June 5, 2013

This morning, I hope we are taking time to tour the Bastogne Barracks, which is a guided tour with a military person.  These are the barracks of Gen. MacAuliffe during the war, restored to help keep the memory alive!

And then we are off to Bruge.  This is a place that Jo, in particular, wanted to visit - and to take photographs. 

Jo has made a reservation for us at a most phenomenal place...called the Medieval House in the Center of Bruges.  You may google that and see for yourself!  The house looks so grand, I may just want to stay home all day and wander from room to room, and pretend its where I live - like in a fairy tale!

We also have a very dear AFS friend who lives in Bruges with his wife.  Eric was a student in Marshall MO the year before we had our daughter, Ani - and we love him dearly.  Both Carl and we have visited his parents when they lived near Amsterdam on earlier trips of ours - and we adored his parents as well.  Eric & Veronique are struggling right now with her ailing mother - so we don't know what the future will hold and if we will actually get to see them or not - but we hope so.

Meanwhile, we will spend the nights of June 5 & 6 in Bruges, and as much of the day on the 7th as we want, before we head the Brussels and find overnight accommodations at the Brussels airport in preparation for our flight back to Dallas all day long on Saturday, June 7th.

Thanks for following us on our journey - we look forward to sharing our trip with you in person or via blogs after we return home!

June 4, 2013 (Tuesday)

Please meet Roby Clam, our guide for the day for our Battle of the Bulge tour.  You may google him and read about his work, if you wish.  Roby's goal is "keeping the memory alive", and we look forward to spending this day with him and having him share his wisdom and viewpoint with us.  We have been reading about BOTB, visiting with knowledgeable friends about it (thank you, Bill Stofft), and watching "Band of Brothers" (thank you, Jo & Scott), but nothing will compare with actually being there.  (Roby is also on Facebook!)

So the day is in his hands and we are excited about it.  We recall so vividly our day spent on the beaches of Normandy with a fabulous guide - and weather that matched the original day of invasion.  We can hope that won't happen this time - but it just made it even more memorable on Normandy.

June 3, 2013 (Monday)

After completing our explorations of Amsterdam and spending one last night in the Hotel Vondel, we will be picking up a rental car and driving to Bastogne, Belgium.

We are booked for 2 nights at the Le Merceny Motel in the heart of the city of Bastogne.  The city is about 150 miles northeast of Kaiserslautern, Germany, situated along Belgium's hilly border with Luxembourg.  An old Sherman tank is prominently placed downtown, around the corner from a stone monument to Gen. George S. Patton.  We will be going to the Mardasson memorial, a big star-shaped structure with 5 points.  The story of the battle is engraved on the monument's walls.  A steep, spiral staircase leads you to the top, where you an take in the hilly view and contemplate all the fighting that took pace during the siege of Bastogne.

There is a museum to the 101st Airborne we also hope to visit.

June 2, 2013 (Sunday)

Its time to bid farewell to Carla and Delvin, as they head for the airport and their flight back to the USA.  Prayers for safe travels for everyone!  Jo, Scott, Jerry and Mary will be spending another full day in Amsterdam, sightseeing and taking hundreds of photos to share with you when we return!

June 1, 2013 (Saturday)

After breakfast on board the Iris, our bike/barge tour comes to a close.  We will be transferred back to the Hotel Vondel and have the day free to do more sight-seeing in Amsterdam.

Carla is planning on a reunion with Stanley & Santi Tjahjadi in Amsterdam  They were classmates at the Presbyterian School of Christian Education (PSCE).  Stanley & Santi are from Indonesia, now serving a church in The Netherlands.

May 31, 2013 (Friday)

During breakfast this morning, the barge cruises to Huizen.  Here we cycle along bike paths through the forest to fortified Naarden Vesting and to the fairytale castle of Muiderslot.  Enjoy a guided visit of the castle and lunch in Muiden.  After, we may either shuttle back to Amsterdam OR continue cycling via the town of Weesp, along lovely rivers and impressive brand-new city islands to our barge's home mooring in the center of Amsterdam.  Dinner will be on board this evening.

May 30, 2013 (Thursday)

After breakfast, we ride from Hardeerwijk through the lovely open countryside.  The final segment of our ride follows a bike path to the pumping station at Hertog Reijnout.  This was built in 1882 and is the only remaining working pumping station in Western Europe that uses external water wheels.  From here, continue along the river banks until we reach Spakenburg, where we meet up with our barge for lunch on board.

After lunch, we may visit the small local folklore museum and see the ancient shipyard where wooden boats are still crafted.

Our afternoon cycling option takes us on a loop through the open countryside around the twin villages of Bunschoten and Spakenburg.

June 1, 2013 (Saturday)

After breakfast on board the Iris, our bike/barge tour comes to a close.  We will be transferred back to the Hotel Vondel and have the day free to do more sight-seeing in Amsterdam.

Carla is planning on a reunion with Stanley & Santi Tjahjadi in Amsterdam  They were classmates at the Presbyterian School of Christian Education (PSCE).  Stanley & Santi are from Indonesia, now serving a church in The Netherlands.

May 28, 2013 (Tuesday)

During breakfast, we cruise to Wijhe before cycling to the tiny Hanze village of Hattem, crossing the river by a local pedestrian ferry.  Our trail takes us through open countryside and through a small forest park before following a small canal to the old lockkeeper's cottage and home of VBT friends who've invited us for a home-hosted picnic.  After lunch, we can either join the barge at Spooldersluis or continue cycling to Kampen.  This evening, in preparation for tomorrow's visit to the "new lands", our trip leaders will describe the continual process of land drainage in the Netherlands.  Dinner will be on board, followed by a walk through the historic Hanze city of Kampen and learn about its old religious academy and many churches.

May 27, 2013 (Monday)

This morning, our barge sails into the Ijssel River to the town of Doesburg.  From here, we cycle through the pretty farming community of Bronkhorst and visit its lovely windmill before continuing to Zutphen.  We will meet the barge for lunch onboard.  In the afternoon, we can choose to remain on board and cruise to Deventer OR cyce there along the river.  In the evening, we will meet a local guide for a walking tour through this Hanze city.

May 26, 2013

Breakfast is served during our cruise along the Nederrijn.  Our trip leaders teach us useful phrases during a brief language class before we arrive in Wageningen, where our ride begins.  Bike through the Veluwe Forest to Otterlo and then enter the Hoge Veluwe National Park.  Cycle the beautiful biking trails through the park, with an optional visit to the Kroller-Muller Museum, famous for its Van Gogh collection.

Most days we have the option of a shorter bike ride, being then shuttled to the barge, or a longer riding option.  Today that longer ride will continue through the park to the southern exit at Schaarsbergen, and on to meet the barge in Arnhem.

After dinner, our trip leaders will walk with us to see the "Bridge Too Far: over the Lower Rhine and explain its importance to WWII history.  We are moored tonight in Arnhem.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

After breakfast, we will have a guided walking tour of Amsterdam, boarding our barge for a 1 p.m. departure.  We will cruise out of Amsterdam on the IJ waterway, catching glimpses of houseboats and floating houses.  The barge stops at Nigtevecht for a warm-up bike ride, following the river Vecht. In the evening, we will have a welcome dinner onboard while sailing to Wijk bij Duurstede.  Once moored, we can enjoy an evening stroll into town.

Friday, May 24, 2013

After breakfast, we will be saying good-by to our AFS daughter and husband, meeting our VBT rep in the hotel lobby, and transferring to the Paris Gare du Nord train station, where we will board a train for a 3-hour ride to Amsterdam.  En route, we will pass through the lovely countryside of northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

In Amsterdam, we will be transported to our Hotel Vondel, and the day is ours to tour Amsterdam and meet our fellow travelers who will be arriving throughout the day.  The link is:  http://hotelvondel.amsterdamhotels.it/

There will be an orientation meeting for a welcome meeting.  In addition to this day in Amsterdam, we will return at the close of our bike/barge trip and have another full day as well as one additional day for the Peters & us.

Thursday, May 23 - our 50th wedding anniversary

Its The Day!  How can it be 50 years?  That seems like a long time, and yet these particular 50 years have flown by.  I chose our wedding day of May 23rd because it was my grandparents' 57th wedding anniversary.  Grandma and Grandpa Wells lived in Long Beach, California, and came to Oklahoma City to celebrate our wedding, as well as the reception my parents held for them following our wedding reception.  I do remember that my Mom was really taken aback by this wedding date - after all, it was a  THURSDAY afternoon - and who gets married on a Thursday?  We did! And have been so richly blessed in our life together, blessed with two lovely daughters and our AFS daughter, Ani (in Indonesia) plus 3 sons-in-law. 

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Paris!  Landing was scheduled for 6:10 a.m., where we meet a VBT representative for transfer to our Paris hotel.  Our destination will be the Millennium Hotel Paris Opera.  The website is: http://www.millenniumhotels.com/millenniumparis/  It looks absolutely gorgeous!

Our plane arrives about 6:10 a.m., and our AFS daughter, Ani, and her husband, Ervan, land in Paris from Jakarta about an hour later.  Carla and Delvin will be coming by train from London, where they have just spent a long weekend, and by late morning it should be a GRAND family reunion!  Its been 15 years since we have been with Ani, and we have never met our Indonesian son-in-law!

We will make our way to the hotel to deposit our belongings and what comes next will be determined by how we feel.  We may need breakfast, a look around our neighborhood, or a nap! The plans for later that day will include a walk to Ile Saint Louis, Notre Dame and Saint Chapelle (we are told that the stained glass windows there are gorgeous).  We will then walk the Left Bank towards the Eiffel Tower and see where that takes us.  

Gil had it right in "Midnight in Paris"

Adriana: I can never decide whether Paris is more beautiful by day or by night.

Gil: No, you can't, you couldn't pick one. I mean I can give you a checkmate argument for each side. You know, I sometimes think, how is anyone ever gonna come up with a book, or a painting, or a symphony, or a sculpture that can compete with a great city. You can't. Because you look around and every street, every boulevard, is its own special art form and when you think that in the cold, violent, meaningless universe that Paris exists, these lights, I mean come on, there's nothing happening on Jupiter or Neptune, but from way out in space you can see these lights, the cafés, people drinking and singing. For all we know, Paris is the hottest spot in the universe.

We will soak in Paris... enjoying every moment of walking in the City of Light.  

Tuesday, May 21, 2013 - the long flying day

Jo, Scott, Jerry and I will be flying out of Dallas this morning, via Delta.  We will have a couple of hours in the Atlanta airport, departing Atlanta at 3:10 p.m. for Paris.  Our body time says its just after 3, and our flight is to be 9 hours in duration - that means that by our body time, we are landing in Paris about midnight, but by Paris time, it will be 6 a.m.!  Let the adventure begin!

Proof of the Deed!

Over Easter weekend, we were sharing dinner with our surrogate granddaughter, Meredith (Price) Ehlers and her husband, Ben Ehlers, in their new home in San Antonio along with Mer's parents, Mike & Karen Price.  Some of our camping trips together came in to the discussion, and Meredith recalls hearing her parents tell her about one particular trip when she was very young - just before her baby brother, Spencer, was born.   And she claims that Jerry tried to dunk her in the river!  That may be true - but it was not without provocation.  Today I ran across the photograph that is the proof of Meredith's mischievousness, even as young as she was.  Here is Mer doing her very best to stuff ice down Jerry's backside at our campsite.

What wonderful memories we share!

Let the adventure begin!

Today Carla and Delvin leave on their first leg of our most wonderful adventure!  Today they are flying to London to spend several days.  We are so happy for Carla that she is going to be able to introduce her husband to one of her favorite cities ever!  As a college student, Carla spent a semester studying in London, and has returned several times since then.  So you can imagine her delight to share this with Delvin.  They will be taking the Big Bus Tour to get an overall view of the city, seeing "Singin' in the Rain" on the stage, riding the London Eye, and walking, walking walking--and having a fabulous time.  And on Tuesday, they will ride the Eurostar to join us in Paris. 

Grateful!

“A good marriage is where both people feel like they're getting the better end of the deal.” 
― Anne Lamott

Chaos - will it become order?

This room is utter chaos!  Stacks of clothes - his and hers...piles of underwear, sox - his and hers...passports..umbrellas...shirts hanging from anything...scarves draped here and there...vests, rain jackets, sweatshirts, a turtleneck or two (think layers!)...shoes...and the littlest suitcases you ever saw, into which ALL of this is going to go?  I hardly think so - but maybe tomorrow I will have a better idea when I try and put the puzzle pieces together.  Wish us luck!  The big trip is just around the corner and its time to get serious about this packing business!