Brussels, Belgium
What a great way to start my Sunday by waking up at 6:45 am to check scores on a college football game and determine that it’s a win! After a rough season, Auburn finished dignified with our sixth straight win over Alabama in the Iron Bowl. That’s a good ending to regular season for the team and for Tuberville!
War Eagle!
Brussels, Belgium
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a traditional North American holiday to give thanks to God at the conclusion of the harvest season. (Wikipedia)
In honor of the special day, here are a few of the things I am thankful for:
I arrived in Belgium Tuesday with no problems despite the French government strikes (including trains, buses, teachers, etc.). The last two days have been spent catching up with Chuck, Michael, David, and Greg and relaxing and preparing for our Thanksgiving meal.
Last night we drove to Ghent to meet a friend of a friend that I have met several times in London. Graeme is a friend and neighbor of Clive (past coworker and friend from the UK). Graeme is an opera singer and is rehearsing for a production in Antwerp and thus, suggested meeting in Ghent. The town is great — filled with character and streets lined with great shops and restaurants/cafes. We met at a little restaurant near the Opera house that had great ambiance and overlooked the river.
Our conversation was fun and energetic (as always with this crowd) and it was great to get to know Graeme a little better. I am amazed at his influence and experience in the Opera world and am fascinated to learn more as I ashamedly know very little about the Opera.
Today is our big day of preparing for the Thanksgiving meal. We were all cooking in the kitchen quite early today to ensure everything will be ready (save poor David who has been banned from the kitchen…). I am excited to eat a traditional Thanksgiving meal including a very large and labored over turkey that was obtained by a friend of Chuck’s. Cooking a traditional meal is a great way to bring togetherness and joy in honor of this special day.
To all my family and friends that are back in the States, I wish you all a wonderful and special day and am sending hugs and good blessings from afar!
Enencourt Leage, France
Today was a typical dark, cold, and grey day in France and despite that, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day. The Morels took me on another adventure to the beautiful town of Rouen, France. From Wikipedia:
Rouen (pronounced /ʀuɑ̃/ in French, sometimes also /ʀwɑ̃/) is the historical capital city of Normandy, in northwestern France on the River Seine, and currently the capital of the Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy) région. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, Rouen was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages. It was one of the capitals of the Anglo-Norman dynasties, which ruled both England and large parts of modern France from the 11th century to the 15th century. It was in Rouen where Joan of Arc was burnt in 1431. People from Rouen are called Rouennais.
The historic homes from the medieval times are gorgeous and make for a very majestic setting. The two cathedrals also add charm and history to the city as they stand tall above most buildings. Cathedral Notre-Dame is amazing and inspiring as you stand inside and look up at the creative columns built to hold the massive structure without adding too much weight. I stood there and thought of Ken Follett’s “Pillars of the Earth” thinking of the numbers of people that must have contributed to building this massive religious structure over many years.
Rouen is also well-known for the clock tower, Gros-Horloge or Great Clock, which sits in the center of town and provided time indicators for the local townspeople during the middle centuries (imagine going from not ever knowing the exact time save for the sun and then suddenly hearing the great chime of the clock strike every hour). The Great Clock is beautiful and sits in the middle of one of the most popular streets in Rouen.
Beyond being the capital of Normandy, Rouen is also the location where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431. The tower, which was the scene of her trial, still stands today. As well, there is a church dedicated to her that was built in the middle of a great plaza. The building is interesting to say the least and is quite distracting from the beauty of the city centre.
For lunch we ate at a typical French restaurant, Brasserie Les Maraichers, in the city centre. The appearance and greeting led us to believe that it would be a great meal but we were all a bit disappointed. The wine we started with, the newly released Beaujolais Nouveau, was very light and refreshing. We all had the “menu” (meal which you pick a starter, main, and dessert) and I started with “shellfish in garlic sauce” which tuned out to be mussels, followed by squid bolognese which was wide egg noodles with chopped squid (a unique combination) for my main. The Morels thought their meals were decent at best and would not recommend the restaurant (we did keep reminding ourselves that the bread was very good which is a sign of a good restaurant typically, and the food was hot which was looking on the bright side of things). Dessert was the best course — I had raspberry and apple crumble with caramel ice cream. And thankfully, I was able to pace myself and not overeat at every course. The waiter did ask us how everyone’s meal was and Gudrun, being the honest person she is, told him the truth that it was very touristy (implying it was only okay and overpriced for the meal). Needless to say, he was not happy with us after that.
The trip to Rouen was wonderful and as always, the Froggies showed me another very special French town in the countryside. And they spoiled me again with a very different dinner of boiled potatoes and Mont d’Or cheese. It was lovely but I am going to have to leave France so I can start to reduce my eating again before I blow up and roll away!
Ciao for now…
Paris, France
My visit to London was incredibly short and somewhat dampened with not feeling great. But despite that, it was great to be back in the city and visit with friends.
First, a big thank you to the Magluilo’s for being such great hosts. I had a great time with Noelle and Mike over the weekend and enjoyed having such good friends to visit with. Noelle spoiled me and set quite a stellar precedence for future hosts to live up to (including breakfast in bed when I wasn’t feeling well…what a treat!).
The London visit on this go round included:
The visit to London was great as expected albeit way too short. I wish I would have had more time to visit with more people and spend time at my favorite locations. But it was a great visit and I’m glad I got to see those that I did!
The journey to Paris this morning on Eurostar was uneventful as usual and provided a very welcomed nap. My French Mama, Gudrun, was kind enough to pick me up at Paris Nord station given that the trains are not working from the strike.
We drove from the city to Enencourt Leage and stopped at the club to see Michel (my French Papa) before heading to the house. I love their country house and always welcome a visit to my room there. Still not feeling well, I decided to take a nap and had a great 1 ½ hour nap in the cozy guest room with windows looking at the beautiful surroundings next to the river.
Our evening was spent catching up and enjoying a lovely meal. As always, it is great to see the Morels and I am very happy to reconnect again with my French family!
London, England
The sights and sounds of London Heathrow Airport are all too familiar and brought back floods of memories. Including standing in line for about an hour to get through customs. But that’s just what happens in London.
Whenever I return now to London, I am at first hit with an abundant sense of the differences. But then quickly those turn to memories of how things are done here. From getting pounds out of the ATM immediately at the airport, to buying a one day pass for the Tube (seeing that I forgot my Oyster pass which is a rechargeable pass), to figuring out my route on the Tube and then having service “interrupted” due to signal familiars. Life is much faster paced in London than in most places in the States. And yet, it is a welcomed change from the ordinary.
It’s great already to see familiar faces as I’m staying with friends from Denver that have been in London for five years (Noelle and Mike). Walking to their house through their village after my Tube journey reminds me of how great life is without a car. And little touches like the “Hello!” magazine in my room remind me of the quirks of the English lifestyle (they do love their celebrities). I’m happy to be back and looking forward to my visit.
And a note to my seat mate on the flight from Chicago to London: there is not that much room in economy and please try and be respectful of personal space for all your future seat mates. Your elbow and arm in my side all night long was not pleasant. Nor was your breath or your snoring. And one last thing, I didn’t enjoy your constant stares at what I was doing and directly at me throughout the seven hour journey. Perhaps you can be a little more subtle in the future. But I hope you enjoy your visit in London.
We are off to go ice skating and then out for Lebanese food. I do love the enourmous amount of great activities in London as well as the cultural diversity.
Happy Friday to everyone back in the States and around the world!
Chicago, IL
Sitting in the airport waiting for my flight to London and passing time catching up on shows I’ve missed over the last couple of weeks. It’s been a crazy 24 hours getting home from GA and ready to go overseas. But I’m excited to hit the air and travel back to Europe. This trip includes visits with friends in London, Paris, and then Brussels for Thanksgiving. More updates on my travels shortly…
Denver, CO
On Thursday night my next door neighbors from my childhood had to make one of the toughest decisions — to allow their beloved Hub to die peacefully without having to endure further trauma to his physical body. It is a choice that we all hope we never have to make. But the courage they showed is admirable and especially knowing that their husband, father, and grandfather is now resting peacefully.
It saddens me to know Hub isn’t with us anymore. And although I live across the country, our families are still living in the same neighborhood where we grew up and I’ve always felt their family was a part of my life (through schooling, marriages, births, etc.). The Evens five kids are all grown up and the family has grown and multiplied. Hub and Jan are great parents and grandparents and have always been happy go lucky. My heart breaks for Jan (or as we called her growing up “Aunt Bee”) as her partner won’t be with her to fulfill their retirement plans. But thankfully, she has a lot of kids that love her dearly and will make sure she still has meaning in her life.
Life and death are such contemplative thoughts. The one thing that is for sure is that we all have an end to our Earthly life. Thank goodness for the special people that enter our lives and have some type of influence on us. Hub is one of those special people and he’ll be missed sorely.
“Love is stronger than death even though it can’t stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can’t separate people from love. It can’t take away our memories either. In the end, life is stronger than death.”
–Anonymous
