see. There were vendors with all types of things, but as you can imagine- the pup was my favorite sighting.

I was excited to find some light weight things to bring home from the market. This booth was full of embroidered items. The next booth had tons of vintage children's clothes, and I almost got a dress for Kahlan, but talked myself out of it. The woman explained, all in French of course, all about the dress- at least I THINK that's what she was saying!!
After a good amount of shopping-not so much buying, lots of looking, we found a taxi station and went to the Arc. The driver was SO helpful, explaining that you do NOT try to walk across the intersection, but take the tunnel. Good advice! And once again, our museum passes got us through quickly with little hassle. Meanwhile, 283 steps await our attention.....

That's 283 steps ONE WAY. I had to try to take a shot back down after we neared the top. And Oh my, was it worth the climb!

We made it to the top, and ran across someone who asked me to take her photo with her Mom. She in turn, took ours too! That happened often, and I really loved that people would do that for each other.

Here is a shot of where we were headed the following day, Montmartre....and more steps to climb!
I want to include my attempt of a photo explaining why you take the tunnel-

People waiting to cross an intersection with cars, buses, and various other vehicles- (note the little pink car in the photo)-and NO pedestrian crossing area, nor lights. Several streets converge at the Arc. Use the tunnels, people!!

We left the Arc and continued our journey down the Champs Elysees. What a neat stretch of road!! But this caught my eye-a Queen based 'disco'. No, we did not go back that evening.
We also found an interesting display room for Mercedes, and Keith found his car!

I have to admit though, that one of the more noteworthy things we ran across that day, was a talking toilet. Yes, I do mean talking- and yes, I had to try it out!!

This was in a little park right off the sidewalk of the Champs Elysees. We also saw stamp sellers there, and  a tiny area where for one euro, they would let you push your child on a swing!

We went on from there, to the Musee d' Orangerie, where there was an exhibit of Debussy that Keith was especially interested in seeing. Unfortunately, it was another no photos allowed location. Inside, we saw works by Picasso, and the Debussy display was really neat, with original manuscripts and scores on display. Wow.
We went back to rue Cler and had a pastry from a bakery whose customer service leaves much to be desired. We changed for dinner, and went to the Cafe Constant. This place was packed in so tight, it was actually difficult to get your fork to your mouth without bumping the strangers at the next table. We had read that French speak very quietly, and certainly understood why! Everyone could hear everything!! When our 'house white' wine arrived, it was red. Eh. We really just wanted to eat and get OUT of there anyway! Day 4 found us on our last day in that area. We bought quiche from a street vendor who warmed it up for us. Very nice folks there. Keith was absolutely thrilled to find this man-

He was singing, and we just loved it! We gave him a bit of money in his cap, and then Keith bought a cd also- and he generously took a photo with me too!

We called a taxi, and checked out of the Hotel Beaugency, heading to Broussard and our next experience in Paris. A Bed and Breakfast run by Giselle, who had quite a list of instructions for her guests!! After we settled in, we walked to the Louvre. Yes, I did just write that. I, Skyline grad. of 76, went to the Louvre. Take that, class prophecy! The only thing I wanted to be certain to see, was the Mona Lisa. Let me take a moment here to explain this place. It is HUGE. It is amazing. And I still can't believe I was there.

One of the entrances allows you to go the roof. This was amazing to me, just the structure of it! And we aren't even IN yet!! Already, my country girl self is screaming inside my head! "I'm actually HERE!"

We were not the only ones there! The building itself is gorgeous and a work of art as well.

A ceiling. I so wanted to be able to capture the absolute awe I felt as we walked through the areas, but there is just no way to transfer it to a photo. Once we got the maps- yes, maps of the museum, we could plot our way to the paintings I most wanted to see, and here they are!

The Lacemaker, has always reminded me of my Grandmother, and there she is! The Mona Lisa!!
I had to sit down after I saw her. I am still in shock, I think. Really. Mona Lisa. In front of me!
So, after wandering for another couple of hours, and finding some things on Keith's list also, we were pretty much ready for something......different. We found a Starbucks and sat down and had a coffee! Whew.
As we left, we heard a jazz duo, which of course, Keith had to go check out. We made a few purchases along the sidewalk and then Keith found a hat shop.

We went from there, to an outdoor cafe and had a pizza, and returned to our B&B and pretty much crashed.
Day 5- Happy Anniversary! We had coffee in normal sized cups and a lovely breakfast before heading out to Notre Dam. I voted against the 400 steps to the top. We had a Rick Steves book that suggested walking tours, and sort of followed one, with our own interpretations. Saint Louis Island is wonderful and blessed with many shops, not the least of which was an ice cream shop where I ordered in French and actually got what I thought I was ordering! Yay!!

I am holding Keith's while he took the picture- really I didn't order 2!! But Yum. The shop is in the background. The last photo for today is of locks we saw on bridges.

My understanding, is that this trend started at the Pont des Artes, and they were all removed some time ago- now they are beginning to fill back up again. The other bridge is the Pont de l' Archeveche'. The 2 bridges represent different 'love'. One of them is for couples in a committed relationship, who write both their names on the locks and then throw the key in the Seine. The other bridge is for "lovers", and have a single name on them. You can see them from blocks away, shining in the sun, and no, we didn't leave a lock, but if we had known, we definitely would have, it was our anniversary after all!!

Paris Day 2-- First Museum Day!

We began the day with pastries and coffee from the Cafe du Marche on rue Cler. Happily, they have English menus, so we knew what we were ordering!! It was a rainy day, but not heavy rain, so we elected to walk to the Rodin Museum to purchase our passes. They would be good for several days and many museums. We went through Rodin's home, which is now a museum featuring his works, and other artists who were housed there also. The gardens were also impressive. One of the first sculptures you find as you enter the grounds, is The Thinker.

                    Here is Keith looking at the small version casting inside the house.

            and here is the version we are all familiar with, in a place of honor in the gardens.

The gardens were lush and manicured and gorgeous, and once again, we found an English speaking person who traded photo taking with me. Here we are at the gardens, we are facing Rodin's home, and the second photo is his home. Amazing. The grounds wound throughout the property with sculpture and flower beds popping up everywhere. It was a wonderful first museum experience, and one that we were allowed to photograph. That wasn't the case with the next museum we visited, the Musee' d'Orsay. We were able to enter with no waiting lines with our passes, we just had to go through a security screening, and we were in!

The Orsay houses works by Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Degas and many others. It is three levels of jaw dropping art. There was a display of Van Gogh, and I walked right up to the self portrait, and just stood there. I don't know what I must have looked like, but another woman, also American saw me, and we just smiled at each other and said, " I know." with tears in our eyes. I couldn't really believe I was seeing these works in person. Close enough to touch, but I promise I didn't even try!!

This is the self portrait I was talking about. I did NOT take this photo! I would have been arrested I think, if I had tried. Security was very high in that museum. I was able to photograph a street musician outside the museum, playing violin.

After the Orsay, we were on museum overload, and decided to head back to rue Cler for dinner. We went back to the Cafe du Marche. Almost every place we went to eat was very crowded and the street cafes were even more so. They had stand up bars for customers who didn't get or didn't want to sit. It gave people more flexibility to greet friends as they walked past. It was a loud and high energy evening on rue Cler. There was very little seating inside, so in case of rain, which we had- they had clear plastic walls that roll down and velcro shut. Inventive. Something we began to notice right away was that LOTS of Parisians smoke. I was kind of surprised at that. By the time we finished our meal, in close quarters with several boisterous locals, we were ready to head to the Hotel and were very thankful that it was just a couple of blocks away!  Hoping to give our tired feet a rest, we went to bed early to prepare for day 3- The Arc de Triomphe, and the Champs Elysees.

Let's go to Europe!!

Day One~
We left OKC very early, and then sat in Chicago with plenty of time to have a bite to eat, and try to internalize the idea that we were about to fly to France!!  We had an overnight flight, and so, were able to sleep a little before our arrival. That was good, as we had to find Passport services, and customs before we could attempt to locate the Airport Shuttle to our hotel. That precious shuttle, once we found it, ( we were given directions that were incorrect!) took 2 and a half hours to get to our hotel. It was a 30 - 45 minutes trip. Arriving somewhat carsick, we left our bags at the Hotel Beaugency and walked to the Rue Cler, just a couple of blocks, and had lunch. We returned to check in and then set off to find the Eiffel Tower. It became our landmark throughout the city. "Oh look! There's the tower!"

                                             Here we are in front of  the Eiffel Tower!
                                                     Yep. We were really there.

A shot from the Seine. This began the, " Oh look! There's the tower" phrase that followed us everywhere.

From the Eiffel Tower, we walked along the Seine. Even as I am typing this, I still can't really grasp that I did that. Okay- so, there are bridges every block and they are amazing. In fact, everything in that area was so amazingly ornate. I tried really hard not to walk along with my mouth hanging open, but believe me, it was tough some times.

                                             The Seine with one of many tour boats loading.

 Our first day, we really just tried to get our bearings, and decide what to do when. The plan was to stay in two locations, The Marais area, where we started, and then move to Montmartre later in the week. Rue Cler is a street with a few blocks closed to traffic, though we discovered, not always closed to all traffic!!

                    Here is Keith walking rue Cler beside the cafe where we ate our first meal in Paris.
 Notice the chairs all face the street- it was that way at all the outdoor cafes. The thing to do, evidently, is people watch while you eat. There are plenty of subjects! Every day we stayed in this area, we walked this stretch of the street. There are merchants all along selling anything from flowers to quiche. And, of course, we visited a chocolate shop also. Oh my. I could have just stood and inhaled all day!! They also hold a flea market on weekends, but I'll get to that later.
Our hotel was very nice, clean, and fairly quiet.The room was small, but we expected that. It was a great place for us to start our journey, as almost everyone spoke some English. This was good, as our French turned out to be lacking. We could greet anyone with bon jour, but after that, it was pretty dismal. We ended our first day exhausted, and of course, I was too wound up to sleep, even though we had been up for about 24 hours straight. Day Two was slated for Museum day, and that is my next blog. I hope you enjoy your tour of Europe with us!!

Time to blog!

I have written many posts in my head since the last one I actually WROTE, but I think it's time to put in some time with my blog.
An awful lot has happened since my last entry. I'm not even sure where to begin! Patrick is engaged. They are going to hold off on the wedding until he gets this degree, at least that's the current plan!  :)

Kahlan's first experience with corn on the cob

Kathy and Scott have moved back to Wichita, where Scott got a job within about 6 weeks of graduating! They bought a very nice home on the West side- of course. ;)   You never get over that West vs. East thing, I guess. Kahlan is doing really well, and kind of transformed from a baby into a little girl overnight. It seems that way to Grandma anyway. Se's running and jumping and climbing and talking and feeding herself all kinds of grownup kiddo food! She's amazing. On our last visit, which was this past week, she actually said Grandma and Grandpa and knew exactly who she was talking about! I asked her if she wanted to give something to Grandpa and the next thing we knew, a game called 'Bury the Grandpa under all my toys' had begun! He even ended up with a set of bunny ears on his head. Yes, on his head. What a Grandpa won't do for his Granddaughter. It reminded me of my Dad and Kathy. In fact, Kathy thought the same thing. More than precious to see them interacting.
This weekend also marked a milestone for the family. We had the auction for all Mom's stuff from her house. Wow. Lots of stuff! My heart was warmed and my spirit lifted by family coming to the auction. It wasn't as hard to see the things go to new homes as it was sorting them out of the house into boxes to be sold. That was tough, and at times more than I could handle. I had been working on the house for about 6 weeks to get through everything, and I am sure some things slipped by me that I didn't intend to go and I likely kept things that later on, will be questioned! The next step is to put the house on the market and hope to sell soon. I have hired someone to come in and do some repairs before we list it, and then--it's up to the real estate agent!
Life just keeps on rolling- sometimes it seems like it's a bit out of control, but I'm sure it's just following the proper track and schedule.

Mom, Kathy, Kahlan and Melly visiting

Keith is going back to China again this Spring, and added a trip into Taiwan as well, so the trip is longer this year. They hope to finalize some partnerships with Universities there, and that seems to be going pretty well.
Kahlan will be two soon and I will be....50 something.  ;) We won't get to celebrate together this year, because they will be at a family reunion on her Daddy's side of the family in Missouri. I'm sure we'll find some time this summer to celebrate though- after all, we have 3 birthdays in July! How can we not party?! I am looking forward to summer, and expecting to spend quite a bit of it in Kansas. There are many boxes and tubs to sort through that came from Pratt. The big news for upcoming travel is that we are taking a trip to Paris in May for our anniversary! We have both been slogging through French Rosetta Stone, hoping to get at least a bit of it in our brains before we arrive. I'm not sure I have a very good grasp thus far, but while Keith is in China, I plan to hit it hard!! There will definitely be a followup blog about that trip!

Kahlan and Cinderella at Sierra's party

I think that puts me up to date, though I have skipped an awful lot of happenings. I am in full forward motion, these days, so reaching back isn't what I'm interested in at the moment! There are just too many good things to look forward to!

Another Transition~

Hubby and I are moving my Mom into a long term care facility in 2 days. I've been on the phone with people and services cancelling or moving them! There is so much more involved than one might think. So, I am taking a break from labeling clothing, and making calls to newspapers, etc. to put some of these things down in writing.
I realized after the decision had been made last week following a Dr. appointment, that one of the real reasons I had been hesitating to move her, was that I felt selfish doing it. How silly is that?! I also feel as if I failed her somehow, but the real culprit is her mind. She can't remember. Short term, she has no recollection at all. We've put things in place that have been working and helping, but we've hit the end of it. She can't stay home alone as she is. She's going to hate it at first, but last winter when she was placed following a hospital stay, she did fine. She did keep trying to pack to go home, but that seems to be fairly typical.
Some professionals I have been talking to for the last month or so have started asking me how I feel about all this. Well, I hadn't thought about that much. She's going into the same facility my Dad was in. I now have to go there to visit her, just as I did my Dad. Hmm. That may be harder than I originally thought. They are working with that though, and are placing her in a totally different wing than Dad was in. The hope is that she won't get confused and think he's there and she's come to visit. We'll see. Maybe having no memory is not such a bad thing after all!
After this difficult weekend, I am going to visit 'the kids' as they have become- my daughter, SIL and granddaughter. THAT will help. It always does.

Mom's new haircut- last week.

What a Difference a Year Makes!

Last week my granddaughter became a big one year old. Overnight. She has teeth- this child is serious about cutting teeth. She has 3 coming in at once. This does not make for a jolly birthday girl. Well, that's not exactly true, as she was pretty grinny and excited most of the day. She did a lovely job of destroying her cake, and spent a good amount of time playing with her new toys. The day after her birthday was MY birthday! We had booked a photographer, and went to an outdoor location for her pictures that evening, hoping to beat the Kansas heat. We tried. We failed, but she did a great job anyway! We are anxiously awaiting proofs of the almost 2 hour shoot. I documented the moment- her very first professional photographer experience- with my camera also!
There were many times that someone said something along the lines of, " a year ago we..." When she arrived, finally after Mom laboring for nearly 24 hours (!), we all fell in love immediately. I thought I'd never feel a stronger bond than I did at that moment, but I was wrong. Every time I am lucky enough to spend time with her, I fall a little deeper. She is the most perfect blend of her Mommy and Daddy. It's difficult to explain, but it's hard to be unhappy with such a little spark plug of joy in my life. We are all very lucky that she is doing so well. We know it.