French Lessons

Yesterday, I had my first French lesson with my new French teacher. It was interesting to return to the Washington D.C. Alliance Francaise. I haven't been there in at least 5 years. I remember looking them up when I first arrived in the D.C. area. I had taken French lessons at the Alliance Francaise Bahrain branch and I had been very pleased with them. So, I checked into and found out they had a branch in Washington D.C. Because of the unpredictability of my work hours, I had to do one-on-one lessons then like I'm doing now. My teacher then was a lady named Dominique (I don't remember her last name). I was making good progress but, I decided to get back to college so I could finish my Bachelor's degree (which I still haven't done). Because of college and work, I stopped the lessons though I continued to study French with various computer programs. The best one I found was Rosetta Stone which I still have. Still, Rosetta Stone can't take the place of a teacher.

My tour of France wettened my desire to properly learn French again. I really enjoyed trying to speak French but, I was having difficulties. I didn't know enough vocabulary and I couldn't translate fast enough to understand every thing people would say back to me in French. One of the biggest problems with a computer program is you can't ask it questions about the language your studying. I realized that I wanted to seriously study French again, I was going to have to study with a teacher. The one place I knew where they have good French teachers was the Alliance Francaise. I had their website bookmarked so it was easy to look them up and find out what I had to do to start lessons again with them. The only problem I had this time was finding a teacher who would teach me on Sundays.

My hours at the Post Office are extremely unpredictable. I can be scheduled to be off a certain day and end up working 12 hours. Last week, I was supposed to work 31 hours. I ended up working over 50! I had 3 days where I worked over 11 hours each day! Because of such crazy hours, the only day I knew that I could absolutely do a lessons and not have to change them or cancel them at the last minute would be Sunday. The Post Office doesn't deliver mail on Sundays so I was safe there.

I spoke with the academic director at the D.C. Alliance and she told me she'd work on finding me a teacher. It would've been easier to find one during the weekdays or Saturday but, I told her that wasn't possible. To my delight, I heard from my new teacher the Sunday before last (I think). It turned out she was a lady in her 60's I would guess who is more knowledgeable about French than English. I guess she comes from France. Anyway, we got together for the first time yesterday. The lesson went well though it was challenging for me. With French, some words can mean multiple things so you have to listen or read the entire sentence to find out what the word may mean. An example would be the French work Ou. Ou can mean where or "or." It all depends on how you emphasize it. If you emphasize it at the beginning of a question, you're likely asking where something is. If you don't emphasize the word, they're probably giving choices ex. Martin or Andrew and they're using it as or. Another thing that makes French challenging is that they'll have letters that'll carry over into the next word when you speak it. Ex. Vous etes Italienne. When you speak this sentence, you would say vous zet zitalienne. The s's carry over into the next words and have a "z" sound. This can make it very hard at times to say the words. It can also make it hard to translate what is spoken as there isn't any French word zitalienne. There is an Italienne word so you have to figure out that the "z" is being carried over but, it isn't part of the word. I suspect this is one of the things that makes it so hard for me to translate spoken French.

Nadya worked to develop all the aspects of French i.e. I need to be able to speak it, understand it when it's spoken, write it and read it. So, we practiced on all 4 aspects. I got to read various sentences aloud and translate them. I received practice translating spoken French when she spoke it and I started figuring out how I would write in French. She gave me a homework assignment where I'll have to write 2 to 4 sentences in French. Thankfully, I get to use a French-English dictionary if I need to (and I will). Also, I'm supposed to read 1 or 2 paragraphs of something written in French. She gave me a newsletter that tells of things in the French-American community in the U.S. as well as having articles on wine and food. I plan to use that for my reading assignment.

Overall, the lesson went well. Nadya gave me the options I had as far as how long the lessons could be. They can be 1, 1 and 1/2, 2 or even 3 hours long. I opted for 1 and 1/2 hour lessons. That'll give us enough time to cover a good bit of material but, my brain won't get too fried from trying to think of the various French words and put them in the correct order. The lessons will be challenging and fun. The only hassle I'm going to have is driving down to D.C. and finding a parking spot close to the Alliance. Ironically, I had to park in front of the French embassy or Ambassador's house. I thought it appropriate considering what I was there to do. I look forward to learning more French and getting to use it when I return to France for another Globus tour in 2010. Au revoir!

Eiffel Tower

Here is a picture I took of the famous Eiffel Tower. The tower has become a symbol of Paris and one of its must see sights. Ironically, when it was first built, Parisians decried it as an eyesore. The tower offers some of the best views of Paris. Price wise, the higher you go up, the more expensive it gets. To get to the third level, you have to change elevators and you'll get stuck in a queue. However, the views from the top are awesome. I'll post some of those pictures later. Cheers all!

Easier Day at the Post Office

I had an easier day at the Post Office today. I worked rural route 7 which is my second favorite route. The reason I like it so much is it has a nice mounted stretch. What is mounted? Mounted means you can drive the mail truck right up to the mailbox, open it, put the mail in it, close it and drive to the next box. A mounted route is the easiest to deliver mail on. That's why I like it so much.

Why did I have it so easy today? I lucked out in three ways. First, my Direct to Point Service (DPS) mail was light. I received only 4 trays for the entire route which isn't a lot. How did that help me? First, I was able to case the mail quickly since there wasn't that much of it. Second, the route has 5 kiosks which are mail kiosks with multi-mailboxes in them. Those kind of mailboxes can slow you down as you have to do a second mail sorting at them. Since the mail was light, it didn't take me as long to deliver the mail to those kiosks.

Second, I didn't receive any accountable mails today. Accountable mails are certified or registered letters or Express Mail. When I return to the Post Office, I have to account for everyone of the certified or registered letters and Express Mail I signed for. Since I didn't receive any from the cage, I didn't have to worry about turning any in. Another plus of not having any accountable mail was time saved. Every piece of accountable mail must have a form 3849 filled out. Those are the small forms your carrier leaves at your door notifying you have an accountable mail or package you have to sign for. If your home when the carrier comes by, you'll sign a form 3849 which the carrier will take a picture of with his/her scanner. That is a record showing who received the item and when. Time wise, it also takes time to go to each door, knock and if the person is home, they'll sign for the item. Each one of these stops can take 5 minutes or more. If you get a lot of accountable mails, they can cost you a lot of time.

Lastly, the weather didn't slow me up. The weatherman was predicting thunderstorms and heavy rain. I brought my rain gear but, I hoped I'd be able to get most of my mail delivered before it really poured. To my relief, the heavens really opened up just as I pulled into my mail truck parking slot. I was very pleased.

So, the day went well. Where I had a 12 hour day on the route Thursday, I had a 9 hour day today. I was able to go home at a decent hour and, I won't have to work tomorrow since it's Sunday. I'll be able to go to church and do my first French lesson with my new French teacher. Stay tuned for an update on how that goes. Cheers all!

View from the Top of Mont St. Michel

I'm posting this picture for Jim, a fellow rural mail carrier sub. As I previously mentioned, the views from the top of Mont St. Michel were incredible. This picture gives you an idea of how high we were and how far we could see.

Mont St. Michel

All text can get rather boring, especially when I'm telling about my France adventures. Here's a picture I took of Mont. St. Michel. Hopefully, it'll give you an idea of how big it was. Visiting Mont. St. Michel was one of the highlights of my trip. This place was so cool. Sadly, it is a bit of a tourist trap. When our group visited it, there were at least 6 other coaches there. When we left, another 5 or 6 had arrived. It is very popular. I think you can see why.

Limoges

We got a somewhat early start this morning. I suspect it was so we'd have more time at Limoges and St. Emilion. We departed Tours at 7:30 a.m. I believe we arrived at Limoges at 10 a.m. Limoges is famous for its porcelain. Before the 19th century, all porcelain came from China. The reason for this is because no one had found any deposits of kaolin clay. The clay is key to making porcelain as it gives its hardness and whiteness when fired. The clay was found in Limoges though initially no one realized what it was. The story our guide told us what that woman in Limoges used the clay to make her dirty linen whiter when washing it. A chemist heard of the clay and found out it was kaolin. Within 20 or 30 years, a number of porcelain factories had sprung up in Limoges. We visited the Bernardaod porcelain museum and factory store. A young man by the name of Simon gave us a tour of the museum. He explained what the raw materials were used in making porcelain, how molds were used to create pitchers, vases and various other items, how the item was glazed and lastly how it was fired. Personally, to my surprise, I found the whole process interesting. Some of the porcelain was very pretty.

After the tour of the museum, we got the chance to buy some Bernardaod porcelain. According to our guide, prices weren't any better at their factory store than what we could find in the states. Because of that, I held off buying anything as the less stuff I bought, the less stuff I had to lug around, declare to customs and lug home the better. I was impressed by the selection they had. I hope to get one of their catalogs as I saw some stuff I think my sister Eloise or mom Kay would like.

After the museum tour and chance to shop at the factory store, everyone got back on the bus. We would drive for another 2 hours before stopping for lunch at a highway restaurant. I forget where it was located. I do remember that a number of these restaurants weren't cheap. I remember spending over $20 for lunch at one of them. They're not a place to take your appetite if you want to have pity on your wallet. Our next major destination would be the wine town of St. Emilion.

September 20, 2008

I got to see 3 famous French chateaux this day. One was famous because of the genius who lived there the last 3 years of his life. The second was famous because it was designed by a woman and 2 notable women lived there. The third was notable for the King who commissioned it, its size and its very unusual roof.

The first chateau we got to see was Clos de Luce. This chateau was owned by the King and could be loaned out to whomever he wished. King Francois I was fascinated by the Renaissance. He decided to invite one of the great geniuses of the Renaissance to France and offered to let him live in Clos de Luce. That genius was Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo was given the job of entertainments for the court when the King was at his hunting lodge at Chambord. I think he also organized and ran various other ceremonies when the King was at Chambord. One entertainment Leonardo created for the amusement of the court was mechanical lion that could spit out fleur-de-lis. He may have also been influential in the design of the King's new chateau at Chambord as this chateau has a Renaissance double helix staircase in it. Something Leonardo was known to have designed. While living at Clos de Luce, Leonardo was free to carry on his experiments and paint. He finished 1 painting while there. It was his painting of John the Baptist. It shows him pointing one finger up. I can't say I was terribly impressed with the painting. Another neat thing about the chateau is it is filled with models of Leonardo's inventions. The inventions show just how much ahead of his time he was. Many of his inventions have become realities in our modern age.

After visiting Clos de Luce, we journeyed to beautiful Chateau Chenonceau. This chateau was designed by a woman who was the wife of the French minister of finance. Later, when some discrepancies were discovered with the ministries financial books, the chateau was seized by the crown. King Francois I gave it to his mistress Diane of Poitiers who continued to improve it. Diane had a bitter rival in Francois's wife Catherine de Medici. She was very jealous of her but, there wasn't anything she could do about it until King Francois died. She became regent as her son was too young to become King. In an act of revenge, she forced Diane to take 2 lesser chateaux in exchange for Chenonceau. Catherine knew Diane loved Chenonceau dearly and this was a way for her to get back at her. Diane reportedly never lived at the other 2 chateaux. Catherine would go on to make further changes and improvements to the chateau. Because of the women who were so involved in its creation, the chateau is known as the Lady's chateau.

As I mentioned in my paragraph about Clos de Luce, King Francois I had a hunting lodge at Chambord which he changed into a chateau. Francois had only recently come to the throne and he wanted to make a statement about his power. Chambord was to be that statement. It would take 35 years to finish the new chateau. Francois didn't live to see its completion. The chateau is HUGE. Each room has 20 foot high ceilings. It is said that the chateau was impossible to heat. Also, it was easy to get lost in. A princess staying there reportedly asked for a map so she could stop getting lost in the place. The chateau also has an incredible roof. There is a maze of kaleidscopic chimneys as well as stairwells on the roof. The chimneys have a number of different patterns alternating with black and white tiles. It is truly amazing.

After our local guide Martine finished showing our group Chambord, we drove back to our hotel. That night, we had a group dinner at the hotel. The next morning, we would depart for Limoges, St. Emilion and stay overnight in Bordeaux. Stay tuned for my next report on my France adventure.

Bad Luck

It turns out I had a bit of bad luck this past Saturday. One of the things I'm supposed to do when I do a full route is put my departure time on the route time sheet. In my rush to get out the door, I forgot to. Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal. I'd make sure I filled it in when I got back to the Post Office. Unfortunately, a Postal inspector made an unannounced inspection and that was one of the things he/she checked. So, I received my third letter of warning ever from the Post Office. The letter will remain in my file for 1 year. At the end of that year, the letter will be thrown out. As the other 2 letters I've received have been thrown out, it isn't a disaster. I'll just have to be more careful.

Travel Plans

I believe I posted an entry about future travel plans here. In the last couple days, one of those plans got changed. I'd hoped to do back-to-back cruises in the Caribbean with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. They were the ones I went with this past March. I would've sailed on the Adventure of the Seas again and seen some islands I haven't seen before. Royal Caribbean killed those plans fast. It seems that if I want a cabin to myself, I have to pay double. Unlike other travel operators, Royal Caribbean doesn't have a single supplement. All the prices they quote on their website are based on double occupancy. If you want that rate and you're single, you have to find a roommate. I've been done having roommates since I moved out of the dorms when I was in the Air Force. I'd rather do something else than have to get a roommate for a trip. So, I won't be doing any cruises with Royal Caribbean for a while and, I'm a bit pissed off with them. I did manage to find something else I'd like to do travel wise in January 2010. Globus has a 2 week tour of South Africa. The trip combines history, culture and wildlife. The only drawback I know of is that crime is supposedly bad there i.e. I'm going to have to be careful. Barring that and a long flight down there, it sounds like a nice tour. We'll see if it happens. Hopefully, it will.

Baltimore Duck Tour

I've been wanting to do the Baltimore Duck tour for a while. I wanted to see how it stacked up against the Washington D.C. Duck tour. I thought the D.C. tour was nice but, the water portion was a total waste. As it turned out, the Baltimore tour was better even though it doesn't have all the historic monuments D.C. has. I got to see the first memorial built to honor George Washington. The tour drove by where Edgar Allan Poe, his wife and his mother-in-law are buried. Every year, on the day of his death, someone sneaks into the graveyard at night and places 3 roses and a bottle cognac at this tombstone. Everyone can figure out what the 3 roses represent but, no one understands what the cognac is for. There was also a touching memorial to the Holocaust.

The water portion of the tour was very nice. We got to see the U.S.S. Constellation, Lady Maryland and Pride of Baltimore ships. The guide told us about some of the construction going on close to the harbor. They're building a new hotel and a new office building. Lastly, we got to see some nice boats tied up at the various marinas. According to our guide Captain Joe, a number of boats are passing through Baltimore on their way south. They've been up in the waters of New England and the Great Lakes and were now making their way south to Florida, the Bahamas and possibly the Caribbean. It must be nice to be able to do that. I'd hate to think what it costs in terms of gas.

Overall, I was very pleased with the tour. Afterwards, I had a very nice lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. I like the Baltimore cafe because it's very easy to go to. It's in the Inner Harbor area and within walking distance. Cheers all!

Renfen

On a different note, I had to include a post about my visit to the Maryland Renaissance Festival yesterday. I'd agree to meet up with my friend Sven and his very kind wife Barbara. I also got to meet his daughter and her husband. All of us were dressed in garb i.e. costume. Sven was dressed as a wizard and was so impressive, a number of people came up and took his picture. He really does look the part.

The festival was packed! There were long lines at all the food booths which was very annoying. Also, some of shops were packed too. I promised Susan, one of the ladies I met on the tour of France I did that I'd buy a bag of lavendar to put number my pillow. She said the scent helps you sleep. I went in search of a shop that I thought would sell it. To my annoyance, I went 180 degrees the wrong way. I had to walk all the way back of Mary's Dale Way to find the shop Blessed Scents which did sell bags of lavender. For some reason, I thought it had a stronger scent. Barring that, all I bought was a bottle of water and a bottle of Gatorade. Sven treated me to a smoked turkey leg which I thoroughly enjoyed. The turkey leg was tough and Sven had a hard time trying to eat the thing. I guess I had strong teeth because I tore right into it.

Overall, I very much enjoyed myself. I didn't like the long lines. Also, it was warmer than usual for October. I like going to the festival in October because it is cooler and consequently I can wear my real cloak. My real cloak is made of heavy wool. It's equal to a very good wool blanket. With the heat, the last thing I needed to do was wrap up in a wool blanket. If you haven't been to the festival, I believe it running today and this coming weekend. It is a lot of fun. Cheers!

September 19, 2008

Wake-up call 7 a.m., bags out and breakfast 8 a.m. and departure at 9 a.m. We would make our way Tours. Tours is a very modern city as 80% of it was destroyed during World War II. Our first stop during our drive to Tours was at the town called Chateaubriant. The town was called this due to a chateau located there that was owned by the Briant family. The cut of meat that we associate with that name was named for a writer with that last name. Susan our guide told us he liked that particular cut of beef so much they named it after him in his honor. The name stuck. After our bathroom stop at Chateaubriant, we continued on to Angers. Angers was the home base of the Counts of Anjou. It has what is called a chateau but is really a very large fortress. The walls are particularly impressive. I had a nice lunch at a restaurant called Le Gourmand. They had reasonably priced salads there. After lunch, Harvey and I checked out the cathedral which had a very large organ and a lot of impressive wood carving. We arrived at the Holiday Inn Tours City Centre at 4 p.m.

The Holiday Inn we stayed at was decent. It has a good location if you're traveling to Tours by train as it's located right next to the Tours train station. Right next to the train station are a number of shops so the hotel isn't far from a number of good shops in Tours.

This night, we had an optional dinner at a restaurant called La Cave. It's a restaurant located in a cave. One thing I try to do on Globus tours is try new foods. France is famous for its escargot i.e. snails. I was determined to try snails though I'm not real keen on eating bugs and, I considered snails bugs. We were given a set number of choices for our meal. We had 3 choices for starter, 3 choices for main entree and 2 choices for desert. For the starter, I chose the snails. I was glad I did as they were outstanding. They had a fantastic sauce as well as onions and mushrooms. The lamb I ordered was a disappointment as it was dry. For dessert, I got to try baked Alaska for the first time. I thought it was really good. Overall, I had an outstanding meal at this restaurant and, I'd definitely recommend it.

After dinner, we drove back to the hotel. The next day, we'd have a full day as we would get to see 3 famous chateaux in the Loire Valley. Stay tuned.

Mont St. Michel

We had to stop about 5 miles away from Mont St. Michel so we could take a picture of the entire island and the abbey. Groups previously did this at the causeway liking the island to the mainland and, it caused so many traffic jams that police put a stop to it. Even at 5 miles away, you could see that Mont St. Michel is BIG. The second thing you notice is that it is all by itself. The island is located in a bay which goes out for miles. There is one smaller island close by but that island is dwarfed by Mont St. Michel. Our guide told us how the initial abbey came to be built. Around 700 A.D., a bishop claimed to receive a vision from the archangel Michael telling him to build a church on the island. The bishop ignored the vision. He received it a second time. He ignored it again. The third time, he saw himself in the vision with a hole in his head. He was so frightened, he promptly arranged for a building of a church on the island. This church was considerably smaller than the abbey you see now. Over the years, through generous donations and from the sale of books the abbey made, it grew it size to the colossal structure you can see now. One of the reasons Kings and Dukes of Normandy would donate to the abbey was it increased their prestige. It helped show how great they were. I suspect it didn't hurt that the abbey and island are very impressive.

One downside of seeing the abbey is that it is a major tourist attraction. Bus loads of tourists come to see it. When our group arrived, there were already 7 buses there. By the time we left, 6 more had arrived.

For this tour, we used a local guide named Helen. She was wonderful lady full of interesting facts and a good sense of humor. She offered 2 routes to get to the top of island. We could take the fast route which had over 300 steps or the short route which had 120. Our group chose the short route. The route was filled with twisting turning alleyways and small homes. At one time, over 400 people lived at the island not including the monks and sisters who worshipped in the abbey. Now, only 20 people or so live there. I thought that sad. The tides that go in and out of the bay are so great that the causeway we walked on to get to the island is completely covered by water during the night. Also, to prevent the silt from building up, the French government is allegedly considering tearing down the causeway and building a bridge to the island.

One of the highlights of the tour without a doubt is when you reach the top of the island. The views from up there are stunning. With the abbey as a backdrop, you can easily imagine yourself at the top of Minas Tirith with the exception you're looking for miles over a bay versus fields. After taking plenty of pictures, we entered the cathedral. It was stunning for its sheer size. Supposedly, in its day, it was far more ornate but, it still awes. From the cathedral, Helen showed us other rooms where guests staying at the abbey would dine or pray. Only monks or sisters were allowed in the cathedral. There were 2 massive fireplaces in the room where guests were dined. The monks figured out a way to keep rainwater from coming down their chimneys. Eventually, this system failed from wear and tear. Modern builders haven't been able to figure out how the monks did it so now rain comes in through the fireplace chimneys.

We entered dimly lit rooms with massive pillars to support the cathedral above. During the French Revolution, the abbey was used as a prison. There was a system where a wooden sled would be lower to the lower parts of the island and loaded up with supplies. Prisoners would pull ropes tied to the sled to bring the supplies up to the abbey. This would've been quicker than carrying them up all the steps to the abbey.

The abbey was generally cold. This was the way the religious orders wanted it as the monks and sisters were to live an austere life of religious study and contemplation. There was one room in the abbey however that was kept warm. This was the room where monks copied books by hand. The room had to be warm in order for them to be able to use the ink they used to write the books. The books they made at the abbey were a major source of revenue for the abbey for years.

We spent a short 2 hours at the island. By the time our tour ended of the abbey, it was time to head back to the bus. I would've liked to have checked out some of the shops to see if they had any neat souvenirs but, there wasn't time. This was one place I'd definitely like to come back to.

Once everyone had boarded the tour bus, we had a short drive to our hotel. There we had another group dinner. The next morning, we would head for Tours, the chateau country of France.

Bayeux Tapestry

There aren't any written accounts written shortly after the Duke of Normandy's invasion of England and his victory over Harold Godwinson. There is however one pictorial account of the event. That is the famous Bayeux Tapestry. Through pictures, the tapestry tells of events prior to the invasion, preparation for the invasion, events that happened after William landed, the battle at Hastings and the aftermath of the battle. Part of the tapestry is missing. No one knows what happened to the missing part. For that matter, no knows who commissioned the tapestry or what its purpose was barring being a record of the events that took place. The tapestry is clearly meant to inform people who were illiterate of the events that took place. This was a common practice during that time as the overwhelming majority of people were illiterate. Through the pictures on the tapestry, a person could figure out just what happened as well as the reasons for the invasion.

For me personally, I was surprised by a couple things on the tapestry. For starters, I had no idea how big the tapestry is. The remaining bits are over 90 feet long! Pictures in history books don't convey the size of the tapestry. Another thing that is interesting about the tapestry is that it shows Harold Godwinson in a good light. King Edward the Confessor sent Harold over to Normandy to inform William that he was making him his successor since he didn't have any children. While visiting with William, Harold joined William in fighting against the Duke of Brittany. At one point, the tapestry shows Harold saving a Norman soldier. Later, during the battle of Hastings, Harold is shown fighting valiantly. The tapestry portrays Harold as a good man who violated sacred oaths of allegiance he made to William which ultimately cost him his life.

The tapestry is stored in temperature and light controlled cases to help preserve it while also enabling it to be displayed so people can see its magnificence. It is a stunning work and a great credit to whoever made it. The museum offers use of automated audio guides which tell of the scenes in the tapestry as the viewer walks along. Lastly, the museum offers a movie in different languages that further explains scenes in the tapestry and explanations for those scenes. When you leave the museum, you are left with a very good understanding of a fascinating record of a monumental event in history.

After seeing the Bayeux Tapestry, Harvey and I walked around Bayeux a bit. Harvey decided to try a French hotdog while I enjoyed an ice cream. Afterwards, we saw the outside of the Bayeux Cathedral and a wall commemorating French men who may have been resisters who were sent by the Germans to concentration camps where they died.

Finally, we walked back to the parking lot to board our bus. We did stop to admire a small dam that was built to power a mill in Bayeux. The mill had been converted into a decent looking restaurant. When it was time, we boarded our Globus bus and headed to another sight I'd been greatly looking forward to seeing: the Abbey of Mont St. Michel.

September 18th, 2008 Part I

It was going to be a busy and exciting day. We were going to see some of the D-Day beaches, the American Cemetary, the Bayeux Tapestry and the Abbey of Mont St. Michel. It started with would be become routine. Wake-up call at 6:15 a.m., bags out and breakfast at 7:00 a.m. and departure at 8 a.m. First, we drove by Sword beach which looked like any normal beach. Then, we drove to Gold beach (Arromanches) where the Allies built a temporary port. You can still see 15 of the breakwaters they sank there. We saw the monument that was erected in memory of what they did. The beach itself was very pretty and peaceful. It was hard to believe a terrible bloody battle had been fought there. Barring the breakwaters, there weren't any traces of it. Life truly goes on and those that remember the great battle fought there are dying off. It was very sad to think about that.

It was more sad to look at row upon row of white marble crosses and Stars of David at the American Cemetary at Colleville-sur-Mer. The cemetary is right next to Omaha Beach. A number of those buried in the cemetary may have died on that very beach. I walked along and read unknown names and dates when they died. A few had no name and were known only to God. The cemetary was beautifully maintained. Our guide told us they employed 6 gardeners and it showed. It was right that it should look so beautiful as this was hallowed ground. It would've been a disgrace if it had been otherwise. I could only hope we wouldn't forget what those brave souls that were buried there did. It was truly epic and noble. It is ironic that people now a days call them naive but, I think they were otherwise. In my opinion, I think they were far better people than we are today.

Our last D-Day stop was Pointe du Hoc. The name itself doesn't mean anything. It was just a name assigned to a point that the Allies felt they had to take. German guns at Pointe du Hoc over looked Omaha and Utah Beaches. If the guns weren't knocked out, Allied losses would be far greater and the landings at those beaches could've failed. 225 Army rangers were given the task of scaling 100 foot high sheer cliffs and knocking out the guns. It would be an incredible task. When the battle was over, only 90 rangers were left alive. To their dismay, the Germans had moved the guns before the attack making the attack pointless. Unlike Gold and Omaha Beaches where virtually nothing remains of the battle, Pointe du Hoc was left as it was on June 8, 1944. As far as I know, it's only part of the D-Day landings that is as it was on those fateful days. You can see bomb craters and shattered pill boxes. You can look out over the English Channel. The only you can't do for safety reasons is look down the sheer cliffs. Looking around, you can get an idea of the desperate battle that was fought here. According to Wikipedia, underneath the monument the French people built to honor the rangers is a casement that still contains the remains of some of the rangers.

As we left Pointe du Hoc, our guide told us a story. I mentioned previously William the Conqueror. Those invading Normandy in the D-Day beaches were not ignorant of history. Our guide told that at the British War Cemetery in Bayeux, an inscription says "We, once conquered by William, have now set free the Conqueror's native land." It was a beautiful closing remark on the sights we'd seen concerning D-Day. It would also lead to the final sight we would have concerning William the Conqueror. Stay tuned for Part II.

Road Part of Tour Begins - September 17, 2008

The road part of our tour began. Everyone got on the bus and we departed Paris for Rouen. The bus itself was fairly comfortable. I liked the fact that my legs weren't squeezed. Globus hired a bus for the Montmartre excursion and I had to see sideways in the seat.

The journey to Rouen was uneventful. Rouen itself is perhaps most famous for being the place that Joan of Arc was put to death. The French built a cathedral in her honor and placed a huge cross where she was burned to death. When I saw the cathedral they had built in her honor, my first reaction was "that's a cathedral?" It really doesn't look like one. I thought it might be some kind of Nordic memorial or something as it has a number of tiles that looked like dragon scales to me. I didn't go in the cathedral so I have no idea what it looks like inside. The cathedral is alongside a square that has some nice old buildings. A street leads from the cathedral to the medieval clock which tells time and the date. It was an impressive clock. The street ends at the Rouen Cathedral. The cathedral took damage during World War II and it shows some. Still, it is an impressive cathedral and has statues inside of Richard the Lionhearted and Rollo, the first duke of Normandy. I believe there was also a small chapel dedicated to Joan of Arc.

After Susan, our guide finished showing us the Cathedral of Rouen, we were free to find a place to have lunch, shop or check out other sights. I didn't feel like having a full lunch so I found a place where I could get an ice cream. I managed to speak enough French so the person in the shop understood what I wanted. After that, I wandered around taking some more pictures. When it was time, everyone returned to the bus and headed to our next stop - Caen.

Caen has the Memorial Museum for Peace. This museum tells of the events leading to World War II and the battles that were fought in Normandy. It has a number of excellent exhibits. It used genuine articles from the war, models and first hand accounts to give visitors an idea of what the battles were like. After seeing the exhibits, the museum showed a film that showed film footage shot during the war. It was a very good film and gave a better understanding of what took place in Normandy. After we were done seeing the museum, we headed to our hotel the Mercure Centre in Caen. Along the way, we learned some more of William the Conqueror.

William was determined to marry his cousin Matilda. However, there were issues because they were related and the fact that William was illegitimate. Matilda (I hope that's the right name) turned down William's marriage proposals 5 or 6 times before finally giving in. Because of their close relations, the Pope censored William. In order to make amends with the Pope, William promised to do 2 things. First, he would commission 2 monasteries to be built in Caen: one for men only and one for women. Second, when he and Matilda died, they would be buried in separate graves in the 2 monasteries. Apparently, this pleased the Pope enough to where he forgave him. Part of the men's monastery can still be found in Caen and we got to see it as we drove to our hotel.

Our hotel was located next to a small marina which was very pretty. The hotel itself was comfortable and had nice rooms. One thing I would noticed during the tour was the rooms were more spacious than the ones in Scandanavia. I would really appreciate this fact. That night, our group had its second group dinner. The food was good and everyone had a nice time chatting with their new found friends in the tour. The next morning, we would leave for Mont St. Michel.

Tour Truly Begins - Part II

After a nice little rest, I took the elevator down to where those going on the optional Montmartre excursion were to meet. Our bus driver took us to the base of Montmartre. Susan, our guide, wanted to show us the only vineyard in Paris. It's something of a curiousity. The vineyard inhabits a space of land that otherwise would probably hold 2 shops or houses. Grape vines are carefully grown in the small plot of land. Because of its small size, not much wine is produced and, it is very pricey. A bottle will cost you 2,000 Euros. That's over $2,800 in U.S. dollars!

After seeing the vineyard, we walked the rest of the somewhat steep way to Montmartre. Montmartre is known for 2 things. Its basilica and the artists that sell their paintings there. We got to see the artists first. They inhabited a square that also had a number of restaurants and shops. A number of the artists did portraits for people as they sat. From what I could see, they were very good. I have no idea however what one of the portraits would cost.

Susan walked us up to where the basilica was and where our meeting point would be, the incline rail station. She also made sure we knew the departure time. After that, we were free to look around and have some dinner in one of the restaurants.

I decided to check out the basilica. It is called the Basilica de Sacre Coeur. In English, that means the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. It's a beautiful church and is on top of a hill that overlooks much of Paris. The views of Paris from the base of the church are awesome. The church itself is a relatively new construction built I believe in very early 1900. When I entered the church, a service was going. I quietly watched. A man who may been a bishop gave a sermon in French. Sadly, I couldn't understand a word of his sermon. After watching the proceedings for about 15 minutes, I quietly left. Harvey was accompanying me and we debated what to do next. Neither of us were starving thanks to the big lunch we had at the Hard Rock Cafe. We opted for some ice cream. We found a shop that sold ice cream and I got to try out my French trying to place my order. I guess my French wasn't disastrous as I got what I wanted ice cream wise.

After that, we wandered around the square and admired some of the artist's paintings. Then, we walked back up to the base of the basilica and listened to an unknown busker perform various songs. He was very good and at times, the crowd joined in on some of the songs he sang.

After what seemed like a long wait, the rest of the group showed up and prepared to take the incline rail down to the base of the hill. I looked at how far down we had to go and decided to walk down. I thought the incline car was a waste going down. I could see how some might want to use it going up.

Once everyone was re-gathered,we walked to our bus which took us to the second part of our excursion that night, a boat ride on the river Seine. The boat was big and had a lot of seats. Unfortunately, we were the last ones to arrive so we got the dregs of the seats which was annoying. I opted to stand so I could get better views. The boat gave a talking tour in 4 or 5 languages of what we were passing as we went down and up the river. The river was lined with nice looking buildings and the 2 islands that formed Ile de France. It was from one of these islands inhabited by the Parisii tribe that the city got its name.

The cruise was nice and lasted over an hour and a half I think. After the cruise, we re-boarded our bus and headed back to our hotel. The next day, we would depart Paris for Rouen and Caen.

Tour Truly Begins - September 16, 2008 Part I

Wake-up call at 6:15 a.m., breakfast at 6:30 a.m. and departure at 7:45 a.m., the tour had truly begun. This is how it is every morning during a Globus tour with the addition having to put your bag outside your door by a set time on days when you're departing for another city. It isn't a bad routine and, you get used to it. One of the things we listened to keenly from Susan was these times for the next morning.

This day, we would spend half the day sightseeing Paris. Before we got started, Susan handed out what she called whispers. Whispers are radio units that the tour participant carries on them with a single ear phone in one of their ears. It enables the guide to tell the entire group things about a church or sight without having to yell. It also enables the guide to easily shepherd the group through a loud noisy city. Harvey had used these on his Globus Italy tour but, this was the first time I'd seen them. We were issued them for the duration of the tour and, we'd use them repeatedly.

For specific cities or sights, Globus uses local guides vice the tour guide. The reason for this is the local guides can be more knowledgeable about a city or sight and more up to date. Our tour guide had to be knowledgeable about 15 different cities in France. I suspect it's hard to stay up to date on so many cities but, it would be easy for a local guide to stay up to snuff on one. Our local guide this day was a lovely lady named Isabel. She would give us an indepth tour of Notre Dame with plenty of photo opportunities. Also, she would take us to the Eiffel Tower and provide us with tickets to get to the 2nd level. For those going on the optional excursion to Versailles, she would be their guide for that too.

I'd been to Notre Dame Cathedral before but, it was nice to see this breathtaking Gothic cathedral again. It is really stunning with its rose stain glass windows and soaring buttresses. Plus, it's located right next to the river Seine. Everyone took tons of pictures of this magnificent church. After driving around in the couch and being told about various interesting buildings as we drove by, we arrived at the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower has become synonymous with Paris. Sydney had its opera house, London had Big Ben and Paris has the Eiffel Tower. Interestingly, when it was first built, a number of Parisians decried it as an eye sore. But, public opinion is ever quick to change and no one can imagine Paris without the tower now. The tower offers some of the best views of Paris. It had 3 levels and the price admission depends on what level you want to go up to. The higher the level, the more expensive the ticket. If you want to go up to the 3rd level, you have to change elevators as they use smaller ones to take people up to the top of the tower. I couldn't remember if I'd ever been to the top of the Eiffel Tower so, I asked Isabel what I had to do to get a ticket for it. She very kindly showed me where the ticket booth was and then, she helped me find a shorter line that saved me at least 20 minutes. Isabel would be typical of the outstanding local guides Globus uses. During our tour of France, we'd use 2 other local guides who were equally fantastic.

Sadly, at the Eiffel Tower, I had to say good-bye to Isabel. I'd seen Versailles at least 3 times and while I think it is definitely worth seeing, I didn't have any desire to see it a 4th time. We said our good-byes and I got in line to take the elevator to the 3rd level of the Eiffel Tower. The wait was worth it as the views from the 3rd level were stunning. You could see for miles from up there. I must've been at least 20 minutes shooting pictures. Finally, I was done and it was time to make my way back to earth. I took the elevator back down to the 2nd level, changed elevators and make it back down to the ground.

I collect Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts. I make it a point to get one at every city I visit that has one. Paris has a Hard Rock Cafe but, I didn't know where it was. Who would know? Isabel! I went in search of her and found her. Sure enough, she knew where it was and, it turned out it was an hour walk each way from the Eiffel Tower. Ah, but what is an hour walk for such a great treasure as a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt (I say this sarcastically). I grimaced and decided to foot it anyway. Little did I know that it would help prepare me for some interesting walks to come on the tour. My friend Harvey decided to join me. To compensate him for this ordeal, I promised to buy him lunch there.

The walk was long but, we had chances to stop and take pictures of various places we'd driven by that morning such as the obelisk in the Place de la Concorde and the stunning Opera House. Finally, we arrived at the Hard Rock Cafe and sat down for an enjoyable lunch. After lunch, I bought myself and my sister Eloise Paris Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts. Then, Harvey and I faced the task of walking back. Both of us were inclined to skip the walk and we checked a metro (subway to us Yanks) station to take the metro back to our hotel. Unfortunately, it looked like we'd have to change trains 4 or 5 times and that was too complicated for us. I offered to spring for a cab but, my friend declined so we footed it back to the hotel. Once we returned, we decided to rest in preparation for the optional excursion to Montmartre and the night river cruise. Stay tuned for my next blog on my France adventures.

Tour Begins - September 15, 2008

I rode the escalator down to the lower reception area of the hotel. It was 5 till 6 p.m. and I was finally going to meet the guide for the La France tour I'd signed up for with Globus. I was wearing my Globus name pin so people would be able to see what my first name was. When I arrived at the reception area, I saw a number of strangers who were wearing similar pins. A blonde haired lady in her 40's or 50's was walking around with a clipboard meeting people and checking them off her list. Eventually, she made her way to Harvey and I. She introduced herself. Her name was Susan (she never gave a last name), she was going to be our tour guide for the entire tour (Globus also uses local guides who cover just a specific city or site) and she needed to confirm our information. I asked her how many people were going to be on the tour and she said 42. It was going to be another large group. Interestingly, there were people from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the U.S. This was going to be the most international group I'd ever been with on a Globus tour.

Once Susan had accounted for everyone, she led us to a restaurant that was somewhat close by called the Le Bistro Champetre. This was our first group dinner and a chance to get to know fellow members of the tour. For the next 2 weeks, we'd travel over 2,000 miles together. During the meal, Susan told us what optional excursions were going to be available. Globus includes a list of possible excursions with each person's travel documents but, you find out what ones will actually be available from the tour guide. I went through the list again and figured out what ones I wanted to take and what it would cost. All totalled, I settled on 7 excursions which included an illumination drive of Paris, a visit and dinner in Monaco and a visit to the medieval town of St. Paul de Vence. We also received our wake-up, breakfast and departure times. The wake-up time was the time Susan would arrange for the hotel to give us a wake-up call. The breakfast time was the time the breakfast buffet would be open so we could have breakfast. Our tour included breakfast every day we were on tour. The departure time was the time the bus would leave to begin the morning city tour. On days we were departing for another city, this would be the time we'd leave the city. On days we departed for another city, there was also a bags out time which was the time we had to place our suitcases outside our rooms so they could be picked up and taken to the bus. It became a routine that Susan would give us these times sometime during the afternoon each day so we would know when to be up, have breakfast, be packed and be ready to depart.

Dinner was good though the portions were smaller than what I was used to in the U.S. This would turn out to be standard throughout France. After the dinner, we walked back to the hotel. It was then that we had the chance to do our first optional excursion. It was an illumination drive of Paris. What that means is you get to drive around Paris at night and see all the lit up places in the city. Paris is really stunning at night. One special treat we received was a special illumination of the Eiffel Tower. For 6 months, France would hold the presidency of the European Union. To mark this special occasion, France attached 12 gold stars to the tower representing the 12 original members of the union, back lit the tower in dark blue light and created a shimmering waterfall of white light that ran down the tower. It was incredibly beautiful and everyone ooo'd and awed at the sight. After driving around seeing all the beautifully lit buildings and monuments, we drove back to the hotel. The next day, we would get to see various sights in Paris.

Getting There - 14 September 2008

This is the first post in my France tour series. I'll be putting a date with each one so people can understand I'm talking about past events.

I didn't sleep terribly well but, that was normal just before a big trip. I did manage to pack everything I needed though I got 1 surprise when I found out one of the shirts I wanted to wear during the tour had 2 big stains I didn't know about previously. I packed the shirt planning to find a dry cleaners in France where I could get it cleaned.

I was out in front of my apartment early waiting for the airport shuttle. My biggest concern was getting to the airport. Once I made it there, events were out of my control. It was up to the airlines to get me to Paris. To my relief, the shuttle arrived on time and, I was its last pick-up. The drive to the airport took only 20 minutes or so. Traffic was light as it was Sunday.

I had no problems checking-in and found the departing gate. I had over 2 hours to do something before the flight. I checked out the airport shops but, they didn't have anything I wanted. I played a game of level 2 Sudoko which took care of 45 minutes. My flight ended up being late getting in due to mechanical problems. Our departure got pushed back over 30 minutes. However, once the airplane arrived, the American Eagle staff were quick to turn around the aircraft and I was soon on my way to JFK.

I had to change terminals at JFK which was something I'd never done before. I followed posted signs and managed to find the airport terminal tram. It took me to the next terminal but, I wasn't thrilled that it left the secure area so that I had to go through security again. I managed to find my friend Harvey and we proceeded to explore terminal 7. There wasn't much to explore. Compared to other terminals I've visited, JFK terminal 7 was small. After checking out the terminal, we went to the British Airways lounge. We found an excellent selection of snacks and drinks. I was starved by this point so I tore into the small sandwiches they had. I figured I would have some of those till dinner time on the flight. After we'd finished our snack at the terminal, we decided to wander around the terminal some more and see what shops they had. The shops didn't turn out to be terribly impressive. Also, I was leery of buying anything as that would mean I'd have to carry it with me for 2 weeks. When we returned to the lounge, we found out they were serving dinner in the lounge for the flight. They wouldn't be serving dinner on the flight. I wasn't thrilled with this news as I was pretty full from the small sandwiches I'd eaten there earlier. We decided to have the offered dinner in the lounge. It turned out to be excellent and was one of the finest airline meals I've ever eaten.

Finally, it was time to depart for London Heathrow. We made our way to the gate and didn't have any problems boarding. The Business Class sleeper seats were very high tech but, they weren't as wide as I expected. I opted for a window seat and enjoyed watching as pulled away from the gate. We promptly got stuck in a queue that was on hold. We ended up waiting over 45 minutes before we were able to finally take off. This turned out to be standard for JFK.

The flight to London Heathrow was very nice. Unlike my flight to Copenhagen, Denmark, I managed to get at least 4 hours of sleep which would serve me well later. By the time we arrived at Heathrow the next day, the airplane captain had managed to make up 30 minutes which was invaluable as we had a short layover in Heathrow. We still thought we had plenty of time to get to the gate as it was also located in the same terminal the new terminal 5 building. We got a shock when we had to go through security again. This turned out to be standard too. I don't understand why if I'm staying in terminal 5 and I don't leave the secure area that I have to go through security a second time. This ended up seriously delaying my friend and I and we had to hurry to get to our gate.

The flight from Heathrow to Charles de Gaulle International (CDG) was a very short puddle jumper. We arrived at CDG within 45 minutes. I was surprised to find out I didn't have to fill out a landing card. French customs was a breeze. We kept checking our watches as we were anxious to catch the Noon Globus shuttle to our hotel. To our delight, a man named Louis from Globus appeared outside the luggage area showing a Globus sign. We let him know we were there for a Globus tour. To our dismay, my friend Harvey's suitcase didn't arrive. Considering the short time we had between flights at Heathrow, it was understandable. A lady with British Airways summarily took all the needed information and assured Harvey his bag would be on the next flight to CDG. After that, we made out our way out of the baggage claim area and met Louis. He directed us to the assigned waiting area where we met our first fellow tour members. They were a couple from Australia which I thought seriously cool. I loved their accents. Louis summarily lead us to our coach where we met our driver who would drive us the entire tour barring mandatory days off.

The ride into Paris was uneventful though interesting to me as it was the first time I'd seen the place in over 6 years. We said good-bye to Louis at our first hotel and, we never saw him again. Apparently, he works out of Globus's Paris office and is something of a jack-of-all-trades. Our hotel, the Novotel Paris Tower Eiffel was just off the river Seine and down the street from the Eiffel Tour. We found out that we would get to meet our tour guide Susan at 6 p.m. in the lower reception area. This seemed to be the standard meeting area for tour groups as there were signs for our group and 2 others. Once we received our keys from the reception desk, Harvey and I dropped off our bags and decided to go see the Eiffel Tower. It turned out the Eiffel Tower was farther away than we thought. It took us over 20 minutes to walk to it though it was an easy walk as we just followed the river and road to the tower. To my delight, I was able to find a BNP Paribas ATM machine at the tower. BNP Paribas has a deal with Bank of America where they won't charge you a fee for using their ATM machines. I planned to use their ATMs to get Euros (the European Union currency). After that, we walked back to the hotel where we waited for our first group meeting and the beginning of the tour.

Home Again

Yesterday, I arrived back in Maryland. My British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Baltimore Washington International Airport was very nice. I'll talk more about that when I start posting blogs about the trip. When I got home, I was relieved nothing was stolen. I'm leery about leaving my place for long periods. I haven't forgotten that other apartments where I live have been broken into. Thankfully, mine was left alone while I was gone. Now, I get to work on getting adjusted back to the local time. There is 6 hours difference between Paris and Baltimore time zones. Also, I get to hand out presents I bought for various people. I gave the Baldons their's yesterday. Modestine enjoyed her small purse from Chateau Chenonceau and Tami liked the candy I bought for her at London Heathrow. I hope to mail my sister Ellie's and my mom Kay's presents sometime soon. I can be really bad about mailing things. Work wise, I'll go back Wednesday and deliver Express Mails though that's always subject to change. Work schedules at the Post Office are subject to repeated change. I am curious to see what has happened while I was gone. The Post Office where I work is like a long running soap opera. Personally, I don't care for soap operas but, I'm having to learn how to deal with real life ones. Lastly, there will be things I have to do like grocery shop. I tried to use all the food that would go bad before I left and I succeeded. So, I have to buy more.

It's always a bit of a come down when I return from a trip like the France tour. Two days ago, I was enjoying a kebab in Paris. Today, I'll be visiting Sam's Club to buy some of their roasted chickens. Big difference in routine. This time, I do have one pick me up. In 5 months, I'll be leaving for Egypt. When I got back yesterday, I started checking into that. There'll be things I have to do in preparation for that. I need to get my Egyptian visa from their embassy in D.C. I have to make sure I have transfers to and from the airport. I need to buy a current travel guide. To my annoyance, I found out the one I had for France was out of date. I knew about that but, it slipped my mind about getting a new one. I had plenty of time then. I didn't when it came time to leave for France. So, I have that to look forward to.

Also, I plan to get with Alliance Francaise and start french lessons again. I really enjoyed them and, I only stopped because there wasn't time for them in my military life. Hopefully, I can find time in my Post Office life. The only drawback to the lessons will be the hassle of getting down to D.C. to do the lessons. I suspect I'll have to do 1 on 1 tutoring vice taking a class with them. We'll see. I'm looking forward to those and doing even better with my french when I return to France in 2010. Pour maintenant, au revoir.

Tour Update

Greetings my faithful readers. I thought I'd fill you in on what's happening at my end of the woods. The tour of France that I've been on the past 13 days ended last night with a nice bang. I got to see the famous Moulin Rouge for the first time. I can't say I was very wiped out with it. A lot of the ladies were very model looking which means they had very little top side. Also, some of them were heavy with the fake eyelashes which I think is ugly. Because of those 2 factors, I wasn't impressed with their female dancers and singers. They had some acts between the dance and song routines which were very good. There were 2 gymnasts who were incredible. The man part of the duo must have some killer muscles considering some of things he did in regards to lifting his female partner. Also, the had a hilarious ventriloquist. He managed to make it look like his dog was talking and his dog had some witty quips. Lastly, they had a juggler/drummer/golf ball extrordinaire. The guy could juggle golf balls so fast he beat a drum with them. He could also juggle them with his mouth firing them over 5 feet straight up into the air. He must have some killer lungs.

After the show, our tour guide got us back to our hotel and I said my last good-bye to her. I thought she did a fine job. I was sorry to say good-bye to her.

I didn't much sleep at the hotel as I had an early departure. I left the hotel around 5 a.m. I got to Charles de Gaulle International and had to wait to see a British Airways rep as I couldn't check in for some reason. I found out why when they checked into it. It seems British Airways had a flight change that made it impossible to catch my connecting flight to New York JFK. They never told me. It looked bad for a bit but, things unexpectedly worked out for the better. They were able to get me on a straight flight from London Heathrow to Baltimore Washington International saving me a layover at JFK. I was delighted.

As my flight flew in, it flew over London. I got to see London Bridge, the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey. Also, I got to explore the new terminal 5 at Heathrow. It is impressive. I posted this entry from BA's lounge which is even nicer than the one at JFK.

Concerning my trip to France, I took copious notes and will post a number of entries detailing day by day what I got to do and see. There was some seriously cool stuff. The American Cemetary was beautifully and enormously sad. There were almost 10,000 crosses and stars of David there. Mont St. Michel was mind blowing. I could easily imagine I was at Minas Tirith. The vineyards around St. Emilion seem to go on forever. Monaco was very classy. Some of the yachts were unreal. I got to go to my first wine tasting in Beaune and, I ended up buying 2 bottles which made it necessary for me to buy a new travel bag.

I enjoyed France so much that I hope to go back in 2010. Also, I'm going to look into picking up French lessons at the Alliance Francaise. I enjoyed trying to speak french in France and, I feel my french improved considerably thanks to the tour. If I get back with Alliance Francaise, I'll continue to improve. Funilly, I did such a good job making myself understood that people promptly replied in french. Unfortunately, my ability to understand spoken french was far worse than my ability to speak it. This left me struggling to figure what the person responding said. That'll come with practice.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for entries on my France tour. They should be interesting. Cheers all!

Tour Almost Over

Greetings my faithful readers. My apology for not posting more but due to high costs to getting on-line and having to hunt and peck on French computer keyboards, I haven't been posting much. I plan to post a lot of interesting blogs when I return to the U.S. telliing about my travels. Currently, I'm in Dijon, France but I'll be leaving for Paris this morning. Tomorrow, I fly back to the states. Cheers!

Travel Update

A fast update. Today, I got to visit 2 of the beaches they landed on D-Day, the American Cemetary, Pont du Hoc, see the Bayeux Tapestry and see the abbey at Mont St. Michel. I found it surreal that the beaches could be so peaceful considering the deadly combat that had taken place there. The American Cemetary was sad as there were row on row of white marble crosses and stars of David. The Bayeux Tapestry was fascinating and bigger than I thought. Mont St. Michel was awesome! If Minas Tirith were ever to exist it would look like Mont St. Michel. I was in awe walking all the walkways and seeing the various rooms of the abbey. It's been an awesome day. I can't wait for the next.

France

Greetings my faithful readers. I've made it to France. I had a nice couple flights with British Airways. Business Class still rocks. Paris seemed the same. Still very pretty. There are 42 people on my Globus tour. All of them seem very nice. One interesting item is that we have 3 couples from Australia. I bet they had some killer flights. I can't say anything super exciting has happened so far. However, tomorrow I visit Mont St. Michel. That should be awesome. I'm looking forward to it. That's all for now. I'll try to post updates as the tour progresses. Stay tuned.

OkCupid Update

I finally gave up on OkCupid. I got tired of them trying to match me up with women older than I am or women that were terminally ugly. Also, the site is rife with liberals. While most of the time this didn't cause me a problem, I got tired with the Sarah Palin bashing that is raging on the site. In my opinion, she is a wonderful woman and a very smart pick for Vice President by John McCain. I never would've thought he would've picked her. She has done wonders for electrifying the conservative base in the Republican Party as well as caused a serious dilemma for Barack Hussein Obama. Obama passed over Hillary Clinton for his V.P. pick as well as some other qualified female Democratic Party members. I'm sure the women in the Democratic Party are giving him no small amount of grief over that.

Anyway, maybe, I'll give Conservativematch.Com another try once I get back from my trip to France. We'll see. Cheers all!

Post Office Update

It's been a busy week for me at the Post Office. I got tagged to do a full route 5 days and to deliver Express Mail/packages a 6th day. I should make some good money this week though I won't see it for a while as I'll be leaving in a couple days for France. I hope things go all right for my boss. The notorious single moms continue to play their stupid games. Considering how tight we'll be people wise while I'm gone, my boss will just have to suck it up and hope they show up.

We got a new sub who is a TRC which I believe stands for temporary rural carrier. Unlike me, he never took the rural carrier exam. Because of that, he was able to get hired on quicker however, he'll get paid $5 less an hour than what I get. So far, he seems to have a good attitude. We'll see how long it lasts.

The Postmaster informed every one that the Post Office plans to bring flat sorting machines to our Post Office. What is a flat sorting machine? It's machine that sort what we call flats in the Post Office. Flats are catalogs, newspapers, magazines, large card mailers and fliers. By bringing in these machines, the Post Office hopes to save money by cutting the number of clerks they need and the number of hours the mail carriers need to case their mail. Currently, carriers get their flats unsorted and it can take a while to case them in their mail case. Another way the Post Office plans to save money on the machines is since the carriers won't spend as much time casing the flats, they'll be able to spend more time delivering the mail which means they can make their routes longer. That means there won't be any new routes for a while which means I'll be a substitute mail carrier longer. That doesn't cause me any heartache but it would make it tough for other subs who don't have benefits like I get from the military. I do wonder if the union will go along with the flat sorting machines. We'll see.

That's all from the Laurel Post Office front. Cheers!

Lost Users Manual

Last year, my friend Harvey introduced me to the game called Sudoku. It's a logic game where you have 9 blocks with 9 squares in each block. Every square in each block is filled with the numbers 1 to 9. The part where this game gets challenging is that you can't have the same number twice in any of the rows or columns of the larger 3 by 3 block grid. While flying back from Oslo, I found out Continental Airlines had an electronic version of Sudoku for sale. I bought one and I was very pleased with it. Then, I had a brain fart. I threw out the user's manual for the game. I didn't realize it was for my electronic sudoku game until it was too late. Subsequently, I looked for another game console so I could get another copy of the users manual. To my surprise, I couldn't find the same game any where on the Internet. Also, I couldn't find a webpage for the company that makes the game unit. Finally, I wrote the company that distributes the game asking them if I could buy a new users manual or game console so I could get the users manual. To my delight, Mr. G. Pollard of Scorpio Distributors Limited, Lowfield Heath, United Kingdom sent me a users manual for free. Many thanks to him and his company. I promise I won't throw that one out.

Hanover Five Guys Restaurant

Earlier this week, I had a nice chat with my friend Harvey. He mentioned that he'd gone to a Five Guys restaurant within the past week and really enjoyed it. It'd been a while since I visited a Five Guys restaurant so I decided to check out the new one that had recently opened in Hanover, Maryland. This review is about that restaurant.

The Five Guys restaurant in Hanover, Maryland is very easy to get to. It's located just off Arundel Mills Boulevard when you take the Arundel Mills exit off of Maryland-295 (Baltimore Washington Parkway). It's located in a small shopping center called Arundel Preserve.

The restaurant is like other Five Guys restaurants in that the decor is a bit spartan. The most noticeable thing about the restaurant was the copies of articles that had been written about the chain and how many times it had various awards for the best hamburger restaurant or cheap eats.

However, I would have to disagree about its claim to be cheap to eat at. The small burger as they call it costs $3.19 and comes with 1 beef patty and a large selection of toppings. It is the toppings where Five Guys separates itself from other hamburger joints. You can get fried mushrooms, fried onions, green peppers, A-1 sauce, jalapenos, hot sauce or the standard ketchup, mustard, mayo, pickles or lettuce all at no charge. As far as I know of, no one else offers such an extensive list and at no extra charge. The only 2 toppings that do cost extra are cheese and bacon. Those come at a stiff 60 cents each. I tried their regular burger with bacon, cheese, fried onions and fried mushrooms. The regular burger which has 2 beef patties costs $4.19. In my opinion, for an extra buck, you might as well get the extra patty. With cheese and bacon, my burger ended up costing $5.39 which wasn't cheap.

Five Guys also offers 2 types of french fries. They have Five Guys flavor and Cajun. They come in regular and large size. A regular will cost you $2.40 while a large fry will cost you a stiff $4.19. I tried their large fries and I did get a good portion of fries but, $4.19 isn't cheap.

Five Guys offers hot dogs and grilled cheese sandwiches if you're not in the mood for a burger. I didn't try either of these but, a friend at the Post Office has tried their hot dogs and he raved about them. For those who are vegetarian, they also offer a vegetarian sandwich.

Lastly, Five Guys offers the standard line of soft drinks such as Pepsi, Hi-C, and some kind of Root Beer. A regular drink will cost you $1.79 while a large will cost you $1.99. They also offer bottled water at $1.79. For those who dine at the restaurant, you can get unlimited free refills. If you are going to eat the restaurant, you might as well save yourself the 20 cents. If you're not, you should spend it and get the large drink. I tried the Root Beer and the lemonade and both were fine.

Overall, I found Five Guys a cut above your average hamburger joint like McDonalds or Wendy's. All the hamburger they use is fresh as are their french fries. They actually keep sacks of potatoes where customers can see them. Price wise, they are a bit more expensive than McD's or Wendy's but, their burgers are good and their service is prompt. If you want a better burger or want one with some of their excellent toppings, you should try them out. They are very good. Bon Appetit!

Renaissance Festival

I got to go the Maryland Renaissance Festival in Crownsville, Maryland yesterday. I try to go every year. The festival has good acts, excellent shops and decent food. I watched Fight School, The Rogues, the jousting and Hack and Slash. Fight School did the same routine with some new jokes thrown in. They were still good. The Rogues had a new fiddler and a new CD. They sounded nice. The jousting was all right. I didn't envy the knights wearing their heavy armor in the heat. It was in the high 80's or low 90's yesterday. Hack and Slash did the same routine and it was as funny as ever. I need to buy their Christmas show DVD sometime.

In regards to food at the festival, I had the mandatory turkey leg. It was very good though they raised the price on it a buck to $5. Also, I tried their sweet corn on the cob. The people running the food booth had a pot of melted butter that they could dunk the corn into. They also offered various seasonings. The corn was very good though a bit pricey at $2.50 a piece. Lastly, I tried their lemonade and their raspberry smoothie. I thought both stunk. The raspberry smoothie was little more than a weakly flavored icee.

Some of the shops had some very nice items for sale. I was sorely tempted to buy some new leather bracers for my festival costume and a hand bound journal. However, I'll be leaving soon for the 2-week tour of France I've told my readers about so, I decided it was wise to cool the spending. I ended up buying 2 t-shirts that I could wear when delivering mail.

Overall, the festival was really nice. I very much enjoyed going. One word of advice to any readers that may try to go to the festival. Make sure you leave so you'll arrive shortly before they open the gates. If you do, you should be able to get to festival parking without getting stuck in a line. If you don't, you could end up in a bumper to bumper line trying to get in the parking lot. Also, the festival is fully capable of handling large crowds. I heard one person say the festival could handle over 26,000 people! (It's possible considering how big the festival grounds are. Also, if you plan on going this coming weekend, the festival has a coupon that will get you $4 off the price of an adult admission as well as discounts on other admissions until September 8th. Ticket prices did go up a $1 this year for unknown reasons. Cheers all!

My End of the Woods

I thought I'd post an update on what's going on at my end of the woods. The biggest thing is impatiently waiting to go on the upcoming 2 week Globus tour of France. I'm impatiently counting every day. When I get within a week, I'll get to do more concerning the trip i.e. buy a bunch of Euros, put my mail hold request in and figure out what I'm going to wear. For now, all I can do is count the days.

Work at the Post Office goes well enough. I still have issues with the notorious single moms and I know I always will. I'm never going to accept their laziness or breaking of the rules. I count my blessings that I get along so well with my boss. Also, supposedly, the Postmaster is very pleased with me. I do whatever he asks without whining. He knows when he gives me a task that it'll get done. It's nice to know he's pleased with my work.

I've been considering buying a videocamera for the upcoming trip. My mom suggested it. Unfortunately, the timing is bad. I want to be able to pay all the optional excursions I plan to take at the beginning of the tour. I hope to avoid a big charge card bill when I get back from the trip. I haven't forgotten the Australia tour I did with Globus. I was paying on that for 3 months after I got back. If I bought the camera, I wouldn't be able to pay the excursions off before hand. I've decided to buy it in a couple months. I'll take it with me when I do the Egypt tour in March. That is something I'd definitely want to record on DVD.

I visited Dave & Busters today. They're offering a buy $10 worth of tickets and get $10 free coupon on their website (must be used by September 1st). It's a good deal. I suspect they're doing it to get you in the door. $20 with a supercharge will get you 125 tickets. That isn't much when you start playing the games. I'm partial to Spin & Win and that costs 8.8 tickets per play using a gold card. I suspect once you're there, you'll be more likely to recharge your card and play some more. I know I did today. I had frustrating luck on Spin & Win. I must've missed the 1,000 ticket light by 1 or 2 lights at least 15 times. I did finally hit the thing once. I now have over 63,000 tickets. They have a Zune MP3 player for 46,000 tickets. I want an MP3 player but, I don't know if I want to spend 46,000 tickets to get it. I'm going to keep thinking about it.

Also, I did a little bit for the environment today. I did a recycling run to the Glen Burnie Recycling Depot. It isn't much but, it is something. Also, I do try to not run the lights in my apartment unless I'm using them. That may have less to do with the environment and more to do with trying to keep my electric bill down.

On the subject of travel again, Globus looks to be getting more serious about their Journey club. It's a special travel club they offer that offers club only tours and access to their clothing shop. If you reactivate your Journey club membership, you'll receive a coupon that'll get you $75 off any tour that you book between August 2008 and December 2009. Also, they're offering a free extra night in a hotel providing you share it. Singles don't get to take advantage of this offer. Oh well. Also, it appears they going to come out with some kind of club membership number. The webpage to reactivate my membership asked for a card number. I had no idea what they were talking about. I'm curious to see if I get a membership card in the mail.

Lastly, I'm looking forward to the Maryland Renaissance Festival. It opened last weekend. Labor Day Weekend is a good time to go since the Post Office is closed on Labor Day. The only bummer to the festival is I'll make sure I get on the road early to get to it. If you take your time, you'll get stuck in a long bumper to bumper line. It'll be neat to check out the festival. They have some good acts and nice shops plus, the smoked turkey legs are delicious.

That's all that's worth telling about for now. Stay tuned for more updates as the France tour gets closer. Cheers all!

Trader Joe's Sparkling Pomegranate and Blueberry Juices Review

Recently, I tried Trader Joe's Sparkling Pomegranate Juice and Sparkling Blueberry Juice. This review in on those 2 products. I'd never had either pomegranate or blueberry juice so I thought I'd give Trader Joe's products a try. Taste wise, both juices tasted good. Neither have any kind of chemicals or preservatives which is another plus. However, there were some notable negatives with these 2 products. For starters, you don't get 100% pomegranate juice or 100% blueberry juice. The bottles say 100% juice and then in far smaller letters state that they are a blend of 4 juice concentrates. For example, their sparkling blueberry juice has blueberry juice, apple juice, pear juice and white grape juice. So while it's 100% juice, it isn't 100% blueberry juice. While Trader Joe's can technically say their being honest about the product, I feel they aren't being totally above board. Second, I had problems with the price. A 25.4 ounce bottle of blueberry juice cost $2.69 at Trader Joe's Columbia, Maryland store. That isn't a lot of juice for the money, especially when you figure in the carbonation. The pomegranate juice was a little cheaper selling for $2.49. In my opinion, these juices are a bit pricey.

Overall, while I thought the 2 juices had good flavor, I found them too pricey and not what they claimed to be. I feel they should call them in bigger letters some kind of juice blend vice stating they are a particular type of juice. If Trader Joe's is going to claim something is blueberry juice, it should be 100% blueberry juice. Because of their price and their labeling, I can't recommend either product. Cheers all!

Travel Documents

I received my Globus travel documents yesterday. I was delighted to get them. It makes the upcoming trip to France more real. I can't wait to go. I'm tired of the Post Office bullshit. Trips to Baltimore or D.C. aren't far enough. I need to get away from it for a while. 2 weeks in France will definitely do the trick. Concerning the documents themselves, I got a bit of double shock on them. To my surprise, my travel agent didn't catch that I didn't have airport transfers. After catching 3 flights to get to Paris, the last thing I'm going to want to mess with is getting myself to my hotel from Charles de Gaulle International. Also, my departing flight from Paris leaves at 7:25 a.m. I don't want to mess with trying to make arrangements to get to a foreign airport that early in the morning. I emailed my travel agent and he said he'd take care of it first thing. Also, I found that I was missing the documents for the travel insurance I purchased. I definitely want that information included. I hope I don't have to use the insurance but, it is nice to have it just in case. Now, I need to make a checklist so I can make sure I get done everything I need to do for my upcoming trip. I'll need to make sure the batteries for my digital camera are fully charged, that I pack a spare memory card for my camera, that I put my mail on hold, that I buy enough Euros and that I figure out what I'm going to wear during the trip. The clothes part promises to be hard because Globus limits me to one bag that can't weigh more than 50 pounds. The tour will be 2 weeks. Also, I'll be going to some events that'll be dressy i.e. the dinner and tour of Monte Carlo. Lastly, I have to make sure I have enough space in the suit case for souvenirs and gifts. It promises to be a bit of challenge figuring out what I'm going to take. Still, it'll be neat thinking of the upcoming tour. To get to see the famous beaches of Normandy where the D-Day invasion took place or see the stunning Mont St. Michel. It should be an awesome time. Stay tuned for further updates.

Travel Update

As my trip to France gets closer, I am getting more and more excited about it. I'm definitely ready to go on another trip. It's been 5 months since I did my first ever cruise in the Caribbean. Later this week, I should receive my travel documents for the Globus France tour. I'll blog more about that when I get them. Also, I made the last payment on the Egypt tour. Now, I just have to pay the charge card bill for it. That should be an awesome tour. Lastly, my friend Harvey was supposed to put the deposit down for me on the Historic East tour. Globus was offering an early booking deal where you could lock in a pre-brochure price. I checked and it was only $80 higher than this year's prices. I don't see the tour being cheaper than that so I decided to go ahead and book the tour. I'm pretty excited about that tour too. It is going to be really amusing to catch the Metro (Washington D.C. subway system) to the tour hotel and start the tour in D.C. I'm very use to having to catch a flight (many times an international one) to do a tour. It will be a real trip to do one that is so close. Stay tuned for further updates.

Postal Service Loss

I read an article on the Associated Press this past week that stated that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) lost 1.1 billion dollars this past quarter (http://govexec.com/dailyfed/0808/080608ap2.htm). I thought I'd offer my 2 bits on this. First, summer time is the worst time of the year in regards to mail volume for the Post Office. I've seen considerably less mail these past 3 to 4 months than I do during the rest of the year. This is the norm. Personally, I like the lower volumes as it means I can get my route done quicker and I end up giving the Post Office fewer free hours. Second, the price of gas is really clobbering the Post Office. The Post Office has one of the largest fleets of vehicles per a U.S. company in the country. On some of the routes I deliver on, you have to drive from box to box. It would take far too long to deliver the mail walking. I think I saw a statistic some where that stated the Postal Service loses 8 million dollars for every penny the price of gas goes up. Considering how much gas has gone up, you can see how badly the Postal Service has gotten clobbered. Lastly, the service is trying to keep costs down. I know on the city side at our Post Office that they are having more open routes i.e. routes that don't have a salaried carrier. These routes have to be carried by the other city carriers. Also, our Post Office is cracking down on mis-thrown parcels. If a parcel is shipped Priority or First Class, we must deliver it the day we receive it. Mis-thrown parcels by the clerks can make it necessary for us to send a carrier (at $17.98 an hour) out to deliver a $4 parcel. By cutting down on mis-thrown parcels, we're able to save money and parcel runs.

The Postal Service is facing some incredible challenges. On-line bill paying is really hurting the service. People prefer to email or text message vice writing letters. Also, competition from FedEx and UPS is tough. Ironically, the Post Office offers a great deal in Express Mail but, a lot of people still prefer to use FedEx or UPS. Postal work remains labor intensive though the service has tried and continues to try to automate as much as possible. There has been a serious reduction in the number of clerks because of automation. The service also has a real challenge getting people who can do the job. A lot of people in this country don't realize just how hard it is to deliver the mail. I know, I was one of them. We have a high attrition rate among new hires. One of the things I've had to do is encourage the newbes to stick it out. The job is very hard until you start to figure out where various addresses are on the mail case. Lastly, I think the Postal Service is a great bargain. You can still mail a letter across the country for just 42 cents. With high gas prices, competition and communication advances, the future promises to be very challenging for the U.S. Postal Service and its employees.

Jeff Foxworthy Beef Jerky Review

To my surprise, while shopping at Safeway, I found out that Jeff Foxworthy of redneck fame has come out with his own beef jerky. As I really like beef jerky, I decided to try it. I tried the teriyaki flavor. I found it to be bland. The jerky was also tough though that is how jerky is supposed to be. Jerky was meat that was salted and dried so it would last a long time. Since, it was dried out, it would be tough initially to eat. One plus for Foxworthy's beef jerky is that it DOESN'T have any Monosodium Glutamate (MSG). It really annoys me to see that stuff in various foods. In my opinion, it isn't good for you. I know it will hurt me wind wise, if I eat something with that and then try to exercise later. I've personally seen the very noticeable difference. Price wise, Safeway was selling a 4 ounce re-sealable pouch of the jerky for $6. That's comparable with other brands of beef jerky.

Overall, I can't rave about Foxworthy's beef jerky. It failed to impress though I do like that it doesn't have MSG. I plan to keep looking for some jerky that tastes good and doesn't have a lot of artificial junk in it (real jerky doesn't). Cheers all!

Dave & Busters

After wiping myself out on the elliptical machine yesterday, I decided to go to Dave & Busters at the Arundel Mills Mall in Hanover, Maryland. It's a fun place and I enjoy playing the super trivia game and Spin and Win game. I wanted to add to my ticket winnings and see what new prizes they had. I managed to win 3,156 tickets at a cost of $53. I had frustrating luck with the Spin and Win game as I missed the 1,000 ticket light by 1 or 2 light over 20 times. It hurts to get that close. A split second made all the difference.

In regards to prizes, I didn't see anything that really wiped me out. They had a DVD player recorder which seemed nice but, I'm terrible about watching movies. They had a shake mixer but, how often do I make milkshakes. So, I decided to hold on to my tickets. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll get an MP3 player sometime. I'd have bought one myself but, I'm saving the money to pay off my future travels.

One other item of note I want to let folks know about. The parking situation around Dave & Busters is really bad on weekends. You can expect to spend at least 5 minutes trying to find a spot. You may have to watch for folks leaving so you can get their spot once they leave. This is the only problem I have with Dave & Busters. Barring that, it is a a fun place.