As some of you know, I arrived back in the good ol' US of A a week ago last Thursday. Originally I was only planning on coming in for 2 weeks for Easter & then head back to Germany until the end of June. Well, due to some circumstances in Germany, I have returned to the US for good. Well, kinda. I'll go back for 3 weeks with mom June 27, visiting Munich & then heading to the south of France to watch part of the Tour de France & sight see, then we'll meet up with dad & Brian (Transy friend) in London in order to drive to Wales for graduation. But I'm home.
In the week that I have been home, I have secured a full-time job at Owensboro Catholic High as the computer lab supervisor & techie teacher. Essentially I oversee the computer labs & help teachers with computer related problems. When I cannot fix them, then I send a techie to help. If they can't, then I talk to the higher ups. I'm also a new employee of Books-A-Million which could become detrimental to my bank account. They are waiting for my background check to come through & then I'll be working part-time there. I'm also at Bath & Body Works as a rehire thanks to my wonderful manager Tana. I'm hoping to only work floor sets for them as they do not have many hours to give because corporate had to cut due to the economy.
I've planned a weekend trip to AL & the beach the weekend after Easter. I'm flying from Nashville to Birminghamm where I will meet up wtih Brian (same TU friend) & we're driving down to the beach for the weekend. The whole point of the trip is so that we can plan what we want to do the week we are in the UK. I just said I had to do it at a beach with a margarita in one hand, a book in the other, & me laying out on the beach. Let's just say Brian is very accomodating. :-D
Cynda & I are hoping to head to Keeneland for opening day April 4. Will be dependent on the weather as we don't like cold & rainy. I'm also moving in with Cynda now that I have a full-time job. I'm doing this to help her out on rent & so she can go to London/Paris with the school trip in October.
I do planning on showing some this year. I'll be showing Ferregammo until he sells, which hopefully will be soon! We have been looking at other horses, but haven't found anything I've fallen in love with just yet.
The first weekend I was home, Cynda & I drove to Louisville (in the snow) to have a girls' weekend. We met up with Kasey Bohannon & Katie McBride Friday night & then headed over to Jason Kurtz's place since we were already over in the area. The girls got to meet Jason & Hershey ("my" puppy though he's not really a puppy anymore!). Cynda & I hit the mall on Saturday in the ice & snow. Let's just say it is SO nice to have the mall pretty much to yourself when the weather is bad! We visited Ernesto's Mexican restaurant for dinner, which was next to the hotel. We enjoyed a pitcher of margaritas, then went back to the hotel to eat cookie dough & watch the Keira Knightly version of "Pride & Prejudice." Let's just say that was a great night because we could oogle over Mr. Darcy, even though he wasn't played by Colin Firth. On Sunday, I got to see "The Pillar of the Community" (aka Les Kurtz), Diane, Kim, & Jason. We met up with Jason & his family for breakfast at a new restaurant off of Lyndon. Don't remember what it was called, but it was yummy! Les couldn't stay out for long as he is recuperating from knee replacement surgery & he was stubbornly not taking his medication that day. But it was wonderful to see all of them. Cynda & I drove back to Owensboro, where we met up with TJ, Nicole, Alexandra (Nicole's 2-year-old daughter), Nate, Sarah, & Stephen. The guys decided I should watch them base jump though we were flooded out due to the quite high river levels & Owensboro apparently does not have any tall buildings to jump. Dad met all of us at Olive Garden for dinner, where Cynda, her boyfriend John, & her dad met up with us. We were quite a party of 11 at OG.
Other than that things have been pretty tame. I'm trying to go through my clothes to figure out what I can/do wear & get rid of what I don't. I didn't realize how many clothes I have! I also have 2 boxes of books that I ordered from B&N that I must put somewhere. Let's just say I need a house dedicated as my library (I am currently taking donations for that as well by the way.).
So that is the excitement in my life. It is actually Saturday night as I write this & I'm getting ready to head out with Cynda & some friends to celebrate St Patrick's Day a little early, though I doubt I'll be drinking any green beer tonight.
Not sure when I will post next as this is supposed to be about my adventures in Europe & I am no longer living there. Maybe I'll post randomly to let you know how the jobs are going. And I might post some pics after the July trip. But right now I'll let this blog to rest until I see fit to resurrect it.
Hope you all have enjoyed reading the adventures. I'm sure there are more to come ... just on the US side of the pond.
14 March 2008
20 February 2008
Larissa Update
Larissa is back from the hospital. She didn't have to stay the night. They drew some blood & it's not appendicitis thankfully. Just gas pains (which I figured this morning, but didn't say anything). So both girls are still grumpy. Leena has decided that her nose hurts. Oh, & her ear (but we took the earring out & it doesn't hurt anymore). Please remind me to never have kids. Or get a nanny for them - I don't deal well with being cooped up with 2 sick kids all day. I hope I was never this annoying to my mom when I was sick!
Oh & yes the blog layout is changing. I'm probably going to play around with it until I find something I like. We'll see ... I was bored of the old layout. ;-)
Oh & yes the blog layout is changing. I'm probably going to play around with it until I find something I like. We'll see ... I was bored of the old layout. ;-)
Sickness
Leena & Larissa haven't gotten to school at all this week. Apparently there is a bug or something going around & they have it. Or so we thought. They both have had high fevers (103-104) & lots of coughing. Dagmar said it was croup. But today, Larissa woke up with a really bad stomach ache. I called Dagmar, who was at school, & asked what I should do since we couldn't get a hold of Emma, the grandmother. She said to call Gisela, who is the lady across the street who teaches me German, & ask her to call the doctor to see if I could bring Larissa in. The doctor believes that Larissa has appendicitis & should stay the night at the hospital for observation. So I have no clue what's going on since Emma took Larissa to the hospital. Hopefully it isn't appendicitis so she doesn't have to have surgery, but who knows!
07 February 2008
My Birthday
Thank you to everyone who sent me happy birthday emails. I have to say the best ecard I received was from Mom - it was a Hallmark one with a Paris theme. You couldn't help but laugh. Dad gets most points for trying - apparently he tried several times to send me an email card from Hallmark, but they wouldn't let him register or something. Oh & Cynda gets bonus points for being the first person to send me a message - she im'ed me at who knows what time, but it was around midnight of the 6th my time. :-)
So, some of you have asked how I spent my birthday. Well, let me tell you ... it wasn't too terribly exciting.
I got up at 6:30, as usual. Dagmar & the girls gave me a barn jacket (with "Hof Bitter", Tanja's barn name, embroidered on the back). Larissa made me a card. Because if was Ash Wednesday, we had pizza for lunch. No birthday cake. I was too lazy to make one. The girls had vaulting in the afternoon, so we did that. I talked to Mom. Read loads of emails & facebook messages from everyone. Talked to Freddy (German housemate from Swansea) before I went to bed. Finished my book.
That was the extent of my day. It started out raining pretty badly, but it cleared up. Oh & the girls & I rode our bikes down to Von See so she could email her US granma & granpa their V-Day card she had made them.
Exciting, I know!
So, some of you have asked how I spent my birthday. Well, let me tell you ... it wasn't too terribly exciting.
I got up at 6:30, as usual. Dagmar & the girls gave me a barn jacket (with "Hof Bitter", Tanja's barn name, embroidered on the back). Larissa made me a card. Because if was Ash Wednesday, we had pizza for lunch. No birthday cake. I was too lazy to make one. The girls had vaulting in the afternoon, so we did that. I talked to Mom. Read loads of emails & facebook messages from everyone. Talked to Freddy (German housemate from Swansea) before I went to bed. Finished my book.
That was the extent of my day. It started out raining pretty badly, but it cleared up. Oh & the girls & I rode our bikes down to Von See so she could email her US granma & granpa their V-Day card she had made them.
Exciting, I know!
01 February 2008
I owe Tanja beer ...
I owe Tanja beer & she deserves it, really. Now, you probably want to know who this Tanja person is & why I owe her beer. Well, Tanja is our riding instructor. And I owe her beer because I fell off Thursday. Though Tanja's rule is that you have to buy sweets for everyone in the barn, I think I'll give her beer because I'm American that has always been Jennifer's rule whenever I fell off.
So the story ...
On Tuesday, the girls & I had riding lessons at Tanja's. I rode Marqui, a cantankerous little chestnut that I really love because he makes me work & I am slowly seeing improvements with him. I am not sure how Marqui is, but I know he has only been ridden for about 3 years & has been in Tanja's lesson program since last summer. Some of the older riders use him in lessons, but I seem to be one of the more experienced, & fearless, riders with her right now. Marqui has issues with following other horses. That's all he wants to do. It seems that I am the only rider who can make him go where I want to go, rather than where he wants to go. I've been working with him since the first part of January & in the past 4 weeks, I have really seen a difference in him. He's bending better & doesn't always throw a fit when I ask him to turn a circle, which is quite often.
Well, Tanja asked me Tuesday if I could ride Marqui on Thursday while the girls were having their lesson. Of course I wasn't going to refuse! On Thursday, the wind was absolutely miserable (we were supposed to get up to 100mph gusts) & it was so cold. So I asked Tanja if I could ride in the small arena where she was giving lessons instead of taking Marqui & risk blowing away trying to get to the big arena. She was cool with that, as long as I stayed out of everyone's way, which presumably wasn't to be a problem. And it also gave me an opportunity to work with Marqui in a larger group of horses, in a smaller space, & with Tanja yelling suggestions every now & then.
It was later in the lesson, probably 20 minutes into it (they're only 30 minutes long), & I was working on circles with Marqui down at the far end while the girls (5 of 'em) rode circles on the other end. Now Marqui has not figured out the notion of bending & circling really well. We have several "discussions" about this quite often. Well, he was being a butt, more so than usual I might add. So I stopped him in the far turn to get him to relax. Then I asked him to walk forward. Which he wouldn't. So I smacked him on the butt with the whip. He took one step forward. Stopped. And bucked. Off I came ... very gracefully though! I landed on my feet on the right side of Marqui with the reins in my hand. Tanja looks over & says "Katie, you come down!" Everyone was laughing - & there were quite a few people there today! Probably 7 mothers & about 12 kids. So I climbed back on & started doing circles again. It was SOOO funny. I think this is the first time I've actually fallen off since high school!
So that is why I owe Tanja beer. Luckily no one was hurt & we all had a good laugh over it. I immediately came home & called mom because it was just too funny. The last time I remember falling off was with Peridot my freshman year of college, but Mom & I determined that did not count because Peridot actually slipped & fell coming out of the corner & I went down with her. Before that? Well, I never fell off Louie who I showed through my senior year of high school ... & I never fell off while I was riding at the Jacobs when I was at Transy. I clearly remember falling off of Governor Casey, TJ's old Hackney pony, but that was all Chuck's fault - his goal that day was to get me dumped. So it's been awhile. And I probably needed a gentle reminder.
Now I just have to figure out what type of beer Tanja likes .....
So the story ...
On Tuesday, the girls & I had riding lessons at Tanja's. I rode Marqui, a cantankerous little chestnut that I really love because he makes me work & I am slowly seeing improvements with him. I am not sure how Marqui is, but I know he has only been ridden for about 3 years & has been in Tanja's lesson program since last summer. Some of the older riders use him in lessons, but I seem to be one of the more experienced, & fearless, riders with her right now. Marqui has issues with following other horses. That's all he wants to do. It seems that I am the only rider who can make him go where I want to go, rather than where he wants to go. I've been working with him since the first part of January & in the past 4 weeks, I have really seen a difference in him. He's bending better & doesn't always throw a fit when I ask him to turn a circle, which is quite often.
Well, Tanja asked me Tuesday if I could ride Marqui on Thursday while the girls were having their lesson. Of course I wasn't going to refuse! On Thursday, the wind was absolutely miserable (we were supposed to get up to 100mph gusts) & it was so cold. So I asked Tanja if I could ride in the small arena where she was giving lessons instead of taking Marqui & risk blowing away trying to get to the big arena. She was cool with that, as long as I stayed out of everyone's way, which presumably wasn't to be a problem. And it also gave me an opportunity to work with Marqui in a larger group of horses, in a smaller space, & with Tanja yelling suggestions every now & then.
It was later in the lesson, probably 20 minutes into it (they're only 30 minutes long), & I was working on circles with Marqui down at the far end while the girls (5 of 'em) rode circles on the other end. Now Marqui has not figured out the notion of bending & circling really well. We have several "discussions" about this quite often. Well, he was being a butt, more so than usual I might add. So I stopped him in the far turn to get him to relax. Then I asked him to walk forward. Which he wouldn't. So I smacked him on the butt with the whip. He took one step forward. Stopped. And bucked. Off I came ... very gracefully though! I landed on my feet on the right side of Marqui with the reins in my hand. Tanja looks over & says "Katie, you come down!" Everyone was laughing - & there were quite a few people there today! Probably 7 mothers & about 12 kids. So I climbed back on & started doing circles again. It was SOOO funny. I think this is the first time I've actually fallen off since high school!
So that is why I owe Tanja beer. Luckily no one was hurt & we all had a good laugh over it. I immediately came home & called mom because it was just too funny. The last time I remember falling off was with Peridot my freshman year of college, but Mom & I determined that did not count because Peridot actually slipped & fell coming out of the corner & I went down with her. Before that? Well, I never fell off Louie who I showed through my senior year of high school ... & I never fell off while I was riding at the Jacobs when I was at Transy. I clearly remember falling off of Governor Casey, TJ's old Hackney pony, but that was all Chuck's fault - his goal that day was to get me dumped. So it's been awhile. And I probably needed a gentle reminder.
Now I just have to figure out what type of beer Tanja likes .....
19 January 2008
I broke the sink
Yup, the title says it all. I broke the sink in my bathroom. Don't really know how it happened. But you know how the sink handle fits into a ball, kind of like the hip bone fits into the socket? Well, apparently something slipped/broke in that part because the handle just flops. So Jurgen had to turn the water off to the sink. We'd fix it on Sunday, but nothing is open on Sundays. Stupid Germany. So I'm bathroom sinkless until Monday afternoon/evening. I figure the shower still works, so I can still get water from it to brush my teeth. Hopefully it'll be fixed Monday!!!
14 January 2008
Photos & Chocolate Covered Cherries
I finally got my Christmas & New Year's Eve photos on my computer. Thankfully Dagmar has a camera card reader & it all worked out. So while I was uploading these pics to Walgreens & Facebook, I was eating my yummy "Mon Cheri" chocolate covered cherries that have been soaked in cherry liqueur. Now, my question to you is: Can you become intoxicated after eating these? I ate about 15 in one sitting ... & they are 13% alcohol. Just curious.
To see my pics, go to these links. It's a lot faster to upload to Facebook than to my blog. You shouldn't need any log-in information to look at the photos if you are not a Facebook member.
2007 Girls' Christmas Party - http://transy.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012575&l=b595e&id=75200291
Trouble in Paris - http://transy.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012577&l=49b3a&id=75200291
New Year's Resolution: Find Cute, Rich Men in Cannes - http://transy.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012602&l=9fa07&id=75200291
The Beach & New Year's Eve - http://transy.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012603&l=d5e66&id=75200291
In Pursuit of the Man in the Iron Mask - http://transy.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012604&l=d9007&id=75200291
To see my pics, go to these links. It's a lot faster to upload to Facebook than to my blog. You shouldn't need any log-in information to look at the photos if you are not a Facebook member.
2007 Girls' Christmas Party - http://transy.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012575&l=b595e&id=75200291
Trouble in Paris - http://transy.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012577&l=49b3a&id=75200291
New Year's Resolution: Find Cute, Rich Men in Cannes - http://transy.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012602&l=9fa07&id=75200291
The Beach & New Year's Eve - http://transy.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012603&l=d5e66&id=75200291
In Pursuit of the Man in the Iron Mask - http://transy.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012604&l=d9007&id=75200291
06 January 2008
New Year's Resolution: Find Rich, Cute, Single Guy in Cannes, France. Success: Failed!
On Dec. 27th, I flew out of Evansville to London Gatwick (I would just like to say that I love to fly into Gatwick. It's SO easy!). I connected in Cincy with Delta where we were delayed an hour & a half because a plane carrying 44 of our passengers was late. I did not think this would be an issue once I got into London. Of course, I was wrong.
Arriving in London, I quickly collected my bags, made it through passport control, & into London city centre. The only problem with London is that they are ALWAYS working on their blasted tube system. And TODAY of all today's, they chose to close the Victoria Line which would take me directly to London St Pancras to catch the Eurostar to Paris where I would meet travel buddy Ashley Koch. I waited FOREVER to top up my Oyster card because the card machine broke. Once I got on the tube, I had to change once. At noon, I was heading around London. At noon, I was supposed to be at St Pancras, checking in. I got to St Pancras at 12:30. My train was leaving at 12:30. I was able to get another ticket for the next train free of charge, luckily. Ashley was also running 2 hours behind thanks to the French rail system.
I finally made it to Paris 2.5 hours later after a pleasant Eurostar, under the English Channel, journey. And I would just like to state, right now, that I LOVE THE PARIS METRO! It is SO easy to get around & it doesn't take 45 minutes to get where you need to go! I arrived at Gare du Nord, quickly found the metro, & headed to the hotel. But alas, another problem. When I made the hotel reservation, I made it for checking-in on the 27th & out on the 29th. Not checking-in the 28th & out on the 30th. Ashley, Mom, nor I caught it. Luckily the hotel I was originally booked at had a room available for the night. I took it, texted Ashley the news, & hopped in the shower. When she got to Paris, she sent me a text & I headed to the metro to meet her - along the way I also stopped at every hotel on our street until I found one with a room available for the next evening.
Ashley & I were thrilled to see each other! After getting back to the hotel, we toasted one another with a bottle of wine (tradition) & then hopped the metro to the Latin Quarter. Ashley is a vegetarian & I knew of one of the few vege restaurants in Paris, which happens to be run by my dear friend Riadh (Tunisian guy who keeps proposing to me). Riadh was working, so he waited on us & gave us free drinks (gotta give the guy credit - he is trying to win me over!). He even tried to pay for dinner, but Ashley & I would hear nothing of it. He got off work about 30 minutes after we finished eating, so we walked around the Latin Quarter for a bit & then met back up with him so we could hang out. We ended up going to the metro stop because I had been awake for 36 hours (remember, I had JUST arrived from the US!) & was completely exhausted.
The next day, Ashley & I decided to do some sightseeing. We took the metro out to La Defense where we visited the French version of the Christmas market, the Marche de Noel. We also went shopping at H&M because Ashley did not have a New Year's outfit! We ate lunch on the steps of La Defense, looking out at the Champs Elysees & the Arc de Triomphe. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to check-in to the other & dump out purses (neither of us are really fond of carrying purses). Ashley had never been to the Rodin Museum (now christened Mr. Rodeo, thank you Ashley) so we headed that way. We spent a good hour wandering around the house & gardens & collectively decided we wanted to steal the house & live in it. We then got the bright idea to walk to the Eiffel Tower where we presumed we would go ice skating. Once under the Eiffel Tower, we realized there was no ice skating! (Come to find out it was on the FIRST floor of the tower & the lines were too long to wait.) Though we were a little disappointed, we decided to walk along the Seine. It snowed/rained on us but we kept on. We walked to Place de la Concorde then up past the Musee d'Orsay & the Louvre. From there we crossed over the quay & went to find dinner. Dinner of choice tonight was Italian, so we went to Sammy's Italian restaurant in the Latin Quarter. Sadly, Sammy was not working. :-( After dinner of delicious pasta, we enjoyed a crepe. (How I miss those!) We had intended to take an evening cruise on the Seine, but we were both too tired of walking to even remember.
We headed back to the hotel where we thought we had crash. Instead, we stayed awake most of the night because the hotel was so noisy. At 8am, we got up, checked out, & headed to Gare du Lyon to take the TGV train to Cannes, France (where the Cannes Film Festival is held). Our goal was to find cute, rich men to either be our sugar daddies or our husbands. We arrived in Cannes around 2pm, quickly found out hotel, & made ourselves at home. We had stayed in this hotel chain previously & knew we liked the set up with a kitchen & WiFi. We strolled down to the beaches & saw a gorgeous sunset. For dinner, we ate at Mister Pizza - it was so amazing, we eat there twice!
The next day, New Year's Eve, we did more of the same. We walked down to the beaches, ate lunch on the rocks, talked to the local French guys, tried to figure out what to do that night, climbed up to the church that sits halfway up the "mountain" for nice views of Cannes, & headed back to the hotel. We made dinner - vegetable soup - & enjoyed our baguette. We got dressed - even spent an hour a piece to curl our hair ... who knew we needed to feel girly! After mixing our drinks (rum & coke as cocktails in any bar are UBERexpensive!) we headed out. By this time it was 11pm. We walked down to the beaches again & started walking towards the expensive yacht area (presumably where our rich husbands would be hanging out). We did run into some really fun French guys who spoke English really well (especially when they were drunk). We ended up watching the fireworks as we walked back to the hotel to use the bathroom (the stupid public toilets were not working!). Back at the hotel, we grabbed our bottle of cheap champagne (hey, we're poor college students) & headed back to the beach to celebrate the British New Year (when you've lived there a year, you feel a little obligated). Two creepy guys joined us, so we polished off the bottle pretty quickly & then headed back to the hotel for sleep. At the hotel, I called Mom on her cell to wish the fam a Happy New Year. She & Dad were at Brent McCarty's, so I got to talk to him as well. We went to bed about 3am.
The next day, Ashley bravely got up for a run whereas I chose to sleep in until noon. Today we chose to people watch which is SO much fun. We found a great little spot on a bench & just sat. We tried to pick out the people who had money, the people who didn't have money but dressed like they did, those people who had money but didn't show it, & those people like us - the tourists. You tell by the shoes. Ashley & I would make up stories about the different people we saw - how they made their money, what they liked to do, etc. I have to say, we're pretty good. The best was when the cute guys would walk by ...... those stories were the best.
The last day we were in Cannes, we decided to visit St. Marguerite Island which lies about 15 minutes from the coast. On the island, there is a fort where the Man in the Iron Mask was held for 11 years (I think) until he was transferred to the Bastille & subsequently died. There are many rumors as to who the man was - Moliere, Louis's twin brother or half brother, etc. But no one seems to know the truth. Ashley & I decided that it had to have been a brother or half brother because of the mask - the man's characteristics were so distinct that they could have linked him to someone, & who better than the king???? So that is our theory. It started to rain while we were on the island, so we were thrilled when the boat came to return us to mainland France. That night we dined on Mister Pizza while we packed.
Oh, I should add that while in Cannes, we watched many movies - some in French, some in English with French subtitles, & 2 that I brought. Master in Commander is a lot better in English ... Man in the Iron Mask is quite fun in French ... the animated Robots movie is hysterical in either language ... August Rush (thanks Dad) is amazing (I must get the sheet music for it!) ... & Flicka (with Tim McGraw) has some great guys to just oogle over.
On the 3rd, we checked out of the hotel bright & early at 630am & headed to the train station so I could catch the 7am train to Paris. I arrived in Paris with 45 minutes before my train to Germany left. As I said before, I love the metro. It's so quick! It took me 20 minutes to get from the Gare du Lyon to the Gare de l'Est & that was AFTER I took a wrong turn! God love Paris!
I got into Frankfurt (can I just say that I loved the car I was in from Paris to Frankfurt as well!) with 15 minutes between trains. Dagmar called me to make sure I had made it & we made plans for her to pick me up in Bremerhaven-Lehe instead of taking the train all the way to Otterndorf which would have gotten me home at midnight instead of 10:30. We got home at 10:30, only to find Leena still awake ... apparently awaiting my arrival. She came down & snuggled with me until I made her go to bed. I called mom to check-in with her & then unpacked.
I'm back & settled. I still need to do laundry though. Went to Tanja's today to ride Dirk, but found out that Susanne has taken him back home, so Tanja is having me work a half-crazy lesson horse for the time being.
The girls are calling ... Larissa got Wii for Christmas. I've already beaten them in tennis ...
Will post pics when I can. Mom gave me our camera over Christmas break, but the PC-Camera cords are not working, so I cannot upload my pics yet.
Arriving in London, I quickly collected my bags, made it through passport control, & into London city centre. The only problem with London is that they are ALWAYS working on their blasted tube system. And TODAY of all today's, they chose to close the Victoria Line which would take me directly to London St Pancras to catch the Eurostar to Paris where I would meet travel buddy Ashley Koch. I waited FOREVER to top up my Oyster card because the card machine broke. Once I got on the tube, I had to change once. At noon, I was heading around London. At noon, I was supposed to be at St Pancras, checking in. I got to St Pancras at 12:30. My train was leaving at 12:30. I was able to get another ticket for the next train free of charge, luckily. Ashley was also running 2 hours behind thanks to the French rail system.
I finally made it to Paris 2.5 hours later after a pleasant Eurostar, under the English Channel, journey. And I would just like to state, right now, that I LOVE THE PARIS METRO! It is SO easy to get around & it doesn't take 45 minutes to get where you need to go! I arrived at Gare du Nord, quickly found the metro, & headed to the hotel. But alas, another problem. When I made the hotel reservation, I made it for checking-in on the 27th & out on the 29th. Not checking-in the 28th & out on the 30th. Ashley, Mom, nor I caught it. Luckily the hotel I was originally booked at had a room available for the night. I took it, texted Ashley the news, & hopped in the shower. When she got to Paris, she sent me a text & I headed to the metro to meet her - along the way I also stopped at every hotel on our street until I found one with a room available for the next evening.
Ashley & I were thrilled to see each other! After getting back to the hotel, we toasted one another with a bottle of wine (tradition) & then hopped the metro to the Latin Quarter. Ashley is a vegetarian & I knew of one of the few vege restaurants in Paris, which happens to be run by my dear friend Riadh (Tunisian guy who keeps proposing to me). Riadh was working, so he waited on us & gave us free drinks (gotta give the guy credit - he is trying to win me over!). He even tried to pay for dinner, but Ashley & I would hear nothing of it. He got off work about 30 minutes after we finished eating, so we walked around the Latin Quarter for a bit & then met back up with him so we could hang out. We ended up going to the metro stop because I had been awake for 36 hours (remember, I had JUST arrived from the US!) & was completely exhausted.
The next day, Ashley & I decided to do some sightseeing. We took the metro out to La Defense where we visited the French version of the Christmas market, the Marche de Noel. We also went shopping at H&M because Ashley did not have a New Year's outfit! We ate lunch on the steps of La Defense, looking out at the Champs Elysees & the Arc de Triomphe. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to check-in to the other & dump out purses (neither of us are really fond of carrying purses). Ashley had never been to the Rodin Museum (now christened Mr. Rodeo, thank you Ashley) so we headed that way. We spent a good hour wandering around the house & gardens & collectively decided we wanted to steal the house & live in it. We then got the bright idea to walk to the Eiffel Tower where we presumed we would go ice skating. Once under the Eiffel Tower, we realized there was no ice skating! (Come to find out it was on the FIRST floor of the tower & the lines were too long to wait.) Though we were a little disappointed, we decided to walk along the Seine. It snowed/rained on us but we kept on. We walked to Place de la Concorde then up past the Musee d'Orsay & the Louvre. From there we crossed over the quay & went to find dinner. Dinner of choice tonight was Italian, so we went to Sammy's Italian restaurant in the Latin Quarter. Sadly, Sammy was not working. :-( After dinner of delicious pasta, we enjoyed a crepe. (How I miss those!) We had intended to take an evening cruise on the Seine, but we were both too tired of walking to even remember.
We headed back to the hotel where we thought we had crash. Instead, we stayed awake most of the night because the hotel was so noisy. At 8am, we got up, checked out, & headed to Gare du Lyon to take the TGV train to Cannes, France (where the Cannes Film Festival is held). Our goal was to find cute, rich men to either be our sugar daddies or our husbands. We arrived in Cannes around 2pm, quickly found out hotel, & made ourselves at home. We had stayed in this hotel chain previously & knew we liked the set up with a kitchen & WiFi. We strolled down to the beaches & saw a gorgeous sunset. For dinner, we ate at Mister Pizza - it was so amazing, we eat there twice!
The next day, New Year's Eve, we did more of the same. We walked down to the beaches, ate lunch on the rocks, talked to the local French guys, tried to figure out what to do that night, climbed up to the church that sits halfway up the "mountain" for nice views of Cannes, & headed back to the hotel. We made dinner - vegetable soup - & enjoyed our baguette. We got dressed - even spent an hour a piece to curl our hair ... who knew we needed to feel girly! After mixing our drinks (rum & coke as cocktails in any bar are UBERexpensive!) we headed out. By this time it was 11pm. We walked down to the beaches again & started walking towards the expensive yacht area (presumably where our rich husbands would be hanging out). We did run into some really fun French guys who spoke English really well (especially when they were drunk). We ended up watching the fireworks as we walked back to the hotel to use the bathroom (the stupid public toilets were not working!). Back at the hotel, we grabbed our bottle of cheap champagne (hey, we're poor college students) & headed back to the beach to celebrate the British New Year (when you've lived there a year, you feel a little obligated). Two creepy guys joined us, so we polished off the bottle pretty quickly & then headed back to the hotel for sleep. At the hotel, I called Mom on her cell to wish the fam a Happy New Year. She & Dad were at Brent McCarty's, so I got to talk to him as well. We went to bed about 3am.
The next day, Ashley bravely got up for a run whereas I chose to sleep in until noon. Today we chose to people watch which is SO much fun. We found a great little spot on a bench & just sat. We tried to pick out the people who had money, the people who didn't have money but dressed like they did, those people who had money but didn't show it, & those people like us - the tourists. You tell by the shoes. Ashley & I would make up stories about the different people we saw - how they made their money, what they liked to do, etc. I have to say, we're pretty good. The best was when the cute guys would walk by ...... those stories were the best.
The last day we were in Cannes, we decided to visit St. Marguerite Island which lies about 15 minutes from the coast. On the island, there is a fort where the Man in the Iron Mask was held for 11 years (I think) until he was transferred to the Bastille & subsequently died. There are many rumors as to who the man was - Moliere, Louis's twin brother or half brother, etc. But no one seems to know the truth. Ashley & I decided that it had to have been a brother or half brother because of the mask - the man's characteristics were so distinct that they could have linked him to someone, & who better than the king???? So that is our theory. It started to rain while we were on the island, so we were thrilled when the boat came to return us to mainland France. That night we dined on Mister Pizza while we packed.
Oh, I should add that while in Cannes, we watched many movies - some in French, some in English with French subtitles, & 2 that I brought. Master in Commander is a lot better in English ... Man in the Iron Mask is quite fun in French ... the animated Robots movie is hysterical in either language ... August Rush (thanks Dad) is amazing (I must get the sheet music for it!) ... & Flicka (with Tim McGraw) has some great guys to just oogle over.
On the 3rd, we checked out of the hotel bright & early at 630am & headed to the train station so I could catch the 7am train to Paris. I arrived in Paris with 45 minutes before my train to Germany left. As I said before, I love the metro. It's so quick! It took me 20 minutes to get from the Gare du Lyon to the Gare de l'Est & that was AFTER I took a wrong turn! God love Paris!
I got into Frankfurt (can I just say that I loved the car I was in from Paris to Frankfurt as well!) with 15 minutes between trains. Dagmar called me to make sure I had made it & we made plans for her to pick me up in Bremerhaven-Lehe instead of taking the train all the way to Otterndorf which would have gotten me home at midnight instead of 10:30. We got home at 10:30, only to find Leena still awake ... apparently awaiting my arrival. She came down & snuggled with me until I made her go to bed. I called mom to check-in with her & then unpacked.
I'm back & settled. I still need to do laundry though. Went to Tanja's today to ride Dirk, but found out that Susanne has taken him back home, so Tanja is having me work a half-crazy lesson horse for the time being.
The girls are calling ... Larissa got Wii for Christmas. I've already beaten them in tennis ...
Will post pics when I can. Mom gave me our camera over Christmas break, but the PC-Camera cords are not working, so I cannot upload my pics yet.
Christmas Vacation
The day after we returned from Germany, I was still jet-lagging. I woke up at 5:45am. I caught Dad as he walked out the door & got him to help bring in the suitcases so I could unpack.
At 9am, I had a doctor's appointment. I went out to my truck ... which wasn't there! Dad's blazer had died, so he took my truck for the day! So I had to get mom's car. After my appointment, I called dad & complained about being car-less. I missed my truck! I had mom take me to the office so I could steal my truck back & run some errands - namely visiting & Christmas shopping.
I ran out to the Flaherty's house & then met with Mom & Dad at Briarpatch for dinner. Afterwards, I moved into Cynda's place for the next few days. We enjoyed one of the 4 bottles of wine I brought back as well as the hot tub.
On Sunday, Cynda & I hosted the girls' Christmas party - Sarah (Danhauer) Osborne brought Lance & Katie Beth (they only stayed about an hour), Carlon Woodall & her fiance came, as well as Katie McBride & her boyfriend-turned-fiance. Cynda's boyfriend John came over after he got off work as well as Brent Hayden & Michael Buntin who came after their movie. After Carlon & her guy left, we hit the hot tub while Brent consumed a bottle of wine. (He was trying to make up for the 3 bottles we had already drunk, I guess.)
On Christmas Eve, I moved back home for the remained of my visit at home. Mom, Dad, & I went to mass early on Christmas morning & thankfully did not deal with loads of people. I was starving (seemed to be a recurring theme whenever I woke up) so we decided to see if anything was open - FYI, in Owensboro, Denny's & Waffle House are open on Christmas Day. We went to Denny's where I enjoyed a very good turkey & dressing dinner. Afterwards, we went home & opened Christmas presents & then headed out to Grandma's for Christmas. Dad let me drive the Corvette for the second time (the first time was Sunday morning out to Windy Hollow). I guess he trusts me with it now since he let me drive it twice! I'm working on getting it to be my semi-permanent car, but I'm not holding my breath. At Grandma's we met up with all the fam & opened presents - TJ & his girlfriend/fiancee Nicole drove in from Canada. After they opened Christmas presents, we headed home for them to collect the ones from us. Cynda & John stopped by as well.
The day after Christmas, Mom & I met up with Joan Perry & Jeff Fritz to celebrate the Decemeber birthdays - namely Joan's birthday which is the 26th. As our 7 year tradition states, we went to lunch (Briarpatch this time) & then to a movie (The Great Debaters - excellent!). Afterwards, we dropped Joan off at her house & then collected Dad to go to Corydon, IN, to celebrate Christmas with his sister & her fam.
TJ & Nicole met us there as well but could only stay for an hour because she had to fly back to Canada that evening. TJ dropped the bomb to the Bartlett side of the family about the engagement which caused some interesting conversation. I fell asleep on the way home & crashed when we got to the house. I still had to pack!
On the 27th, I was flying out of Evansville at 4:45pm to go to London. I woke up at 8am so I could pack. Ugh ... Not fun. But I managed to pack everything in one bag & a little carry-on. Go me! Mom drove me to the airport & away I went .........
At 9am, I had a doctor's appointment. I went out to my truck ... which wasn't there! Dad's blazer had died, so he took my truck for the day! So I had to get mom's car. After my appointment, I called dad & complained about being car-less. I missed my truck! I had mom take me to the office so I could steal my truck back & run some errands - namely visiting & Christmas shopping.
I ran out to the Flaherty's house & then met with Mom & Dad at Briarpatch for dinner. Afterwards, I moved into Cynda's place for the next few days. We enjoyed one of the 4 bottles of wine I brought back as well as the hot tub.
On Sunday, Cynda & I hosted the girls' Christmas party - Sarah (Danhauer) Osborne brought Lance & Katie Beth (they only stayed about an hour), Carlon Woodall & her fiance came, as well as Katie McBride & her boyfriend-turned-fiance. Cynda's boyfriend John came over after he got off work as well as Brent Hayden & Michael Buntin who came after their movie. After Carlon & her guy left, we hit the hot tub while Brent consumed a bottle of wine. (He was trying to make up for the 3 bottles we had already drunk, I guess.)
On Christmas Eve, I moved back home for the remained of my visit at home. Mom, Dad, & I went to mass early on Christmas morning & thankfully did not deal with loads of people. I was starving (seemed to be a recurring theme whenever I woke up) so we decided to see if anything was open - FYI, in Owensboro, Denny's & Waffle House are open on Christmas Day. We went to Denny's where I enjoyed a very good turkey & dressing dinner. Afterwards, we went home & opened Christmas presents & then headed out to Grandma's for Christmas. Dad let me drive the Corvette for the second time (the first time was Sunday morning out to Windy Hollow). I guess he trusts me with it now since he let me drive it twice! I'm working on getting it to be my semi-permanent car, but I'm not holding my breath. At Grandma's we met up with all the fam & opened presents - TJ & his girlfriend/fiancee Nicole drove in from Canada. After they opened Christmas presents, we headed home for them to collect the ones from us. Cynda & John stopped by as well.
The day after Christmas, Mom & I met up with Joan Perry & Jeff Fritz to celebrate the Decemeber birthdays - namely Joan's birthday which is the 26th. As our 7 year tradition states, we went to lunch (Briarpatch this time) & then to a movie (The Great Debaters - excellent!). Afterwards, we dropped Joan off at her house & then collected Dad to go to Corydon, IN, to celebrate Christmas with his sister & her fam.
TJ & Nicole met us there as well but could only stay for an hour because she had to fly back to Canada that evening. TJ dropped the bomb to the Bartlett side of the family about the engagement which caused some interesting conversation. I fell asleep on the way home & crashed when we got to the house. I still had to pack!
On the 27th, I was flying out of Evansville at 4:45pm to go to London. I woke up at 8am so I could pack. Ugh ... Not fun. But I managed to pack everything in one bag & a little carry-on. Go me! Mom drove me to the airport & away I went .........
Mom's Visit
I have been informed by certain people (thanks mom) that I have not blogged recently. Life here has either been noting to brag about or just busy.
Mom came to visit back in December. She arrived on December 12, the day before her birthday, & stayed until December 20, when we flew back to the US for Christmas. Her only demand was shopping ... at the Christmas Markets. Now I am not a fan of huge crowds. Or Christmas (thanks Dad for failing to get me a Christmas present - and NO, driving the Corvette twice does NOT count). Anyway, I grumbled, but we went. Our first stop was Bremen. Dagmar drove us to Bremerhaven-Lehe where we caught the train to Bremen for the day. We went on a Saturday, which was crazy. Mom bought a few things ... we saw some of the famous sites of Bremen - namely the Statue of Roland & the Bremen Musicians. On Monday, we went to Hamburg for the market. I kinda liked Hamburg; it wasn't as crowded which may have been because of the weekday excursion. We bought a few things in Hamburg as well. And remembered to wear our long underwear (we nearly froze in Bremen!).
On Thursday, we went to Tanja's, as usual, for riding lessons - Mom got to see the girls ride Holly & Dagmar & I on our friesians - Dagmar on Tarabas & me on Dirk. Sunday was the barn Christmas party in Ihlienworth. Several barns get together & put on a show - we saw vaulting, jumping (through fire), & a bunch of other acts. Tanja's group also participated - I lead Larissa on Holly.
Friday, we stole Leena & took her in to Otterndorf to act as translator we need be. We found the local Christmas market, ate at Bruening (a great little cafe), found a doll museum, & just walked around town in general. I think Leena had fun. :0)
On the 19th, Dagmar drove us to Bremen when she returned from work. We took mom to IKEA which is a huge home store - like Lowe's or Home Depot but SO much better. Afterwards, she dropped us at the hotel where we checked-in, ate dinner, made a wake-up call for 4am, ordered a taxi for 5am, & went to bed.
At 5am, we were in the taxi on our way to the airport (it took a whole 5 minutes). We checked-in & waited. Our flight to Munich was nothing - very easy. The flight from Munich to Chicago, however, was a slight problem. When we landed in Munich, all we saw was white - snow or fog? Well, it was a little of both (Munich is close to the Alps). It was so cold that our plane wheels were frozen to the tarmac & they had to de-ice our wings. An hour & a half later, we finally departed.
Arriving in Chicago, Mom & I were originally on 2 different flights to Evansville. I managed to fly stand-by on hers, so we called dad & Cynda (who were picking us up) to let them know when we would arrive. We got to EVV & I turned on my phone - voice mail from Cynda saying I needed to call her. Apparently Dad had forgotten to bring Chuck's Christmas present & decide to return home to pick it up, figuring that if he forgot the present, he's be dead & if he arrived an hour late, he'd be dead. So while we waited for him, I hung out with the security guards & asked where we could find an O'Charley's for dinner. After getting directions from them, Dad & Cynda finally arrived. We loaded up the car, headed to the barn to give Chuck his Christmas present, & then to O'Charley's. After dinner, I think I lasted about half an hour because all I remember is mom waking me up when we got home & telling me to go to bed. Guess I wasn't the greatest company, huh Cynda? ;-)
Mom came to visit back in December. She arrived on December 12, the day before her birthday, & stayed until December 20, when we flew back to the US for Christmas. Her only demand was shopping ... at the Christmas Markets. Now I am not a fan of huge crowds. Or Christmas (thanks Dad for failing to get me a Christmas present - and NO, driving the Corvette twice does NOT count). Anyway, I grumbled, but we went. Our first stop was Bremen. Dagmar drove us to Bremerhaven-Lehe where we caught the train to Bremen for the day. We went on a Saturday, which was crazy. Mom bought a few things ... we saw some of the famous sites of Bremen - namely the Statue of Roland & the Bremen Musicians. On Monday, we went to Hamburg for the market. I kinda liked Hamburg; it wasn't as crowded which may have been because of the weekday excursion. We bought a few things in Hamburg as well. And remembered to wear our long underwear (we nearly froze in Bremen!).
On Thursday, we went to Tanja's, as usual, for riding lessons - Mom got to see the girls ride Holly & Dagmar & I on our friesians - Dagmar on Tarabas & me on Dirk. Sunday was the barn Christmas party in Ihlienworth. Several barns get together & put on a show - we saw vaulting, jumping (through fire), & a bunch of other acts. Tanja's group also participated - I lead Larissa on Holly.
Friday, we stole Leena & took her in to Otterndorf to act as translator we need be. We found the local Christmas market, ate at Bruening (a great little cafe), found a doll museum, & just walked around town in general. I think Leena had fun. :0)
On the 19th, Dagmar drove us to Bremen when she returned from work. We took mom to IKEA which is a huge home store - like Lowe's or Home Depot but SO much better. Afterwards, she dropped us at the hotel where we checked-in, ate dinner, made a wake-up call for 4am, ordered a taxi for 5am, & went to bed.
At 5am, we were in the taxi on our way to the airport (it took a whole 5 minutes). We checked-in & waited. Our flight to Munich was nothing - very easy. The flight from Munich to Chicago, however, was a slight problem. When we landed in Munich, all we saw was white - snow or fog? Well, it was a little of both (Munich is close to the Alps). It was so cold that our plane wheels were frozen to the tarmac & they had to de-ice our wings. An hour & a half later, we finally departed.
Arriving in Chicago, Mom & I were originally on 2 different flights to Evansville. I managed to fly stand-by on hers, so we called dad & Cynda (who were picking us up) to let them know when we would arrive. We got to EVV & I turned on my phone - voice mail from Cynda saying I needed to call her. Apparently Dad had forgotten to bring Chuck's Christmas present & decide to return home to pick it up, figuring that if he forgot the present, he's be dead & if he arrived an hour late, he'd be dead. So while we waited for him, I hung out with the security guards & asked where we could find an O'Charley's for dinner. After getting directions from them, Dad & Cynda finally arrived. We loaded up the car, headed to the barn to give Chuck his Christmas present, & then to O'Charley's. After dinner, I think I lasted about half an hour because all I remember is mom waking me up when we got home & telling me to go to bed. Guess I wasn't the greatest company, huh Cynda? ;-)
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