France!

Well, since we last talked, we have had a very busy time! Let's see- where to start? We arrived in Paris to warm weather (too warm?) and a nice big apartment in the 10th Arrondissement, between Gare du Nord and Gare d'Este.There we beat the rush, for all of you who think Parisians are rude....by meeting the first and ONLY rude person in the city. We had been given travel directions to the condo building, and also the code to enter and "the name of the staircase". Easy- we tried an elevator or two, not realizing that the French evidently are on a first name basis with their stairwells-and we were DEFINITELY strangers. So finally I threw in the proverbial towel and asked the concierge. She told me, and she told me off.. with an added "zut!" at the end for emphasis. No matter- we were in!

Inside the condo we met the property manager, paid our 200 euro refundable damage deposit, and said "adios- we'll see you in 5 days" to get our euros back because yeah- 200 euros is a lot of cash and we would need it in Berlin.

We took a cool (very hot) canal ride on the St Martin canal, had dinner with Stephane and Magali under the Eiffel TOwer, supped in the Marais- good times. We also tracked down and supported Starbucks in Paris after asking several very kind, very helpful locals,including a young lady who explained where a Starbucks was hiding (near the Centre Pompidou) and then gently added "But you know, we have very good French coffee".... at which point we told her that yes, we loved French coffee but we were buying it for a French friend's birthday and she preferred Starbucks. Zut!

So Paris was a treat, as always, and although we didn't return from dinner with Stephane and Magali until 1:30AM and we had to be up by 7 to catch the TGV to Creutzwald, we fell into bed tired, happy and getting better at converting our English into Spanish and then into my rusty French. Then- our first little glitch- the property manager called at about the time he was supposed to arrive, to tell us he was delayed and we should leave to catch our train. He would arrange to return the euros at a later time. Hmm....maybe we can tell the owner of the condo in Berlin that we will pay at a later time?- probably not. What to do? Catch the train, that's what. So we did.

So, 200 euros lighter, we crossed France over to Metz, where Alicia met us. We settled into her mother's huge, beautiful, huge, modern, huge house. 5 bedrooms for 3 people. What a lovely home and family! Nice to finally meet ALicia's mother and to see her in her "french" life. We were treated like royalty with kindness, consideration and excellent food and wine. 3 days of heaven! We also had a chance to visit the American cemetery, only 15 minutes by car (Alicia's- merci Alicia!) where 1,000's of US soldiers are buried as a result of the hard-fought battles for the region in late 1944-early 1945. Beautiful, haunting and emotional.

It's not to be forgotten either that this is the week of Bastille Day in France, and so one night we had the chance to go enjoy fireworks with most of the (small) town. Great fireworks! Mexico, eat your heart out. Very, very fun and a great reminder for those whose who need it (not us) of the close history shared by our 2 countries. Red, white and blue; fireworks in mid July;, Statue of Liberty;liberation...friends are very important, why do we sometimes turn our backs on old friends?

But now it is Monday and that means goodbye to France and guten tag to Germany. We are on the train to Berlin and are not impressed with the exalted German efficiency. The trains are running late, the bathrooms don't work, what is the world coming to?!?! High hopes for the condo in Berlin, if we can put together the euros! TTFN.