We'll Always Have Paris

The city of lovers. Paris in the spring. Gay Pair-ee. City of Romance.
Can you think of any other colloquialisms for Paris? We decided to take one last quick trip with just the 2 of us. Whilst Baby is still hands-free and cry-free, it didn't take me long to realize at 7 1/2 months that I was still carrying him around and it was hardly just the 2 of us.

With the Napoleonic spirit of adventure and liberty, we tackled the city of Paris. One of the brochures claims France as the birthplace of America. According to all I've heard about the haughty French attitude they definitely act like older siblings. We actually had pleasant interactions with the Parisians. Anyway, this building is the inspiration for our White House. You'll notice the top is green, much like our Statue we received from the French. They love gold. Take notice in the pictures how much gold is on the buildings, statues, bridges, etc.

We opted for a city tour on the bus where they show you everything and give you a brief audio commentary about the history and significance. It was rainy that day so it was a great way to see things regardless of the weather. Plus it was a good mixture of standing and walking/sitting; if you have never been pregnant this is a concept that has not crossed your mind, but it becomes important at this stage. I had to go to the Moulin Rouge for a show. It's very festive and colorful. They gave a "complimentary" bottle of champagne with our tickets, but no green fairies (if you haven't seen the movie, ignore that). We also went to The Louvre. It's a wonderful museum, but too much to take in. We did see some famous works like The Monalisa and Venus de Milo. Construction began in 1204 and the building was used as many different things before a museum, including a palace for the kings of France. Part of Napoleon's apartment is still inside. Very lavish and over the top. The dining room seated 42 people.

A trip to Paris woudn't be complete without a visit to the top of the Eiffel Tower. That's neat to see in person because it's such an icon for Paris. Hitler visited once and the elevator "accidentally" didn't work so he had to take the stairs. After he was up some guy easily fixed the problem with a screwdriver. Hmmm...

We went to the Orsay Museum. This is much like the Louvre; amazing things to see, but too much. This museum has many impressionnist works. We saw several original paintings by Monet and Renoir.
Notre Dame is a beautiful church right in the middle of everything. Contruction began in 1163. The bell weighs 13 tons and rings throughout the day. More than 9,000 people can fit in there. You can see from my lovely assistant that there is a gold plate on the ground in front that all distances in Paris are measured from. We also checked out the Arc de Triumph. Napoleon built it to commorate his victories. It's in the middle of the steet and quite impressive. This is Champs-Elysees Street, which is the last leg of the Tour de France. Notice the traffic; it's always busy and lanes aren't properly marked. The metro worked much better for us. It's easy to use and felt quite safe. The scariest time was going to the airport Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m. It was quite obvious who was up for the day and who was still up from the night before.

We also took a boat tour on the Sienne. The Landlover took a hit for the team since I enjoy the water so much. There are a couple small islands right in the middle of everything, so there are bridges everywhere. Thirty as a matter of fact. This guy is called "le zouave" on the Alma Bridge. He helps show the water level of the Sienne. During the floods of 1910 the water was up to his neck.

One of the last things we did was see the Basilliqua Sacre Coure. It's a pretty church located on a hill with a wonderful view of the city. We were bombarded by guys making cheeky bracelets which you don't want but feel obigated to buy. For the first time in 34 weeks a stranger commented on my pregnancy. It was one of these guys who Abe said smelled of pot when you got close to him; regardless, he was the first stranger to say something. Everyone else either thinks I have quite a beer belly going on or they can't be bothered to mention anything.

Laundry

Apparently you're supposed to wash all of Baby's clothes before he wears them. Who knew?? As we (Etrigan and I) were doing laundry today we decided to play house. I hope the baby is as cute as The Lizard. Perhaps I have a little extra time on my hands, huh?

Ahoy, Matey!*

*Some of the language contained in this posting may contain terminology derived from nautical origins which you may or may not be familiar with. (Researched courtesy of my husband.)

We found our sea legs* and boarded The Pride of York for a minicruise for Zeebruge, Belgium. The vessel traversed the cold North Sea overnight. The high seas* were cold enough to freeze the balls off brass monkeys*. The ferry wasn't quite up to Carnival Cruise standards, but we were excited since it was our first cruise. There was an entertainment stage, piano bar, casino and cinema. Abe took a motion sickness pill as he was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea* --how did I get stuck with such a land lover?--which made him a little drowsy and almost three sheets to the wind*. Better than sick. He was hunkey-dory* on the way there and back.

Upon arrival they bused us into the towne centre of Bruges. While in Belgium, do as the Belgees? Belgish? Dutch? Whatever, I wanted some Belgium Waffles for brunch. Since I use the toilet every 5 minutes now and have marked my territory in all of England, I felt the need to wee whilst in the restaurant. The picture above the door showed both a girl and a boy. I'm thinking this is a generic entry way to each respective head* room. There was no hall leading to separate WCs, but a man cleaning in there. There were a couple stalls where he was, a wall, and more stalls on the other side of the wall. Instinctively I shouted, "Oh!" in suprise to see a man in the women's loo and he motioned to come on in, so I went to the other side of the wall. I slowly blew my nose, giving him time to leave since I couldn't fathom* him remaining in there while I was. Pre-pregnancy I had a shy bladder and couldn't go with others around, especially strange cleaning men; my bladder seems to be quite extroverted these days. I tried to pee as quietly as I possibly could. I see buttons, but not a flush handle as we Americans know it. I push a button and this 'arm' reaches out and the seat starts to turn around. It's a seat cleaner! Don't have to be a sweetie and wipe the seatie if you sprinkle when you tinkle. Nice. I finally found the actual flush button and it cleaned the seat automatically with the flush. As I'm washing my hands I notice a couple urinals right by the sink. Oops. No wonder there is a man in here cleaning who, I notice as I turn to leave, hasn't left at all. I say in embarrassment, "I guess this is the men's." I don't think he spoke English. Of course I feel the need to go again right before we leave (I wasn't kidding about every 5 minutes) and I look at the sign more closely. Apparently the women's is on the port* side of the wall where he was cleaning and the men's is on the starboard* side of the wall. Pretty much a unisex toilet. I found in Belgium they don't exercise a whole lot of descretion between the men's and women's...I have a lot of data from frequent visits to back my theory.

Bruges is a quaint town with a canal much like Venice. Of course it's very old and even the renovated buildings are constructed to match. Abe and I did the whole nine yards*. We took a canal boat tour. As the guide chewed the fat* he pointed out the oldest hospital in northern Europe (it's a museum now). We saw The Madonna, which is one of the few of Michealangelo's works to leave Italy. We visited the Basicalla of the Holy Blood which supposedly had some drops of blood from Christ in a big vial. I saw it myself, but I do doubt the authenticity. Knowing the fame of Belgium chocolate we opted for a tour of the Chocolate Museum. As much as I love chocolate, that was the absolute worst and most listless* museum I think I have ever visited. Quite a waste of 12 euros. We now know the ropes* of chocolate history. At the end there was a presentation and a free sample which we just missed. We couldn't even stand around and listen to the presentation again to get the free sample.

No worries. Abe and I hit about half of the chocolate shops, and there are a LOT of chocolate shops, and tried a little from each. And of course we couldn't leave without him splicing the main brace* and trying a Belgium beer. When I ordered a hot chocolate the bartender made fun of me. He informed me the beer is full of vitamins (pronounced with a short i-- /vit-a-mins/ not /vite-a-mins/) and good for baby.

Happy Hogmany!

Abe and I and The Belly celebrated New Year's in Scotland with our friends Tony and Alison (a couple of the Brits who were in Ft. Worth working with Abe and brought him over here).

We stayed at a sleepy little fishing village outside Edinburgh (pronounced /ed-in-bur-oh/). We traveled around the countryside. The first stop was St. Andrews. All you golfing buffs know this is the mother of all golf. All the famous golfers take their picture on this little bridge. Next stop, a Scotch Whiskey distillery. As usual, would have been a little more fun if I could have participated in the free dram. Loch Ness was too far away, but we stopped by another loch and played in the snow a little. The 3 of them tried some proper Hagis for lunch. When in Scotland, do as the Scots, right? Of course being cursed as a super taster I passed. However, it wasn't as bad as I expected. It is actually like 'lamburger' in a huge roll much like a monster sausage, so it's not like you're really eating the intestines or stomach or whatever it is people talk about.

New Years Eve, or Hogmany as referred to by the Scots, was celebrated in Edinburgh on Princess Street. They claim it is one of the largest New Years celebrations in the world. We walked around the street festival and saw a live concert. They were Scottish bands, but we have actually heard some of the music since we've been here--KT Tunstall and a band called Texas. At midnight they had a huge fireworks ceremony. Great people watching, as it had rained off and on most of the evening and we were on a grassy hill watching the bands in the park. Drunk people sliding down the hill was quite entertaining. Once again, would have been a little more fun if I had been participating in the drinky drink, but this way I got to watch the drunks fall instead of be one. The Scots are nicknamed "Jimmies" by the English. We got a Jimmy hat for the babysitter's sons. Quite becoming on Abraham! One of the locals was a bit offended (it's like saying all Kansans are farmers and all Texans are cowboys). They almost duked it out right there in the take away shop.

New Years Day we toured Edinburgh Castle. It's high on a hill right in the center of the city, above where we were the night before. This castle is still all intact, and they have been adding on to it since the 20th century. Very neat. Unfortunately, I forgot how early it gets dark here and we didn't get many good pictures. That's Abe standing by one of the canon holes.

PS Look what town I found. Randolph, Scotland. Who knew?!

Fun, fun, fun 'Til Her Daddy Takes The Mercedes Away

So long Mercedes, hello Citroen. The company has stopped paying for our posh rental, and we're back to real life now. We bought a Citroen C3, which is a French car. Several of Abe's work buddies gave him a hard time since there's no love lost between the English and the French. Our choices were somewhat limited since we bought a used automatic. The majority of people drive manuals here. One salesman told us that only executives or old people drive automatics. Since we're not executives, I guess that puts us in the old people category...we can't really argue. We went out on my birthday with Abe's work buddies and we had already driven home, stopped by and bought a pizza and were sitting on the couch by 10:00. I was disappointed in both of us. The Party Girl would have ignored her swollen feet from traveling and the extra 1.5 'stones' of baby and pushed on through the pain in her feet that nearly brought tears. What the heck has this baby done me?? And he's not even here yet!

Abe has wanted a minivan even before we were expecting. So I gave in and got a miniature minivan. I'm having issues parking in these tiny spaces so I got the smallest 'people carrier' as they call it as you can get. This way there is a back seat not only for baby, but also for picking visitors up at the airport. Make reservations now, as we're booking up quickly!

Reunited And It Feels So Good!

The eagle has landed!! It took a lot of deligence, prayer, 3 babysitters, 3 travel cages, hours of research, battery operated warmers, 2 four-hour trips to Gatwick Airport, tons of paperwork including official CITES, DEFRA and health forms, 2 trips to the US Fish and Wildlife, 4 trips to the vet, a trip to the US from the UK, 2 separate visits to customs, a fax to and from Heathrow Customs, deconstruction of her new cage to fit in the car, countless phone calls and emails, and numerous outbreaks of tears, but she's here safe completing our family. Perseverence, my friends.
ISN'T SHE CUTE!!

There's No Place Like Home

Whilest hotels are fun at first, lengthy hotel stays can be too much of a good thing. We finally moved into our rental house on December 1st. It's a 2 bedroom, 1 bath. There is an extra bed for all who want to come visit! The house is what's called an attached house, meaning it shares a common wall with the house next door, much like a duplex. These are quite common here. However, this is actually a triplex. It's also common to have a 2 or 3 level house. Since there is no room to build out they build up. It feels like an apartment instead of a house, but it's cute. It was fully furnished so it's quite homey. There is a little rock garden in the back with lots of plants but no grass to mow. That works out well since we have no mower. There is also an annex out the back. The landlord used the extra room for entertaining.



We live in a little town called Beverley. It's probably about 50,000. It's large enough that it's not considered a village. We live about 60 steps from the town centre. We're right off a street that is a walking path only (the size of a street, but no cars allowed). It's always full of people until 4:00. Things close shop here in a hurry and the town is then dead. We're pretty sure the kids, or at least the people who are not expecting, go out later at night. There are all kinds of clothes shops, banks, pubs, butchers, hair salons, grocery stores, city council offices, churches, gyms, bus station, etc., all within 5-10 minutes walking time. We feel so cosmopolitan (yes, I know there are only 50,000 people, but still).



Being a housewife now--and NOT a homemaker, as I have been informed since I don't actually build houses--I've decided to try to cook meals for my husband. Going to the grocery store isn't as easy as one might think. First I tried to find buttermilk biscuits. When I asked, I got sent to 3 different people to help me. I realized that I did not mean 'biscuits' in their sense, which is cookies. I tried explaining that it's bread in a tube that's refrigerated but not cooked yet. After strange looks from each sales associate, one finally said, "You mean Pilsbury." "Yes!" I felt like I was speaking in tongues or something. When she took me to the aisle they were sold out of Pilsbury and I had to get a substition, anyway. I have also had diffuculties with baking soda and powdered sugar. I hope I have the right stuff with bicarbonate of soda and icing sugar. And when you need to buy 1 pound of ham and the 'gammon' only comes in gram packages, how much do you get? Try explaining what Velveeta Cheese is...soft processed cheese in a rectangular box that doesn't need to be refrigerated until opened, it melts easy and you make nachos with it, you know, like queso. Oh, you don't know what queso is, OK. Never mind. I guess we'll have to substitute cheddar or something. Luckily Abe will eat anything!