End of this trip

We got up Tuesday morning at 4:00 a.m. (which is 10 p.m. Monday on the East coast!) to catch a taxi at 4:20 to take us to the train station.  Following the taxi ride, two trains, two flights and a ride from the airport, I walked back into my house at 10:45 p.m. Tuesday!  More than 24 hours to get home!  But it was a great trip, and I'm really glad I was able to go.

Now that I am home and have my desk top computer, I went back and added some picture to my previous posts if you want to check them out again (as far back as Day 6).

So when I post again, it will be about the original reason for this blog: my journey, following God's lead, to my new job, new home, and new experiences.  Stay tuned, as My Journey Continues. . . .

Day 13 - Geneva

Connor headed out early this morning, so I kind of lounged around for a while then headed out to the grocery store to see about ingredients for my soup tonight.  I had Connor’s mac card to get some Euros so figured I’d be able to get what I needed.

When I got to the store, I headed straight to the mac machine.  I put the card in, and there were words of so many choices that I was immediately stumped.  I wished I had Amy’s little English/French dictionary.  I did figure out how to get the card back, but that was it.  So I just wandered around the store looking to see if I could find everything I needed.  Produce and meat were no problem.  Found the canned tomatoes.  But I could not find corn meal (to make bread with the soup) or baking powder.  Connor said he would have time to go over there this afternoon if needed, so I’ll just wait for him to get back.

After being here this long, in both France and Switzerland, I can understand why Ikea started here.  All the rooms are small, and bedrooms are not built with closets.  Everyone has those closet-like fabric units instead.  I’ve seen many different styles, shapes and sizes.  They seem to be made just for this area.  Bathtubs are different here, too.  They are narrower than ours, but longer.  I can lay against the sloped back and stretch out my legs straight, and still have room beyond my toes.

The bathroom is also divided into two rooms.  The toilet is by itself in its own tiny room.  The bathtub, sink and a little washing machine are in a separate room.  There don’t seem to be any clothes driers, so everyone has a little clothes rack on which to hang wet clothes.  (In Argenton, it took 4 days for my jeans to dry when the weather was cool and damp!)

Connor got home and we shopped for what we needed, and soup night was a hit.  He had told so many people that I was doing the cooking, that we had 35 people show up! We made a large pot of regular soup, and a smaller pot that was vegetarian.  And we had enough!  Everyone loved it.  And I loved meeting so many of Connor’s friends.  Great people!

There were still some people there at midnight, but I figured that was late enough for me.  Early morning tomorrow we begin our trip home.

Day 12 - Geneva and Versoix

Sunday.  Two of the guys in the apartment work at the church that is a block away.  It is the church Connor attends, so we went there today.  The Swiss set their clocks forward last night, so we decided to go to the late service. 

I’m always an early riser, so I got up thinking I would make a coffee cake for the guys.  Couple of drawbacks: they didn’t have any baking powder; they have no measuring cups; and I couldn’t figure out the translation between Celsius and Fahrenheit on the oven.  But I figured I’d wing it, and it turned out okay.  The best part was the cinnamon smell as they were waking up.  Because of the absence of baking powder it was more biscuit-y than cake-y, but the flavor was good.  They all appreciated it, and said it reminded them of home.  Nice way to start the day.

Church was amazing!  It’s a small church, with maybe 150 or so people. Geneva is such an international city that the congregation is made up of numerous nationalities.  The literature from the church says there are over 120 native languages represented in the membership.  The worship team was made up of 8 people, and Connor said every one of them came from a different home country.  It felt like it was a little microcosm of God’s people.  Every shape and size, every color, so many languages.  What beauty to hear them all praising and worshiping the same God.  It was truly an inspiring service.  A couple stood up at the beginning of the service and gave a testimony about God’s work in their lives, as He brought them from lives of drugs, prostitution and violence to faith, love, and sharing in home Bible study.  We serve a mighty God!!

After lunch we headed to Versoix, about half an hour away.  They were holding their annual Chocolate Festival -  how’s that for perfect timing!  There were 18-20 chocolate vendors who were demonstrating decorating techniques, giving out samples to try, and selling the most amazing chocolate in Switzerland!  Connor and I agreed the best was one that had little pieces of candied orange mixed in with the chocolate.  Mmmm!  One place had a chocolate fountain, and their samples were strawberries in a cup, with chocolate drizzled over it.  Everything was so good! We tried some that had dried hot peppers mixed in, some with hazelnuts, some with fruit, some with marshmallows.  What a fun afternoon!  It was a warm and sunny day again, so it was great to be outside enjoying the weather and the chocolate!

One of the guys from the apartment had told us about the event, and said to be sure to try the white chocolate with bits of raspberries.  So we kept an eye out for that because raspberries are my favorite.  We finally found it, and as we were waiting our turn, the lady right in front of us bought the last of it!  So I didn’t even get to try it.  Oh, well.  I did see it, and maybe Connor can send me some.

So tonight we’re relaxing at home.  Connor has class tomorrow, and an appointment early, so I’ll be on my own for the morning.  I will probably walk down to the grocery store and buy ingredients for soup.  They all do soup night on Monday, and I volunteered to cook tomorrow.  I’m making my Stuffed Pepper Soup, so I’ll go see if I can find what I need to make it.  Since all the packaging is in French, it will be a challenge.  But a good experience.

Day 11 - Geneva

Connor played tour guide today, and we must have walked 20 miles around the city.  It’s beautiful here, the city sitting right on Lake Geneva.  There is a market called Ferney Marche  where we went first.  Clothing, purses (I got one) jewelry, leather goods, meat, produce, tapestries, yarn, so many things in small booths, and everything produced locally.  It probably encompassed four blocks or so.

We bought an all-day bus pass and headed to Paquis to find a place for a kebab for lunch.  One of the favorites of the guys, a kebab is shaved meat (lamb or chicken) lettuce, tomato, cabbage, onion and sauces stuffed into a pita-like pocket. It was very good, but ‘way too much food! I couldn’t finish mine, though Connor did.

We walked down to the lake, and wandered along the shore admiring the sail boats and watching the people.  It was again a beautiful day, and there were so many families out.  Watching little kids is delightful!  There were swings for them – ropes hanging off huge trees, climbing nets.  Many had their own little scooters or bikes, and some were playing in the sand.  Great place to people-watch.

In the center of the lake is the jet d’eau (which means jet of water).  Many years ago, when they were building the sewer and water system under the streets of Geneva, a pipe was laid that let out steam from the system and shot water straight into the air.  When they upgraded the system they eliminated the steam vent, but the people complained so much that they built the jet d’eau in the lake that shoots 250 meters into the air.  We could see it from all over the city, and it was quite a site.

We took a bus to the other side of the lake: Old Town, where the buildings were much older than the side we were on.  We walked around for hours just taking it all in.  We went into one church that was amazingly beautiful, and just sat and enjoyed the silence.  I took lots of pictures there: the stained glass windows, carvings, painted ceilings. It was amazing.

We got on the bus again and rode to the end of the jetty.  We walked out to where the jetd’eau was spouting, and up close it was even more awesome.  We walked along beside the lake until we reached the International Bridge.  We walked across and back through the streets again, looking for somewhere to have a fondue for dinner.  I had been wanting one since we had arrived, and Amy and Amber and I had never found one.  Connor and I couldn’t find one either, so we decided we’d make our own.   We headed back toward the train station to catch a bus home, and waited, and waited, and waited.  The bus never came.  We started walking again, but we had walked around so much that we were a bit tired, so we sat for a while, hoping the bus would come, but when a taxi pulled up on the corner, we decided to grab it and give up on the bus.  New York City’s got nothing on Geneva taxi drivers!  But we made it home, made a grocery store run, and whipped up our own version of cheese fondue.  Neither of us had made one before, and none of the guys were much help, but it turned out really well.  We ate it with bread chunks and it didn’t take long for it to be gone completely.  Everyone liked it.

Exhausted, I fell into bed around 10:30.  Can’t wait for tomorrow!  Stay tuned. . .

Day 10 - Travelling to Geneva

This morning, we made our last walk together up to the boulangerie before Amy and Amber drove me to the train station in Anger.  My train left at 1:30, and after switching trains in Solay Part Dieu, finally arrived in Geneva around 9:00 p.m.  Connor was waiting for me at the station, and we walked to the bus stop five minutes away.  We took the bus to within 2 blocks of his apartment.  Well, it’s not really his apartment.  He is moving into a place that won’t be ready until April first, so he is staying temporarily with some guys he had stayed with when he first arrived in Geneva back in August. Another guy is staying there temporarily, too, so there are lots of guys there.  It

It’s only a 2-bedroom apartment, so one of them gave up his room for me.  But for this weekend, there are six guys and me staying there!  They love to cook, so this is going to be an adventure.

Day 9 - Final day in Argenton

Thursday was my last day in Argenton, so even though the day dawned drizzly and cool, we decided to head out and see something more of the area.  We had found a map that had a driving route for seeing some of the local wineries.  We were in an area (kind of a county) called Anjou, where a lot of wine was produced.  So we headed out looking for the first one on our tour.  By the time we reached it, the weather had cleared and the sun was shining.  It was still a bit cool, so we were glad to have brought our light jackets.  The tour took us on many back roads, and much of the time we thought we were lost.  But we continued to follow signs and eventually found the place we were looking for.  In many places there would be a sign that said “Toutes Directions” and it took us a while – and the help of our little translation book to discover it meant “all routes.”  So if we headed that direction, there would be a round-about with arrows pointing to all the nearby towns.  It made things easier once we figured it out!  Sometimes, though, we saw that sign, turned, and were in these tiny back alley type streets, twisting and turning, three story walls on either side of us, and wondering if we were on the right road.  Then suddenly we would pop out and there would be the round-about!

The first winery we drove to was Le Puy Notre Dame, where we discovered that it is too early in the year for it to be open to the public!  But we saw some beautiful country, and acres and acres of vineyards.  We wandered through a church there, and I took some beautiful stained glass pictures.  From there we drove to Montreuil-Bellay where there was a castle called Chateau de Montreiul-Bellay but it was closed, again, too early for the season.  But we got some beautiful pictures.  It is built on the River Thouet, and with the day now being so clear, many of the pictures we took showed the castle reflected in the water.  It was beautiful.

From there we went on to Le Coudray Macouard where there was supposed to be an artist colony as well as a vineyard to explore.  But, alas, nothing was open.  We wandered around a while looking for somewhere to have lunch with no luck, so we headed for Saumur, which is a larger city.  We figured we’d surely find a lunch spot there.  We did; Amy and I both ordered salads, but Amber wanted to try something authentic French, so just picked something on the menu.  From the reaction of the waiters, it was clear that it was not something Americans usually ordered.  But she ate it anyway.  It was a crepe filled with a potato, cheese, meat mixture, and while she said it was a little bland and had a funny aftertaste, it wasn’t terrible.  (Later that evening when we returned home she discovered it was pig intestines!)

Chateau de Saumur was in Saumur, so we explored that, and enjoyed watching the goats – some of them tiny babies – wandering the hillsides around the castle.  It was amazing to think about the people who had built that place so many thousands of years ago.  There was evidence of where the moat had been, and many walls remained standing after all this time.  Kind of makes me feel like we live in a baby country!  There was no America when these places were built!  And wouldn’t be for thousands more years!

By this time, the sun was getting low in the sky, so we headed home.  Tomorrow will be my traveling day.

Day 8 - Argenton

Our neighbors invited us over for dinner on Wednesday. What an experience.  We began with little salted crackers, chips, and three different types of wine.  We could also sample a treat Gilles made – a recipe from his mother: caramel a pruneau.  They were wonderful and I did get the recipe – can’t wait to try them at home.

Then we moved to the table for the first course (or second, I guess): a carrot and beet salad – delicious!  And then we moved on to a wonderful quiche (which I also got the recipe for).  It was filled with several different vegetables, cheeses, and a wonderful light crust.  Agnes talked me through the way to make that crust, and again, I am anxious to try it at home. 

We were pretty full by this time, but we weren’t done yet.  When the quiche was moved away, it was replaced with fruit: apples, strawberries, kiwi, and oranges. And then a plate of several kinds of cheese.  By this time we were really full, but it’s not done yet. . . we ended with crème anglais.  So-o good! 

The company was great, the food fantastic, and the evening wonderful. 

Day 6-7 Still in Argenton

We've had several rainy/drizzly days, so we go back and forth between exploring outside things, and working around the house.  We spent much of one day looking for a place to connect to the internet.  It took most of the morning and we finally found a place - though I'm not going to tell the story here.  It's too funny because of the accent, so it's one I have to tell in person.

Every morning we continue to take a walk to the local boulangerie for our bread - one kind for breakfast, and one to eat later with dinner.  We really have eaten well.  With fresh veggies and our imaginations, our meals have been scrumptious! And of course, we're trying all kinds of cheeses and chocolate, too!  We decided it would be fun to do a whole European Foodie Tour!  How cool would that be!  Something to think about!!

We spent a lot of time exploring Chateau du Bressuire, a castle ruins in the town of Bressuire.  A sign at the entrance said it had been a place of resistance against Hitler's army in the 1940s, and the fighters were liberated in 1947 by troops that parachuted in.  (It was in French, and yes, we figured out all that our by ourselves!)  When we first went in I thought it was pretty small, but as we rounded the first corner, there was another section we hadn't seen.  And it seemed to go on and on.  It was huge.  We walked and walked and walked.  (My lap top still isn't recognizing the camera card, so I guess you have to use your imagination!) (Amy emailed me one of hers!! Thx Amy!)  It was beautiful and we took lots of pictures.  One of the interesting things was the little slit windows.  I'm sure you've seen them, maybe in pictures.  From the outside of the castle they look to be about 18 inches tall and 3-4 inches wide.  But from the inside that 3-4 inches widens into a window seat.  So it was a place where a warrior could shoot his arrows through to the outside, and not have much chance of being hit in return.

This is an amazing experience.  Stay tuned, as my journey continues . . .

Day 5 Argenton

Sunday.  We thought about trying to find a church where we could experience a French service, but had no idea (first) where the church was, and (second) how to find out the service times.  So we thought we’d take our walk for our breakfast bread, and see if we could see people congregating somewhere. 

As we approached the boulangerie, we found there was a line of about 8-10 people, and realized they were coming from the service that had just ended.  So we were out of luck.

We chose a different kind of bread for the day, and wandered around town for a while, taking in the sights.  The houses are so different here.  They are all made of stone, and have obviously been standing for hundreds of years. There is iron scroll work below the windows and on garden gates.  Nearly all of the houses have stone walls somewhere on the property, and some of the walls have been repaired somewhere in the past.  You can see the layers of the original stone near the ground, and maybe another layer or two of “newer” stone above.  All the houses also have working shutters.  When we first arrived at the house, we had to open them up to let the light into the house.  Many of the homes in this area are vacation homes, and are shut up for six months out of the year.  We are not too far from “The South of France” so the ocean is only a couple hours away.  This is a beautiful, peaceful place where people of many nationalities come to get away from it all.

We drove to Bressuire (a town about 20 minutes away)a bit later in the day hoping to find a restaurant where we could experience real French food.  But everything was closed for the day.  I guess on Sunday the only place you’d find open is the local boulangerie.  We saw three of them there.  We were also looking for somewhere we could get free WiFi.  There is none at the house, and not many places have it.  Much harder to find here than at home (That’s why I’m posting all these days at the same time.)  but we’ll go out tomorrow and look again.

As we pulled into town, we saw people coming out of another church, so we decided to see if we could go in and take a look.  Just inside the door of The Church of Notre-Dame, was a rack of information about the church printed in English, Spanish and German among others.  The first line of the brochure cracked us up: “Bressuire was probably born at the beginning of the 11^th century, so it is not a very old town.”  Talk about perspective!

The stained glass windows were huge: six that were maybe 6 ft wide and maybe 25 ft tall up each side of the sanctuary.  In the front, behind the altar was one huge one that was as tall as the others, but probably just as wide as it was tall.  They were done in vivid colors depicting many Bible stories.  The arched ceiling was ‘way above our heads.  I have no idea how tall that was.  Amy took and picture and I will try to include it.

There was some kind of ceremony going on at the front of the sanctuary, so we didn’t go in too far, or stay too long. But it was beautiful.

This afternoon we spent some time looking things up in a French-English dictionary and laughing at ourselves for the mistakes we had made.  But we remembered a lot, and seem to be getting along well (though this morning I answered the lady at the boulangerie with “Si” instead of “Oui”).  She just laughed – a good sport and obviously used to dealing with foreign language speakers.  Amy had studied a French program online before we came, and surprisingly, some of my high school French has come back.  Amber is picking it up pretty well, too, so between us, we’re doing okay in the communication department.

We made our shopping list (in French) for our trip to the grocery store tomorrow, then spent the rest of the day reading, talking, and laughing.

Day 4 Argenton

We were pretty tired when we went to bed last night, and today, have decided to make it an easy, relaxing day.  There is some cleaning that needs to be done – since the house was closed up there is some minor stuff to do.  But generally we will try not to do too much.  The last three days were pretty hectic, and we pushed ourselves to see as much as we could while we were in Paris, so we need a rest.  (My cold could use some down time, too, and Amy’s feeling like I may have shared it with her.)

This morning, we walked to the local boulangerie (bakery) for fresh croissants to go with our coffee.

The rest of the day we spent hanging around the house, doing some minor cleaning, reading, and sharing a big pot of pea soup and French bagette.