I have finally-FINALLY-begun posting the remainder of my memoirs from my travel through France with my best friend Sam in June, as well as my last weeks with the Ts in Amstelveen. I'm really sorry it's taken me this long.

They're not completely posted yet, because they're not completely written yet; but I'm hoping that posting the beginning will ( Read more... )

THE FRANCE EPIC-Episode V

Saturday 21 June

Today we got out of the house by 11:00-ish, resolved to see a bit more of the city and some of the more touristy sights. With that in mind, our first stop was the Arc de Triomphe, or ‘triumphal arch,’ which was erected in memory of all those who have fought for France (particularly during the Napoleonic wars ( Read more... )

THE FRANCE EPIC-Episode IV

Friday 20 June

Despite plans to get going earlier, we accidentally slept until noon and didn’t manage to leave the flat until two o’clock. Silly us! Then we took the metro to Notre Dame, bought a “hot dog” (a sausage on a baguette topped with cheese and toasted. God, I love the French.), watched a man miraculously making ( Read more... )

THE FRANCE EPIC-Episode III

Thursday 19 June

We got up later than we’d intended to (understandably so). Yasmine was at work, but Pascal gave us a charming breakfast, and then Carla came downstairs and escorted us around the city a little. It’s always wonderful to walk in a city with someone who actually lives there. We went up the hill to Montmartre ( Read more... )

THE FRANCE EPIC-Episode II

Wednesday 18 June

We arrived at Paris Gare du Nord sometime after 7:00 p.m. Somewhat foolishly, we had no set plan as to where we were going to find lodging, so we were standing on a street corner near the station, considering our destination, when this guy on a bike stops and asks if we need help. This is Pascal. Pascal ( Read more... )

THE FRANCE EPIC-Episode I

Tuesday 17 June

Sam was due to arrive around 11:00 a.m. I was going to take the bus to meet her at the airport, but the bus drivers were on strike (I’m sure they had a good reason and all, which I still don’t understand because I was way too lazy to watch the news in Dutch, but did it have to be that week? Whine.) so I ( Read more... )

Hey everybody, just wanted to remind you that I'm taking off for France tomorrow and won't be back until the evening of Sunday 29 June. Samantha arrived this morning and it's wonderful how natural it is for us together, even in places we've never been in at the same time before ( Read more... )

Life has been a curious combination of busyness and languor over the past few weeks. Rebecca was in the States for a week, and took Luc with her to visit her parents, so I only had one kid to watch over and life was quite a bit easier even though Marc had a few late evenings. Then Marc left, Rebecca came back and left again, I had a night alone ( Read more... )