The 12 Days of Christmas: The Summary

So here we are on the last of the 12 days of Christmas. What an amazing way to wait for the Epiphany to the world: both seeing the world, following the history of Christianity, and being amazed and filled with wonder at the history of our world. Yesterday was filled with (at LEAST) 11 hours flying. It was actually about 15 hours in the air and almost 11 hours of layover/wait time in airports. Today was spent resting and recovering in a very busy house.

You can sing along if you like, but here is my version of the 12 days of Christmas:

"On the days of vacation, my Europe trip gave to me...

1 Warm winter coat
2 Delayed Flights
3 Different Tube Lines
4 Tour Stops
5 Ali Isms
6 Eiffel Keychains
7 Trains a-Passing
8 Train Hours Resting
9 Pieces Buying
10 Monuments "Rome-ing"
11 Hours Flying
12 Hours Resting"

There is so much involved in the trip and a real debt of gratitude for both the opportunity to go and to Michelle B. who brainstormed and planned the whole thing. Wonderful and Amazing are the words I'm left with.

May the year be filled with many more epiphanies.

10 Monuments Rome-ing

4 January 2008

So today we "attacked" Rome. It was an intense blast of amazing monuments, historical sights, political commentary, miles and miles of walking, and centuries of history. Here's the rundown of the whole day.

We met up with our guide outside the walls of Vatican City. We walked through the Vatican Museum first. The art work was amazing and it houses over 1/2 of the worlds’ pieces of art. We walked through a room with some of the oldest existing tapestries. The room was air and light controlled because of the fragile nature of these pieces. One of the adults in our group decided that it would be OK to touch one. Obviously, just because someone is an adult, doesn't mean they have grown up.

Our next stop was the Sistine Chapel. The experience of awe was similar to the time in the St. Frances Basilica. Everyone was walking through from the altar towards the back of the church looking up. About 1/2 way down the sanctuary, there was a step that they had put a ramp on. I figured, if this were in the US, there would be big red letters painted across the ceiling of the beautiful Michelangelo ceiling that would say, "Caution: Please watch your step."

Next monument was the St. Peter's Basilica. The church is the largest in the world, but designed to appear 1/3 smaller than it is through optical illusions. The goal is to not overwhelm the occupants and make them feel insignificant. I could have spent a whole day in any of these places.

After lunch, we went to the Coliseum. Our guide for the day, Paula, was wonderful and knowledgeable. She had a great blend of commentary, history, and anecdote to keep the day interesting. One of the things she mentioned was that the Coliseum was not used by Nero to kill the Christians. They know this because 15 years ago they were able to date the Coliseum building to 7 years after Nero. The Christians were fed to the lions in Circus Maximus.

We had huge amounts of walking around the city and driving around in the tour bus. We met up at the Plaza Colonnade after seeing Palentine Hill, the National Monument, Hadrian's Arch, and the Pantheon. After dinner we all went to throw our leftover coins into Trevi Fountain. The thought is that if you throw 1 coin, you will come back to Rome, 2 coins, you will find love in Rome, 3 coins- you will marry in Rome.

On our evening bus tour before heading back to the hotel we saw the Castel Sant’ Angelo that is the "secret stronghold" for the Pope, according to Dan Brown and fact, however the secret tunnel is an over the road walkway.

9 (ceramic) pieces buying

3 January 2008

We took off this morning on our coach from Florence to Rome. As we headed out of town, we stopped at an overlook for the city. We went out to have a group picture and it was snowing. Fortunately, it stopped later, but it was a beautiful sight.

We headed to Assisi first. Near the city, we stopped at a ceramics factory that produces pottery in the style of the region. It was a fun pottery shop, so I stocked up on some souvenirs and gifts. 9 pieces of pottery will be making the journey back with me. Fortunately, they are much smaller than the pieces from Vietnam:-)

We headed into Assisi to see the Basilica of St. Frances. Beautiful, peaceful, spiritual, refreshing. Many of the adults in our group commented on how peaceful it was. It was frustrating that some people in the sanctuaries and crypt couldn't follow the silence rule or avoid taking pictures, but overall it was a great experience.

We got into Rome tonight and will have a packed day tomorrow that may make me want to come back. Tomorrow will be our Roman Holiday. Ciao.

8 train hours resting

2 January 2008

We took the night train out of Paris last night and went to Florence. We were assigned cars by sixes. Some of us were assigned by fours because we didn't have the whole sleeping cabin. I was in cabin with one of the moms, a co-worker, and our tour director. We ended up sharing with an Italian couple from Florence. They were very nice and the man was tall, so he helped up put all our luggage up high so we would have room to sleep later.

The car looked like the train car in the Harry Potter movies from the Hogwart's Express. When it was time for bed the back of the seat came forward and became the middle bunk. The seat dropped to the floor and became the bottom bunk. The top bunk had been there all along. I was surprised by how much room there was between and I was pretty comfortable. We were asleep around 10pm because we were all so tired from the night before. I woke occasionally, but overall had a wonderful night and was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience. We were awakened at 6am to get off the train and I finally felt rested enough to awake refreshed at my normal waking time.

We arrived in Florence a bit after 7am and took a bus into the town for the day. We had breakfast at a local restaurant and then had a walking tour of the city. After lunch, 5 of us headed to the Duomo to climb the 463 stairs to the top. This is the 4th largest cathedral in the world and the 3rd highest dome. (We saw #2-St. Paul's in London-and will see #1 in Rome-St. Peter's.) The other large cathedral is in Milan and I have seen that also.

The climb was hard and narrow, but worth EVERY step. Amazing view and being in the dome, inches from the artwork was wonderful. Later in the afternoon we went to the museum where the David, by Michelangelo is. We had seen a replica in the square, but seeing the original under a dome with unfinished sculptures by Mike in the hallway leading up to it was even more amazing.

In the evening, we went to a Renaissance Dinner Theatre and had a wonderful meal. My favorite part was the asparagus risotto and watching the kids get pulled up to participate in some of the jester's antics.

7 Trains a-passing...

1 January 2008

With a beginning like this, I don't know where the year will go. For New Year's Eve, I went out for a Feast of St. Sylvestre meal. (du reveillion de Saint Sylvestre.) We had several choices and they had an English "translation" of the menu for which they apologized as they handed it out. I chose "Rollers with salmon, lawyer, and grapefruit" for my starter. Turns out they translated "avocat" as "advocat", so an avocado became a "lawyer." I wasn't really disappointed that it WASN'T lawyer, but I did wonder what it would taste like:-) I also had "Gamba with the Provence One" (Grilled prawns) and "burned cream" (Crème brulee) for dessert.

After dinner we all headed to the Champs Elysees to ring in the New Year. We were within a 100 yards of the Arc de Triumphe and it was crazy. Wall to wall people and still they were shooting off personal fireworks in the street. There was no "event" at midnight, so it kind of rolled in as people's personal watches changed.

When we were done, John and Joke offered to take me to one of the metro stations. They plan was to get on one that would be a direct line for me and they would transfer. I was a bit nervous about changing trains and on the way to the celebration, the trains were PACKED and there was a lot of shoving and pushing one's way through. We walked away from the city central in order to get on a train that would be ahead of the crowds getting on. When we go to the metro station called Argentine there was a train there. John asked the conductor if I could take it to my stop and he said no, I would need to transfer at St. Michel. I had done this with my tour group and I was reasonably certain that I could do it, even with my lack of language. It was definitely a moment of switching plans in an attempt to be flexible that should have SCREAMED don't change to plan B. Joke asked if I wanted them to come along, but I didn't want it to seem like I couldn't handle it.

So at 12:30 am, I am heading back into the city. This train goes right by the Eiffel Tour stop. The train has been fairly empty and calm until that point. Soon there was a platform filled with thousands of folks waiting to get on and they did. I couldn't get up, but fortunately I had a few stops to go before I got off and headed into one of the longest nights of my life!

What follows now is a timeline and thought process, as best I can re-create it that involves the 7 trains a-passing.

12:40ish a.m.-Arrive in St. Michel's station and transfer with the masses down to the B4 line which will stop in Massy-Palalseau. We've been taught how to do this, so we can take it on our own in an emergency. One of the things to know is that the stations where the train will actually STOP are lit up on the board. I get to the platform and look. Masay-Palalseau is not lit. I wait (train 1 goes by) and when it pulls out, I look at the board that is now all lit up. I'm thrilled. 1 train from home, however, about 1 minute before the arrival, most of the lights go out, including M-P. This happens 3 times total. I'm not sure how many more times this will happen, so I go with plan C and decide to go back up to line C and take the one that ends at the same station.

1:30am head up to the C line. (The interesting thing with this unfortunate decision is that the group I was traveling with arrived at St. Michel station around that time and then headed to the platform that I was just leaving.) I got up to the C platform and waited while 2 trains eventually passed that were not stopping at my stop. I decided to go with plan D. I look on the map and find a station that is near my end goal, so I could just wait there for the next train or take a cab home. I get on a train and head out toward Les Ardoines.

2:00am- I take the train, realizing as we stop at stations that the other station was significantly larger. I'm also remembering my commitment/ belief that you should stay with your original plan, but that (of course) is too late.

2:12 am ish- Land on the platform in Les Ardoines. Wait for the next train. See the monitor and realize it doesn't go the way I want it to.

2:21am- next train arrives and, as it pulls out the next screen comes up. Also not an option. I quickly get the attention of a couple who is just leaving the track. I ask if there is a place to get a taxi. The woman tells me no, but explains that I should take the next train to Choisy Le Roi at 2:41am because they will have cabs.

2:38am- the screen changes the status to "supprime." I don't know what this is, but when the train doesn't come and then the screen goes black, I realize I'm in serious trouble. I take the stairs up and over the tracks and head down the other side. As I get to the other side, I think for a moment that I am locked in, but then I find an exit. In the parking lot is a night club. I decide to walk there and ask if someone can help me call a taxi. Before I walk over, I call John and Joke to tell them were I am or if they can send a cab to me. I call and get the voicemail and realize I may be in even more trouble. I do leave a message about where I am, just in case.

2:50am As I approach the club, I ask the first intoxicated man outside the door if he speaks English and if he can help me get a taxi. I get a VERY blank stare and no help so I went on to the next person who looked to me like he could be the bouncer. I asked if he spoke English. I used my phrase sheet to say that I needed a taxi. I asked if he could call. Finally, he held up his hand to me indicating that I should stay there and then went inside. He came back out and motioned for me to come in and told me to go to the bar. I asked the bartender if he spoke English, I asked for a taxi, I made the motion for a phone. The bartender was delivering drinks to a crowded room filled to the gills with loud music and North African inhabitants. He finally indicated for me to go to the end of the bar. I walked down and waited. Then he indicated I should go outside and pointed toward the road. I understood him to mean that I should go there to wait for a taxi or that he would call me one. As I walked to the road, I saw a taxi drive by. I tried to signal it, but was too late. I figured since I saw a taxi and this is where he told me to go, this was a hopeful sign. I stood and waited for the next taxi to come so I could flag it down.

3:15am- I am now cold and still outside. A young Muslim woman comes out of the club to use the pay phone that I now realize is near me. I wait until she is done and convince her to call information and then call me a taxi. It takes her 3 phone calls, 2 wrong numbers, calling information back and yelling at them, talking to the taxi company, then telling me that they will be here in 10 minutes. I had shown her the LIFESAVING card with the address of our hotel on it and she had communicated that to the company also. Great. Now I just have to wait for the cab, but I am starting to feel hopeful. There are several men coming in and out of the club. They are using the grass near me to relieve themselves and occasionally they try to talk to me. I find out they are from North Africa, they now live there, do I want a drink?, do I want to go with them, etc.

3:40am-No cab. I now decide to try the hotel to ask them to send a cab to me. I don't have many minutes left on my cell phone. I tell the hotel man that I am a guest in the hotel and spell the name of the station that I am at. He can't recognize my pronunciation. I realize I've spelled it wrong. I respell. I ask him to call me a cab and he says he'll try, but it's New Year's Eve and he's not hopeful.

3:45am-I am very tired, stressed, cold, etc. and I realize that it is time to call for help from someone who will care that I am missing. I call back to the hotel and ask for Randy and Claine's room. I don't want to bother Michelle because she has had to be responsible for all the kids. I call and ask for their room, explaining that I only have a few minutes left on my cell phone. The hotel man is trying to take my number and at the same time saying Randy's name to look him up. Randy gets on the phone immediately. I tell him that I only have a couple minutes of talk time. I tell him to write down the name of the station and that I have been there for a long time. I ask him to get a cab and have either he or Claine come get me. I hang up and wait.

4:00am- There is an explosion of screaming and yelling. There are bottles being broken. There are about 20 men fighting in the parking lot outside the nightclub. My goal...remain inconspicuous. I'm staying by the road and not looking toward the commotion, but still keeping an eye on it. Eventually, it settles down and most of them go back inside.

4:15am-a man from the club approaches me. He wants to know where I'm from. I'm not really trying to be overly polite. He offers to buy me a drink inside. I tell him that I have a friend on the way and that I'm waiting for him. Inside, I'm convincing myself that it would take just as long for them to find a taxi on New Year's morning as me. The man continues to talk to me, I continue to answer in the most "I don't want to keep talking to you voice" that I can. Eventually, he goes back to his friends and, while I couldn't understand or hear, my impression was that he lost the dare by not getting me to come inside.

4:35am- I see a taxi approach that slows at the train station parking lot. I see the door open and Randii get out. I don't know if I've ever been that glad to see someone. Michelle and Barbara are in the back seat and, while I'm chagrinned that there are 3 people on the errand to pick my up, I don't actually care at that point anymore!!! On our way back to our hotel, I heard about their night. They actually didn't get back to the hotel until 3:30am, so I couldn't have called them much earlier. They had similar train issues.

5:15am- back in the hotel room. I slept until 9:30 b/c we were meeting at 10:15 to head into Paris for the day.

In Paris, some of the kids went ice skating, some went shopping, and some of us had a nice lunch. We all met up to head back and get ready to catch the night train to Florence. Definitely a New Year's to remember.

Paris in a Day

31 December 2007

Our typical, American, view-the-city-by-bus trip was this morning. We saw the bridges, where Napoleon is buried, the other side of Notre Dame, a 3300 year old obelisk, etc. We were approached by souvenir sellers galore at each stop and there was a bit of competition over who in our group got the best deal. The prevailing deal of the day was 6 Eiffel Tower keychains for 2 Euros. One of the teachers was then trying to "resell" them to the kids as a joke but as he was walking up the aisle another teacher leaned over to me and said, "There's your six for the day."

When we got to the Louvre it was about an hour before I was supposed to meet up with John and Joke. As we were walking by the ticket line, I heard a voice. It was John. I quickly finished up with my group and we met up. Sander had his girlfriend with him, so we walked with the 5 of us through the Louvre to see the "important" pieces. We saw Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. There were 100s of pieces between and 1000s of people. Afterward we went to a cafe to have lunch. I had a great linguini pasta with cream sauce and salmon on it.

Next we walked toward the shopping district and stopped at a bookstore so I could get Harry Potter book 1 in French. The night before on the boat tour and in the morning we had heard about the "protectors" of the French language. These are the people who write the French dictionary and they are known as "The immortals." When I went to get my Harry Potter book, I noticed that they had a separate Harry Potter French-English dictionary! The Immortals have even gotten to Harry-watch out Voldemort.

After having a cup of coffee, we headed back to John and Joke's hotel room for a quick photo transfer to DVD. It's always good to have a backup of your photos. We also made a New Year's call to my mom. I uploaded my blog from a few days and then we went to dinner.

Training

30 December2007

So we have a tour guide named Ali. She has not been winning major points with the adults on the trip. She's nice enough, but hasn't really impressed us and at times been just bad. Today one of the other adults used the word "ali-ism" which is a really bad move by our tour director. Today's day of Christmas, I bring you 5 Ali Isms

We got up this morning early. We were to be dressed, fed and ready to go by 7:30. Several of us went out to the local pub last night to meet up with the band directors from Muir and Marshall. It was CJ's 30th birthday today and we wanted to celebrate with him, so we toasted him at midnight, then went to bed. It made for a short night. Our whole group was on the bus and ready to go and (Aliism #1) she wasn't. We left almost 20 minutes late (Apparently, she couldn't find her hat) which will become a problem later.

We took the coach from our hotel to the St. Pancras Station. When we got to the station, she gave us extensive directions on how we were going to have time to buy food, etc. and then we walked into the newly constructed station to catch the Eurostar train from London to Paris. As we were walking down the galvanized steel tunnel, Michelle said, "It feels like I'm walking through a garbage shoot."

After we walked into the station a man approached us and asked who our tour leader was and then went to collect the tickets from us. Turns out the train was leaving 1/2 earlier than Ali had thought (Ali-ism #2) so she gave us 10 minutes to run to the little store and grab something to eat. We all took off and were in the store just 2-3 minutes when we were called back. Apparently the man from the railroad said we needed to go through the metal detectors and passport control right then or we might not make it (Ali-ism #3).

It was like going through airport security and then being herded into one big room. This meant that none of our group had the opportunity to buy lunch and the kids would be really hungry later. There was a dining car on the train, but they don't stock lots of food and it was really expensive. There was actually another train loading at the same time that went to Disneyland France. There was a small Disney jazz band playing all your favorite tunes from "Zippity Doo Dah" to "It's a Small World." Ali did not explain to the kids how to actually read the ticket or which track we were leaving from. As we went up the escalator towards the tracks, it became apparent that we were all going to the same platform and would get on the trains at adjoining tracks.

Now Ali has been having major problems leading our group because she doesn't wait at intersections or crosswalks to make sure the group has caught up. We have an anchor person who is very tall, so it would not be a problem for her to wait up to see him. As we get to the top of the track, I have to do a double take to figure out which train we're on--and I've traveled a lot AND I knew what track we were on. (Ali-ism #4) I stopped at the top and just started motioning kids to the right train and showing them where to look for their car and seat number. It probably took 5 minutes for our whole group to get to my point. We all got on the train and were ready to roll.

The train ride was wonderful. The seats were far more comfy than an airplane and, even though I was backwards, I had no motion sickness. In fact, I was so tired that I fell asleep almost instantly and woke up to the announcement that we would be in Paris in 10 minutes. Wow, it was helpful being tired!!

When we got in Paris, we took a coach to our hotel. It's a long way out of city central, but is near a metro stop. We dropped our bags and had about 1/2 hour to get ready for the rest of the day. We walked over to the train station and went in and down a few flights of stairs. I was near the end and by the time I got down, everyone had turned around and was going UP the escalator!!!! This was the priceless moment when Ginny look at me and she and Pauline told me about "Ali-isms." Because this was Ali-ism #5. We then walked back the way we came and then a little further to go to the "real" train station.

We rode the train in and got off near St. Michel's fountain. We then walked over to Notre Dame!! It was beautiful. There was an organ concert/ service going on. We were given some information about the history (it took 200 years to build) and the facades, which have one on the judgment and then one on Mary and St. Anne (Mary's mother). We walked through with the masses (both kinds). One thing that struck me was the plexiglass confessional. Not only was there person sitting across from the priest, but the door was clear and everyone walking by could see in.

We went for dinner to a restaurant called "Flam's." This is also the name of the food we ate. It's a very thin pizza crust/lavash bread. It had cheese and ham and onions on it. (For those with a Trader Joe's nearby, it was the ham and guyere cheese pizza that they have. Now you can call it a "flam.") We then had the same crust with a cheesecake like cheese and chocolate chips or apple. It was delicious. After dinner we took a coach to the river Seine and took a night tout boat ride up the river. It was filled with wonderful views.

Our plan was to go up the Eiffel Tower tonight, but the upper deck was closed because of all the people. We will now do that on New Year's Day. Tomorrow we will have a city tour and I will meet up with John and Joke at the Louvre. I will spend New Year's Eve with them.

The 12 days so far...

1 Warm Coat

2 Delayed Flights

3 Different Tube Lines

4 tour stops

5 Ali Isms

The London Tour

29 December 2007

We started the day out with a wonderful continental breakfast that actually had protein. It was much better than just the bread and butter expected. I really liked the eggs and cheese. At 9am (after waiting for 2 ADULTS) we all loaded a coach and when on a "three hour tour" around the city.

On the 4th day of Christmas my vacation gave to me...4 tour stops. The first stop was at Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament. It was a beautiful day and the sun was glistening off of the face of Big Ben. The second stop was Buckingham Palace and we took a group photo in front. The third stop was at Prince Albert's Memorial and the Royal Music Hall. The memorial was surrounded on the base by many famous people. Each of the corners had a sculpture for each of the continents. The last stop was at St. Paul's Cathedral. This has the second largest dome in the world.

We went to an Indian Restaurant with a couple adults and had Tikki Masala (this is now the "National Dish" of England). After lunch we walked over to the British National Museum and saw the Rosetta Stone and many mummies. We did some shopping on the way back to the meeting place and then walked to dinner. We ate at Ye Olde Cock Tavern and had fish and chips.

At night we went to the Tate Museum of Modern Art. My impression of "modern art" is a red square painted on a solid black background.. We walked into one of the rooms and there was a huge square canvas painted grey. I looked at Ms. Pauline (the art teacher) and said, "THIS is modern art. Now if it had a red square in the corner, it would be GREAT modern art."

In the minimalist room there was a 9' square floor space, some mirrored cubes, red square paintings, etc. As we walked through, Ian W. (one of the kids) went back in and placed a blank and white patterned bag in the middle of the floor. Then he walked away and hung out in the doorway to see if anyone would walk into the room and look at it as art. A few folks walked into the room and looked at it, but then Ian went in and stood next to it and looked at it closely. Several others came up to look at it with him and then he picked it up and walked away. Great moment. I laughed out loud!!!

The 12 days so far...

1 Warm Coat

2 Delayed Flights

3 Different Tube Lines

4 tour stops

England-Land of the Left...

28 December 2007

We arrived in London around 10:30 local time and cleared customs quickly. We met up with our tour guide-Ali. She will travel with us the whole time and send us off in Rome. We took a "coach" (not a bus) to the hotel and she gave us some local color along the way. The most interesting thing for me was the rationale for driving on the left. Apparently, it goes back to knights-on-horseback-days. The always right-handed swordsmen would pass on the left so that, if they were attacked, they could strike back. Gas is £1.04 a liter so they are paying around $9.05 a gallon--and we complain and still drive SUVs!

My day of Christmas today involved 3 different Tube lines. We've been on the Bakerloo, Circle, and the District llines. After lunch at a snack bar near our hotel we took the lines in an went to the Tower of London. Most of the group went in , but I went with Mr. Plummer on a walk of the city. We crossed the Tower Bridge and then walked down the river toward the "new" London Bridge (just so you know, the "old" London Bridge is in Lake Havesu, Arizona).

The 12 days so far...

1 Warm Coat

2 Delayed Flights

3 Different Tube Lines

Europe Vacation Day 2

27 December 2007

Planes, trains, and busses on the second day of Chirstmas. I'm enjoying the 1 warm coat, but now I get to add 2 delayed flights. We left from the Mission Gold Line Station in South Pasadena at 8:30am. When we got to the Flyaway Shuttle and told them we had 40 people. Our director called ahead but they wouldn't take reservations. There are only 45 seats on the bus. We all got to the airport on one bus, but we had to bump some folks who didn't seem too happy.

We knew we only had a 45 minute layover in Cincinatti, so when our plan was delayed from leaving for 1 1/2 hours in LA, there was the possibility of a night in Ohio. About 3 hours into our flight they announced over the PA system that the flight to London was going to be held for us. This was very welcome news to all!!! We had all our carryons ready for a sprint down the terminal to the new plane, but when we deplaned, they told us it was right next door. It was pretty cool to have a plane wait for us.

The 12 days so far...
1 Warm Coat
2 Delayed Flights

The 12 Days of Christmas-in Europe.

26 December 2007

This is it. The Europe part of my travel adventures for the year. We are taking off with 45 people from Marshall and we'll be traveling in 3 countries-England, France and Italy. We'll be arriving in London the morning of the 28th and arrive home in time for Epiphany--this will be a wonderful way to spend the 12 days of Christmas.

For this 1st day of Christmas, I will focus on the 1 winter coat. I've needed one for a while, but I finally broke down because I hear it's COLD. I went shopping on the weekend before Christmas to find something to meet my needs and have a wonderful warm coat that will work for many cold days.

Hopefully my warm coat will keep me toasty for my travels.