On to Paree!

Clark and I are atop a high-speed train hurtling toward Chartres, where he wants to see the cathedral. Now that his responsibilities are done, he get to choose the itinerary. He’s chosen to spend the whole day tomorrow in the Louvre.

Nantes wasn’t anything special. I toured a pretty boring castle. I don’t think Micah and Audrey would have wanted to live there. Maybe Riley….

Between free breakfasts and hosted dinners, our only food expense has been for Clark’s diet coke, to which cost we have to add an additional 50 cents, which is the cost to pee here in Europe.

Jill, you’re invited for birthday dinner on Sunday. I think I know how to fix escargots!

Bonjour!

Right after I last blogged, Andy (Garcia, you recall) asked if he could get on the elevator with us in the hotel, or if he should wait for the next one. We begged him to join us, and I stood touching arms with him from the 3rd floor to the lobby! Clark chatted him up (and down) and promised to look into the traffic problems in Los Angeles for him. He (Andy)was on his way to a screening, and he smelled really good. Pretty fun.

We spent the next day traveling by train to St. Malo, France, where we boarded the ferry for Guernsey Island. It was a 3-hour trip over, arriving at 10 p.m. John had to get up early and return on the 8 a.m. ferry going back, since had a dinner to attend in Nantes Sunday evening. He basically just escorted me over and went back in the dark….what a guy!

I went to church in Guernsey. There were 7 others besides me. I met a cute Portuguese girl there who is on a 12-month contract as a nurse. She had a car, and she and her roommate took me all over the island. We visited a museum in a tunnel dug by the slaves during the German occupation, which is documented in the novel, “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.” The book is what piqued my interest in Guernsey, and I loved being there at the site of the events that were described. The people on Guernsey hadn’t heard of the book, with the exception of a 17-year-old boy inthe branch who spent last summer working at the Nauvoo pageant. He remembered hearing about “the potato peelings book,” but hadn’t read it. I wanted to leave them my copy, but Clark was reading it by then and wanted to finish it.

I started back to France (Guernsey is English) yesterday. At St. Malo I took a bus ride out to a small harbor so I could view Mt. St. Michel from a distance. Then after two train changes, I was surprised to see John waiting for me at the Nantes station. He took a chance I’d be on that train, met me, and off we went to a river cruise dinner with his group. I didn’t even get to change clothes.

So today is my one day in Nantes. I’m probably going to spend it doing laundry and taking it easy. We’re having a great time, but the days are long when dinner lasts until midnight.

On a serious note, Jim Smith has prostrate cancer. He was scheduled for surgery yesterday, but they postponed it because of a clotting problem. So, along with Laurie’s sister’s family, remember Uncle Jim in your prayers.

Love,

Mom

Star-watching in Ghent.

Today after I watched John’s presentation, I went to the lobby to wait for the session to end. I sat down, back-to-back with a guy being interviewed. I realized that it was Andy Garcia, and that no one else seemed to be aware of it. He’s here for the film festival, and everyone’s staying in our hotel. Kevin Costner was here, but left about the time we arrived. I hung around Andy, eavesdropping on his interview. Then, because he was waiting for someone, he played a little on the lobby piano. By now I had snapped several pictures and alerted everyone else. I’ve run into him twice since then–it’s kinda fun. Clark even said “Hi” to him, but he got no response.

Speaking of the film festival, I watched a screening yesterday that disturbed me so much that I couldn’t sleep at all last night. In fact, I couldn’t even take a taxi back to the hotel because I was too distraught. I walked from the suburbs back to the city, crying all the way. It was a true story about stoning a woman in Iran, and it will haunt me for a long time to come. I am sickened by the inhumanity portrayed by the film. It hadn’t been a film I would have chosen, but it was the only one available in the short space of time I had.

The Belgium part of the trip is ending. To recap, we had a reception in a castle, dinner last night in a monastery, and lunch today in a restored factory. They’re written up in guide books. Fancy meals are usually wasted on us, though. We’ve been served raw beef and raw fish, and spent interminable hours between courses. Clark just wanted to find a bratwurst stand and a grocery store.

Tomorrow we set out for France, with no clear plan and no hotel reservations for tomorrow night. I haven’t given up on
my wish to visit Guernsey island enroute to our next destination, Nantes. We’ll see how it goes…

Mom

European Vacation with Clark

We’re in Gent, Brussels, which is breathtaking! We weren’t prepared for such a magnificant city. In addition to sightseeing, they’re holding a film festival, and I’m going to try to see at least one film. The flight over was miserable (left 5 1/2 hours late), but the train connections so far have been smooth. Clark was going to show me how to upload some pictures, but he’s gone on a Diet Coke run, and I’m running out of battery, so maybe later…
Love to all,
Mom