Au revoir, France!

The farmer couldn't resist jumping out of the car to snoop around on some Frenchman's farm ground. There were a lot of rocks but maybe that's what you get when you farm in the foothills of the Alps!

 Stopping for some rose along the French Riviera.

 We relied on Abby and Matt's book of detailed maps and google maps which I could access from my iPhone to navigate around the country.  We determined our route largely based on weather forecasts to try and capitalize on the best weather possible.  Our itinerary evolved everyday.

Paris
Dijon, in the Burgundy region
Beaune, Burgundy region
Aix en Provence, Provence
Nice, along the French Riviera
Gap, in the French Alps
Tournus, in Burgundy region
Epernay, in the Champagne region
Paris, Charles de Galle airport

 Tom always seeks out a haircut when in a foreign country. Imagine his delight when this tall French beauty stepped up to cut his hair.

 The Alps

 An Abby dating from the 1100s in Tournus.

 We had dinner at a Michelin 1 star restaurant where they served 6 courses with 6 wine pairings.  They didn't count the fried fish from the river as a course, it was more like an "included appetizer."  Tom didn't want to eat the head and eyes, but I did.

 Here is Tom on course #4, beef and red wine.

The last course was dessert - a very decorative fruit which I didn't like. When I didn't eat it the server asked if something was wrong. Then she went and told on me to the chef who came out to ask if anything was wrong!  I politely explained that I didn't care for the sweetness, but he wasn't buying it. He said the fruit dessert is a very special plate that he prepares, and seemed annoyed that I wasn't eating it.  Of course, I was on wine pairing #6 and found it easy to let his comments slide.

We had this beef Burgundy in the Burgundy region one day and it was crazy tasty!

 I DO like sweets, but I'm particular about which ones.  When we were kids my mom would take us to the Walton bakery where I'd always get chocolate eclairs.  Eclairs are special, especially when you eat them in France!

 This picture was taken at the Copenhagen airport on our return to the US. The tall blonde Scandinavian server convinced Tom (without much fuss, really) to get pork cheek with cabbage.  Pork cheek may not sound appetizing but we ate every single bite.

If you haven't been to France, it is a beautiful country with great food and delicious wine. As with all travels, however, it is always wonderful to come home to the good ole USA!

France

 St. Romaine, France - in the area of Dijon and the Burgundy wine region,  Tom and I took a train to Dijon (think mustard) and then rented a car to drive around the country side.

 A small French town.

 Spring is springing!

 The French lady at the car rental agency told Tom, "Deez car ez bigger dan the one you order."

 We went to the marche (market) and bought a baguette, salami, cheese, wine, and some Dijon mustard for a proper snack.

 Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

 I visited the Place Republic the night before Tom arrived in Paris.  This is where people pay their respects to those killed in the Charlie Hebdo and November 2015 attacks.

 The very next morning I was watching the French morning news when the Brussels, Belgium bombings took place at the airport and in the metro station.  This was the day Tom was to depart for Paris. He said his flight to Europe was only 25% full - sounds like people changed their plans and decided not to make the trip.

 This is on the Lover's Bridge in Paris. It used to be full of padlocks from lovers who were declaring their love for one another. But the locks were so heavy that the structure of the bridge was threatened - so they were cut off and replaced with glass panels. Booo!

 Moulin Rouge, Paris

 Crepes are everywhere in France.  Ham and cheese crepe with some coffee.

 This small vineyard was established in 1933 to deter real estate development near the Sacred Heart Basilica but it didn't really work. Still, the vineyard prevailed and today it produces 800 bottles of wine annually!








Below is Sacred Heart Basilica, the highest point in the city of Paris.

Merry ole London and St. Patrick's Day in Limerick, Ireland

Returning to London after 35 years was incredible! My friend Tpong from Thailand, now living in the UK, and I had a grand time touring around the famous sights and taking lots of selfies!

Everywhere I've traveled this spring - from Thailand, Laos and Cambodia to Amsterdam and London - the tourist crowds have been incredibly large. And what's funny about Europe is that it isn't even warm, but people are out and about.

T -n- me stopping for coffee and tea at a street-side cafe.

I remember being able to walk by 10 Downing Street "back in the day," but it looks much different now with all the security.

We went to Burger and Lobster for lunch.  There are only 3 items on the menu:  a gigantic beef burger, a steamed whole lobster, or a lobster roll.  We wasted no time tearing through our lobsters.

People, please. This street was only a couple of blocks from where I lived in the 1980s and today it is chock full of acoustic guitar shops!

I spent quite a bit of time wandering through these stores. Remarkably I left empty-handed.  When you travel with only a carry on bag you have to choose your purchases carefully.

Guitar store, after guitar store, after guitar store.  And there was 1 drum shop.


I haven't posted any pictures from my visit to London Metropolitan University because they were all just big city buildings and basically unremarkable.  My meetings were good, but I don't think establishing an exchange with them is realistic.

I stayed at Abby's college roommate Lucy's flat in north London near Hampstead Heath, a sprawling park overlooking the city to the south. I didn't have her wifi hookup at first but the family downstairs let me tap into theirs. The only way to get a signal was to leave the door ajar and sit on a wooden chair trying to shuffle around my iPhone, SurfacePro, and a glass of wine...  I was the hardest working woman in London.

In Amsterdam, at the university, etc. I'd ask if students, faculty, etc, if they go to church. Everyone said no. When I asked why not, they replied, "why?" So I decided to visit this big ole crumbling down church across the street from Lucy's to see for myself.  There were about 50 people (including 10 kids), and it was a very nice service. I actually bumped into someone I knew during the passing of the peace!  It was Ellie, Lucy's neighbor who graciously offered up their wifi signal to me.

I jumped on a plane from London and flew to Ireland to visit the University of Limerick - this is the view from my hotel room.  Just some old Irish building from ancient times!

 The University of Limerick is situated along the river Shannon and is connected to a student housing village via this foot bridge.  A beautiful, peaceful setting for a campus!

 Lunching with Sinead and Bridget at Plassy House. They pulled out all the stops with 3 nights hotel stay, a very fancy lunch (I had to pretend to eat vanilla ice cream for dessert), and a very successful meeting for a meaningful exchange program for our students!  Success!  Now we just have to implement and market the program!

 University of Limerick has a thriving student body of 12,000.

Oh, the Luck of the Irish, I tell ya!

 Spring has sprung in Ireland

 The United Kingdom doesn't recognize "southern" Ireland in its weather report because it doesn't belong to the UK. Notice there are no city names in the southern part of Ireland.

 The Locke Restaurant in Limerick served me up a tasty smoked salmon salad and Guinness. These 2 lads whiled the evening away playing traditional Irish folk music.

St. Anne's Church (just 500 years old) is in the background of the St. Patrick's Day parade route.

It was a great visit to Ireland. My St. Patrick's Day dinner was spuds and roast lamb.  Do you know that I looked at every menu I could find and there wasn't one corned beef and cabbage entree listed. It's all lamb and beef which works for me!

Ok, off to Paris! Stay tuned.

Stenden University in Leeuwarden, northern Holland

Stenden University is located in Leeuwarden, northern Holland which is a 2.5 hour train ride from Amsterdam.  I spent 4 days here to see whether Stenden would be a good fit for an exchange program for students between our universities.  I was very impressed.

I stayed in the Stenden Hotel which is operated by the hospitality school.  The students, under supervision of course, ran the front desk, housekeeping, the bar, and restaurant. They practiced sustainable tourism at every turn - from the local food choices on the menu and keeping the hotel room frig unplugged until it was needed, to the usual "reuse your towel" deal that we so often see in the states, plus much more.

The university picked up the bill for me, which meant I saved 200 Euro!

 European style double bed - 2 twins smashed together.

 Mark (lecturer), Ally (student), Theo (lecturer) and me. Ally's student group just finished organizing a student trip for 150 people to France which will occur next week.  Originally they were going to Paris but changed the trip to Disneyland Paris after the attacks last November.

Our students organize experiences for people, but not a week-long international trip!  Their learning approach was intriguing to say the least!

 Leeuwarden, the city where Stenden U is located, has been selected as the 2018 European Cultural Capital.  Their innovations in terms of leisure and tourism are captured well in this picture which used to be a prison until 15 years ago when they re-purposed the space. It is now filled with creative small business startups that deal with everything from tattoo shops to a restaurant.

Ally, me, and Sabrina. Both young women are from Germany. I told them about our stereotypes of Germans (hardworking, somewhat impatient, detail-oriented) and ask if German youth measure up. Of course, who wasn't going to argue with THAT description. They agreed wholeheartedly.

Interesting aside - they have a segment of their population who have grown very unhappy with Angela Merkel. There is a young woman, Frauke Petry (in her 40s) who is leading a charge to end the support for refugees - her party is called Alternative for Germany. She is becoming very popular and they see many similarities with Trump.

 I went out for dinner with this nice couple at the university restaurant. We had delightful conversation - this is in the kitchen where we had the behind the scenes tour!  BTW, I had lamb for my main course and it was wonderful.

 Our textbook (and Amy's too) is in the Stenden University library!

 This leaning tower of Leeuwarden is almost 500 years old and leans more than Pisa!

Canal going through downtown Leeuwarden