Lessons Learned and More...

Lessons learned...and more

Headed to Luxembourg I asked several people if I was heading to the right train, answer unanimous, yes.  I got on, settled down, felt like a real traveler as I hooked up my headphones to my itouch, turned on my 60s playlist, and closed my eyes as a warm blanket of the past surrounded me.  Strangely my mind wandered to my exhusband and and some sweet memories drifted in.  At that exact moment my random 40+ songs playlist started playing Evergreen by Barbra streisand, my wedding song!  So strange, but not the first time that has happened.  Perhaps I wasn't alone after all?  

Watching the countryside of France pass out the window, I marveled at how far I have come, figuratively and literally!  When the song 500 Miles came on, I only had to put in 5000 miles to be appropriate.  Green pastures and clouds above drifted.  Beautiful afternoon, excellent choice for the day. 

So where is the lesson learned?  Well, we were almost to the last stop in France when the train manager came by and informed me I was on the wrong car and was NOT headed to Luxembourg!  How had everyone been wrong?  Well, apparently it wasn't them.  New to me...There were some cars that split away to go to Luxembourg  and there were assigned seats which I was not aware of, and I needed to quickly change cars before the split took place!  Oh my!  Lucky for me I wasn't carrying any luggage, so the switch wasn't bad...lessons learned!  Look for all info. Seats, cars, etc.  

Felt like a pro on the way back to Paris on the last train, correct car, correct seat, Paris bound.  I met two other people who had gone to Luxembourg for the day.  A darling young lady from Kazakhstan and a man from Baltimore.  He sounded so much like me, he had a few days off, called the airlines and asked where he could get with 40,000 miles, so he flew into dusseldorf and will leave from Brussels.  He was going to a different little town each day, I stick to larger places...well for now.   Too bad there wasnt a connection there, but I did enjoy the young lady.

It's interesting to observe people.  I try not to judge, but I do.  On the final part of the journey to Luxembourg there was a lovely (seems to be my word of the day) woman and her darling little boy.  She had things for him to do, interacted with him, he giggled when I spoke English and was so proud when he said goodbye in English.  On the way back to Paris a lady got on across from me and next to the young lady from Kazakhstan with a young son.  Cute, but a totally different scenario, the young lady moved.  The mother got on her cell and gave the child a bag of chips and a plastic bottle of orange drink.  He proceeded to dump chips, make a huge mess, yelled, kicked, banged the bottle...mom still talked!  So, so sad!  Of course I wanted to share my thoughts, but wisely I didn't.  After the girl next to them left, she put him in that seat and finally got off the phone and gave it to him to play with.  Then she talked to him and he ignored her, hmm wonder where he got that behavior?  She took her phone back and got on it again and now he was kicking me.  I watched to see how long before she noticed, and she did and stopped him, still on the phone and turned him around so then he was kicking her.  I was glad when we reached Paris, but so sorry for their future.  What a difference positive attention and interaction makes for a child.  Teacher in me talking...

Was hoping to see the tour Eiffel sparkling that night, but by the time I got to my hotel and headed out, it was just too late to be safe, so when I got on the bus, found out it was the last one, so I would have to take the metro back, then remembered how dark the station was when it was closed when I got back from moulin rouge the night before, I got off the bus and decided that would have to be saved for the next trip.  I could see it in daylight instead.  Very, very wise decision!  

So this morning I checked my Eurostar ticket once again, yes, it left at 2:45, plenty of time.  I just couldn't leave Paris without seeing the tour Eiffel, so off I headed, now much more comfortable on the metro.  Only one change of trains.  I think the best part of this stay in Paris is how comfortable I became traveling on the buses and metro and regional trains.  I think I can get anywhere now, and if anyone would have told me that 5 years ago when terrified me was following Cesar around like a scared puppy, I'd have never believed it!  I'm a slow learner, but I feel like spending time in Paris alone was the ultimate test!  I passed!

However I'm not so sure I'm passing any test on train travel!  Just when I though I knew it all...

I returned from the delightful visit to the tour d'eiffel and was calmly packing and organizing and was ready to take a shower.  Something made me look at the ticket once again as I moved it to my small purse.  I have a very good routine to keeping track of travel documents.  So I checked it once again and couldn't believe my eyes...I'd been looking at the arrival time!  The train left at 13:13, I checked the time on my iPad, 12:40!  I know that you can't check in later than 30 minutes before hand, oh my god, I was panicked.  I go to great lengths to be sure this NEVER happens!  I stuffed everything (I hope) into the suitcases and threw on clothes and flew out of the hotel room, luggage in tow.  Perhaps 5 minutes.  I stopped at the desk and I was already checked out, so I walked quickly across the street to the train station.  I took the lift to the Eurostar level.  Luckily a very sweet young lady, was so kind and walked me rough all the steps, there was leaving France, entering England, passport checks...and then I had to walk down to the very last car for my reserved seat. I felt like i was walking to london!  I made it!  And here I sit, on a sold out train as everyone heads off for holiday.  Whew!

The last two days have been holidays in Europe and truly many things have been closed.  It is the celebration of the ending of WWII, and I was quite moved by large flower sprays, arrangements, at monuments and even in one of the train stations, in memory of lost soldiers.  Would this be armistice day in America?  How meaningful it was to the countries where the war was.  In Europe the wars are real, not a page in a history book.  Interesting time to be here.  Of course, just like in America, a holiday is a time to play, and playing is good.  Rick Steve's says that Europe is both a classroom and a playground, so true, wish I would have thought of that myself.

In Luxembourg the city was so closed up for the holiday I didn't even find a place to try their potato pancakes.  I took the hop on/off bus.  Not the best plan, parts of the old city were charming, but I really didn't enjoy the part of the tour around the big banks and govt buildings.  On the way back to Paris there was a kind couple behind me and she was from luxembourg and said they are known for the beautiful paths in their forest.  I'd read that the countryside is beautiful so I might have to return to explore more.  That girl was from there and her boyfriend was from Australia and was quite pleased that he has a job in Paris opening a new hostel.  She wasn't sure she wanted to give up the quiet peaceful life in Luxembourg.  I do love meeting people and hearing stories of the interesting people who travel.  What a world this is, and how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to experience it while I can.

But for now. Au revoir Par-ee!

People

People...the icing on the cake of travel!

Where do I start?  Chronologically seems like the best way, but the most interesting person so far is too much fun to write about, so I will start with him/them...

Walking around the gardens after closing was a thrill I'd been looking forward to.  What I didn't know was that artists may be allowed in after the public has left, and thanks to my photography, I'm considered an artist.  So there I was, wandering in paradise with a handful of people painting the beauty.  There were two men working, one with a big straw hat, looking a bit like Monet himself.  I stopped to chat with them.  Ahh,  those French accents are charming!  So we chatted and even though I asked who they were, their answers were jokes, mostly.  I chatted with another lady who is here from south Carolina to see her new grand baby and bought an apt near her daughter in paris to vacation.  She is an artist, a support herself artist.

The next day I passed the straw hat artist painting on the street.  I stopped to chat and told him I had just come from seeing Monets grave at the church, which by the way was beautiful and an emotional experience for me.  He asked if I had seen the magical magnetic rocks, which I hadn't.  I was too exhausted to walk back but we started talking about energy healing.  I shared that I did that and he asked if I would help his friend's knee that evening, so we made a date at the gardens.   There can be worse things than meeting 2 French men in the enchanting gardens to do reiki!  And this man, the straw hat painter, shared with me that his friend was indeed the head gardener at the gardens!  Wow, I had met the creator of that beauty!  Now that is an artist of grand proportions!  I'm not sure how much the reiki helped, but for me, spending that time with the artists, they were painting, was quite special!  After a while, I wandered off to take a few hundred more photos, then bid them au revoir, but not before mr. Straw hat asked for my contact info and website, so I asked for his card and will be in touch.   Friends at the gardens, just must return I think!

After my first night at the gardens, the S. Carolina artist and I were headed to the same place for dinner, so she asked me to join her.  I was excited to visit that restaurant because I had some of my cards to give them of a photo I'd taken years ago when I was there with my driver.  It is of stairs lined with big pots of pansies going up to an artist studio in the back.   I gave the cards to the man at the bar who said he was the manager.  He was thrilled and said that it was my home from now on.  I was so pleased that he, and the other manager, loved the cards.  I think that probably what he meant was that I was welcome anytime.  It is so much fun to have people appreciate my work.  

At the restaurant we were talking to the people from Australia on one side of us.  We were sitting out under the big trees and it was as though all of the people sitting there were one big group, everyone chatting with everyone else.  Delightful evening, especially for me, who usually dines alone.  Well, the Australians on one side of us started talking to the Australians on the other side of us...and the impossible happened...they knew each other!  Now keep in mind we are in a tiny village in the French countryside where few people visit, and even fewer spend the night.  Well, it turns out that one lady had been the 5th grade teacher of the other!!  Truly!  That is a small world story that rivals the one of my meeting someone in Venice who had known Cesar in Australia.  Hmmm, the small world stories seem to include australia...

And those are the 'icing on the cake' people stories from this French village.

But it isn't the end of my people stories from France!  I also met a Frenchman who could have been a model of romance book covers.  And our meeting was far too short, but fun.  After boarding the train from Brussels, I was considering the train's offer to get me a taxi to my hotel.  I asked about the price and it would be 15€ more to have 'my own' taxi.  Suddenly a beautiful blonde man sitting in front of me, turned around and looked over the seat and shook his head telling me not to do it.  After the man selling the taxis had departed that beautiful man looked over the seat again and with that charming French accent, told me he was so impressed I'd asked if there was an extra cost because he hadn't the first time and was shocked at the final price.  He said he was from Paris and if it was okay with me, he would show me where 2 taxi stands were.  Okay with me?  I think I might have followed him anywhere, but indeed, it turned out to be only to two taxi stands, the first had a long line.  When we got off the train he asked if he could help with my bags, and made me laugh when he saw how they were bulging and asked if I had ever thought of perhaps getting a larger suitcase!  Pretty funny, and I explained I was trying two small ones, thinking it would be easy.  He asked if I was okay following him and it was a bit hard to not answer I would follow him anywhere!  But I maintained my composure as we walked about a block to a taxi stand and he told the man in French where my hotel was, helped load my bulging suitcases, hugged me, kissed me on my cheek wishing me a pleasant stay and journey, and romance cover Frenchman was gone.  And I was on my own, but only for a bit...

A teacher from my school is from France and had arranged for me to meet a friend of hers, a retired school psychologist who has retired here.  Anne and I spent a lovely evening, she was a wonderful tour guide and very interesting lady, so we saw several places I'd never even heard of, and it was a lovely time on the city buses with the locals.  Anne made living in another country seem much too charming...and tempting!  If my retirement were more...I'm quite sure part of my year would be spent in a European country...but how could I leave Bram and meli?

People..

Note to self...

...NEVER travel on a regional train on a Friday afternoon!  Oh my, what a trip that was!  Arriving in Brussels late, due to the delays of the high speed train from Amsterdam, I missed the earlier train to Bruges.  As I was looking for the train I started talking to a lovely older couple from Australia.  They were nice enough to stick with me so we could figure out where to go.  We got to the train and a lady would not let us board, so we searched for the next one and the platform was too far away for us to make, so I sat with all our luggage while they went 2 different directions to get info on the next train.  When we boarded we were met with the Friday afternoon crowd and there were no seats.  Standing all the way to Ghent was not a pleasant way to travel.  In Ghent, many people got off and all of us standing got seats for the remaining trip.  In front of me was a family of 4.  After a while the man came in to check tickets, a very handsome young man.  Well, he got to the family right in front and they started yelling at him in French.  Of course I had no idea what was going on.  The conductor remained calm and quiet and gentle, which just seemed to fuel them.  Finally a lady across the aisle from me shouted something and smiled and they started yelling at each other.  She looked at me quite proud of what was going on and I said in English I had no idea what was going on.  She proudly told me in English that she had told them To go back to France!  I was still puzzled and she explained further, they were complaining over and over that no one ever has to stand up in France in 1st class!  Well the yelling continued and I was hoping I would not be in the middle of a physical altercation.  Then a man behind the lady across the aisle shouted "shut up!!". And everyone did shut up!  When the young man got to me to check my ticket, he very sweetly asked if that had been going on the whole trip.  I said I had no idea what had been going on because I didn't understand a word!  At least I made him laugh and he moved on.  Whew, disaster averted!

So today, Sunday, I boarded the train at Bruges, headed to Brussels where I will catch the train to Paris.  Well, I came bumbling on, tripping over my 2 small suitcases and tote.  What a sight I was!  Sure could use some help, but I can make it on my own, although sometimes others do offer to help.  Getting on the train is a challenge for me without the luggage, so with luggage...oh my!  I get the last suitcase to my seat and plop down into the seat, piles of luggage next to me, and the lady across from me starts very disgustedly talking to me.  Of course I had no idea what she was saying so I just pretended to listen.   Then I heard a word I understood, premier and she was pointing to the 1 on the door.  I realized that she was telling me I was in the wrong car, class two was up ahead.  I very sweetly smiled and said, oh I do have a first class ticket.  Apparently she understood, she looked shocked and then started rambling to a lady behind me.  Oh my!  That reaction of shock was alone worth the 10 euro cost to upgrade.  Not to mention it means I get free drinks and food on the high speed part of the journey.  A well spent 10 euros!  I never experienced anything like this in all the train travel I did with Cesar!

Leaving Bruges was a bit sad this morning, but at least I have more adventures to look forward to!  Bruges is charming, and I am quite sure I will always find it so!  

Travel - A Journey of Challenges

I love travel, as you know.  I love new experiences, learning about new cultures and foods and peoples.  But that isn't all that travel is, those experiences are earned, by dealing with challenges along the way.  

For example, right now I'm sitting on the 'high speed' train from Amsterdam to Brussels.  A high speed train that is at a dead stop...apparently there are technical difficulties.  Ahh, the not so sweet surprises of travel!  Will I now make the train connecting to bruges?  Not a chance, but luckily that is a ticket that can be changed for later.  The high speed train is a reserved seat, one that can't be changed unless a much more expensive flexible ticket is purchased.  

The train moved again and now we have a delay in Antwerp for a technical problem.  Travel trials and tribulations continue.  An announcement was just made, they are all in 3 languages, Dutch, or Flemish, French and english last of all.  Interesting to be in places where english isn't #1 language.  The announcement...the free wifi on the train isn't working...so much for that perk of 1st class.   I knew I'd have my hands full with my 2 rolling suitcases and travel bag so I opted to pay the additional 10 euros for 1st class.  Many less people, reserved seats, and food and beverages for free.  So with a can of Perrier, I had a caramel cake and a small cheese sandwich.  Cheese, a delightful part of a visit to holland.  I am familiar with the colorful wheels of flavored cheeses, but today, thanks to the very kind taxi driver I had from last year, I had a cheese tour of a store representing the only cheese still made by hand.  Kees, pronounced Case, was the wonderful man who drove me from Lisse last year to de Hague.  I got in touch with him and payed quite a bit to have him take me to the Amsterdam central station for my onward journey, knowing I could trust him.

There is a magic being in Europe, it seems people aren't as stressed with the delays and 'not so sweet' surprises.  I'm not in a great hurry anyway, I know the frietes and waffles will be waiting for me when I do finally arrive.I also appreciate the kindness of strangers.  I need more help here, with suitcases and directions and I do like the interaction with different people.  

More soon...in Bruges finally!