I totally did mean to blog while I was in France....and for various reasons, I just plain old didn't. Listen, I have never felt so absolutely disorganized in all my life! I somehow managed to leave my camera in London at Jenny's house, so I ended up taking all my pics with my iPod. Derp. I did manage to take Isa her requested PB M&M's and some Jell-O for the kids, plus a ton of stickers for Isa to put on her students' work this year (and next year, and the year after that). So it wasn't all ridiculousness on my part. And I did have SO so so so SO much fun!
It all started on Monday, after a late night of quickly re-packing a bag for France. I flew EasyJet, where they make you pay a ton of money if you want to check a bag. No thanks! So I planned to only have one carry-on bag with me going and coming. Simple. I got up at like 4:45, got ready, and left to catch the bus to the underground to the train to the airport. I arrived in plenty of time, had breakfast, and waited for them to announce the gate from which my flight would depart. They finally posted it 15 minutes late, and I took off speed-walking for the gate. Once we finally boarded (last row, awesome), it was only an hour and 15 minutes to Basel/Mulhouse airport!
Isa picked me up and explained that she'd also been running late because of construction and the fact that she was just running late. :-p No big deal to me, since my flight was also a bit late. On our way back to her house, we stopped at a boulangerie because she was out of bread at home. Turns out that the woman serving her went to school with Isa's sister and knows her mom, so Isa left with free bread (2 baguettes and one pain aux céréales)! "Ça m'a fait plaisir de vous revoir", she said. Not bad, hein?
That afternoon, we drove about an hour north to Scherwiller, in the Bas-Rhin département. Isa's aunt lives there, and not far away in the Vosges mountains are the ruins of the Chateau d'Ortenbourg, which dates from the 13th century. We took one of her aunt's dogs with us, drove up to the start of the trail, and hiked about 45 minutes up the mountain to the ruins. Such an amazing view, and a really nice hike.
We then proceeded to spend the evening having a BBQ with her aunt and cousin, eating outside under a tree in the backyard until the sun went down. And the green salad we had with our 6 different kinds of grilled meat? It came from their garden. La belle vie, quoi!
Now, 3 announcements.
1. I am having lunch today (Friday) with a friend of mine from college who is doing her Master's degree here in London. While I'm out, I hope to maybe visit Buckingham Palace and/or Westminster Abbey. Meaning I need to get a move on it!
2. Tonight, Jenny and I head up to Scotland! Night bus, woooooooo. Won't be back in London until Monday.
3. Unless I have time later in and amongst re-packing a bag for Scotland, re-organizing my suitcase to leave next week, and having dinner with Jenny for the first time since Sunday, y'all will have to wait for more French-y blog posts. I'll do my best, but I'm not making promises.
Ciao ciao!
Miss you miss.nurnberger!
ReplyDeleteIts damian