Amsterdam to Chaumont, France

Thursday, April 25

Wonderful KLM flight to Paris. Lunch was 110% better than the dinner on the flight over! Found our rental car with no problem but that was the best part. Getting out of the airport and around Paris is not easy. Took one wrong turn but rather than try to go back, just changed the way we wanted to get to Chaumont. The weather was gorgeous, sunny and warm. The fields are so green and the rape fields are bright yellow.

Almost there and one more wrong turn, but we finally arrived at the Gite. Marie-Therese was waiting and she had a lovely guest from England named Cindy. She had arrived that afternoon unexpectedly, on her motorcycle! She had been touring France for the first time on her bike. We enjoyed a glass of champagne together before she went to her room.

Marie decided we would have just a light supper. That turned out to be salad, 2 kinds of pate, 6 cheeses, bread, wine and apple tart. We laughed and reminisced until almost midnight.

Friday, April 26

Woke up rested and ready for the day. Lots of fun at breakfast with Cindy, then a few photos before she left. We hope to stay in touch.

The rain started in earnest soon after that. So much for the nice weather. Funny thing, we had left umbrellas there on one of our previous trips!

Relaxed for awhile then took a trip to the store to get postcards and a few other necessities, like face cream to replace what they threw away at the airport! Yes, it was a big bottle but I didn't think about it because it made it through just fine at PDX.

Light lunch and then a visit from a friend. Hubert has been here a few weeks and we had time to catch up.

Followed him to his vineyard and sat by the fire just enjoying the scenery. Even though it was raining, it wasn't cold.

Dinner tonight was again Marie's idea of simple. Onion soup, surimi quiche and a lemon tart for dessert.

Saturday April 27

Breakfast was later today, about 10. It was nice just to lay in bed until after 9. Then Charlie and I went shopping for the party on Monday.

Je suis très détendu et heureux.

Another lazy day with plenty of food. Marie had 4 guests from Holland. They spoke perfect English, plus French. Chatted with them while they had tea and tarte.

For dinner we had potatoes and a cheese that was melted in the oven, plus cold cuts and endive salad. A little like Raclette, I suppose.

Does it seem that the whole trip has revolved around food? Just wait!

Portland to Amsterdam

Please bear with me as I attempt to blog from my iPad. Not as easy as I thought it would be.

Monday, April 22

After about a 30 minute delay, we finally boarded the plane for Amsterdam. We're on our way. Interesting meal of faux chicken in brown gravy, weird potatoes and a lifeless salad. The wine was terrible. But, it was complimentary so I guess that was okay.

Settled in to try and sleep a bit which didn't work too well, but we did rest some.

Tuesday, April 22

Arrived only 15 minutes late and Carmen, Stanley and Atticus were waiting for us. Charlie's bag got caught on the up escalator and when I looked, he was tumbling down, Carmen was trying to run down, the dog was standing at the bottom with a scared looking guy and I didn't know what to do! He was able to get up and make it to the top. Scraped his knuckle and has an interesting bruise on his shoulder. Took the train then a bus to Marken. Went to Stanley's mom's house to drop our bags and relax a few minutes. Lunch was bread, cheese,ham carpaccio. The house is just so tiny and cute. His mother is a sweetie!

Then we visited the sailboat. Just lovely and so cozy.

Weather is overcast and a bit chilly.

Walked around town seeing the sights. Thought we had a lot of tourists! They come in buses and invade the town.

They are getting ready for Queen's Day and there are flags and lights strung throughout the town. It's a great time to buy your Dutch Grown shirt! http://www.dutch-grown.com/

Stanley fixed a great dinner for us. It was called bami goreng and had noodles, veggies, pork then a slice of ham with a fried egg on top. Also served with chicken (kip) sate with peanut butter sauce. A very Indonesian influence.

I couldn't keep my eyes open and finally went to bed bout 7:30. Charlie was about a half hour behind me. We both slept great until 12:12 and then woke up. I finally went downstairs and read for an hour. Went back to bed and did go to sleep. Then we both slept until after 6.

Wednesday, April 23

Breakfast was bread, cheese, ham and coffee. Then we started our trek to Amsterdam. Bus ride in was nice. Sun came out and the day was gorgeous. What a long day of walking and shopping, but not buying. Atticus was a bit hit with everyone and is probably in photos being sent around the world. This is the only small dog we met who didn't cop an attitude.

We did get some cheese and I bought a pair of cotton pants. We snacked on great frittes with a big glob of mayo and peanut butter sauce.

Later I tried some friend cod with a very garlicky tarter sauce and a bite of Carmen's raw haring (herring). It was really good! We stopped for a beer and watched the world go by, then walked some more. Charlie finally got to see Canal Street. It wasn't quite what I expected. A bit depressing. Sorry, no photos!

Felt good to get back on the bus for home.

Stanley made stampot for dinner. Mashed potatoes mixed with endive and bacon. You plop it on the plate, make a well in the middle, and pour in white vinegar. Very tasty!

Managed to stay awake until about 9 then off to bed. Got up about 2 to use the bathroom and managed to fall down the stairs. Slid down, actually. Stopped at the bottom when I hit the closet. Got up and continued to the bathroom! A couple bruises on one elbow and my shoulder a bit sore, but no serious injuries! Here are those treacherous stairs.

Thursday April 25

After breakfast, we caught the 8:30 bus to Amsterdam. Then the train to Schipol. Parted company with sis, Stanley and Atticus. I am not able to speak Dutch, as long as I can get by with yes, no, thank you and bread!

Off to Paris to get our car. Stay tuned!

It's that time again!