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This morning we got up, showered and headed downstairs for the wonderful breakfast that was part of our room tariff. We brought the baggage down to the lobby as we had to be ready by 9:00 to be picked up by the Yellow Van Shuttle to go to the airport.

When the shuttle arrived we brought the bags out to load in the back and got in the van. There was already a man in the front passenger seat and a couple in the middle seats, so we got in the third row of seats and Steve sat next to the couple in the middle.

When we got to the airport we got out of the van and went to the back to claim our bags. The man from the front passenger seat claimed a large black bag that I thought was Pam's. I said something and the driver said that it was the man's bag. When all the bags were out, Pam's large bag was nowhere to be found. The man with the other large black bag had gone to the front of the van while the driver called the hotel to find out if it was still there. Then the man with the bag left the area.

Pam's bag wasn't at the hotel and the driver said that he had other pickups to do and drove off.

We now believe that the passenger was just a friend of the driver and was part of a ruse to steal the bag. We think the driver cut the tags off Pam's bag as he loaded it into the van at the hotel and told his friend to claim it as his at the airport. No tags, no recognition, no suspicion, no proof it was Pam's.

Pam, of course, was devastated. We quickly went in the terminal and I found a phone and again called the hotel and asked again about the bag. They checked outside and upstairs and the rooms to no avail.

We got in line to check in to the flight knowing that the bag was just gone. Stolen. A woman from United Airlines was asking if we would give up our seats for compensation. I told her that we had just had a bag stolen and were in no mood to leave our flight. She asked for details, then the name of the hotel and the confirmation from the shuttle. I gave her both and she took off to call them. She returned to say that she checked and the bag indeed was not at the hotel, but she let them know that United was on this case.

We then waited to board the plane and head home. Pam was just so upset. We all felt bad for her, but there was nothing we could do that we knew.

On board, the flight attendant and the purser got word of what had happened and had Pam write a detailed report of what had happened. The flight attendant was going to translate it into French and make a police report in the neighborhood of the hotel the following Thursday when she returned to Paris. It was a wonderful thing for her to do and kept Pam busy enough to calm her down a bit. Plus it made sure that the travel linsurance would be valid.

Pam made a total of 5 reports at different locations (airports, and baggage areas) between Paris and San Diego just to make sure the insurance would know she did everything she could.

What a day.

A follow up: As a result of the initial call from the United representative, we believe the driver and friend were notified by the dispatcher that United had called. They went through the jewelry bag quickly and found only costume jewelry and dropped the bag off near a tour bus loading a group headed for Champagne.

The bag was found at a Chateau in Champagne when the tour group left and the bag was not claimed by any of their group. The desk manager opened the bag to find Pam's ID inside (a great idea - leaving tags on the inside as well as the outside in case of loss) and called her.

After a month of hassle, $500 and a tussle with US Customs, she got the bag back. Everything was in it. Hurray!

This is the day we left the precious Cezanne. We shall miss the boat and the level of service we received while on board. We have become extremely spoiled in one week.

We put the bags in the hall for the crew to take upstairs and went for our last breakfast with Gabor and a fond farewell. We said goodbye to some of our new aquaintences and headed for reception to await our prearranged taxi to our hotel.

I think the cabbie was amazed at the amount of luggage, but managed to get even Pam's giant suitcase in the back. I gave him the card with the address of Hotel Le Tourville and we sat back to see the sights of Paris on the way.

Upon arriving at Hotel Le Tourville we discovered that our reservations had been made for the wrong day. Thud!! A ton of bricks hit me. It was Saturday and the reservations had been made for Sunday, and there was no room for us tonight. Yikes. What to do. But the lady at reception handed a binder to the the young man we were dealing with and he started making calls. Soon they found a hotel in the neighborhood that had rooms for us. We of course jumped on them, had him reserve a delux for Mom and Pam and a standard for us, and point us in the right direction.

It was 2 blocks away so we just hauled our luggage down the Paris streets to Le Hotel Duquesne Eiffel. They checked us in and we went to our respective rooms. Boy am I glad I had them book a delux for Mom and Pam. Our room had about 2 feet around the bed, a small desk which hid the minibar, and a small but adequate bathroom.

I went directly to see Mom and Pam's room, which was twice the size of ours and had a much larger bath. Thank God. It was bad enough to have had our reservations messed up. I needed their room to be okay, and it was that.

I must say that from what I saw on line of the Tourville, it would have been two stars up from where we stayed, but at least we had a roof over our heads and it was only for one night, then we were headed home. It would be fine.

So after some minor unpacking, we headed out for more shopping.
We directed the cabbie to take us to a gallery in Monmart. Rolf had been to the gallery of Jacques Charboaud the day before and recommended it highly to Mom. She really wanted a nice city scene painting. Rolf was right on. We immediately saw a painting the Mom was interested in, but we decided to check out the other galleries in the area before buying it. We shopped the poster shops where Pam found some things to decorate her house and cards to send, and the cutest t-shirt for her grand daughter.

In the meantime we got hungry. We spotted a cute sidwalk cafe that had the sandwich offerings (we thought) that Mom and Pam had been craving.
A handsome lively young waiter with a great smile seated us and took our order. Mom wanted the Jamon et Fromage without the Fromage, explaining that she could not have cheese. He explained that the sandwich was openface and would not be good like that, but offered to make a proper sandwich from a baguette for her. Everyone loved Mom and took such good care of her, including this young man. We ate and had a beer and really enjoyed watching the folks go by.

We then went back and Mom purchased the painting she liked. Then Pam bought one she liked, and then two more small floral paintings in a gallery next door for her children.

Steve found a small painting of the cutest little shaggy dog. I just insisted that he buy it. We love it every time we look at it. We will always remember our few hours at Monmarte.

So then we caught another cab, and as we were driving off saw Agatha, our tour guide from the ship. What a surprise. We left her a Vernon and never expected to see her again, She was shocked too.

We then headed down to Boulevard Saint Germaine near Saint Michelle to peruse the boutiques both on the boulevard, and in the side streets. There were many cute shops, but nothing we really needed. Then on St Germaine we saw a bookstore that Pam wanted to look in to see if she could find an easy book in french for her grand daughter. Success!

A little further down the boulevard we saw little sweater set in the window of a small boutique that was perfect for Mom. We all made her go in and try it on. It was perfect fit and perfect color. And they were reduced from 200Euro to 39Euro a piece because it was out of season in Paris.

Just before catching a cab for the hotel, I spotted a small basket of rosebuds in a flower shop and decided it would be a nice thank you to the folks at Le Tourville for finding us a hotel. When we got back to the Duquesne Eiffel, I walked back to Le Tourville and left the thank you with the young man at the desk. (he looked at me like I had three heads. I guess people don't often do things like that - I don't know)

We asked at the dest for a recommendation for food in the neighborhood and Estelle at the desk made a reservation for 7et Vin, with directions. Dinner at eight. Perfect. And just a short walk.

We found the restaurant and sat outside to watch the world go by. I ordered some country pate and baguette for an appetizer, Pam and I ordered the duck and Mom and Steve ordered a T bone steak. The duck was great, the steaks were a great disappointment. They were sent back once and still came back inedibly raw.

From there we took off on foot in search of a creperie for dessert. We ended up down a narrow backstreet with many brasseries and finally found a creperie run by a greek man. We sat and enjoyed crepes filled with either bananas and dark chocolate, or Nutella or honey and cream.
Yummy.

It was time to head back for the hotel as we had to be ready to go to the airport at 9:00AM, bags packed and in the lobby.

Our first venture into Paris. Oh my. The thunderstorms and rain had stopped but the day was overcast and looked like it could rain. We took our umbrellas just in case.

First of all, the cab companies were so busy that they wouldn't even answer the phone. So the people at reception told us just to walk to the left up the road outside and take the metro up to the Eiffel Tower. It was only one stop and was really easy.

Wrong. It was a 1/2 mile walk through an area where trucks were picking up loads of gravel and sand, and the Metro station was across the street from the RER (the longer range train system). Thank goodness I asked someone on the street and he pointed us in the right direction.

We got off the metro in one stop and guess what. We were about 20 blocks from the Eiffel Tower. Well, we decided to walk and got there in about 30 minutes, having to ask only one more person for directions. It was still fun wandering through the neighborhoods of Paris.

Once at the plaza under the Eiffel Tower we were quickly approached by Gypsies trying ply their trade on us but stopped them in their tracks with a strong NO.

There was no line at all to go up into the Tower so we decided we had to do it. Mom and I are terrified of heights so we only went to the second level. EXCUSE ME. That is really high! Mom was terrified and I was nauseous for a while but I make myself test these fears, so eventually I made it with in 5 feet of the fenced edge. Yes I hung on to the girders, but I made it. Mom hung out in the giftshop.

When we got to the bottom again, everone seemed to need the restrooms. Then off to find the red double decker busses everyone told us that we should take. They have ear phones and give you a guided tour of the city's best known sites, and you can get off and on at many stops along the way.

Mom had seen enough churches and had enough history for a while. She wanted to shop, so that's where we headed. Right near the Opera house is a department store called Galleries Lafayette. It is much like Harrods in that it has food halls, a library, a travel center, etc. It also has an amazing stained glass dome.

First we hit the ATM and then we decided the best thing to do was to split up, boys and girls. Mom and Pam went to the ladies shopping building and Steve and I went to the Men's store. We looked at things on four floors, and decided that we coule get everything at home for 1/3 less, so why bother. I would have like to get a leather jacket in Paris, but there was nothing I saw that really was different or knocked me out, so...

We reconnected with the ladies at the appointed hour and wandered over to Rue Madeleine, and found a lovely brassiere for a bit of lunch. They put us in an upstair window overlooking the street and served us a great light lunch and wine. then back to the streets.

Eventually we went back to the red bus stop and got back on to head back to the Eiffel Tower. It was 5:00 now on Friday and the Champs Elysee was so crowded that the bus couldn't go to the Arch d'Triumph. It turned and circumvented the worst traffic. Pam looked at her map and decided that we needed to got off at Trocadero. It looked closer to the boat and there was a Metro station right there. So we did.

We asked the ticket lady how to get to the Javel station near the boat and she was so busy talking on the phone she gave me a map which I thought was tickets and I gave her 10 euro. When we discovered no tickets, Mom went right to the front of the line and made sure she gave them to us. Then she pointed in the direction we should take.

We should have know it would be the WRONG direction. Well, we found out within two stops that it was wrong and a kind girl on the train told us what we needed to do, and after much walking and sweating (it's hot in those underground things) we finally got up high enough to find another ticket lady who gave us the correct information and told us where we needed to transfer to get back to Javel. Her info proved right and we were soon back to the ship, but barely in time to change and run to dinner.

Gabor was wondering if we were going to make it and it took the ladies much longer than Steve and I, so we warned him they would be late but they would be there. He was fine with everything.

Dinner was Dill marinated salmon wrapped in herb dough, cream of bellpepper soup, or a consomme of beef, salad, filet of John Dory (fish) with Pernod sauce, and either Chicken breast with plums and Armagnac sauce or veal steak under a crust of shallots with a Sherry sauce, with green beans and Duchesse potatoes. Yum again. Dessert was either tiramisu or vanilla ice cream with peach and raspberry puree.

We have to get off the boat tomorrow after breakfast. Boy am I going to miss the food and all of the service. Tonight we pack. Ugh.

There was one last event. At 10:30 the boat moved up the Seine closer to the Eiffel Tower so we had a better photo opportunity with the Tower and it's light show. The tower has so many lights that flash on and off that it looks like a giant sparkler. Then it settles down to just the warm golden light that lights the entire thing at night. It was impressive to see.

Now it's time for bed.

We arrived in Conflans Saint Honorine at about one in the morning. It is the port closest to Le Pec and where we took the bus to the home of The Sun King, the Palace of Versailles.

The approach is pretty impressive. This place is huge. Even at first glance one understands the French Revolution much better. The place was mobbed too. Thousands of vistors.

Our tour leader has been a guide Versailles for 26 years and she knows the history, but she was always standing in the way so pics were hard to get. The other tour guides were always after her to move on, also. But we got a lot of history. Keeping the group together in such a crowded venue was not easy, and I was constantly trying to make sure Pam was keeping up.

I'm glad I saw the Palace as it was very interesting. The next time though I would like to take the bicycle trip though the gardens. They are so vast that you just can't see them all from any one place.

We got back to the boat in time for lunch and the Cezanne left for it's last stop - Paris.

We spent the afternoon on the sundeck watching the Seine go by and having eclairs and tea. Then as we got closer to Paris we started noticing the increase in industrial buidings and then residences along the banks. Then the beautiful bridges began to appear and the cathedrals on the outskirts of the city.

We ran down to shower for dinner and while we were still in the room we turned a corner in the river. I looked out the porthole and was amazed at what came into view. My first look at the Eiffel Tower, but with a small replica of the Statue of Liberty on the banks of the Seine in the foreground. I grabbed the camera and got a pretty good shot.

We found or dock and the boat tied up for our final destination. We decided not to venture into Paris. It was the formal dinner with the captain and Mom really wanted to get dressed up and be on board for that. It turned out to be the right decision for other reasons too. The weather turned bad for the first time on the trip. The lightening and thunder started and the rain came down really hard. Every day before had been 73 to 78 degrees (F).

Dinner began with Amuse bouch followed by country pate with berry vinegar, mushroom consomme with pistachio dumplings, salad, wonderful escargot, red berry sorbet with a main course of sliced beef tenderloin with herbal and mushroom gravy, and potatoes wrapped in herbed crepe.

Desset was a presention parade through the dining room of sparklers and Roman candles shooting out of Baked Alaska. Lots of fun, but then really good dessert too.

After dinner they had a very French singer for entertainment in the lounge. His name was Fabrice Thierry and wea really quite good. He sang Jacque Brel, Charles Aznevour and other notable french singers before breaking into New York New York complete with high kicks. It was fun, and we were glad we had chosen not to venture out in the rain.

After a couple of Vokas with Rolf and Ute Ulhmann and with a big first day in Paris in store, we headed for bed.

We woke up in the town of Les Andelys. It used to be two towns separated by a swamp but eventually grew into one village.

We had another early and delicious breakfast so we can got to the bus to take us up the hill to Chateau Gaillard. It was a foggy morning and we had no idea what we were about to see..

At the top of the hill we got out of the bus and headed down an unpaved road with our tour guide. As we walked through the fog, little by little we could see structure being revealed. First a major tower of stone, then a lower structure behind. Through the mist we were seeing the 12th century fortress built by King Richard the Lionheart to protect his holdings in Normady from King Louis Phillipe of France. (France consisted largely of the area around Paris at that point in time)
It was fascinating to hear how the different parts of the fortress functioned, where the knights slept, where the food was prepared and how the fortifications were built.

Then towards the end of the tour the fog burned off to reveal the entire set of ruins and it all fell into place. We were in history. It became real to us then.

We also saw that below was one of the most beautiful views of the Seine we had seen. Les Andelys to the right, an island in the middle and forest around. The strategic location also had an incredible view. Needless to say we got some great pictures.

Then back up the road to be surprised with champagne and cookies before we went back to the ship for - what else? Lunch!!!



The boat sailed during lunch to the town of Vernon. Steve and I decided to see a bit of the town before our afternoon tour. We wandered around and found a friendly little men's boutique where we bought a great t shirt and a couple of belts. I should have bought the little jacket I saw, but I was waiting to shop in Paris. We then headed back to the ship to get ready for the tour.

We then got on buses for the short trip to Giverny, the home and gardens of Claude Monet. Agatha was again our guide.

After wandering through the maze to get to the gates of the gardens we finally arrived to find a thousand other tourists. The paths were narrow and filled with tourists from every corner of the world.

The gardens, especially the water gardens were beautiful. The water lilies were in bloom along with the trees and plants surrounding the wonderful lake-like pond. Got a few great pics of that.

Then we headed over through the formal gardens which were still in high bloom, with lots of color. It really was a beautiful sight.






The house was a great disappointment. I really didn't like the colors or the structure or the fact that Monet collected Asian drawings to the extent that they covered almost every wall in the house. On or two or ten, but hundreds were just too much. I did enjoy seeing his study where he spent a lot of his time with a view of the gardens.

Mom really didn't enjoy the tour and didn't like Monet's paintings that much, but I know she was happy that she went. She would have wondered what she missed had she not gone.

This was when we had to say goodbye to Agatha and our other guide Patricia. I will miss their energy, information and smiles.

Dinner was again an event. It started with a mousse of kidney beans and peas with grilled vegetables, French onion soup, Salad Nicoise, coalfish with a tomato vinegarette with zuccini and rice, followed by roast lamb with a rosemary gravy, ratatouille and potato gratin. Dessert was Creme Caramel with orange sauce.

We were under way and headed for Conflans St Honorine. We had met a German man named Rolf Uhlmann who told Steve that he looked just like the drawings in a books he read as a child. They were the true stories of a German who came to America and made friends with an Apache chief and lived among them. Rolf said he would read under the covers with a flashlight till he fell asleep but always loved the tales.

We went to the bar to have a vodka with him and they happened to be playing a game of Musical Trivia. Well, between Rolf and the Russian bartender helping us we managed to not win. But we lost by fewer than if they had not helped. The bartender decided that I had to win something so he awarded me a great bottle of wine that we will take home.

Boy did bed call to me. It screamed actually. I obeyed.

During the night Steve and I got up at 2:30 when we heard the boat going through one of the sytem of lochs on the Seine. We got dressed and headed for the top deck in time to see the gates open and the barge head on up the river. Then back down to bed.

We woke up in Caudebec en Caux. After another wonderful breakfast Steve and I took off to explore the village. It's a small charming town with delicious little shops. Bakeries and sweet shops overwhelmed us with their aromas. I really needed no more food than we get on the Barge Cezanne.

(I did find the bobby pins I was searching for so I could put Pam's hair up for the next Formal night. Yippee. But I had to keep my hand in.)

We walked up into the residential area on the hill behind the shops to look over the town and down on the riverfront. Along the way a German lady from the Barge pointed out the markers for a walking tour of the village which proved to be very interesting. We found remains of towers and caves from medieval times, along with timbered homes that date back to the 12th century and yet another gothic cathedral. Beautiful little town with a brook that runs through it to the Seine.





We got back to the barge in time for lunch. God forbid we miss a meal!!

After lunch Pam and I headed out to the bus for a trip to a 13th century Abbey at Saint Wandrille. We heard Gregorian chants sung by Benedictine monks who otherwise have taken a vow of silence. They eat, work and pray in silence.

Their work to support the Abbey is restoring paintings and also digitalizing data onto cd's for clients. Diverse. Of course they had the most well organized and stocked gift shop on the entire trip. I was amazed considering the rest of the Abbey was so austere.

Then we were off to the town of Villequier and the museum dedicated to the life of Victor Hugo. I had no idea that Hugo was such an important figure in French history.

His daughter married into a wealthy family that enjoys yachts and drowned, along with her new husband when the family's new yacht sunk in the Seine on it's inaugural voyage. The museum was the house of her husbands family and was given by them for the musem after his death.


I didn't realize that Hugo was so involved in French politics. He was a voice for the poor and an advocate with power to the point of influencing both policy and the election and appointment of politicians up to and including the heads of State.

When Notre Dame was damaged during the French revolution, most people in Fance didn't understand the importance of the Gothic style of architecture and the cathedral was set for destruction. Hugo then wrote "Notre Dame de Paris" which we know as the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and wrote extensively on the importance of the architecture. Since Hugo was read by every level of French society, rich and poor alike, the people then had a new appreciation for Notre Dame and demanded the cathedral be restored, as it was. Villequiers was a fascinating museum to me.

Then we made it back to the Barge in time to change for dinner.
The meal started with poultry liver parfait with a berry confit, a consomme of venison with dumplings, a salad, then Coquilles Saint-Jacques, a sorbet of passion fruit and Roast Beef with a port wine sauce, bouquet of tiny asparagus and carrots and Chatelaine pototoes. Dessert was a crepe filled with homemade chocolate ice cream. Yum again.

After dinner there was a Magician called Darko for entertainment. It was okay, but not Vegas!

After a couple of Vodkas it was off to bed to rest for the next adventure.

Today we had an early breakfast, 6:30, so we could get on the bus at 8:00 and head for the Calvados (apple brandy) Distillery at the Chateau De Breuil. Our tour guide was Agatha, (on the right) a woman from Holland, and wonderfully animated.

The Chateau was interesting and beautiful, but if I had known what was coming I would gladly have skipped it.

We got back on the bus and headed for Honfleur.

Honfleur is an old harbor from where the fishermen used to sail all the way to Iceland for loads of cod to bring back to Normandy. It is so picturesque and colorful and above all, charming. I could have spent at least 4 days exploring this village. The restaurants along the harbor and the ateliers and galleries were abundant and called to me. Alas, on a tour there just isn't time to investigate them all. I really want to go back to Honfleur.

We did find sunglasses for Mom and Pam's camera battery went dead here. That is a real shame as it is so photogenic.

We got back to the boat in La Havre for another 4 course lunch and then off on a bus to the Benedictine town of Fecamp to see the Benedictine distillery and museum, along with the famous Alabaster Coast, high cliffs that look like alabaster and stretch for 50 miles.

The museum at the Bendictine distillery was wonderful with Dutch , French, and Italian paintings, sculptures from the 16th century and a lot of religious artifacts and artworks. The distillery was interesting just to find out what the liquor is made from - 27 different herbs and spices. It was originally made only by the Benedictine monks at the monastery at Fecamp. The recipe was lost during either the French Revolution or the Religious wars between the Protestants and the Catholic, I just can't remember which. But it was interesting.





We then headed to the beach town of Etretat. We had a stroll through town to the seashore where you could see the alabaster cliffs and the flintstone beach. No sand, just flintstones. Cute town with some very old timber buildings and, luckily a shady open air tavern with cold beer! We needed it at this point.

We made it back ot the boat in time to change for dinner, Great food again. I skipped the herring, had the truffled cream of potato soup, the salad, the sea bass entree, and the duck with Grand Marnier sauce with red cabbage and coriander potatoes, before homemade apricot ice cream. Yum.

Now, after a couple of vodkas in the lounge, it was time for bed as this was an ambitious day

This morning we got up and went for our first breakfast. Our cute table captain Gabor, a Hungarian boy, was there to greet us and help us with COFFEE! Hurray. Then a delicious breakfast and off to our first tour.






We were taken by bus up to St Katherine's hill which overlooks the village of Rouen and the Seine. It was beautiful.

Then we headed down to town to start a walking tour with our guide for the day, Betty.

We saw Notre Dame d' Rouen in the daytime. It was equally beautiful and the ornate gothic architecture was impressive. We also saw the old timber houses that date as far back as 600. We saw where they buried the victims of the plague and the cell where Joan d'Arc was held for trial.

The town is so colorful. At the other end of town is the Market Square which for centuries has been the center of food, fish and cheese. It is also where they burned Joan d'Arc at the stake. Very interesting. Then back to the boat for lunch.

After a wonderful mid day feast with Gabor serving, Mom decided on a nap and Pam, Steve and I went back into town in search of an internet cafe that we had been told about. We found it and of course you read what happened to my previous writing as it disappeared in to cyberspace.

Oh well. Now I write from notes I took along the way.

Back to the ship to prepare for the first formal night dinner.

Dinner was a 6 course fete from amuse bouche through a plat principal, from ham and apple salad to soup, a proper salad followed by salmon in saffron-anise sauce with pasta, a lemon sorbet and the veal with a perigourdine sauce with potatoes and a cauliflowerette. Dessert followed.
Amazingly delicious with portion sizes that made all of that food a possibility. Wonderful.

Pam, Steve and I went up to the top deck to watch the Seine go by at night as we sailed for Le Havre.

Then bed.

Rouen was a beautiful experience. What an interesting village. The history here just sucks you right in.

This is where Joan d'Arc was imprisoned, tried and burned at the stake. This is the town where Monet painted a series of 12 paintings of the
Notre Dame d'Rouen, a towering gothic cathedral in the middle of town.

This evening we found our way to the cathedral for a wonderful unexpected event. They have a light show called Le Cathedral de Monet Aux Pixels. It is based on the studies of Monet done in different times of day and seasons of the year. The light show was projected on the face of the cathedral and set to contemporary experimental music. It was magnificent.

Afterward we walked back to the boat and got some much needed sleep.

Well the adventure starts.

Suffice to say we made all our connections and things went exceedingly well. Having a wheelchair for Mom helped us greatly in Chicago to make a 45 minute connection.

In Paris, the driver showed up at baggage instead of us having to find the Sheraton in another terminal and wait three hours. Instead we headed for Rouen three hours ahead of schedule. A great break for tired travellers.

As for now, we are having a great time, with good food waiting us on the barge Cezanne, and good company. Our impression of the ship was very positive. It's quite elegant and comfortable at the same time.

Our cabin is spacious and well decorated in french blue and yellow. It has twin couches that make into large twin beds with a table in between, there is an adequate closet (for Steve and I) and a writing desk with
a TV above.

The bathroom is spacious and done in travertine and marble with twin sinks and a glass shower.

We are in Rouen, a town in Normandy on the banks of the Seine, in the square where Joan of Arc was burned. Everything is wonderful so far.

I will take copious notes because I do not know when I will find another internet place. I typed out our first day only to lose it when I pushed save so I don't think I will take the time to type it all again right now; The french keyboards are so different also that it makes it very hard. If I can catch up in the next town I will do so.


For now I will sign off and get back to you as I can.

It's now getting really exciting.

We leave for France on Friday. Yesterday we pulled all the clothes and acoutrement that we will be taking, just to see of it would fit into the luggage we were planning to take.

Don't be silly! Of course it didn't fit. We now are taking our roll aboards plus a garment bag and a carry-on backpack.

It's their fault! The barge we are taking down the Seine has two dressy nights for dinner, so we had to take jackets and ties and slacks and such. Every night is "smart casual", which means slacks, but at least no jacket. We don't care. The three bags are getting checked and if the airline loses it, oh well! But in the meantime we are essentially packed.

Today is a haircut and getting Mother's travel documents to her and trying to figure out any and all situations that need handling before we go. Contingencies! Something will be forgotten, but we shall deal with that when it comes up.

I have three hard days at work and then......
Gads, I'm getting excited.

Things are looking up!

I finally have a diagnosis on the swelling and pain. It seems that with all the stress I have been dealing with since last November I have developed an auto immune disease. It's called Sjogruns disease and is related to, but not as serious as, Lupus. It is complicated by an overlap of Rheumatoid arthritis which is why I have my particular symptoms. I don't have the normal symptoms of Sjogruns which is dry mouth and eyes. It is treatable, but not cureable.

But within 18 hours of initial meds I was pain free and the swelling had abated. This week has put the joy back into my life. Just knowing what is going on in my body was such a relief, but pain free is a good thing.

Now I can really get excited about the trip to France which starts this Friday!