Side trip to Luxemburg

Well, it’s March, and for my husband and me, that means our annual trip to France. Each year during spring break we spend a week in France. We chose a different destination, but always stop to visit friends in Normandy.

A few years ago, we decided that our destination would be Strasbourg. Strasbourg today is a French city, but it is rich in German tradition because throughout its history, the city has been both French and German. Whenever we travel in France, we always rent a car to get around. So this particular year, we were driving from Normandy to Strasbourg.

We spent two glorious days in the city. We toured the cathedral and took a walking tour of the historic district. There were boat cruises down the Ill river and where we gazed at the beautiful architecture. We dined on bratwurst and crepes. It was wonderful!

Our journey home was to include a drive to The Netherlands so that we could spend the final few days of our trip with our daughter and son-in-law who live just outside of Amsterdam. As with all of our driving adventures, my husband takes the wheel and I take the atlas. He’s the pilot, and I am the official navigator.

As we were driving, I was looking at the map and noticed that the road we were on was not very far from Luxemburg. Luxemburg is one of the smallest countries in Europe, but it is a francophone country, and so we discuss Luxemburg in my French classes. From looking at the map, it seemed like we were less than an inch from there!

Somehow I managed to persuade my husband to take a side trip to Luxemburg. “What will we do in Luxemburg?” my husband asked. I told him that the capital was Luxemburg City, so we would start there.

Luxemburg, like its namesake country, is not very big. We followed the signs to the city center, and then found a sign that pointed us to the tourism office. I gushed when I told the woman at the desk that I was a French teacher and that this was our first visit to Luxemburg. Then I asked her what there was to do. She paused for a moment, trying think, and then said “Well, we have a church…and I guess the Duke’s palace.” That was all that she could come up with!

So we saw the church, and the Duke’s palace. You can only look at the outside of the palace because the Duke actually lives there! We had lunch in a lovely little café and strolled through the streets of the city. In just a few hours time, we had done what we could in Luxemburg and headed north to the Netherlands.

Our adventures in rental cars in France continue. I will always be the navigator and the translator! I wonder what surprises this year’s trip will bring us, but it’s sure to be a bon voyage!

Detour to Lascaux

Well, it’s March, and for my husband and me, that means our annual trip to France. Each year during spring break we spend a week in France. We chose a different destination, but always stop to visit friends in Normandy.

A few years ago, we chose the walled medieval city of Carcassonne as our destination. Carcassonne is in the south central part of France, so we decided to include a visit to see our friend Martine who lives in that area. Whenever we travel in France, we always rent a car to get around. This particular year, we were driving from Normandy to the French region of Lot.

We spent two wonderful days with Martine. We toured Carcassonne, its castle and its cathedral. We sipped wine and ate crepes! Carcassonne is one of the most beautiful sites in France and is rich in history. Martine is a wonderful cook, so we ate very well during our visit.

Our journey home was via Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, so we headed north early one morning. As with all of our driving adventures, my husband takes the wheel and I take the atlas. He’s the pilot, and I am the official navigator. As we were driving, I was looking at the map and noticed that the road we were on was not very far from Lascaux, the site of prehistoric caves and some of the best examples of prehistoric paintings. Not far, indeed, by looking at the map, we were less than an inch away!

Somehow I managed to persuade my husband to take a side trip to Lascaux, and the shortest route that I had found on the map was through some, what we would consider, “county” roads. Well, our county roads are not quite like French county roads. These were more like long driveways. At one point we thought we were in the middle of a farm. The buildings surrounding us looked like large barns with a few small houses interspersed. We were actually in the “downtown” area of one of the region’s villages!

Finally, we saw two children on bikes. They couldn’t have been any older than twelve. My husband told me to “ask them how to get to Lascaux” “They wouldn’t know,” I said to him. “They’re kids!” But he pulled the car over anyway, and I was forced to get out and ask these to children for directions.

I got back in the car and told him to just keep following the same road. “Is that what they said?” Of course it wasn’t! They were clueless and hadn’t ever heard of Lascaux!

We made it to Lascaux, toured the replica caves (the original caves have been sealed because of damage to the paintings from human foot traffic), and headed to de Gaulle airport for our flight home. We still laugh about the back roads of France and our journey down that long driveway! Our adventures in rental cars continue, and I will always be the navigator and the translator! I wonder what surprises this year’s trip will bring us, but it’s sure to be a bon voyage!

This blogpost appeared as my column, "The Empty Nest," in the Frederick News Post on Sunday March 3, 2013.

Road trip to Conques

Well, it’s March, and for my husband and me, that means our annual trip to France. Each year during spring break we spend a week in France. We chose a different destination, but always stop to visit friends in Normandy.

A few years ago, we decided that our destination would be the abbey of Conques. I was taking a medieval art class for my master’s degree, and we had studied the saint whose relics were kept at the abbey as well as some of the architectural features of the abbey. It was a place that I desperately wanted to see.

Whenever we travel in France, we always rent a car to get around. Yes, the trains in Europe are highly efficient and convenient to use, but they don’t stop wherever I want to, which is not convenient for me! For this particular trip, we flew to Nice. We were driving north to visit Conques and then on to Normandy to visit with our friends. My husband is always the driver, and I am always in charge of the road atlas. He’s the pilot and I’m the navigator.

Well, on this particular occasion, my husband insisted the navigator had made a mistake. “We’re lost,” he announced. “You need to ask someone for directions.” Whenever we’re in France, I’m the speaker. My husband can say “bonjour” and “ma femme est très jalousie”-my wife is very jealous, but that’s about the extent of his ability to speak in French.

So we pulled over in a small town to ask how to get to Conques. Now mind you, we were in southern France. I asked a gentleman about the road to Conques, and he didn’t seem to understand my question. So I asked it again, and still no comprehension. After about the fifth time of repeating myself, I decided to spell the name of the town C-O-N-Q-U-E-S.
“Ah,” he said, “ConquAH!” Even in the south of France there is a southern accent and I had not perfected mine. “Yes,” I replied, “ConquAH.”

He then proceeded to provide us with very precise directions to Conques. We toured the abbey and the town, saw the treasure of the abbey, and had a wonderful meal in a lovely restaurant.

As we have had the opportunity to travel more in the south of France, I have continued to experience the French southern accent and the region’s southern hospitality. We continue our adventures in a car, and I will always be the navigator and the translator! I wonder what surprises this year’s trip will bring us, but it’s sure to be a bon voyage!

Carpe Diem!

It’s Super Bowl Sunday and over the past week, I have been thinking about the life lessons that the sport of football has taught me. This year, the lesson has been carpe diem-seize the day, take advantage of the moment!

For about the past twelve years, we have been season ticket holders with the Baltimore Ravens. As such, we are able to purchase playoff game tickets and are placed in a lottery should the team ultimately make it to the Super Bowl. I always dutifully purchase my playoff tickets, send my son and usually my husband (if he is not working) to the game while I sit at home in my cozy family room and watch the game in the warmth of my home.

I’m a sports fan, but I am quite literally a fair weather fan. I enjoy watching football games but not as much as I enjoy staying warm and dry! So I buy the tickets and send others off to the stadium. It makes for a nice quiet house in which to watch the game.

As it turns out, this year, I won the lottery! Yes, I won the opportunity to purchase two tickets to the Super Bowl! My son was elated, he desperately wanted to go, but my husband was scheduled to work that weekend. I was not personally thrilled about spending the weekend in New Orleans, and mentioned to my son the possibility of selling the tickets. I had noticed on Stub Hub that they were already selling for more than twice their face value.

My husband and I discussed the situation and were leaning towards listing the tickets for sale. I packed up my bag and headed to the university to teach my classes. About halfway there, I picked up the phone and dialed the home number. We needed to do something. After all, when was this opportunity going to present itself again? Maybe my son could find a friend to go with him, maybe I could travel with him to New Orleans. When would the Ravens be in a Super Bowl again, when would the Harbaugh brothers be matched up in a game like this again? We had to seize the moment!

My husband picked up the phone and said, “You know, I’ve been thinking.” We still had enough time that he could request the weekend off, surely another pilot would be willing to fly his trip that weekend. My husband had decided that this shot at a Super Bowl game was too amazing to pass up. He was thinking the same thing I was!

So on Friday, my boys headed to New Orleans to witness a history-making football game. The Harbaugh family will head home victorious either way, and Super Bowl rings will be distributed to another winning team. This was definitely the year to carpe diem!

Don't Give up the Ship

It’s Super Bowl Sunday and over the past week, I have been thinking about the life lessons that the sport of football has taught me. This year, the lesson has been don’t give up the ship!

We were in the midst of watching the Ravens play the Denver Broncos in the AFC playoff game. It wasn’t looking good for the Ravens. I called my son who was watching the game with his friends in Virginia. “Don’t give up yet, Mom,” he told me and he added how the Ravens really wanted to win and who knew what they might be able to pull off.

I hung up the phone hopeful, but realistic. It just wasn’t looking good for our team. Then with less than a minute left in regulation time, it was touchdown Ravens and the score was tied! We were headed into over time!

For the next ten to fifteen minutes, I didn’t breath very well. It was just too close! Then in the second overtime period, the Ravens came within field goal range. Could it be possible? Could they win it?

The Ravens and their team leader, Ray Lewis, were considered underdogs in each playoff came they entered. But they never gave up the ship. The signs in Boston that were counting down to Ray’s retirement are still counting down. The Baltimore home team never lost its drive.

The Ravens’ lesson is a lesson for all of us. Things might not be going our way, but if we get in there and give it all we’ve got, we, too, might be heading for that Super Bowl game and putting off our own retirements!

A few months ago, a student of mine approached me with a problem that she had been dealing with at home. She was feeling quite depressed. We talked over many lunch shifts and she began to develop a plan to change the situation. She set a goal and began to work diligently towards achieving that goal. Recently, she popped into my classroom with a big grin on her face. Things were beginning to go her way, and she was feeling much more confident and capable. She hadn’t given up the ship!

Sports are just games, but they’re games that are a part of our lives, whether we play or watch from the sidelines. One of the lessons that the players demonstrate for us on a regular basis is to persevere; to keep on trying even when the odds are against you. It’s a lesson we can live with. I know I have a few goals that I don’t plan on giving up on, how about you?

Playing the game with Class

It’s Super Bowl Sunday and over the past week, I have been thinking about the life lessons that the sport of football has taught me. This year, the lesson has been has been learned from watching Robert Griffin III play for the Redskins.

It’s not often that a young professional athlete plays as if he’s totally in control of things; an athlete with poise and a certain elegance. RGIII certainly was that in his first season. He was friendly and respectful. He knew how to play the game and he also knew when the blame was his to take.

On television and in advertising we are bombarded with images of professional athletes selling us products and telling us how to make the most of our lives. Our kids soon learn to look up to these athletes and try their best to emulate them. Sometimes, however, the athlete doesn’t live up to societal expectations. It’s a lot of pressure, and some just cannot handle it, but RGIII seems to be on the right track.

When my son was in elementary school, he thought Troy Aikman was the greatest player. We watched every Cowboys game just to watch my son’s quarterback hero play each game of the season. Timmy wore a Troy Aikman jersey and listened to him speak every time he appeared on a sports program.

One day he told me that he was going to write a letter to Troy and tell him what a great player he was. We wrote the letter, posted it, and sent it on its way. I didn’t think we would every hear anything from it, but much to my surprise a few weeks later a return letter arrived with a glossy photo of Mr. Aikman.

We framed the picture and saved the letter, and that little boy of mine lit up like a star whenever he told people about his letter to Troy Aikman.

Athletes who play the game with class are truly the professional athletes. They make a difference not only in the sports they play, but to the fans who adore them. It is a burden that they carry. Many athletes are not role models who play with class, but for those who do, they enhance the game.

RGIII is looking to be one of those players, and I am certain that he will influence many young people. I know I’m a fan, and I pull for the Ravens!

Miracle on 34th Street

We’ve had a new baby in our lives this past year, my beautiful granddaughter, Chloe, and I have noticed how her presence has managed to bring out the child in all of us.

For Christmas, we planned a trip to New York City and a stop at Macy’s so that Chloe could see “the real Santa.” My family gathered around the television every year to watch “Miracle on 34th Street,” so we know assuredly that the real guy is at Macy’s Herald Square.

We arrived on 34th street early one Friday afternoon and headed directly to the store's elevator and the 8th floor. On the way up, we shared stories of visits in years past. We giggled in anticipation of seeing the Christmas village decorations and, of course, the jolly old elf himself.

Mrs. Claus was waving to the patient visitors as we took our places in line. We chatted with her and asked her about her cookie baking. Then we were treated to a visit from Virginia of Macy’s story “Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus.” We all waved to Virginia and greeted her with a chorus of hellos. Finally, we boarded a train that rocked and chugged before delivering us to Santaland.

The wait was a quick forty-five minutes that was spent wandering through a Christmas wonderland. We oo-ed and ah-ed when we saw the miniature railroad with its train running up and down several levels. We sang along with the robotic snowmen carolers and danced to the music of the Nutcracker Suite with the dancing bears.

Santa’s helpers pointed us down the winding trail and ultimately to Santa’s workshop. Seated in the center of one room of the workshop was the main guy himself. As we turned the corner, all of the adults chimed in with “Hi, Santa!” Chloe seemed rather impressed with his garb and she was very interested in his beard. We chatted about Christmas and how busy the elves and the Clauses had been. Pictures were snapped and the room was filled with laughter.

We left Santaland giggling and singing. All of the kids, big and small, were grinning as we descended in the elevator on our way to see the decorated windows. There were more oos and ahs as we strolled past each window. The lights of the city had begun to flicker on. This trip to New York during the holidays was different. We were seeing things through Chloe’s eyes and enjoying once again the wonders of the city at Christmas.

I plan this year to continue to look at life through a child’s eyes; to find pleasure in the simplest of things, and to laugh. I invite you to do the same. Happy New Year!