Paris in July



Kate and Doug

Kate's boyfriend, Doug, came to visit in July so we all took off for five days in Paris.  We rode the Thalys, the French High Speed Train, from Rotterdam to Paris.  Top speeds were 150 - 160 mph so it was fast, easy and very comfortable. We did have one slowdown shortly after we crossed into France.  The train came to a stop for about 10 minutes due to the train in front of us "striking an animal".  150 mph.  Big train.  Poor animal.   

Once again some logistical challenges crept into our summer travels.  On this particular trip, it was getting from Wassenaar to Rotterdam to catch the Thalys.  Our local train was running 30 minutes late, so we missed our connection in Den Haag.  The next connecting train would be too late to make the Thalys so we got on a light rail train from Den Haag to Rotterdam -- that made 15 stops!  We were all doing the math...15 stops, 2 minutes between each stop, 35 minutes until the Thalys leaves......we actually made it with 15 minutes to spare. 

Kate did a great job planning the itinerary for this trip.  With her in charge we were assured of two things.  First, we would be well organized.  Second, and more important, we would eat well.  She did not let us down on either count.  I was worried about summer crowds in Paris, but as you'll see in this and subsequent postings, Kate got us to the popular sites first thing each day to avoid the lines.  And the food was outstanding.  Tops was the eight course Chef's menu at Taillevent, a Michelen Two-Star restaurant with traditional French food.   Our favorite course was the spelt risotto with frogs legs.  Although I'm not a frogs legs connoisseur, these were unbelievably good (and pretty darn big for frogs legs).  We were so full afterwards that we walked the two miles home. 

Kate and the Maitre'd at Taillevent. He was very good at his job, whatever that is.

Japanese Noodle restaurant highly recommended by the guidebook.  It was great.

Fresh French chickens in the store. The heads are left on so you can see what kind of bird it was.

Site of another very nice meal.

Another bonus for having Kate on this trip was her expertise in Parisian Architecture.  Her college modern architecture class spent two days learning about Paris, so she was clearly the expert in our group.  In the mid 1800's after several revolutions and very little attention, Paris was in bad shape, basically a medievil city.  So Napoleon III hired George Haussmann to fix things up.  And by most accounts he did a very good job.  He installed a sewage system, redesigned the streets for better traffic (not much has been done since in this area) and installed long boulevards to put perspective on large monuments.   The widened streets also made it tougher for rebels to build blockades -- something of keen interest to Napoleon III.  Haussmann impacted 60% of Paris buildings.  With all that work done in a relatively short time frame, there is an amazing consistency to Parisian architecture.  No matter where you are in the city, you know you're in Paris. 

 



Note the detail around the top oval windows.





This building has a scaffold built around it. The street side of the scaffold is covered by a thin mesh with a picture of the finished building on it. It's much nicer than looking at a scaffold.



The French buildings all had large, beautifully carved doors. 



One thing that Haussmann's design didn't include was bike lanes, so we didn't see many of these.

Our first stop in the City of Light was the Eiffel Tower (big surprise).  Built in 1889 for the World's Fair, it was the tallest structure on the planet at over 100 stories.  It was nearly sold for scrap 10 years later.  They repaint it every seven years and lucky for us they weren't painting it this year.  Even though we arrived early, the line to buy tickets to go directly to the top of the tower was incredibly long.  So we chose the short line to walk up 670 steps to the second level and from there we took the elevator to the top. 

The line on the right is the "short line" to walk to the second story.  The line on the left is the beginning of the line to ride all the way up. 

 

This is the continuation of the long line.

A rain storm blew in while we were at the top of the Tower.  We watched it move across Paris towards us. 

Kate and Lori in the enclosed section at the top.

The view from below.

As you walk up the park towards the Eiffel Tower, a host of immigrants from Northern Africa will attempt to sell you bottles of water for a euro.  When we returned for an evening view of the tower, they had traded in their water bottles for wine, beer and champagne -- perfect for an evening picnic to watch the lights on the Tower.  Very enterprising. 

The park in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Summer Trip to Greece

At the last minute, we decided to take a short trip in June.  Lori had to work, so it was Grant, Kate and myself.  Our selection criteria for the vacation were:  warm weather, scuba diving school and flights available (since we were planning this w/ one week lead time).  The island of Rhodes, Greece matched those criteria plus it came with an added bonus -- our friends, the Sechlers, would be there for part of our stay.  How could we pass it up? 

The city of Lindos going down to the coast.  With the white washed buildings and crystal clear water is was just what you expected from Greece. 

The Acropolis at Lindos

When I mentioned our criteria of "flights available" you'll notice that I didn't save "flights available on major airlines".  This was our first experience on a European discount airline, in this case Transavia.com.  The airline actually turned out to be fine - clean planes, on-line check-in, etc.  The only surprise was that they counted anything larger than a cell phone as carry-on luggage and you could only have one carry-on bag,  So we had to pay to check our suitcases.  It's amazing how quick you can load a plane when no one has any carry on luggage. 

Our biggest challenge was getting to the plane.  I tried the economy parking lot for the first time, which was described on the Schiphol website as "minutes away from the Departures Area".  The actual transfer bus departure point was only "minutes away".  Unfortunately, the parking lot was about 500 acres and very full, so to get from our parking spot in the back 40 to the transfer bus was a healthy walk.  Plus we foolishly thought that the aiport wouldn't be busy at 5:00 am (we had a 6:30 am departure).  It turned out to be packed as many other families were traveling that day as well.  In the end we made it to the plane with 15 minutes to spare. 

Back to Rhodes.  It's an island of about 100,000 people in the Agean Sea.  It's closer to Turkey (10 miles) that it is to Athens (250 miles).  Historically it has been very agile in switching alliances to the strongest countries at the time, bouncing between Athens, Sparta, the Persians and Rome.  In more modern times, Italy siezed control of Rhodes from the Turks in 1912.  Then, as part of the Allied Peace Treaty, Rhodes was given to Greece in 1947. 

A view of the inland part of Rhodes.

Kate resting in Old Rhodes Town

As you can see, a few other people were seeking the sun. Luckily, we didn't beach here. We had to walk through here to get to our Scuba Diving boat.

The island was home to the Colossus of Rhodes, a 32 meter bronze statue of Helios, the Sun God.  Built in 300 BC to commemorate a battle victory, it was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.   Unfortunately, there won't be any pictures of it on the blog -- it was destroyed by an earthquake in 225 BC.    St. Paul is said to have visited Rhodes.  And for one final Rhodesian fact, per the Encyclopedia Britannica, the island was infested by snakes in ancient times and even today farmers still wear leather boots for protection agains the poisonous snakes.  Funny how that wasn't mentioned in the tour books. 

One of our favorite restaurants, a typical Greek Taverna.

Rather than try to expain the menu to non-Greek speaking Americans, the waiter simply took all six of us to the kitchen and showed us what was available that evening.

Eating with Caroline, Carol & Mark Sechler

This seafood restaurant dried the octopus right by patio.

We had a great time on the island.  The sun shone every day.  Grant completed his scuba diving certification.  Kate and I did five dives, including two wreck dives.  The sunken boat was Dutch built, but the Dutch divemaster was quick to point out that was not why it sank (he never did say why it sank). 

Grant with his dive instructor, Jerry (who happened to be Dutch).

The dive school caters to people from all over Europe

The dive shop closed on Sundays, so we had a day to sightsee in Old Rhodes Town.  It is enclosed by massive walls and filled with winding streets and alleys.  The Knights of St. John ruled the island for 200 years beginning in the early 1300's and turned this area into a fortress to protect ships from the Turks.   Within the Old Town is the Palace of the Grand Masters.  It was built in the 14th century, but severely damaged by a Turkish siege and then destroyed by an explosion (another reminder of the dangers of gunpowder storage) in the mid-1800s. The Italians completely rebuilt it during their control of the island. It was intended as a holiday home for Mussolini and King Emmanuel III.

Cannon balls in the dry moat area.

Kate and Grant at one of the gates to the Old City.

All the streets in the Old City were narrow and winding.

These vines make it tough to see the street sign. 

With Lori's absence, Kate stepped up to chief tour guide. 

The interior courtyard of the Palace of the Grand Masters

Entryway to the Grand Palace

As part of the Italians' renovations, they moved dozens of 2000 year old floor mosaics from the island of Kos to Rhodes.

Another floor mosaic.

Avenue of the Knights leading from the Grand Palace. The street was divided into seven "tongues," according to the homeland of the knights who lived there. The Grand Master lived in the palace at the top of the hill.

 

 

 

This girl's begging strategy included a puppy and an accordian.  It didn't work very well; her basket is empty. 

Kate and Grant in one of the Old Town squares

We had lunch on the second floor patio of this restaurant. The guy behind Kate is working with his "spotters" in the square below, trying to entice people to come to his restaurant.

The local gelato shop made their flavors look like animals. 



Another gate to the Old Town

One of the Knights of St. John with some tourists

Our return travel was a little challenging.  Our departure date coincided with the protests scheduled in response to Greece's proposed economic austerity measures.  There was no violence on Rhodes, but many employee groups, including the air traffic controllers, went on strike that day from 8 until noon and from 6 until 10 pm.  So our scheduled 9:30 pm flight got pushed back to midnight. 

At 11:00 pm, as we waited for our flight, it was suddenly removed from the schedule board.  Not listed as delayed or cancelled.  Just not listed at all.  That was quite an unpleasant surprise.  And believe it or not, there was no Transavia.com help desk to direct my inquiry -- it closes at 9:00 pm.  After about 45 minutes, it re-appeared on the board with a departure time of 2:30 am.  This delay must have been due to the airline because there was an announcement (in Dutch) followed by cheering.  Then I started seeing a lot of people smiling and carrying sandwiches.  I went to the sandwich counter and asked the lady "Why is everyone getting a sandwich?"  She replied "Yes" and thrust three sandwiches into my hands.   Once again we learned that you get what you pay for.  The bread was rock hard and there was one thin slice of meat on the sandwich. 

We finally departed at the newly scheduled time and arrived in Holland at 5:00 in the morning -- ouch.  It was another "few minutes" back to the parking lot, etc.  We arrived home at 6:30 am, just in time to see Lori off to work and then go to bed.  

This is what an airport check-in area looks like at 9:00 pm when the air traffic controllers are on strike until 10:00 pm. It was totally empty. By 10:30, things were hopping.

The complimentary sandwiches. Yum!

Our hotel had entertainment every night.  One night it was belly dancing.  The only people in the audience were the belly dancer's two granddaughters.  On this night was the Fire Show.  The guy swallowed fire, rubbed it on his arms and chest, put it out with his hands, etc.  About 15 minutes into the show, the fire alarms all went off.  I guess the hotel forgot about that aspect of the Fire Show. 



We discovered many cats during our walk through the old city of Rhodes.  If you look closely at this photo you can see the cat jumping from the electrical wires to the roof. 

This guy was sleeping on a ledge when we walked by.

When we walked by 10 minutes later he had changed ledges. 

Do you think he stays on when it's going?

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today my Mother celebrates her 80^th birthday.  As is typical on most of her birthdays, she won’t be opening a card from me.  I usually send her a card; it’s just rarely on time.  It’s not that I don’t love her or wish for her to enjoy the day.    Rather, I can never seem to find that card with the perfect message to tell Mom exactly how I feel.  I have a hard time getting excited about cards that say “Many Happy Returns” or “Enjoy Your Special Day” or “Now That You’re 21 You Can Buy Me a Drink”.  The card I’m looking for would say “Happy Birthday Mom.  Thanks for all the letters you’ve written”.   

You see my Mother is a letter writer.  Some parents phone.  Others visit.  Some even Skype.  My mom writes…..very well.   Let me explain. 

When my oldest sister, Anne, went off to college almost 40 years ago, my Mother wrote to her every week.  Every week.  There were still four of us kids at home so she had plenty of subject material, but it had to be extremely challenging to find the time to write. 

The next year my next sister, Carol, started college.  So Mom got out the carbon paper to produce two issues of the weekly news.  Two years later Tom went to school and Mom had to learn to manage two sets of carbon paper.  When Dave and I were in college, she graduated to very thin onion skin paper and extra-strong carbons to be able to produce five legible copies in a single sitting.  It was a tribute to her typing skills that those letters contained so few mistakes – there’s no correction when you’re using carbons. 

All five kids home for Mom's birthday party this summer.  Anne, Carol, Dave, Tom, Mark.

Over the years as more kids left the house, the letters shifted from a recount of home events to a sort of posting of what each of us was doing.  It truly became a family newsletter.  As we graduated and moved to different areas of the country, Mom’s letters kept coming, keeping us connected with her and Dad and with each other.  There was no better way to get over a poor college exam grade or a bad day at work than to come home and find a hand-addressed letter in the mailbox.  Whatever was troubling my mind or was on my to-do list at the time got pushed back so that I could find a comfortable chair, relax and read the family news. 

Mom’s letters were not limited to immediate family.  She wrote regularly to Dad’s parents while they wintered in Florida.  She is known throughout the community for sending cards for birthdays, congratulations, sympathy, etc. – all with a personal note.  And as members of her country church moved to nursing homes, she started a weekly letter to provide church news and keep them connected to each other. 

Mom took full advantage of advances in technology.  When computers came out, she got on board.  What a relief it must have been to go from managing five sheets of paper and four carbons in a typewriter to simply selecting “5” for print quantity.  With the advent of the Internet and email, she stepped up again.  She only had to type in a distribution list, write her note and hit “send”.  And the timing for her learning email was perfect because her distribution list was growing to include grandchildren now at college. 

Mom with the "expanded distribution list", her seven grandchildren.

When I think about how much Mom has written over the years, it’s pretty impressive.  She’s been writing for at least 40 years, 35 letters per year (she did take some weeks off), 500 words per letter – that adds up to a writing career with over 700,000 words.  To put that in perspective the sum of her letters are over 25% longer than Tolstoy’s War and Peace.  They are equivalent to the first five books in the Harry Potter series.  (Granted, our family’s life wasn’t quite as exciting as the adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermione.)   

So why does Mom write?  One reason is that she loves us.  Her letters always end with encouraging words and, although they were typewritten, each letter was signed with a hand-written “Love, Nancy”.  

She also writes because it’s hereditary -- her Mother did the same thing.  When Mom left the city and moved 300 miles away to the farm to marry Dad, it had to be a huge change.  Back then phoning was out of the question, so Grandma Voss wrote a weekly letter to keep in touch with her only daughter.  Grandma Voss was still writing those letters by the time I came along and I remember Mom’s joy when we brought one in from the mailbox. 

My Grandmother, June Voss. 

Finally, Mom writes is because she is talented and enjoys it.  Many people may not realize that she is a college-trained, professional writer.  She majored in Technical Journalism at Iowa State.  No, that doesn’t mean she wrote about engineers (now that would be exciting wouldn’t it?)  The “Technical” side of her journalism involved Home Economics and Food Science.  As an aside, while Mom wrote about the goings on in our home, one of her ISU classmates, Hugh Sidey, was writing about the people living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue – he covered the White House for Time Magazine for almost 50 years.  

Early in her marriage, Mom put her college diploma to work.  She won a new clothes dryer with a 50-word poem about her then 1 year-old daughter, Anne.  She also had an article published in Farm Journal Magazine titled “When a Town Girl Marries a Farmer”.   But it didn’t take long for the time requirements of farming and raising a family put any chance of a public journalism career on hold.

But the loss for Farm Journal readers was certainly our gain.   Ask any of my siblings and I’m sure they will agree with me that Mom’s letters have meant a lot to each of us.    Unfortunately, we don’t seem to get around to telling her that often enough.  Although she was trained as a technical writer, her true skills lie in her personal touch.  And while being a farm wife was incredibly demanding, she always seemed to find time to spend an hour or so at the typewriter or computer in order to keep her family connected.    

So Mom, here’s your birthday card.  On time.  And it finally says what I've always wanted to say.  Thanks for all the letters!