2006: the Road to Luxembourg

10 July

Last night, Els promised I would have wonderful weather today to make up for yesterday. She must know Someone Important because it dawned bright and warm. And, the drive started well, right on time to be in Leuven, Belgium, at noon to pick up Johan (a good friend and fellow chessplayer) for our mini-vacation to Luxembourg.

Until I found myself about 40 miles west of where I started the day, which is almost 100 miles from where I wanted to be. And I don't know how I turned off. The highway signs were sparse, and I was just beginning to wonder why Antwerpen (Antwerp) wasn't among the towns upcoming when I found myself in Zeeland, the very end of the road on the western coast.

So, one missed intersection, a decision that put a dent in an otherwise-beautiful day. What could possibly go wrong now?

Well, more "correct" decisions that encountered other problems:

# Taking the toll tunnel towards Ghent, in order to "save time by spending money" only to find this is the one furthest west and farther north than I thought

# Getting to a bridge that crosses one of the largest canals, only to be stopped by the bridge structure changing directions to allow a huge container ship to use that airspace (20 minutes worth of wait, along with everyone else)

# Public works projects left for the summer because the weather is so nice, works that require folks to sit in very long queues waiting for traffic in the other direction to stop.

# OK, enough already. Johan and I made it to Luxembourg. We didn't die. We didn't get maimed. We actually had a pretty good time.

Of course, the good time was courtesy of our host, Johny, who lives in Differdange, about 25 sometimes-confusing minutes or so driving time from Luxembourg City. His home sits adjacent the local police station, and is the size of a very large townhome. He treated us to a sumptuous BBQ feast upon arrival, and his roommate, Babe (yes, really), provided her expertise, which included the best garlic butter I've ever tasted. The vegetables were home-grown, and the dogs, cats, and friendly friends numerous.

2006: Road Trip, the Start

09 July

The past few days have been spent getting ready for the latest roadtrip and, by far, the longest. It all started Sunday morning, the 9th, at 0830. By the time the first day was done, just shy of 850 kilometres (about 510 miles, give or take) had gone by. Along the route:

# Mont Saint-Michel, which is viewable from the highway at several points along several miles

# It's not difficult to recognize it sure can rain a lot here. This from someone who lives in Seattle. Irony alert

# Pont-l'Eveque: a quaint town that has updated itself to keep in touch with its history, at least downtown

# An incredible church in the city of Rouen which, unfortunately, was subject to the rain, the wind, and the fact I was driving by at 70mph some two miles away and couldn't figure out how to reach it

# I didn't know Phillip Morris had an enormous plant of some fashion along the main road between Antwerp and Rotterdam on the Belgian/Netherlands border...

I'm staying in the B&B I discovered years ago in Lepelstraat, the Netherlands, a tiny little spot on the map just north of Bergen-op-Zoom. Everything is as I remembered, from the Moulin and the tiny TINY private chapel alongside the highway to the fantastic chinese food restaurant (Lau's Garden) just south of town to the proprieters and their establishment, "Somewhere Else", in the heart of town. George and Els Muskens have run this little piece of heaven for years now, and I've been privileged to visit several times. I don't normally advertise, but if you want a quiet place to relax, within day-trip distance of Brussels, Amsterdam, Bruges, Ghent, and (perhaps if you drive fast) Dunkerque/Calais, this should definitely be a choice in your itinerary.
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If you need a street sign to tell you where Lepelstraat is, just look at the photo.

Oh. [ 2009: The sign is located where the 'S' in Steenbergseweg is. The other side of the sign correctly displays the name (and direction) of Lepelstraat :) ]

Noted:

Just south of Ghent on the E17 highway is a rather large advertisement for an engineering / contracting company: "We Lift Almost Everything." Huh. Truth in advertising.

2007: Madame

Three years ago today, I was in the middle of planning a little sidetrip from my flat in Pedernec, to visit friends in several different countries. It was to be a reunion of sorts: my favourite pair of B&B people Anywhere, George and Els Muskens (Lepelstraat, the Netherlands); my favourite Belgian chess player, Johan Verduyckt (formerly of Leuven, now Aarschot); and my new favourite Luxembourgher, Johny Diderich (Differdange).

While I was doing the planning, Madame Bernadette Pariscoat, my next-door neighbour in Pedernec, would occasionally wander into my flat to deposit fresh zucchini (courgettes) in the kitchen, or simply to ask what I was working on, what my plans were for the next day or two. She was an amazingly vibrant woman for 80+ years of age. Her garden was a delight, filled mostly with roses and other perennials.

Rare was the day when I would leave to wander the region that she wasn't at her front door asking where I was headed. When I returned, it was rare not to hear her asking what I'd seen.


Not quite a year after my return to the states, Madame died. 2007 July 09. I was told by my English friends who owned the flat. They had just completed a visit, and sent me a quick email upon their return.

My reply: "it is so wonderful to hear from you, even as the news is bittersweet... i read your message this morning, and it has been on my mind since... Madame was such a wonderful force of nature, and I will certainly miss her garden, her smile, her love of chocolate, and most of all her attempts to force me into more french conversation (what i was doing, where i was going, etc)... i had honestly hoped i would see her and simone again sometime soon, but unless i win a lottery (or some unknown leaves me a small fortune), it may not be long before there are very few who would remember the naive american photographer from 2006..."

Yep. That wonderful Smile.

Perpetuum Jazzile

crank up the volume here. you will not regret it.

for what it's worth, this is some incredible a capella singing from a group i'd not heard of before, but i will look for their work in the future...


the original group is Toto, and the song's name is "Africa", and it is wonderful in its own right. link stolen from GrrlScientist's website - http://scienceblogs.com/mt/pings/114229

Vote for the Kennedy of Your Choice

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/06/the_gift_of_an_adventure_of_a.php

The lady in question here needs votes. Tons of votes. Votes to help her get to Antarctica in the near future as a professional blogger/scientist. She has the credentials; She has the chutzpah; She has the luggage AND the blonde hair.

Do it for her. Do it for me. Do it because you know in your heart it's the right thing to do. Do it because. :)

2006: Heaven

04 July

Hmmm. I was exiting the local (well, relatively, anyway) Internet shoppe when I noticed what was being used to keep the front door open: an old, 3.5" floppy disk, in a former life one of the trillions of disks you needed to install many Microsoft products not too many years ago...

Much later, I'm working on the most recent round of photos, and I'm very pleased with the results when in walks Madame Bernadette, the 82-year-old matron of the housing complex. She has come in to ask what I've been doing the last few days, and as she readies to leave, she asks if I like courgettes (zucchini). As a matter of fact, I love them. A few minutes after I think she's left for the day, she appears again at my front doorstep, this time with a HUGE courgette for my dinner. If I understood her correctly, it came from her daughter's garden, though I could be making that part up. (grin)

Not one hour later, the woman who checks up on the apartment next door appears at the back door. Yesterday, she helped make sure my gas (propane) supply was working properly, as I'd just run out from one bottle and was in the process of getting the second bottle online. Today, she's dropped in to see if everything is OK and, when she's informed her help was invaluable yesterday, she hands me six freshly-homemade crepes. For dinner.

If I didn't know better, I'd say I have been adopted by the locals. I really have found a little slice of heaven here.

2006: Fourth of July in Bretagne

04 July

I didn't expect to celebrate the fourth of July with any fanfare, however I was rudely awakened this morning about 3.30am by building-rocking thunder and quite impressive lightning... Nature pulled out all the plugs, and produced quite a show for about an hour or so.

OK, it wasn't the evening of the 4th, but... :)

Oh. Thunderstorms are a predicted part of the weather prophesy for the next 48 hours, with low temperatures in the high 10s, highs in the high 20s to low 30s, and humidity somewhere near 5 billion percent... :)