Brandenburg Gate reflection

Just a quick note on a picture of the Brandenburg Gate I saw the other day. In the photo, the Wall went right behind the gate and there was absolutely nothing near it--just a gigantic no-man's land of emptiness. It was surprising to me because now the entire are is filled with shops and office buildings and people and activity. During the communist era, it was a dead zone. Amazing how things change.

Europe: Part 4--Prague

Writing about it is taking longer than the actual trip

When we left Berlin, we drove through Germany (I'm afraid I fell asleep and missed some of the countryside) to Dresden. It is a beautiful city that was firebombed into total ruins during the waning days of World War II. Apparently the Nazi's had bombed Coventry, England early in the war and the bombing of Dresden was a kind of payback. Neither city had any real military value--no military bases, no factories, nothing of value except beauty and history. So, both were destroyed. I understand that Kurt Vonnegut's book Slaughterhouse Five is his take on the bombing of Dresden (he was a POW there when it happened) and I think I'll read the book as soon as I can make space on my "to read" shelf. In any case, today Dresden is rebuilt and lovely. We wandered through a former castle, now an art museum, enjoyed the fountain-laden hideaway where the local ruler used to chase girls, and saw a now-ironic East German mural depicting the ultimate triumph (not) of communism. We also had a delicious lunch at a Dutch restaurant (I know, we were in Germany, but it was handy and yummy) and then went on our travels.

We made an afternoon stop at Terizen or Theresenstadt, a show-place concentration camp that was established near Prague. It was the camp that Hitler opened to Red Cross inspectors, the place where Jews were well-treated and happy. Not. Behind the facade were cramped quarters and daily death; it just wasn't on the vast scale of Auschwitz or some of the other camps. I saw many members of our group wiping tears as we quietly filed through rooms only about twice the size of my classroom that held 600 prisoners and looking at the closet-sized solitary confinement cells. It was a very somber place, one that makes you think deeply about the inhumanity wars bring. I did think to ask our guide about the hometown of some of my ancestors, Brno, which is in the Czech Republic, and he told me a bit about it.

We had a quiet ride from there to Prague, where we were greeted by a rather fierce thunderstorm. We got drenched just trying to collect our luggage and get into the hotel--and this one was disappointing, just as the one in Paris was. Berlin had a great hotel, but Prague, not so much.

Our first evening, we just went to dinner and tried to settle in and dry off.

The next day we took a long, loooonnnnnggg walking tour of Prague. It's a gorgeous city--beautiful medieval architecture, but they won't let buses into the city center, and you must walk quite a distance. I was worried about my friend Trudy, who had some nasty blisters, and we just kept walking and walking and walking. But, we did see some beautiful sites. St. Vitius cathedral on Castle Hill was stunning, and I actually remember it because it had several windows done in the early twentieth century by an immensely talented art nouveau artist. It was gorgeous in the sunlight. (I have to say, after you visit a lot of Gothic cathedrals, they sort of begin getting mixed up in your mind--big, dark, you know--but this one definitely stands out). I believe the original glass was destroyed, but it could not have been more beautiful than what is there now.

Then we walked (and walked and walked--you get the picture) across the Charles Bridge and into Prague. I was most impressed with our guide, a small man who obviously has an immense pride in his country. You forget sometimes, when you're an American and you live in the world's main superpower, that people in small places also have reason for pride and patriotism. The city is lovely, and its history is fascinating. I learned so much on this trip about the history of central and eastern Europe. For example, I did not know that at one time the Holy Roman Empire had it's headquarters in Prague. This was because the rulers had to leave Vienna in the 1500s and 1600s when the Ottomans (Muslims) were invading. Prague was a bit more off the beaten path, (and not located on the Danube), and was therefore a safer place.

In the castle, we also walked down Golden Lane, where goldsmiths once worked (and Franz Kafka lived for a time) and it's now filled with tiny shops just waiting to help you spend your money. I bought a bookmark for Lauren with a Golem, a creature brought to life by a Rabbi supposedly to protect the Jews (it's a story from the middle ages). By the way, the Czech Republic is not on the Euro yet, but they were willing to take them, so it worked well. You just tended to get your change back in Czech Kronas, which you can't spend anywhere else......The lady in the shop also told me that Sobeslav, another city of my ancestors, is a beautiful, farming area south of Prague. I didn't get there this trip, but maybe I can return one day.

And, we learned about the feisty Bohemian people who inhabit Prague (this area of the Czech Republic is known as Bohemia). And, by the way, Bohemia is a part of the county and it became an adjective for odd or offbeat behavior because people thought that Gypsies came from Bohemia and they also thought the Gypsies were strange. So, there's a bit of trivia for you. But Bohemians aren't strange, they're just natives of the Czech Republic.

Now, back to the feisty people. At one point in their history, the Bohemians and Czechs got tired of the Hapsburgs ruling them from Vienna. So, on one occasion, they literally threw the rulers' representatives out the window. I thought it was pretty funny and we saw the actual tossing window. It was a long fall.....

After lunch, Trudy decided to find a park bench to rest and wait for us, and Kara, Ashley and I wandered down Parizka street (yep, it's Paris street and it's filled with expensive shops: Prada, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Versace, if it's expensive, it's there on Paris street in Prague). We also walked through the Jewish district, but didn't go inside the synagogues because the tour of the whole district was 30 euros and we just didn't want to spend it. We wandered past the Franz Kafka cafe and one of his houses and also The Metamorphosis hotel. I told the girls that after reading the book I don't think I could stay there. I don't want to be Sherry the beetle.

We had a fun time shopping for souvenirs and found a shop run by two crazy Turkish guys where we bought several items emblazoned with "Czech Me Out." Too funny.....

After all the walking, Trudy and I were happy to rest for the evening, but Kara went with all the other kids, Ms. Crane, and Alyssa's grandmother Joann to the Black Light Theater and then to the biggest dance club in Central Europe. From the pictures and their descriptions, it sounds like everyone had a great time.

The next day, we headed out again, this time with a stop in Bratislava, Slovakia and then on to Budapest. I loved seeing the Czech countryside. It was rolling hills covered with trees, much like Virginia or Tennessee--absolutely beautiful. Then I thought of my ancestors who left that gorgeous country to settle in South Dakota--the great plains, big, flat, and not a tree for miles and miles and miles. Brave people, those Bohemians.

By the way, if you missed London, Paris, or Berlin, they are also here (just keep searching).

Next stop: Budapest!

One more thing about Berlin

Oops, forgot something. The East German, communist, government built a giant television tower in Berlin--a monument to their greatness and their expectation that communism would last forever. At the top of the tower is a huge ball--it's kind of like the one atop Reunion Tower in Dallas, but covered in silver metal, not lights. Anyway, as you know, communism is atheism and all religious observance is firmly discouraged. In one of life's great ironies, when the sun strikes that giant metal ball, it forms a cross pattern, towering atop the monument and visible for miles and miles. Pretty funny.....

Europe Part Three: Berlin

I really don't like night trains. They're noisy, crowded, the toilets get nasty, and it's not a restful experience. Plus, the cheapie compartments (where touring high school kids and their teachers end up) have six bunks in them, three on each side, stacked vertically. This overnight train journey didn't start out well because our group had four of the bunks booked, but the two bottom ones were occupied by a couple of unknown teenage girls. And they didn't speak English. Nor did they speak French, German or Spanish (and at that point we had exhausted all the language skills of our group). Eventually we discovered that one did speak a smidgen of English and that their native language was Polish, their grandparents were in the next compartment, and they wanted very much to be with their family--not with us. (Apparently the bottom bunks are considered the choice spots and people book them first, but this time they weren't pleased with their roommates--us.) So, an exchange was made, our other teacher and one student ended up with four Poles and my compartment was filled with me, three girls and two boys from GPHS. (I teased Rene and Eddie that they could go home and tell people they slept with three girls--or even more frightening, a 51 year old woman!) Based upon my experience last year, I was not looking forward to trying to sleep on a train, but I actually did sleep a few hours, and I was thankful.

Because....in the morning we arrived in Berlin and were expected to be functional enough to explore the new city. We started out with a tour by guide Kevin Kennedy, and he was the best guide we had all trip. Berlin is a beautiful city, but very different from London and Paris. Since for many years it was actually two major cities, Berlin is very spread out, with the major sites quite distant from one another. You can't see everything on foot; you must go by bus or subway. More than once Kevin mentioned the tragic history of Berlin and it's true--you see something beautiful and then just around the corner, there is a reminder of something horrific. It must be difficult for a people to live with such a dichotomy.

One of the biggest parks in the city was completely demolished after WWII as the people were forced to cut down all the trees for firewood. Today, it is lovely, and one thing I will always remember about Berlin are it's Linden trees. They bloom and smell delicious. The scent is everywhere, wafting through the entire city. It was something very special.

The Brandenburg gate, which Reagan stood in front of for his "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" speech, was beautiful--gigantic and impressive. Nearby, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe was a stark gray remembrance of genocide. It's a city block filled with stone rectangles of varying heights. Pathways run between the blocks, but it's totally gray and cold and somehow dead. Visitor are left to interpret the memorial in their own way, but it feels menacing. I learned that when building it, they found bunkers belonging to some of Hitler's henchmen, and they know that Hitler's own underground bunker is nearby, but they keep those locations secret to prevent them becoming Neo-Nazi shrines.

We also visited the Reichstag, Germany's parliament building. In front are 96 slate slabs, placed vertically in the ground (it actually looks kind of like a bicycle rack) each with the name of a parliament member who was sent to his death for opposing Hitler. Each also notes the concentration camp where the man died and his death date. A quiet memorial to Hitler's first opponents, those with the courage to speak up in the German parliament during the 1930s.

If you go to Berlin looking for the wall, you'll be disappointed. Twenty years after the fall of communism, all sign of the Berlin wall is pretty much obliterated. One section remains, and we did see that, but the no-man's-land, guards and guard towers are long gone. You can get a good feel for it all at the Checkpoint Charlie Museum though. So many people concocted ingenious schemes to escape communism. It was impressive, and depressing--especially the stories of families who tried but failed to escape. Afterward, the government would often take away their children to be raised by "good" communists.

In the evening, we met up with Kevin again for a walking tour in the trendy Prenzlauer Berg district. Most of the buildings have been renovated, but every now and then you see a row house that remains in a state of disrepair. Kevin explained that after World War II, when the communists took over, they owned everything. Then, when communism fell, the huge task of determining who originally owned the buildings began. Many buildings had belonged to Jews, whose entire families perished in the concentration camps. Finding descendants has been a major problem, and now, 60 years on, the ownership of some properties remains in dispute. He said other countries, such as the Czech Republic handled things better, placing a deadline on property claims, after which, land and buildings were sold on the open market. But, Germany didn't do that, and disputations linger. In any case, the neighborhood, in former East Berlin, is lovely and we also got to see the only synagogue in Berlin to survive the war. Apparently some important Nazi leaders lived in the area and burning down the synagogue would have placed their homes in danger, so it was saved.

We ended our evening in one of Berlin's oldest beer gardens. It was cool and green and shady and they did serve soft drinks so the Mormon girls and underage teenagers were welcome, too. Plus, we found some yummy ice cream just around the corner. (Ice cream became one of our quest foods--we ate it whenever and wherever we could find it.)

On Monday, we participated in the Domino Project, an activity designed to memorialize the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. After an interesting tour and explanation about the fall of communism and the wall, our students painted a design of their own creation on a giant block of canvas--about 7 feet tall, three feet wide and two feet deep. It was in reality, a giant domino and many of them will be lined up in front of the Brandenburg Gate this November, then knocked down, like a row of dominoes, to commemorate the fall of the wall 20 years ago. Part of the background information was a history review of the events of 1989. I had remembered that Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Albania and Romania (I think those were all the eastern European countries under Soviet domination) broke free as the Soviet Union collapsed, but I had forgotten that the protests in China occurred at the same time. Sadly, China chose a violent, bloody "solution," while Europe embraced freedom. I think the other Soviet satellites were gaining their independence then, too--Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbajan and all the -stans that I can't remember. I also learned about previous attempts to throw off Soviet domination. I knew that the Hungarians had tried in 1956 and the Czechs in 1968, but I didn't know that the people of East Berlin also staged a revolt in 1953 (so, apparently, they were the first). It, too, failed, but you see again and again how determined people were to gain their freedom. In most of the countries, that freedom has led to peace and prosperity (Yugoslavia being the main exception), and it was fascinating to learn more and actually be there.

Speaking of being there--I tried to explain to Kara how amazing that simple fact was to me. When I was growing up, Americans did not visit East Germany or Czechoslovakia or Hungary, yet there we were. When I was her age, Russians patrolled those streets, and secret police spied upon and oppressed the people. Today, East Berlin still has a Karl Marx Strasse, and a park with statues of Marx and Engels, but Lenin and Stalin are definitely out. In fact, with the wall gone, the best way to tell you're in the former East Berlin is the streetcars. West Berlin got rid of them, but they remained in the East, so if you see tracks on the street, you're in East Berlin, otherwise, you're in the West. The pedestrian lights at intersections also used to give it away--in the east you had Ampelmann who wore a derby hat, while in the west, you just saw a plain green man when it was time to cross--and they had planned to change everything to the more utilitarian west-type signs, but people loved Ampelmann too much. So, now he helps people cross in both the east and west and is a beloved symbol of the entire city of Berlin. By the way, there are Ampelmann stores all over the city and you must bring him home if you go there to visit. You can find him online if you search, I'm sure.

My main regrets regarding Berlin are the two museums I missed. I really, really wanted to go to the Pergamon Museum and see the Ishtar Gate (I saw it in my college Humanities book and have wanted to see it ever since--it's a giant, blue, tile gate from the Middle East, stunningly beautiful), but it was closed on Monday and that was our main day in the city. I also missed the Jewish Museum, said to be the finest in Europe. We had a missed connection and a shortage of time, and it just didn't work out. I doubt I'll get there again, but maybe someday......

And so, on we went. Our travels next took us to Dresden, Germany; a show-place concentration camp called Terezin; and the beautiful city of Prague. More in the next installment.....

By the way, if you missed London and Paris, just keep scrolling down in my blog and you'll find them.

Europe Part Two--Paris

Ah, Paris. The city of light and one of my favorite places on the planet. It's beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, but our stay there didn't start off well at all.

We arrived in Paris on Thursday night and the bus took us directly to the restaurant for dinner. Nothing wrong with that, except that we were told our bags would be safe on the bus and most people left everything there except for small purses. Well, they weren't safe.

When we returned, two backpacks were missing--both of them were black and both had been sitting on seats near the front of the bus. One belonged to our tour director, Eve, and the other to my student, Ashley. It appeared that someone had somehow boarded the bus (even though the driver swore it was locked) and took the bags. It was, at least momentarily, a stunning blow. Ashley had left her money belt in the backpack and lost her credit cards, quite a bit of cash, and her passport, as well as her cellphone. Eve lost her laptop with all her trip and work info on it, plus her camera and other important personal items. It was hard to see Paris in any kind of positive light after the theft.

Then we went to our hotel. Not a nice place. We stayed at a lovely hotel in London, but the one in Paris, while located next door to the metro stop and very convenient from that perspective, was pretty much a dump. Plus, the air conditioning was, shall we say, anemic at best?

Still, we settled in as best we could and Eve spent ages on the phone to the police and EF offices and began getting things in order.

Next morning, my first job was to accompany Eve and Ashley to the local police station. Thankfully, Eve's French is excellent (much, much better than mine) and she took care of making the report. However, she eventually had to go and take care of the rest of the tour group (it was their morning on the bus with a guide and a sightseeing tour of Paris) and Ashley and I stayed to finish up the paperwork. I am so thankful that if this had to happen, at least it happened in Paris, where I could be of some use language-wise. I would have been totally lost in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary or Austria, but in Paris I knew enough French to muddle through the remaining questions at the police station and get the report completed. The police officers were so nice. (I know what people say about the French--especially Parisians--but I am here to tell you that I met only nice, helpful people in Paris and one was truly an angel, but more about that in a bit). I was able to understand enough to answer the basic questions and at the end, when our officer was trying to give me some advice that I couldn't figure out, she found another officer who spoke a bit of English. Between his bit of English and my bit of French, we understood that they were advising us to put our valuables in the hotel safe. We thanked them for their help and kind concern, and headed off to the U.S. Embassy.

Another blessing--we were in a capital city, with the embassy located right there. Plus, I've been to Paris six times now and am very comfortable with getting around on the metro. I could easily get Ashley and myself anywhere we needed to go--and I knew exactly where to find the embassy. So, as I told Ashley, even though the Lord does not necessarily always prevent bad things from happening to us, He certainly helps us cope with them. He blessed us a lot in taking care of a very trying situation.

Whew.....security at American embassies is impressive. They went through my purse and took pretty much everything except some tissues. Cell phone, toothbrush, comb, lipstick...all into a plastic bag to be saved until we completed our mission.

In we went, to take a number and wait, and wait, and wait. Finally, it was our turn and we explained Ashley's lost passport and the need for an emergency one. Then paperwork and more waiting. But, after three and a half hours (and a mere $100), we had it. A new passport, completed and in Ashley's hands. Again, very nice, helpful people. (The wait wasn't their fault; the place was mobbed with people). They even let me use their phone to call Eve and give her an update on our status. We got the passport, picked up my phone, etc. and finished just in time to join the rest of the group on a visit to the Louvre.

It was another madhouse filled with people, but when in Paris, one must visit Mona and the gang. It's truly a beautiful place. Probably my favorite is the Winged Victory, beautifully displayed at the top of a staircase and lit by sunlight streaming in from above. It's always breathtaking.

We wandered around, visited Mona, saw the Venus de Milo, and admired the other paintings by Leonardo da Vinci (there are about five others in the hall on the way to Mona, but most people just pass by them in their frenzy to see the famous lady). Of course, the Louvre is so enormous that you could stay there for weeks, but we saw some beautiful things and then it was time to go.

From there, we hiked along the Seine to Notre Dame. I'd been in before, and Kara was starving (and she must be fed regularly or she literally gets sick), so we went for food, but some of the others visited the cathedral. It is beautiful, as is the walk along the Seine. We even went down the steps and walked along the water for a bit. Every city we visited had a river, but I think I like the Seine the best. It seems more friendly, perhaps because the French have put it into what amounts to a large concrete culvert. It's lovely, but tamed. The Thames in London seems much more powerful and intimidating. The Seine is intimate, crossed by many, many lovely and elegant bridges. It's definitely more romantic than the larger rivers.

Dinner required a metro ride to the north side of Paris, but we had no more "lost" people after that one episode on the tube in London. The kids were soon veterans of subway travel, making connections, following the twisting, turning tunnels to our next platform. Kara soon took the lead and guided us through, since she was there last summer and was quite familiar with it all. Sometimes you have to walk a long, long way underground just to find or change trains, but I surely wish we had such a system here. You can go anywhere in Paris quickly and cheaply on the metro.

After dinner, we headed to the Eiffel Tower for our trip to the top. We already had tickets, so we skipped the endless lines at the base, and headed up. You have to change elevators at the second level to ascend to the summit, so we had quite a wait there, but eventually we made it to the top. It was already about 8 p.m., but in the summer, the sun doesn't go down in Paris until about 10, so it was light and clear and we could see for miles. The city is in a river basin, and it is truly beautiful--white and cream colored buildings, a river winding through it--what's not to love?

When we reached the second level on the way down, the kids (Kara, Paige, Alyssa, Brennan, and Ashley) decided to walk down the 200 or so stairs to the bottom. Trudy, Joann and I waited (again) for the elevators, and the kids actually got to the bottom first. Apparently they were singing Broadway show tunes as the went down and were belting out "It's Raining Men" as they passed two British ladies, whose response was "Hallelujah!"

After La Tour Eiffel, we boarded tour boats for our cruise down the Seine. It was lovely. We were in the outside seats (not having to look through cloudy plexiglass) and had a great view. It was a relaxing trip down the river, past Notre Dame, around the Ile St. Louis and back. The girls all sat quite far in the back of the boat and had a great time as well (except when two fellows on the bank mooned them....) We arrived back at the Eiffel Tower just as it began to get dark and the strobe lights came on at 10 p.m., making the tower sparkle madly. It's a beautiful sight. Then, we stopped by a crepe stand and had delicious crepes on our way back to the metro. Street food in Paris is yummy!

So ended our first full day in Paris--passport taken care of, money still to come.

Eve had arranged the schedule so that we had almost all of Saturday as a free day, so we got up fairly early and tried to get to the Musee D'Orsay when it opened at 9. We were only a bit past that, and the line was short, the museum wasn't mobbed yet, and I was very happy. We spent about an hour and a half there, and it is one of my favorite museums in the world. If you love Impressionist paintings, you must, must go. Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Degas, Manet, Sisely, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Seurat--all there. It's amazing. Trudy and I loved it. I'm not sure if the girls did, but I hope so. At least there was a cafe with refreshments when they were tired of admiring the art.

Then we went in search of a Western Union office. Ashley's parents had wired her some money, which we needed to pick up. Eve gave me an address in the 8th Arrondisement and off we went. It was an area new to me, so I was consulting my map as we came out of the metro station. As I said, "I think we need to go this way," another of those wonderfully helpful Parisians, said (in perfect English) "Yes, it's that way." (I'm telling you, the Parisians have been getting a bad rap all these years). So, off we went. As the trek looked like it might be a bit longer than we anticipated, we found some lovely benches under trees (the Parisians plant trees everywhere along their streets and often have benches, too. It's a great place, Paris). So, everyone else sat, while Ashley and I continued our search. However, when we finally found the correct address, it was not a Western Union office. We knocked and tried, but the door was locked and things were not looking good. I was about to give up, when I turned around and saw a lady behind me walking her dog. I thought I'd try to find out where the office actually was located. "Nous cherchons Western Union" (we're searching for Western Union) I told her and (wonderfully) she answered in English, saying this was not it and she didn't know where the office was. Now, here's where our angel comes in. Out of nowhere, a man came walking up. He also spoke perfect English, and he had a cell phone with internet access. In short order, he had googled Western Union in Paris, found two offices on the Champs Elysees, and walked us back to join our friends. There is no way this just "happened." I am convinced he was sent by God to help us poor little lost Americans in Paris. He even told Ashley, "Don't let this (the theft) spoil your experience of Paris." I'm telling you again, Paris is filled with lovely people. (Eve, a skeptical Brit, said I must have met the only nice people in Paris, but I think she was joking).

The Champs Elyssees is one of the most elegant and beautiful boulevards in the world (when we got to Budapest, they even said their main avenue was modeled on it). We had lunch in an Italian restaurant (Alyssa got to choose because it was her birthday) and enjoyed it greatly. Then Ash and I went to find Western Union--and it was practically across the street. The lady there (again!) spoke perfect English, was very helpful (again!), and in short order Ashley had cash. All in all a great day.

We finished our free time with a quick trip to Napoleon's tomb. I just had to see it again after visiting Lord Wellington's in St. Paul's in London. And, as I mentioned, Wellington's does mention Waterloo, while Napoleon's does not. Nonetheless, it's a very impressive tomb. Stop in at Les Invalides if you're ever in Paris. Napoleon lies eternally and magnificently dead underneath a gold-encrusted dome.

Then it was time for us to get back to the hotel, gather up our things and head for Gare de L'Est (the eastern train station) to catch our night train to Berlin. I am not a fan of night trains, but that story comes in the next installment.......

Europe 2009 Part One

I know I haven't ever written about my 2008 trip to Europe, but I'll get to that sometime..... Today I need to begin the saga of the 2009 trip. So, here is Part the First:


You may ask, "Hey, Sherry, what did you do in Europe?" Well, let me tell you.......

Our first stop was in the great city of London. We arrived at Heathrow, met our tour group and took the bus to our hotel, which was in the suburb of Croyden, south of the city. We took the train and the tube in to town and went on a short orientation walk. I really enjoyed walking down Whitehall--it was one of the things I had planned to do anyway. It's the street with the U.K.'s monument to all the soldiers who died in World Wars I and II. The cenotaph sits in the middle of the road, and people leave wreaths of poppies to remember the war dead. I read once that if all the soldiers from the British Empire who died in World War I were to march down that street, four abreast, the parade would last two weeks. That's a mind-boggling thought.

We also passed the Queen's Horse Guards, very impressive in their shiny helmets and boots and riding very fine looking horses; the Banqueting House designed by Inigo Jones where King Charles I stepped out on a balcony in the 1600s and was the only British monarch executed by his people; and the intersection with Downing Street, where the British Prime Minister lives. I love, love, love British history, so London is one of my all-time favorite towns.

We stopped at Trafalgar Square--a very impressive monument to Lord Nelson who defeated the French at Trafalgar, then strolled past the National Gallery and the church called St. Martin in the Fields. I really want to go there for a concert someday, but didn't make it this time. From there our group split up and some of us decided to hike to St. Paul's cathedral via the Strand. It looked great on the map, walking past the famous tea shop, Twinnings, and past a pub where Samuel Johnson and Charles Dickens used to hang out, but in reality it was a looooonnnngggg walk. I'm afraid I overdid it for my companions on the first day and I felt guilty about that ever afterwards.....Still, St. Paul's was gorgeous inside and I'm thankful for the opportunity to see it. I was particularly impressed with the tomb of Lord Wellington, who finally and decisively defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. His tomb lists his many battles, and of course mentions his great triumph at Waterloo. Interestingly enough, Napoleon's much more lavish tomb in Paris fails to mention his final defeat. Hmmm.....

We ate dinner at a little restaurant near St. Paul's (and also near the Millenium bridge) dining on fish and chips with mushy peas (this is actually a well-loved British dish and it's pretty tasty, even though it really is mushed up peas--with mint no less).

I liked our hotel in London and the using the Underground and the train was no problem at all.

Our second day began with an attempt to visit Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately, it was closed for a private service, so I still haven't seen all the wonders in it that I want to see. Looks like I'll have to go to London again! Afterwards the three adults in my group set out to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Couldn't persuade any of the kids to join us, so they all went with Ms. Crane to climb the 200 or so steps at Tower Bridge. We really enjoyed the pomp and circumstance at Buckingham Palace. The British certainly do ceremony well. The soldier's uniforms are quite impressive, as are the matching horses of the Horse Guard. It's something everyone should see if they're in London.

The three of us had lunch in a lovely cafe near the Thames (I have a firm rule--I always sit down for lunch, relax and enjoy the local food). Then we met our bus for a tour of the city. It was well-done and interesting and we even had a few minutes to race through the British Museum at the end. Not nearly enough time, of course, but that gives me another reason to go back. I did get to see the Elgin Marbles and that was something I had long wished to see, so it wasn't a total loss.

We ate dinner in Soho, my first experience with Indian food--it was delicious. Then we traveled to Tower Hill to meet our guide for a Jack the Ripper walk. Once there, I realized that one of my students was missing. Paige had not noticed when we all turned in to the underground station, and was left behind. Luckily Alyssa soon received a text from Paige explaining what had happened and she was able to send instructions on how to find us. Just to be certain that Paige was okay, I took the tube back to the previous station and searched for her, but Kara then texted me that Paige had arrived and I rejoined the group, which had already begun the walking tour. That was problematic as we had already walked too far for the first day and Trudy was having trouble with her feet. I felt so guilty about it and there didn't seem to be anything I could do except keep trudging on. So, on we went and were most grateful when we finally reached the tube station. I think Trudy would have gone home that night if she could have, but we made it through. After the tour, she went on back to the hotel, and Joann and I took Kara and Kayte shopping on Oxford Street. We also thought about going to the London Eye, but decided against it. Shopping was pretty fun, and we had an easy route home from there.

On Day 3, we left London and began our long journey across much of Europe. Our final stop in the U.K. was at Canterbury, the city where Thomas Beckett was killed, and where pilgrims later came to visit his tomb. The tomb is not actually there any more, as it was destroyed in the 1500s when Henry VIII confiscated all Catholic properties in England and had the shrines destroyed. By the way, docents at the Cathedral told me that Henry VIII's men took 26 carts full of gold, silver and jewels from Canterbury Cathedral. (Makes you wonder if his motivation for ditching the Catholic church wasn't really Ann Boleyn after all, but the money and property he could confiscate from the church. I know, I'm such a cynic). Still, the Cathedral is the place of Thomas Beckett's murder, and a very historic cathedral. Canterbury is a pretty little town as well. Our lunch there at Pret a Manger (a salad/sandwich chain that is all over London--and probably everywhere else as well) was excellent. I highly recommend the chain, particularly since one seems to lack fruits and vegetables when traveling and they have wonderful varieties of both. Several of us got to participate in a brief prayer service in the cathedral and it was a peaceful, moving experience. I think I may just teach the Canterbury Tales this year, since now I've been there, too.

We then traveled onwards to the English coast at Dover, where we saw the famous White Cliffs, and boarded a ferry across the English Channel. It was my first time on an ocean-going vessel (even if it was just across a 20 mile channel) and I found that if I watched the water out the window, I felt fine, but if I focused on what was happening inside the boat, I tended to feel dizzy. Weird.....

Upon our arrival in France, we boarded our coach and drove to Paris. And, as Paris is a long story, I'll write about it in the next episode.......

It was a fine time at Lucille's

I know, I know, long time--no hear from. Oh well. Things, shall we say, have been hectic. But.....I did have an absolutely lovely day yesterday in Fort Worth with my best friend. We talked for a while then had a delicious, yummy, fantastical lunch at Lucille's. We both ate the intensely flavored, marvelously creamy, I'm-hungry-just-thinking-about-it, lobster bisque, accompanied by fresh, hot bread. It was heavenly. Then we topped it off with decadent desserts. She had key lime pie with an oreo crust and I had a truly gigantic slice of deep, dark chocolate cake sprinkled with walnuts. (Hungry yet?)

Best friend lives in the arts district of Fort Worth, which is my absolute favorite part of town. So many lovely restaurants to sample, so many world-class museums to visit, so many tiny shops to explore. Arlington is truly boring by comparison, so I go to visit her rather than inviting her over here. I love Fort Worth. Downtown is also wonderful, just for moseying (that's a good Texas word, don't you know) around. Dallas is too East Coast for my taste; give me jeans, boots and the friendly faces of Cowtown any day. Plus, you gotta admit, some of those cowboys look mighty fine in their jeans and boots........

It was a hectic, stressful week at school, but I've learned more about who is reliable and dependable and I truly appreciate those who are dedicated to the kids and go above and beyond the call of duty to help our students. The ELA department put on a "carnival" of games in the gym this week to help kids review for the upcoming math, science and social studies tests. Several teachers were there both days, working diligently, cajoling kids into participating, making sure we did our best to help them. I so appreciate their dedication and am in awe of their devotion to kids. Our students are truly blessed by some of their teachers. I only wish I had a better way to express my appreciation. I have a couple of ideas, but I need to ponder it some more.

I also appreciate those who stepped in when I was overwhelmed. They kept things running and moved us from chaos to success. What great people to work with.

This week should be a slow and serene one, but next week we'll spend most days administering the dreaded TAKS tests. You cannot imagine how boring it is to watch people take a test. Teachers must "monitor" at all times, so we cannot read or write or use the computer or do anything even remotely interesting. We must watch the kids to be certain they do their own work. This goes on for hours and hours.......zzzzzzzz...... Sorry, dozed off for a minute......
I would so much rather take the fool tests than watch the kids take them. Not my favorite week of the year, needless to say.

Lauren is in Provo this week to participate in BYU graduation. I wish I could have gone, but I'll be here keeping the twins so that Julie can go (I'm also funding Lauren's trip, so I guess I'm doing my part). If only BYU had commencement in December, I could have been there when I went up to help her drive home. But, nooooooo. They only have it in April and August, so she had to go back up to walk and, as I can't afford for all of us to go, I'm helping her and Julie. I've been promised lots of pictures, and I'll try to post some when she returns.

We were thrilled to spend a couple of weeks with Josh when he had R&R recently. He looks great and seems to really enjoy his work in Iraq. I'm so proud of him for serving our wonderful country, and also proud of Julie and the boys for dealing with his absence so well.

Speaking of the boys, you've got to hear this one: Kelly and Shannon have let Julie and Josh know that they want a baby sister (they already each have a brother, you see). This conversation apparently led to Shannon's concern that Julie doesn't have any brothers (only the two sisters). So, his solution to the problem? "Grammie can have another baby!" Good thinking for a seven-year-old, but there will be no more babies for grammie. Sorry.......

I've been reading lots of wonderful books. Just finished a trilogy by Sharon Kay Penman on Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. (When Christ and His Saints Slept, Time and Chance, and The Devil's Brood) It was so totally absorbing that for a while there I lived in 12th century England and France (the books are about 700 pages each). I learned a lot, while enjoying a great read. If anyone wants to talk British history at any time, I'm ready and willing (and mostly able). Now I'm reading a young adult novel called "The Goose Girl" for a book group I'm thinking of joining. It's pretty good and a very quick read. We'll see if I fit in to the group; I think it's mostly much younger women and they may not want an old lady like me......I do love books though.

Don't know if I mentioned that I LOVED Willa Cather's book Death Comes for the Archbishop, and I've bought several other books by her that are now on my "to read" list. I also want to read Victor Frankl's book Man's Search for Meaning. I've heard really good things about it and I want to check it out. So many books, so little time.......

Not much else to talk about today, so I'm off to bed.

La Boheme

Oh my goodness, what a wonderful evening. Last Wednesday I went with my friend Trudy to the Dallas Opera production of La Boheme. I have enjoyed the other operas we've seen, and I loved Porgy and Bess last year (who can resist Gershwin?) but now I understand why La Boheme is so beloved--it was fabulous. Of course it didn't hurt that the guy playing Rudolfo was gorgeous and that he had an equally gorgeous voice. It also helped that the story is set in Paris, my favorite city on earth, but still, it was a magical evening. Even if you're not an opera fan, sometime in your life, you've got to see this one.

My baby is 28!

A few years back, I told my students that it was Julie's birthday. One delightfully oblivious fellow asked how old she was. When I said "25" he said "you must be really old."  It was priceless and he didn't even realize that he'd been semi-insulting until I noted that he might not make 17. Yesterday I realized that many of my co-workers are younger than my child. Ah.....I'm old......Oh well....as they say in "Spamalot" "I'm not dead yet." So I shall continue to have fun!

Our school spent the week doing Waiver Days--time to give more individualized help to those who have not yet passed the TAKS test and give a week off to those who passed all four sections of the test last year. I think it's a terrific idea, but our implementation of it needs refinement. Of course, you always learn from doing and we will definitely make improvements for next year. I particularly hope that we can help the seniors who are retaking the test spend all their time focused only on the subjects in which they need help. I hate to see them spending time with ELA or something else they've already passed, when they are struggling with another subject. Still, I felt very pleased with the effort we made and I know that many students benefited from it. That's what really counts. Plus, I learned a lot and am even more determined to push reading, reading, reading on our campus. I would really love to see us read a book as a campus. Everyone would read it and all content areas would create lessons including information or situations from the book. We could have small group discussions, after school activities, maybe even get the author to come and talk to the student body. I think it would be a wonderful thing and a great boost to our reading efforts. So many of our students speak English as a second language and I am confident that more reading will definitely help them in their language acquisition. Plus, if they read and comprehend English better, they will perform better in all of their classes. Sorry if I sound like I'm on a soapbox, but this is really, really important. I also want to propose some new ELA electives for next year--certainly creative writing, but also readings in various genres. I'd love to see us offer a Latino Literature course, an African-American Literature course, a women's lit course. I think we could get kids who "don't read" to do so by presenting them with works that really interest them. If anyone has an opinion about this theory, I'd love to hear your ideas....

So, back to Waiver Days. Yesterday the ELA lesson was planned to be on test-taking strategies. Rather than spend another day in class, the teachers tasked with planning the lesson came up with a "show" filled with skits and silliness and ELA teachers making fools of ourselves while making some important points and sharing some helpful tips for the upcoming ELA TAKS test. I was in two skits, in the first I was a sarcastic teenage daughter (the kids in the audience got a laugh out of a gray-haired lady as a teenager) who didn't want to try on the TAKS test, and in the second I was a burnt-out teacher who wanted to give up on test day. I was also one of a trio who sang a crazy TAKS version of "We Will Rock You." It was all zany and fun and silly and I think we actually did make some very important points. I think the kids had a good time and I know I'll never forget the tune to "TAKS Rater." In our final performance of the day, I even did a cartwheel onstage, amazing the kids who don't seem to think that "old" people can do such things.

Then last night, our whole family, along with Kara's boyfriend, went out to dinner to celebrate Julie's birthday. It was fun to be together and Mike and I got to have Kelly and Shannon ride with us. They are wonderful little boys. Shannon told me what he's been learning about Abraham Lincoln. I was impressed--both boys are reading well and doing very well in school. They're smart and curious and eager to learn and I love spending time with them.

So, next week we're back to "normal" classes. I'll be happy to see my usual crew of kids again, but it was nice to get to know a few new faces this week and I hope I helped them and that they will be successful on the upcoming tests.

President's Day-Who was the Best?

I really enjoyed this evaluation of our presidents on National Review Online. In case you don't have time to look at the whole thing, here's my favorite part (it's about Grover Cleveland): "Honesty was arguably Grover Cleveland's only policy. It was the prism through which he saw the world and conducted his public life. He saw attempts to secure special favors, privileges, or subsidies from government as fundamentally immoral. In his view, taking from some and giving to others was not something an honest man in or out of government would ever do. He rejected the notion that the Treasury should be up for grabs by the mob, so he vetoed more bills than all previous presidents combined.

"Not only would Cleveland never recognize the Washington of today, he would surely expect God to either raze it or extend His deepest apologies to Sodom and Gomorrah."

That last bit cracked me up....Love it! (I know, I've become a terrible cynic...)

And now for my report on Paris.....

Assyrian Art in the Louvre

The Winged Victory--a beautiful spot for her on the stairs in the Louvre.

Yes, I did go to Paris in January. And it's just as lovely in January as it is in April or June. And, yes, I am finally going to write about it. I have no clue yet how to send the pictures I took with my phone to my email to post here, but I will try to find some appropriate ones to include.

I left DFW on Thursday, Jan. 15 and the flight over was terrific--mostly because the lady sitting next to me was a French woman who taught in the United States for many years. She was just delightful and we had a wonderful time talking about France and the U.S. and education and our children and our grandchildren and all kinds of fun things. Finally we did try to sleep a bit (not very successfully--at least for me) and soon we arrived in Paris, and bid each other Bon Voyage. I never even got her name, but she was a great companion for the trip over.

I was impressed with EF (the tour company I'm traveling with this year) because even though our flight was an hour early, there they were, waiting for us to arrive. After waiting in the airport for other flights to come in, we boarded our bus and headed to the hotel.

We stayed in a Mercur hotel--quite nice--about 15 kilometers south of Paris but right on the train line. We had time for a short nap (most appreciated) and then my roomate arrived--Jan, from Oregon. She was tiny and fun and we had a great time together over the three days in France. We dashed out to find some lunch at the local boulangerie and it was yummy--quiche with champingnons (mushrooms). I was pleased to see that my rather basic French skills still work fine--we had no problem ordering and the food was easily transportable and delicious.

Then we all walked to the train station and headed into the city.

Our afternoon activity was a visit to the Louvre. I've been several times before, but it is the most enormous place and even though I always see The Winged Victory, Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa, the museum is filled with new things that I haven't seen yet. So, every trip, I get a new experience along with visiting old friends.

This year the new section I visited was the Etruscan, Roman and Greek Antiquities. Jan and I went to see them along with Martha (also from Oregon who Jan met on the flight over) because she was really interested in that era, and I really didn't have a strong preference on what to see this time. The Louvre has rooms and rooms of antiquities and wandering through was fascinating. We eventually also found the Assyrian exhibit as well--quite impressive. 

After the Louvre, we met our group, and our tour guide, Tom, outside I.M. Pei's famous pyramid and took a quick walk through the Tuilleries gardens. Then off to dinner. It was delicious--my first time to eat duck. Afterwards I'm afraid the jet lag caught up with most of us and we went back to the hotel. Some of the younger members of the group stayed to visit a few clubs in the city of light, but I was exhausted and grateful for some rest.

Saturday we spent most of the morning in classes, learning how to conduct our tours and getting tips on the best ways to handle all sorts of situations.  Two experienced EF group leaders, Don and Wanetta, were there to share their wisdom with us, as well as several members of the EF staff. All were terrific and the information was very useful.

After lunch, it was back to the city. We did a walking tour on the left bank, wandered past the Musee de Moyen Age (museum of the middle ages), saw the Sorbonne, and trekked through some tiny, winding streets. We also created our own human flying buttresses, saw a demonstration at the Place St. Michel, and dropped by Shakespeare and Company, an English-language bookstore famous as the publisher of James Joyce's Ulysses.  I had heard of the store, but never located it on my previous trips to Paris. It is actually just across the river from Notre Dame Cathedral, so it should be easy to find again.

Most of the group then visited the cathedral, but I waited outside with a few others who had been in before. Everyone I met on the tour was interesting and enjoyable to be with. When Jan and Martha came out of the church, we were joined by Popy (short for Penelope) a delightful Greek woman from Washington state, and a really fun woman, orginally from Barcelona, who now teaches in L.A. but I can't remember her name.....Our little group decided to have dinner on the Isle St. Louis, the tiny island just behind Notre Dame, filled with shops and restaurants and the most expensive residential real estate in the city. It's really nice.....

We window shopped and did some actual purchasing. One store was filled with bright, colorful, ingeniously clever kitchen gadgets and I just had to buy the Eiffel Tower grater. (It's a rappe in French and it's now hanging in my kitchen). Jan got a very colorful squid whisk and we all had a great time.

We found a tiny (and I do mean tiny) restaurant for dinner and ate delicious crepes. When it was time to use the facilities, the others came back to the table laughing. I got the joke when I went back to what has to be the smallest toilette I've ever seen. Several of them got pictures, but I didn't. I will admit that anyone very overweight would not fit in that room.

After dinner we wandered and shopped and eventually made our way back to the hotel. The food was great, the company was convivial and it was a lovely evening in Paris.

Sunday morning we boarded the bus for a driving tour of Paris. Our guide was excellent, and after seeing Paris, we headed to the chateau at Versailles. It is a bit nicer in the summer, simply because the wind that day was brisk and I couldn't enjoy the gardens because of the bitter cold. Still, the chateau is nice, and the gift shop provided some lovely earrings for me to bring home to Kara. Plus, in January, it's a bit less crowded inside and I could look around more.  I was also really impressed with the excellent job they did of guilding the front gates to the palace. They were covered last summer while the work went on, but now they're brilliantly gold and quite impressive.

After Versailles, we had a little free time, so Jan and I ran up to the Musee D'Orsay to see the Impressionists--my favorites. Just looking at Renoir's masterpieces takes my breath away. I also love Monet's work, and Van Gogh's and many others. It's overwhelming to be in rooms filled with such beauty.

Our farewell dinner followed the museum visit, then I went with several new friends up to the Sacre Coeur on Montmartre. Tom (our tour guide) had suggested that we take the metro to the Abbesses stop--that way we would be halfway up the hill before we even began. What he neglected to mention was that you have to climb about 200 steps just to get out of the metro station. I was exhausted......I really have to get in shape before the trip this summer. I was with Popy, and two ladies whose names I can't remember, plus Tom and David from North Carolina, and Ezra, from California. They were great sports and seemed quite appreciative that I could speak French and buy our metro tickets with ease, and I really appreciated their patience with my need to stop and catch my breath. Montmartre is the only hill in Paris, but it's pretty steep and the church is at the top of the hill. Thankfully, Dave was kind enough to wait for me, and he even carried my coat when I got too warm.

I wasn't sure which way to go to get to the church, but we just kept climbing, knowing that it would be there at the top, and sure enough, it was. I had been up there before, but the view at night is spectacular. The church is beautiful too. Built in the 1870s, it doesn't have the gothic stained glass, but it does have a very impressive mosaic of Christ that was quite moving. Quiet and peaceful inside, it was an inspiring place to visit and commune with God.

We shopped a bit near the Place du Tertre (completely deserted in January, but filled to overflowing with artists and restaurants in the spring and summer) then wended our way back down the hill to the Moulin Rouge (you can't go to Paris and miss that photo op). 

We had planned out our route back to the hotel, but luckily Popy noticed that there was some problem at the Gare du Nord and we quickly revamped our plans to avoid it. She speaks French, too, and I'm so glad she noticed or we might have been in a mess. I had my handy dandy Paris metro map, so we were quickly able to find an alternate route, ended up at Chatelet/Les Halles, the biggest metro station in the city, and looked for our train. The trains to the suburbs sometimes don't stop at every station, so you have to look at the board to make sure that your station is lit up. If not, you wait. We lucked out, our train came fairly quickly and we went "home."

I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to meet so many very lovely people on the trip. They were all friendly and helpful (even the ones who stayed out drinking too late Saturday night, couldn't speak French and couldn't get a cab and didn't get back until 4:30 a.m.--one lesson to learn--never stay out after the trains quit running).  I am lucky to be a teacher and to meet so many other people who are excited about the world and learning and doing new things. I so enjoyed talking with Jan and Popy and so many others. It was an experience I will treasure.

Lovely, Lovely Day

Yesterday was one of the best Valentine's Days ever.....I spent a couple of hours in the morning visiting with my best, dearest, most wonderful, fun, talented, funny, non-judgmental, supportive, and all sorts of other good things, friend in Fort Worth. I love her cozy cottage duplex, love the part of town she lives in and love, love, love to visit with her. So, it was delightful. I had dropped Mike off at the gun show on my way to her house (another story in and of itself--gun purchases have apparently skyrocketed since the Democrats took over and the line for the gun show was blocks long. Plus, I've never seen so many pickup trucks in one parking lot in my life. And they don't park only in designated spaces--grassy medians--actually any open space--work just as well. And who's going to say nay to a man in a big F350 toting an oversize shotgun?) But back to our story.... After our delightful visit, in which she also measured my feet to hand-knit me a pair of socks, we picked Mike up from testosterone central, and all went out to lunch at a yummy soul-food place called Drew's. I had a smothered pork chop that was so tender it fell apart when touched by a fork, mashed potatoes with cream gravy, crispy, tasty fried okra and a most delicious Italian Cream Cake for dessert. (best friend and I shared). All in all, it was truly one of the best Valentine's Days ever. 

I know, I know

Yes, I should be telling all about my trip to Paris, but I'm tired so I'll just share this wonderful story from today's Dallas Morning News. This kid was in my AP English class last year and I wrote some of the recommendation letters that helped get him into Rice and MIT. I'm so proud of him--I hope you will be, too.

We're all God's Children....

Just a quick post today, but I thought you might enjoy reading this story. I certainly did.....

Describe the process your family used to get a Christmas tree when you were a child...

This is another of those loooonnnnggg time ideas I've had that have taken a while to commence. Several (more than a few, you see) years ago, a friend gave me a mason jar filled with strips of paper. Each one had a question or prompt on it. The instructions say:

Write your personal history the easy way--answer one question a week, and in a year, you will have a (fairly) complete history. And, be honest--remember--this is for posterity.

So, I'm going to be writing about these prompts every week--if not more often. I'll use the prompt as the title to each blog entry, and you are more than welcome to borrow the ideas for your own history.

To today's topic--Christmas trees........

When I was a kid, we spent every Christmas in Fairfield with Nannie and Papa. They lived on a farm and relatives gathered there to celebrate the season. Sometimes when we arrived, Papa already had a tree up in the living room, but a few times we were early enough that we got to go with him to pick one out. Now, Texas is not known for it's lush fir trees; in fact, the only evergreens we had available were cedar trees. So, that's what we used. I actually never knew any other kind of Christmas tree existed until I was an adult. And hey, when you cover them with silver icicles and lights and treasured family ornaments, they look amazingly good. Of course, cedar trees do induce terrible allergic reactions in sensitive people, but they smell good and we just kept plenty of tissues on hand. 

Since cedar trees grow all along the ditches and roadsides in that part of the state, we would drive along the back country roads, looking for just the right tree. It had to be the perfect size and shape. Eventually, we made our selection and Papa cut it down. Then we dragged it to the truck and wrestled it into the back. All the way home, we talked about decorating it and all the presents that would be stuffed underneath. 

For some reason, a cedar tree always seems to have a "bad" side, so we would have to position it in the corner of the living room just so, to hide the less lush spots. It sometimes listed a bit to the side as well, so Papa or one of the uncles would wrap a bit of string around the trunk and nail it to the wall for stability and better aesthetics. But we didn't care. We flung icicles all over it, decked it with strings of old-fashioned, multicolored, big-bulb lights, hung the ornaments and rejoiced over its beauty. No expensive fir tree could ever have looked any better to us.

Bohemian

My ancestors came from an area called Bohemia in what is now the Czech Republic, and I've long been curious as to why people with eccentric, or offbeat lifestyles were called Bohemians. Certainly all odd people did not come from this one tiny corner of the world. This season I'm going to see the opera "La Boheme" and it's about artists in Paris, not people from Bohemia...plus, the musical "Rent", based on the opera, is much loved by my daughter. Anyway, for whatever reason, I've been puzzled. So, today I looked it up and am now here to enlighten us all.....Apparently people in Europe thought that the gypsies, with their unconventional ways, came from Bohemia, so they took to calling all unconventional people "bohemian." There--questions answered, puzzle solved.

New York, New York

(hmmmm....I tried to put these pictures in the middle of things in the post, but I can't seem to figure it out yet...)

Chrysler Building                               Times Square

For a long (loooooonnnnngggg) time, I've been meaning to write about some of my travels. Well, now appears to be the time. So, if you're interested, read on; if not, take a break (or a nap, or whatever).

In June, 2007, Mike, Lauren, Kara and I spent a week in The Big Apple. Yep, New York City. It was amazing, but it almost didn't happen. We had a terrible night-before-the-trip and barely made our flight. Still, we did get on and off we went. We had booked a hotel in Queens, one that was reportedly near a subway station, because rooms in Manhattan cost the earth. So, we flew into the Laguardia airport (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) and a nice shuttle driver from the hotel picked us up. From the plane we were able to see the city as we were landing, and let me tell you, it makes Dallas look miniscule.

We got settled in to the hotel, found the subway stop (a several-block walk away) and headed for the big city. Since Kara gets migranes, and then gets sick when she doesn't eat regularly, and airlines no longer serve food, and we (like idiots) forgot to take any snacks along, our first order of business was to find food and a bathroom. Luckily, New York seems to have lots of pocket parks in their neighborhoods and we spent a couple of hours there resting and recuperating. Then we took our first stroll through Times Square. 

What a place......I have never seen so many people in one place in my life. And the lights, and the buildings, and, and, and....It was overwhelming.....Lauren loved it. When we came up from the subway, she took in a quick, deep breath and said "this is where I belong." As for me, nice to visit, but don't want to live there. Dinner was at an Irish pub and it was delicious.

The next day, Monday, we spent most of our time on the trip to the Statue of Liberty. It's impressive and everyone who goes to New York City should see it. I felt very proud of my country. We also visited Ellis Island, where immigrants were processed during the late 1800s and early 1900s. It, too, was very interesting. After getting lost in the warren of streets that covers lower Manhattan, we found the World Trade Center site. I was moved by the bronze relief sculpture on the fire house next door, but the site itself just looks like a giant construction project now. Still, I'm glad we went. 

We walked a lot during the trip, and one hike took us past the courthouses that we see all the time on Law and Order. It was kind of a deja vu moment, even though I really deja didn't before. We ate dinner that night in Chinatown at a Malaysian restaurant--yummy.

Tuesday we visited the NBC studies and shopped in their store, tried to go up the Empire State Building, but had to put if off because of lightning storms, had dinner at Macy's and went to a Broadway show--"Spamalot--" at the Shubert Theater. It was hilarious. You should definitely see it if you have the chance. One of the big production numbers is all about how a show can't succeed on Broadway if it doesn't include Jews. Well, at intermission we had met the kids from a Jewish school sitting on the row behind us. Their presence, and laughter, made the whole thing even funnier. After the show we toured Times Square by night--even more impressive than in the daytime. And even more crowded (if possible). 

Wednesday we did the complete tour of NBC and got to visit the Today studio. Kara has decided that she wants to study broadcast journalism and eventually work in New York. Why not??? She's certainly smart enough and pretty enough to do it.

We also made it to the top of the Empire State Building where the view is stupendous. Since Macy's is next door, we had to shop, and Mike bought the wonderful Belgique cookware that we'll probably use for the rest of our lives. (the store shipped it home for us). For dinner, we met Lauren's old teacher, Holly, who now lives in NYC, and ate at the Cafe de Charbon. Holly teaches at a high school in the Bronx and lives in the East Village, and we had a good visit with her.

On Thursday, we started out by walking down Fifth Avenue. It's an impressive place, particularly for shoppers. On one side street, we came across the Jimmy Chou shoe store and Kara had to have her picture made outside it. We walked through Grand Central Station, gawked at the gorgeous Chrysler Building (I would love to go on an architectural tour of NYC with a well-informed guide), ate hot dogs from a street vendor, admired the jewels at Tiffanys and the clothes everywhere, and finally arrived at FAO Schwartz, the famed NYC toy store. I was exhausted and one of my travel rules is: whenever you find a bench, sit down. So, I sat and Mike and the girls shopped. Soon my phone rang and Kara said, "you've got to come in here." I could not imagine why I needed to come in, but she insisted, so in I went. Lo and behold, there were two of my students, from my Texas high school, standing there in the middle of New York City! It was amazing. They had seen Kara, recognized her from when she visited my classes, and asked "Aren't you Mrs. N's daughter?" Yep, she was, and we all had a grand reunion in New York. They were there with a church choir group. Before the visit was over, another student appeared (along with a student I would have that fall) and they all had to take pictures to prove they'd seen me in New York City. It so much fun. I had been feeling a little down, being in such a huge city and realizing that I didn't know a single soul outside my family. But indeed, the Lord does watch over us, and I knew several wonderful Texans in that giant metropolis.

We then wandered through Central Park for a bit.....it was lovely and peaceful and a welcome oasis in the big city.

That evening we ate in a section of town called Chelsea and then visited Times Square--yet again.

On Friday, we spent the morning in Chelsea, visiting the building where The Food Network has its headquarters. We also tried out a highly-recommended brownie shop there--The Fat Witch. The food was good, but not as good as Kara's brownies, and (like most things in NYC) it was expensive. The building was once a factory for Nabisco, and it's old and quirky and fun. We also went to Union Square, Lincoln Center (where the kids relived scenes from "Center Stage") and the LDS Temple (across the street from the Lincoln Center). It was a great comfort to see the Angel Moroni up on top of that temple, there in the middle of crazy traffic and the controlled chaos that is New York City.

And of course, we had to take the subway over to the Brooklyn Bridge and walk at least half-way across. And, we had to see the New York Public Library and its famous lions out front. We had our final dinner in Little Italy (and it is little these days, as most of the Italians have long since left Manhattan), then made one last night-time visit to (where else) Times Square. My family became addicted to that place. For me, it was too crowded, and I spent most of my time watching Mike's back pocket, trying to make sure no one took his wallet......Actually, I spent most of the trip at the back of the pack, just making sure everyone was together and accounted for. Watching them all have a good time was priceless. Lauren, of course, had to call everyone she could think of to share the experience.  Walking, gawking, talking, we were the quintessential tourists.

I am really glad we made the trip. I wish I had been able to convince somebody to visit a couple of museums with me, but I guess that will be my good excuse for going again--I still need to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art (can you believe no one would go to see Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night" there with me????) and several other collections. I could spend weeks just visiting museums in New York, so I'll have to go back.

Happy New Year!

Had a great New Year's Eve with family and friends. Lots of friends joined us at the Institute Building for an evening of games and food (delicious and lots of it) and bonding. For many years we spent New Year's Eve with a group of friends, but sadly, their mom passed away last year and the rest of the family has moved. So, we had to start a new tradition. I miss my old pals, but we did have a good time Wednesday night with members of our family and our ward,  and hopefully we can build on this. There seems to be activities for the youth and young adults, and plenty to do for the drinkin' crowd, but for us sober folk, not so much. So, we're creating our own and having a marvelous time.....

One of my resolutions involves exercise, so yesterday I took a nice walk with the twins. I'm going to try to continue this at least every weekday if not more often. They enjoy being outside, Julie gets a nice break, I get some much needed exercise--a winner for everyone!