Day 2.5ish....and a half....bottle of wine...

So our second day in France started out really well.... I ate a pile of ham and 5 sausages for free at the hotel, and all were delicious!!!

Hugh and I then went for a walk around Metz, which is a very beautiful village. hugh said it looked like a huge Trencin (Slovakia), a very euro village with a cathedral.

We went to the Office of Yourism and bought a driving map of France, walked the farmer's market and bought homemade tartes for a lunch later, took photos, window shopped...

We bought a euro telephone so we did not suffer from excessive roaming charges on my USA phone - which was working fine! We talked to our family and friends who were in Paris and arranged to meet up for dinner in Caen..... then things got uncomfortable.......

First, I got cramps, the female blood I want to die cramps. I took a pill. Then we hit Paris traffic. Then we drove around Paris 2x - we saw the Eifffel tower 2x - that clued us in that we missed our exit. Then I started bleeding in the car, in bumper to bumper traffic. Then the toilet had no paper, and the automatic floor cleaner (because this was a traditional hole in the ground toilet) started flooding the stale, and the door was open so all could see me sticking my finger up where the freeway should not see, while dancing on one leg, and throwing my other pants across the stales to not get wet...

Thank god that I brought wet-wipe hand towels to clean all the debris....

And then we ate our tartes and my new euro phone worked perfectly, and we meet up with our family and friends and had a fabulous 5 wine dinner!!!!!

And tomorrow we are going to Utah Beach and St. Mont Michel!!!!

I am in France

So Huug and I spend 10 hours in flight, 4 hours form SFO to Toronto then another 7 to Munich. Not so bad - slept most of it with the help of Jack and Ambian. But.... we picked up our rental car from Avis (they were very nice) (and the car is nice to) and we drove for 10 fucking hours!!!!! The far as we got was Metz. Very nice city. We did not get farther because we both were stincky, hungary, grouchy, need to stretch, sleepy, wired, insert loud scream here OOOOOOOOOOO. No human beings should be kooped up in a tin can under pressure for more than 10 hours. and then to do it 2x in a row is asking for trouble.

no trouble came - Hugh ate a pizza, and I drank a whole bottle of red french wine. we are now sidated.

now we must sleep so we can drive to normany tomorrow!!!

Leaving in 16 hours!!!

We are flying out of SFO in 16 hours for Munich/Munchin. I have a fever of 101. Sucks.

Addicted to bags

I am addicted to bags - handbags, suitcases, backpacks, daypacks, duffel bags, purses. For our trip we are traveling light. I have 2 carry on bags, a Go-lite backpack and a Sampsonite carry-on. I got Hugh a duffelbag, and he will want to use his Timbuk2 as his second carry-on bag. However at Costco yesterday I saw an awesome carry-on bag that had wheels, and straps to tighten to make the bag compact, with seperate shoe compartments, and the same size as Hugh's duffel bag. It was only $40. The reason we have crappier bags is because a nice bag like the one at Costco usually goes for $150 at REI. Damn it!!!! I want that travel bag from Costco!!!!

But we don't neeeed it.....

11 Days

We leave in 11 days!!!

Countdown

51 days till we leave!

Loose Itinerary

Here is a loose version of our travel itinerary:

August 27th - September 3rd, 2009: Hugh and I fly to Munich from San Francisco. We will then rent a car and drive to Strausburg and visit the Margenot line. We will arrive in Paris August 29th and visit with Isabel for about a week. We are hopeful that the visit will include a trip to Normandy, Utah beach, Caen, Mont St. Michel, and the Paris sights - Louvue, Eiffel's Tower, Sacred Heart Basillica, and the Catacombs.

September 3 - 8, 2009: Slovakia: We will be driving from Paris to Trencin, Slovakia. We hope to arrive by the 4th. Andrea's sister's wedding is on the 5th. Hugh flys back to the U.S.A. from Munich on the 8th; he will need to fly to Munich on the 7th. I intend on keeping the car for a month, returning it to Munich on the 19th. During my stay in Slovakia, we will be visiting Peter in the North, and having family fun!

September 9 - 18, 2009: Slovakia with the family!

September 19 - 21, 2009: Germany: Me and my brothers will be partying at Octoberfest in Munich, Germany!!!! We will be dropping the car off once we get to Germany. The rest of our travels will be by vlak/train.

September 22 - 24, 2009: Czech Republic - We will hit Stare Maestro and all the famous landmarks. We will drink pivo in the beer halls.

September 25- 30, 2009: Poland - Krakow sounds like the highlight of Poland, but we must see Warsaw and Poznin, our father's hometown.

October 1 - October 8: Ukraine - I am very excited about visiting Lviv, Kyiv and Odessa! I want to see the Black Sea.

October 9 - 17, 2009: Croatia - We will hit Zageb, Split and Dubrovnik. We will be hanging in the Adriatic Sea, swimming in the waters, climbing over old roman ruins, drinking and eating and having a relaxing time.

October 20 , 2009: Munich, Germany - fly back to the U.S.A.