Tag Archives: flowers

adventure, Champagne Bucket trips, Paris

Pardon My French: Brussels and Paris 2026 (part eight)

Friday, March 27th, Bill and I had thoughts of going back down to the touristy part of Paris. However, we did not want to walk there. Instead, we thought we’d take the famous Parisian Metro. But first, we had breakfast. One Friday morning, I had pancakes with blueberries and cream, and a side of bacon, and Bill had the continental breakfast I had enjoyed on Thursday, except he had scrambled eggs instead of poached eggs. Once again, I also had hot chocolate!

As for using the Paris Metro, I guess life had other plans, because first, we went to a Metro station that did not offer the ability to buy and load a Metro card. Then, we went to the other side of the metro station, and found the proper machines, but they would not take Bill’s credit card, probably because it’s not a European issued card. And the employees behind the desks were either unable to speak English, or their line wasn’t moving. I wasn’t even that surprised, because every time I’ve experienced trying to use the Paris Metro, I’ve been disappointed, confused, or both. I’m sure there’s a mysterious trick to using the Paris Metro that I just haven’t figured out yet.

Sigh… Not all of the machines were accepting euros, either.

So we gave up on the idea of using the Metro. Instead, we walked around the famed cabaret, the Moulin Rouge, which was close to our hotel. That area is also rife with artsy stuff.

The entrance to an art school.

The area is also loaded with sex shops. They were EVERYWHERE. And while we were sitting on a bench on the boulevard, we were joined by familiar folks… They casually set up their JW display near us. It was a sign to move on, I guess…

Guess we could have told ’em we were LDS…
Dakota Johnson’s Calvin Klein ad.

During this time, we mostly just did some people watching and talked. When we take trips, we love to sit and watch the world, and just take in the local vibe. It wasn’t long before it was lunchtime, so we started looking for a place to eat. I noticed one place called Bouillon Pigalle. There was a long line of people waiting to get in there for lunch. I noticed they were mostly young folks, and when I looked up the restaurant, I noticed it got mixed reviews. We gave it a miss…

I love these little garden areas in the city…
This is one of two locations of the Bouillon. chain The other is called Bouillon Republic and is located in another area of Paris.

We started to head back the way we came, but as we were passing some of the sex shops, I noticed this…

😳 WTF!
Dayum! I do kind of like the dick mug, though.

Yeah… the mood was definitely different in this part of Paris, the 18th arrondissement! We spotted a rather authentic looking French restaurant, but again, it didn’t appeal… But then I noticed an Irish pub called Corcoran’s. God knows, we LOVE our Irish pubs. So that’s where we went for lunch.

As I’ve looked up Corcoran’s, I’ve noticed that it appears that it’s actually part of a chain, and there are several locations in Paris. The one we went to was in Place de Clichy. There was a friendly bartender who spoke perfect English and invited us to sit where we wanted and order at the bar. Bill had bangers and mash, and I had fish and chips. And, of course, we drank beer and listened to some really good music. I even discovered a 60s era singer I had never heard of before, the late Marva Whitney.

Looks vaguely pornographic! But the sausage was very good!
A successful lunch stop in Paris!

The one thing I didn’t like about the pub was the restroom, which, like so many others we visited on this trip, really reeked of urine and was a bit damp, dirty, and chilly. But I’ve certainly encountered worse places to pee.

Some photos I took as we walked back to Hotel L’Eldorado.

I love the flower shops!

After lunch, we decided to head back to the hotel room so I could do some writing and have a rest. Unfortunately, when we walked back into the hotel, the receptionist informed us that the elevator was broken again. I must have looked pretty annoyed, having to climb five flights of stairs again.

I skipped the fries!
It’s handy to bring a computer so you can watch 41 year old movies…

We never did make it out again, because the weather was not so great, and I needed some time away from the crowds. While we were in our room, we decided to watch National Lampoon’s European Vacation for the umpteenth time. 😁 And we had Five Guys for dinner, which Bill went out and picked up. The staff must have noticed I wasn’t with him, because they called the room and told me that, to make up for the broken elevator, they were going to offer me (not Bill, apparently), free breakfast. So, I guess, in a way, we got back some of the money we lost to the scammer taxi driver.

Friday night was a bit noisy. Lots of people were outside partying at a nearby wine bar. I was grateful for the many panes on the windows, and glad that it wasn’t super hot outside. Even with the panes, we could hear the people outside until well in the wee hours of the morning!

That brings me to the end of my Friday in Paris– 2026. Stay tuned for my next post, which took us to the Salvador Dali museum!

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Hessen, Sundays

Quick photo dump for the third week of March 2025…

I’m interrupting my Italy series for a quick photo dump of pictures from this week. We have some photos from our weekly market on Thursday. Bill and I picked up a few items for dinner, including chicken shawarma sandwiches from a new Syrian vendor we’d never seen before. The guy spoke English, was very friendly, and seemed delighted to talk to Bill about Doha, Qatar. As for the rest of the people at the market, they seemed to be giving us the side-eye more than usual. My guess it’s because they know we’re Americans and Trump is a major league asshole… Oh, and there’s also a photo of me in a Guinness hat Bill got at the drink market.

Charlie is glad to be home.

And then today, we went on post so I could buy makeup. Afterwards, I was feeling hungry, so we went into Wiesbaden and had lunch at the Ratskeller Biergarten. There, I had a Haxn Salad and a Hefeweizen. Bill had Tafelspitz (beef with horseradish sauce) and a Dunkel. Nice to see people and dogs out and about, flowers blooming, and open outdoor spaces! Our IKEA also set up a Swedish Easter decoration!

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Hessen

Our first wine stand of 2024!

March is the time of year when our village, and a lot of others in the Rheingau region, has wine stands. In Breckenheim, the wine stands occur every other week. They’re hosted by clubs as fundraisers, but they are also a great opportunity for people in the neighborhood to get together and be social.

The first Breckenheim wine stand of 2024 actually occurred at the end of February, which is a bit unusual. I believe that one was hosted by the Christian Democrats political group. Bill and I didn’t attend that one, since we aren’t Germans, and no one cares how we vote (although they’d prefer we don’t vote for Trump). Also, the weather wasn’t so great that night.

Then there was another one on March 8th, but Bill was in Bavaria, and I didn’t really want to go drink wine by myself. I’m sure I would have had some company eventually, if only because some people might have wanted to know where Bill was. But I was also making a concerted effort to avoid drinking alcohol while Bill was away, and I succeeded.

We decided to go to last night’s wine stand, as the weather was basically pleasant, and it had been too long since our last one… As you can see by the photos, it was a well attended event. I got a kick out of the Mayor saying “Hi” to us as we passed the wine kiosk. He knows who his American residents are, I guess. I don’t know the Mayor well at all, but I have noticed that he works very hard and really seems to want to do good things for Breckenheim. In fact, I’ve noticed that he’s organized a lot of nice events for our Wiesbaden suburb, since we moved here in late November 2018.

For most of the evening, we sat alone at our table. I think the locals are often wary of sitting with us foreigners. But then, a very nice older couple, along with a couple of ladies about their age, asked if they could join us. It turned out the wife of the gentleman could speak English fairly well, but her husband couldn’t. Bill conversed with the man in his imperfect German. I surprised myself by understanding much of what was said. Speaking German, however, is still pretty painful for me. I’m better at singing in German (memorizing the words). 😉

We had a very nice conversation with the couple, although I think I shocked the lady when we were talking about Donald Trump and I said that my mom had advised me not to go back to the U.S. if I could avoid it. I’m sure things are not as bad as they look from over here… but I do know that the USA is not the same country it was when we left there in 2014.

We decided to leave when the sun was completely down, after we’d had a few glasses of the fine local wines. We said goodbye to the couple and assured each other we’d meet again at a future wine stand. I really like Breckenheim. It’s probably my favorite of the three German towns we have lived in so far. The people are very friendly, and it’s surprisingly social. When we told the folks that we’d also lived near Stuttgart, they said “Here, it’s better.” But they also said they don’t know people living down there. I liked the Stuttgart area fine, but people up here really are much easier to get to know. They’re better at small talk, as far as I can tell… or, so it seems, anyway.

Here are a few photos…

And here are a few spring photos from walks with Noyzi…

I don’t know if this machine works… it’s attached to someone’s house. The hammer and sickle is newly painted.
Noyzi now loves Bill very much!

I’m not sure what we’ll do today. The sun is going in and out of the clouds, and it’s a bit chilly and windy. I may work on finishing reading my latest book.

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Health, Sundays

Bill is all gimpy and grumpy today…

We ended up not going out to dinner last night, because yesterday morning, Bill fell while he was walking Noyzi. He turned his ankle. Then he put on shoes and went to work for a couple of hours, which made the pain and his mobility in the ankle worse.

When Bill got home from work, he was complaining about the pain. So I said that maybe we should just stay in so he could rest his ankle. This week is going to be very busy for him at work, and then on Thursday, he’s going on a TDY assignment that will last until the following weekend. He’ll be working nights, which will be hell for him, because he’s very much a day person whose brain goes down with the sun.

I’ll be sitting at home, probably shopping for more stuff to take on our trip or put in the garden…

I just bought a new hairdryer, not for my hair, but for the freezer. Our kitchen has an old fridge and it has to be defrosted. I decided using a hairdryer was the best way to accomplish that goal, since the fridge can’t be easily unplugged, because it’s built into the wall. And I got a new hairbrush, too, with an olive wood handle and boar hair bristles. It’s taking time to get used to it.

At least it’s sunny and somewhat warm out today. I took Noyzi for a walk and got some pretty new flower pictures for my photo stream. Here are a few for your own amusement. The last three photos are of the creek in our village. I’m glad I can count on my very fastidious neighbors to provide me with some lovely flowers to shoot with my camera. If anything, they’re a reminder that winter is finally over.

Our village is having Maifeuer– a bonfire– tonight in the Mother’s Day Shack on the northern edge of town. They will have sausages and beer on offer, as they light a bonfire, I guess, in honor of Whit Sunday. I might like to attend the event, but Bill says he can’t walk that far… He’s also been feeling guilty about not going to work today. Hello! It’s SUNDAY!!!!

Edited to add: My German friend reminds me that the bonfire wasn’t for Whit Sunday/Monday. It was for Walpurgisnacht… which I had completely forgotten about. You’d think after so many years living here, I wouldn’t forget these holidays. But sometimes, we’re not in town, and we never seem to take part in the festivities. I would have liked to have gone to the bonfire last night, but it was probably better to stay home and drink wine. 😉 Today, there’s a picnic going on, as it’s a holiday in Germany… but not for Americans.

I guess it just goes to show you that some Soldiers never really clock out. Bill is always going to have a “mission first” mentality, much to my occasional annoyance. I do appreciate that he has such a strong work ethic, but sometimes it’s a good thing to realize that the world won’t stop if you take a break and rest up. And given the condition of his ankle, that might be a good idea, because he won’t have the chance next weekend.

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Germany

One week down…

I’ve been quiet on this blog since last week, mainly because I’ve had pretty much next to nothing to write about.  I guess I could have written about last weekend’s wind storm, which blew dangerous winds across Germany and other parts of Europe for several days, but I’m not sure what I would have had to say about it.  I mean, I pretty much holed up in the house for that.

By Tuesday, the winds had died down.  My dogs badly needed a walk, so I took them for a quick one on Tuesday morning.  When I got home, I was confronted with a notice that the GSL delivery guy had tried to drop off a bottle of butterscotch liqueur I ordered from Amazon.  Naturally, he showed up during the 30 minutes all week that I wasn’t in the house.  Murphy’s Law was at work!  To get the liqueur, I’d have to drive to a kiosk in Bierstadt, an area with which I am still sadly unfamiliar, and present my passport and the notice slip within 8 working days.  I suppose I could do it, but I don’t really want to.  The liqueur cost about 15 euros and I’ve been on the wagon all week anyway, so I think I’ll just let them return it.  I’d call them to attempt a redelivery, but I didn’t see that option listed, which, to me, is a real con to using GSL for shipping.  Seriously… I could go and get the liqueur, but what if I couldn’t?  What if I had no way to get to the kiosk?  Seems to me, they should at least attempt one redelivery.

One thing I tend to do when Bill isn’t home is regress to childhood eating habits.  Before I was married, I used to make nice meals for myself in my kitchen.  Now, when Bill is TDY, it’s all I can do to just get through the meal.  So I tend to eat a lot of soups and sandwiches.  This time, I’ve been especially bad.  I actually ordered Kraft Macaroni & Cheese from Amazon.de (rather than going to the commissary to get it).  I was kind of curious to see if it had changed since my college days, which was when I tended to eat it, or a generic equivalent, the most often.  As you can see… it’s the same stuff.  It tastes the same.  And yes, I make better mac & cheese from scratch, but for some reason, this chemically laden crap is, oddly, a comfort.

I bought five boxes because they came in a set.  Once they’re gone, I’ll probably not try it again for another twenty years or so…  If I’m still alive and have teeth.  This stuff is definitely kid friendly and I don’t mind it when I’m feeling like a baby.  I may have to make some from scratch later, now that I’ve learned how to use the oven.  

A couple of shots from one of the balconies, showing the mercurial skies after the windstorm.  The sun was finally making an appearance.  Our view is less enchanting in this house.

 

I have filled the time reading, and rebuilding my main blog, which I moved to a new address a couple of weeks ago.  I’ve also been watching movies.  Last night, I had a Richard Pryor double feature: The Toy, from 1982, which also starred Jackie Gleason and future porn star, Scott Schwartz, and Critical Condition, from 1987, with Rachel Ticotin, Bob Saget, and Joe Mantegna.  Both were pretty crappy films, although I made up for their crappiness by also watching Children of a Lesser God and Broadcast News, both of which starred William Hurt.

At about 4 o’clock yesterday, the doorbell rang.  I opened it to a man bearing flowers sent by my long suffering husband, Bill, who is enduring overnight work shifts at Grafenwoehr until March 26th.  I am fantasizing about our next “real” vacation that lasts over a weekend, requires airplane travel or even train travel, and doesn’t include our sweet, but demanding dogs.  This morning, I was awakened at 3:00am, 4:55am, and 6:30am by my pooches, who needed to go out to do their business and then demanded to eat.  Bill usually handles them in the wee hours of the morning, because he’s often awake anyway.  When he’s not here, the duty falls to me.

And yet, as wonderful as Bill is to have at home, he sends me flowers when he’s away…

 

Well, I’ll try to be productive over the next week.  Maybe I’ll come up with a list of travel tips or some other newsy topic that doesn’t actually require any travel.  Eleven days to go until this nightmare TDY is over and spring is here.

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