Home Again

We arrived home on Monday, June 15. When we had planned for our trip, I knew there was going to be a return. I figured it was going to be a hard one, but it has not been. At least I did not feel a lot of culture shock, at least not as much as when I had lived in Wales. Once back it was already easy to remember where things were in Cedar Rapids, I admit it was a little weird getting back into a car and driving everywhere. While in France I didn't really have a need for a car and walking was just fine with me. The one shocking thing I suppose was right when we got off the plane our bags had not arrived from Minnesota, so we had to wait for them. We waited for them at a Chinese restaurant. I had not had Chinese since we had lived in France, in France I was a little fearful of what sort of things they would serve at such a restaurant so I did not even try one. We had been to this U.S. restaurant before so I should have been mildly used to what kind of service they would have. Ordering was fine, but once we got our food I had not even taken a bite and they asked how it was. I felt a little insulted, even though I am not a native French woman. In France they don't ask you, they allow you to enjoy and savor what they have offered you. Here it was like "Take a bite quick!!! We need to sit other people." In France you pretty much could sit in a restaurant for as long as you want. They did not expect you to finish quickly. That was one of the things I liked about France. Why? Well, it gave me time to think about what I was eating, but it also gave me time to write and relax. Americans really don't know how to relax all that much, it is rush or be run over. But I also noticed it allowed Ben and I to actaully have a conversation while we ate. We were not good at conversing at the table at home, but in France it was easy to because you had time to talk. Comparisons, comparisons, those are really the only things that really rocked my world when we came back. Otherwise it has felt as if we have been gone and have come back right where we have left off. It has been fine settling in for the long run in our new house, because it has been long time coming. It has also been nice speaking English again and having conversations with anyone. Despite the differences, France was a good place to go and it would be a treasure to visit it again.

Torture, Theatrics and Shakespeare

From the days we were planning our trip to London I wanted to visit the Globe Theatre. On my last visit I had regretted not seeing it at all. So the morning of I rushed Ben to get there. We found the correct tube route to take and then crossed a ultra modern foot bridge to get there. Luckily, when we arrived we did not have to wait a long time for the next tour, because it was happening within the half in hour that we happened by, so we bought tickets and explored the historical possessions of the theatre. Amongst these historical possessions there were many costumes from the theatre's hay day as well as examples of what the actors would do to get ready for their plays. The little museum also had how the Globe came to be (in its current state). We were told to listen for a bell and meet at the bottom of the stairs next to a prop tree, when it went off we quickly went down the stairs. We were met by a surprised staff person holding a bell that was not being rung. After everyone was gathered they announced, "We did not mean for the alarm to go off, but it got all of you here quickly, especially since we have a slightly bigger group then normal". It had been a mistake! What we thought was a bell was an alarm. I'm sure Shakespeare was laughing somewhere about our human instinct to follow directions. Ah well, our tour guide was quite enthusiastic at our group explaining why he thought we were all there. So his introduction was short. We were taken outside, the guide quickly explained that the thatch roof was the only one in London, for after the great London fire thatch rooves were banned.
"Well I guess you all want to see the theatre, so let's go in" said the guide. We all entered into the great theatre. It was round as I expected and open air as I expected. We sat up in what would be the rich people's area if we had been in the medieval era. The guide allowed us just to look around, which was what we seemed to need. There were a few questions asked, but I just found them common sense, as I had learned everything about the Globe, Shakespeare etc while in school and I had read a book on Shakespeare as well. But I took pictures and was proud to have accomplished coming to the Globe. After the tour of the Globe was done the guide told us about another theatre that was being built, he also told us that there would be play that afternoon. I would have loved to have gone to a play, but I knew we had other things that needed to be seen. Not before we stopped at the Globe's gift shop where I felt as if I should take the whole store home, luckily I found a few things and we paid for them. The Globe was everything that I had expected and it had been wonderful! It was lunch time and we were hungry so after exciting the Globe we found a nearby restaurant and enjoyed a bit of Greek food. It had been a pleasant morning.
After our lunch we decided to head back to the Tower of London. We found the right tube route and got there quickly. When we paid for our tickets the person at the desk said we only had a few hours, but we thought it was worth it. The Tower was holding a special exhibit on armour so we thought we would take a look. There was quite a display! There was armour for horses and for people. There was even a small set of armour for a small prince. Besides the armour, we toured the piece of the Tower that used to be for torturing people. They showed a large machine that would pull people apart. It was gruesome thinking about all the things they could do to people. We also explored the apartments of the nobility if they had to be imprisoned. The apartment showed the story of a certain royal family (forgive me for not knowing my kings) that their sons were held captive with them. The story continued on stating that the sons mysteriously disappeared one day and know one knows for sure who killed them, whether it was the jealous older cousin, or one of the guards. One could guess after finishing the story. Next to learning about the royalty we also learned that the Tower still had a residence on it. Unfortunately I cannot remember who still lives there. Outside of the residence is a small roost for two crows. The tower always has crows it is just one of their traditions. One thing at the tower that we did not expect to see was the crown jewels. The crown jewels were immaculate! I could not believe that the royalty of England all had their crowns stored in that one place. Each crown told a story of a certain day that that a certain King or Queen wore it. It might have even had a certain place of where that crown was worn. It was incredible. Besides the jewels, it also held all of the royal dishware, from teacups to teapots, all had shining gleaming gold. The royal family certainly has a lot of money under their belt to have such fine things! All in all after our tour through the Tower I thought it was fun, more fun than I thought. When I first came to London I didn't think the Tower was worth seeing inside, but I was mistaken. It had a lot of interesting facts that I had missed about the city. It was dinner time so we had decided to go to the Hard Rock cafe. We asked someone how to get there and they told us the tube stop, so we hopped on the tube, once we got there, we realized it was on the complete other side of the street, not just a back alley street but a large four lane. So we continued marching, thinking we had come that far, we were not giving up just because it was a farther walk than we had imagined. When we got to the cafe we got in a long line, everyone desiring to have a seat. The line did not seem to take very long, once we got to the hostesses she wondered how many people. When she found there were only two of us she asked if the bar was OK to sit at, it would be immediate seating. We said yes, being tired and hungry. Off we went to sit at the bar. It was fun sitting somewhere different than the usual. The food was good as well. Again, London had been well worth the adventure.

To London Town

The visit to London, England was long awaited. The trip was even threatened by the very thing that had brought us to Europe, Ben's work. But, we finally reached London on Saturday, May 30. I have been to London before and I thoroughly enjoyed it the first time. I could expect nothing less when visiting it the second time. We were able to get a nice hotel in a fairly central spot, central in the sense near the tube (within walking distance) as well as near the famous sites of London. After getting settled, we did not stay for long in our hotel. We immediately got on the tube and headed to London's famous theatre district to get Les Miserables tickets. Ben had always loved the music and had not been able to see anything like the musical anywhere. Once in the district,we wondered the theatre district because we figured we'd simply run into the theatre that was most definitely showing Les Miserables. Sure enough we found Queen's Theatre and it was playing our beloved musical. We entered, not sure what to expect for prices, because we had searched for tickets online, but did not seem to find a deal. The tickets at the box office were no better. Ben was frustrated and didn't feel we should spend that much. Outside of the box office, we talked it over. I told Ben that this was going to be the time to see it, part of the reason we wanted to visit London was to see this play. Ben was consoled and we spent the money, even though it was a bundle, it was going to be worth it.

After our expense, we headed toward the tower bridge, figuring on killing time for the musical wouldn't be until the evening. The bridge was as magnificent as I remembered. It loomed against the skyline like a large four legged beast. Everyone was out to enjoy the weather and the pigeons followed suit. The bridge bustled with activity. People sold ice cream and flavored nuts, the aromas were tempting and it felt as if we had stepped into a local American county fair. After walking the length of the bridge and eating some ice cream, we decided to see yet another famous site of London, the Tower of London. It was just a small walk away from the Tower Bridge. The Tower was a amass of people, much like the Bridge. Yet, there were reenacters demonstrating siege tools as well as medieval weaponry. We watched amazed and intrigued, learning that the sword was heavily used and that the use of the bow and arrow was only used in cases were the archer was a quite a distance from the attacker. Before long our stomachs began to rumble. It was time to eat. The little eateries around the Tower were quite busy and we felt it would be best just head toward the hotel, for we saw a pub that looked quite tasty next to our hotel. We hopped on the tube and found our hotel's neighborhood, no problem.

The pub was called The Good Friend. It seemed like a good place to eat. Locals were already enjoying some beer and a football (soccer) game. Ben and I found a seat, for despite the time it wasn't very busy. We both decided on the fish and chips feeling it was the best way to get acquainted with the culture. Ben ordered and we sat and enjoyed the game. We did not wait long, I'm not sure if we were expecting the service French style or not, but we were impressed by the rapidity that our food was served. It was hot and delicious and for me, brought up memories of being in Wales and having fish and chips served at lunch. The memory included the Welsh drenching fish and chips in all in malt vinegar to be enjoyed with a fork. Being products of our culture, Ben and I used our fingers for the chips and a fork for the fish. Nevertheless it was eaten no problem. Full from our lunch, we headed to our hotel for a little breather. We spent only a few minutes there deciding what to do next. It was time to head to the Buckingham Palace.

After exiting the tube, there seemed to be a rush of people headed in the same direction we were. We were heading that way, but the excitement was a wonder. What could all these people be rushing to see? We found the answer on the road to the Palace. A parade was being rehearsed in preparation for the Queen. It was crazy to see mounted men dressed to the nines in red and black. All of the these men were not just ordinary soldiers, some of them had special skills. One of the skills included playing an instrument while mounted on a noble steed. Reins were on one arm while both hands held and played each instrument. The horses were well trained too, their pace was deliberate and calculated, the band which were mounted upon them were precise and exact with their playing. It was quite a spectacular sight. (Picture of some of the players, above). We continued to watch for sometime, following the procession back down the road, closer to the palace. It was not possible to actually see the palace, but remembering from past experience I told Ben it was not that impressive. So we resorted to walk back. We headed in the direction of the Parliament and Big Ben. Those were just as I remember them, large and in charge. The Parliament building is impressive through its intricate architecture, having carved details all over the building, much like a French Cathedral. Also outside the Parliament is a dramatic statue of Charlemagne, one of the most well known kings of old. Big Ben on the other hand is magnificent in its simplicity. It holds the clock to keep London on time, just holding its own with its height and monolith type quality. All were fun to see, if only for a little while and just from the outside, but I felt was if it was new again, seeing it through someboy else's eyes. Our enjoyment was complete so it was time to take yet another break at our hotel. Again, easily attained through the nifty transportation of the tube.

Transportation is easy in large cities, especailly if they have a subway. We got back to our hotel in no time and immediately laid down to rest for a little bit of time. Soon it was time to get ready for the play. We got in our best clothes and headed back down to the Queen's theatre.

The theatre was bustling, it seemed as if many people were there. The atmosphere reminded me of Hancher, but it was much more sophisticated, having a designated bar for drinks and alocholic beverages. We sat down after a small wait in the lobby. Our seats were pretty good, but once the musical had started we realized the balcony blocked the top part of the musical's scenes. (The set had an upper level, the actors could climb quite high) I found the music awesome, but in Ben's opinion it did not fit exactly to what he had been listening to for all this time. He thought the first London cast did better than the one we saw. Our emotions were all over the place as we chose character's to like and to dislike. For despite that fact that they sung the songs in their own way, the actor's knew how to act and to sing. We cheered when Jean Valjean was saved from Javier, we cried when Epotine was killed and cheered yet again when Cosette and Marius married, still in love after such an ordeal (the revolution, the love triangle and Javier's constant presence). It was a completley delightful experience. As the play ended, we realized we had not had anything to eat, tired from the day's events we resorted to the American eats of McDonald's. And found ourselves in the company (or same room) as a bunch of guys and their very drunk friend. These guys were trying to appease their friend, but he certainly was out of it from his drunkeness, saying silly things and doing things I'm sure he'd never do if he was all there. It reminded me very much of what I experienced in Wales. Despite the unpleasentness of the situation and the atomosphere of the McDonald's it had been a wonderful night and productive touring day.

Flea Market in Place St. Sernin

Melanie Cosgrove, a friend from church, invited me to go to a flea market at Place St. Sernin. The flea market would take place on Saturday, May 23. I was excited to have that chance, because Ben was not likely to attend something like that, so I quickly agreed. Our plan was to meet at Place Capitole, which is a rather large Place located at what could be considered Toulouse's downtown. Place Capitole could be rather busy, no matter what time of day it was and on this particular Saturday was no exception. They had set up tents for some sort of an event, so it would be hard to see from one end of the Place to the other. This made it hard for me to find a place to sit that would be visible. Visible for me to see where Melanie would come from, or for her to find me. I reluctantly chose a spot, which was near one of the busy roads coming in and out of the Place, it was on the edge, for that was the only place in which to sit. But since the road was a main road coming into the Place I figured Melanie would come from that direction. I sat for a long time, it seemed though it was probably only ten minutes. Melanie had sent me a few text messages saying where to meet and what not. The last one seemed a bit worried. So refusing to text her back, I quickly called her. We then agreed to meet under the clock at the Capitolium which is the large building where Toulouse city officials usually have meetings. It is also the place to find some fantastic art. I quickly found the clock Melanie had told me about and easily enough we found each other in the mess of the Place.
"We must have been waiting for each other on opposite ends of the the Capitole" said Melanie grinning.
"Yes it seems that way" I said, grinning back.
"Thanks for coming by the way"
"No problem"
We then easily started for Place St. Sernin which from the Place Capitole is located down the rue de Taur. The next Place is only a few minutes from the Place Capitole and was already bustling with people selling their antiques and electronics. Each "booth" had their own plot of cement in which to place their antiques or wares. Some of them displayed on blankets, others had them in boxes and a few people had tables to display all they had to offer. As we continued around the Basilica St. Sernin there were quite a few antiques of all shapes and sizes. So no matter what you fancy, one could find it amongst the wares sold.
"The flea market's website said it was only for licensed antique dealers, but it doesn't quite seem that way" said Melanie, somewhat disappointed.
"Yeah, but even in the states they aren't always true antiques" I said, understanding her immediately.
Though Melanie was disappointed, we found quite a bit to fascinate us. Melanie kept her eye out for Zippo lighters, I just was there for fun, if I happened to find something I knew Ben had said I could buy it. Surprisingly, there were quite a few wooden clogs, I told Melanie they reminded me of home. Mostly, they just reminded me of Pella and the camaraderie of Tulip Time. It wasn't really French, but I knew if I purchased some of those clogs, they would remind me of Tolouse and living in France. So, after our second round of the Basilica, I began to seriously look at the clogs and with Melanie's interpertative help, purchased some for 15 euro. Besides the clogs, there were quite a few things that caught my eye. I saw lots of pretty tea-sets and china, some even from France, but as Ben and I were nearing the end of our stay, I was more concerned with the amount of things that would either head back to the states in our luggage and what room we would have in our shipment. So, I stopped purchasing and continued to be amazed at the amount of true antiques. There appeared to be an abundance of WW II helmets, I had to wonder where the sellers had found them, if they had dug them up somewhere or if they had purchased them somewhere. I never found out, but I was happy to think about it. Melanie finally found a lighter that would suit her and quickly bought it after learning how to refill it and take care of it. We both had seemed successful with our purchases, thus ending our short time together.

An Attempt to Train for RAGBRAI

Ben and I determined our bicycles were looking pretty poorly used sitting in their lonely corner so we decided to take them out on Saturday, May 16. It was a beautiful day, hardly a cloud in the sky, despite the threat of rain during the week. Before heading out, Ben and I picked a bike route to take out of Toulouse, there are quite a few to choose from, once you find a good map. We chose the way which follows the Garonne. The Garonne is Toulouse's river, where many people like to sit and watch and enjoy the parks that are around it.When we set out, I figured this would be easy as pie just meandering through the crowds of people and being aware of traffic, just as long as we stuck to the bike path. But since it was a nice day EVERYONE was out. It seemed the whole city of Toulouse decided it was time to see the river and its splendors. So we crept along on our bikes, dodging a baby carriage, laughing teens and a elderly couple taking a stroll. It was all fine, it just seemed hectic and not as relaxing as I figured it would be. Finally, we broke free of the "downtown" rush next to the river and were on the edges of Toulouse. The path still was a little busy, but not as packed as the downtown part was. On this part of the path there were several people doing as we were, taking a ride on their bikes in a fairly leisurely manner. But there was also a few joggers, walkers and people just enjoying the scenery.
The ride only took a few minutes and we were at the Blagnac bridge (Pont de Blagnac). We crossed it to see what the trail looked liked on the other side (for we didn't really have a plan once we got to the bridge). It looked too muddy for our trusty road bikes, so we rode back across the bridge and decided to take a paved trail that lead through some countryside, hoping somehow that it would get to Cornebarrieu, our initial destination. It lead quite a ways, probably two to three miles long, it lead past a horse farm, with girls and their horses training fiercely at their jumps, and at the end a few companies we had not heard of. We began to follow other bicyclists and found ourselves at the edge of a park, with a couple mile lake next to it. The paths were too rocky (yet again) to continue with our bikes, but there were water skiers and wake boarders training on a ski-lift/pulling device on the water. They practiced jumps and turns as well as how to get off the water with a lot of momentum. Ben and I stood captivated for a little while, thus giving our legs and our arms a rest from our bikes.
"Are you tired?" Ben asked as he turned from the entertainment.
"Nope, I'm up for riding a bit more."
"Sounds good, cause it seems as if we'll have to back track to get to Pont de Blagnac yet again." I nodded my head and we headed back the way we had come.
Once back at the bridge, we crossed it yet again and found that a bike trail we could follow was on the road, headed toward Ben's work. We took it and soon found some more decent, road bike paths. One even had two lanes, just as the cars did. This two lane bike path led us straight (or nearly so) to Ben's work. It seemed a reasonable journey, one that could easily be taken to work. Ben thought so too. Later, Ben had to take those paths because the car was in the shop. But our destination wasn't quite reached. So we found our way through a maze of not so busy roads to the round-a-bouts we take to Cornebarrieu, still following our trusty bike path. Our bike path remained a good one straight up to the outskirts of Cornebarrieu. We decided to rest yet again for the heat was getting to us. After we finished resting, we quickly jumped on our bikes again, taking the trail back the way we came. It seemed faster to get back to Toulouse, than getting to Cornebarrieu, but I suppose that is because we knew exactly where we were headed and which paths to take. We soon were back at our apartment, exhausted and hot, but happy that our bike ride would qualify for training.
Toulouse is a pretty good place for a bike, the city has many bike paths. The only thing that makes riding to one destination or another slightly difficult is that the bike paths seem to break off now and again. With this is mind, it is still a good place to ride, especially if you know your destination. We had a pleasant time and would have done it many times over if we had the time and the good weather to allow us to. So rent a bike and ride through Toulouse!

From the Seaside of Collioure to the Bridge in Millau

The weekend was expected and planned to be busy, but what better way to start a busy weekend but to spend it near the beach? The beaches we headed to were in Collioure, France, a small, quaint Mediterranean town. It was a cool, sunny Saturday (May 9) that we found ourselves in when we arrived in Collioure. When entering the town we figured parking would be easy to find. It was, at least by following the GPS. The unfortunate part was that we ended up on a slightly inclined hill above Collioure's main sights. But nevertheless once we were out of the car we were taking pictures from our hill position of the castle and the sea which lay below it. We were directly above the sea and could just barely pick out the white sails of a sailboat. We explored the cliffs we were near, walking in either direction. In one direction there were large cement gun batteries extremely similar to those we saw on Normandy beach. I thought they possibly could be German ones, but Ben doubted it. He thought there was no reason for the Germans to come that far south (as Collioure is about 15 miles from the Spanish border). Since it was such a nice day we figured we should walk around a bit, to see what views we could see from our rocky, cliff side. So we found our way down the hill, headed more towards the sea. The path was well worn though we doubted it was technically legal for any of us tourists to walk there. But the views were postcard perfect, to use a logical, pointed cliche. The sea was crystal clear and there was just a slight fog on it. The wind just brushed by you, giving the scene whimsical flair. As we continued on our walk, we found that we were near a former military base, for their training tools (jumps, monkey bars, those low branches to crawl under) were still available to possibly be used. Soon after passing the tools we found a tank just standing by, declaring what used to be there. Besides finding out exactly where we were, there was also some information about Collioure's past posted next to the path. It stated that Collioure used to be a fishing village as well as what sort of fish they caught and what there focus was now. Our time in nature was soon over, for we found ourselves back at the parking lot. It was time to find the middle of town.

The middle of Collioure was bustling with tourists and locals alike, it was also full of many tourist shops and places to eat. One could find themselves a new swimsuit just by peaking into any of the various shops. For it seemed every shop that had clothing of any sort would also have a display of swimming suits. We left the hustle and bustle of the town for the docks. It was a touch quieter there. We basked in the sun, admiring the various sailboats that had found themselves an anchoring point nearby. The Royal Castle was in front of us, looming above the water and the town, seeming to still threaten power and strength. We each thought of what we would do if we could live in such a place as Collioure. Ben declared he have a sailboat and we all could enjoy the water while on the water. I thought it would be nice just to have a home there. Viewing the sea everyday, and having a beach just a few steps away. It all seemed quite nice. Amy thought it would be pleasant as well. After sitting for a time, we decided it was best we got a better look around. So we headed to the castle. Once we entered it, we found that the castle had had many face-lifts due to the many occupants of it. It was first used by the Catalan Lords defending their territory, than it was taken by the Spanish, who added a few elements that the Lords had left out. Then finally the French took over, completely fortifying the castle as to not let it be taken again. When we explored the castle we found it quite worn in places, for there were quite a few tunnels to get from point A to point B. These tunnels were dirt now, I assumed that they might have had stone at one point in history, but I'm sure it had either been taken or lost as the years went by. But as we got further and further into the castle it seemed better taken care of. The inner courtyard was beautiful, still a dirt floor, but strong, aged stone was around us, each building showed its age, but still stood dignified and well kept. The ramparts of the castle were fun to explore. Each side gave a new view, either of the hills nearby or the sea below or the town, bursting full of people. The rooms of the castle were somewhat disappointing, having some rather unusual exhibits. One exhibit was of an artist who must have taken inspiration from Collioure, like so many other artists and the chapel, which I had hoped would have similar furnishings to one of the periods of the castle unfortunately held advertisements for an apartment complex going up nearby. But despite these diminishing features, the castle was worth a peak, if only to imagine yourself as one of its occupants, ruling with a powerful hand. After peaking at the castle, we decided to check out the local church which was perched at the edge of the sea, much like the castle, but closer to the elements. The church was called Notre-Dame des Anges or Our Lady of the Angels, it is rather unusual compared to the other churches one sees while visiting France, for it does not have as many stained glass windows. It can't of course, because it is so close to the sea and other elements, they surely would be lost the minute they were put in. So the church was filled with huge altars, one in each chapel and one at the front. Which was golden and extremely ornate. When we looked at it I could not even pick out every single detail. I'm sure we all missed something important. But, despite the church's brooding, overwhelming atmosphere, it was nice and silent. Seeming away from everything else. We all sat, taking it all in. We had one more thing on our list of things to do in Collioure, and that was to see its 14th century windmill, guarding a hill on the other side of the bay from the church. Walking quickly, we noticed hangings on the various walls we passed. We were on part of the Path of Fauvism, which displays prints from the various artists who were inspired by Collioure's romantic setting. I unfortunately did not see any prints by Matisse, which was the whole reason I even thought of going on the Path. But we had bigger fish to fry and we were upon the next path which lead to the awesome windmill a top of a hill. This path lead through a cactus garden, its cacti growing freely, then we passed what we thought might been a chapel, now neglected. We finally reached the stone windmill after several strides through a grove of trees. It was a fascinating windmill, standing boldly on its hill. But we were tired and headed back down, on the way down we spotted what appeared to be olive trees, not bearing any of its goodness and were safely back to our starting point. Our time in Collioure was short, but worth the visit. It was neat to know one could still find a quaint seaside town to enjoy the sun.

On Sunday, May 10 we headed on what we expected to be a short ride to Millau, a town near Albi. But the GPS had something else in mind. We spent a good 2 hours roaming the beautiful French countryside in search of a marvel of the modern world. Even though it was annoying, it was nice to see the rolling, green hills, Ben and I realized we missed the countryside more than we thought. We stopped once to take a few pictures. We saw no farmers in the fields, but we knew they had been there. For rolls of hay were laying on their sides next to the edge of the respective fields. After we viewed and enjoyed the countryside, we finally came upon the town we were heading for, Millau. It was larger than I had expected, which was good, for we hadn't eaten lunch yet. So we stopped for a bite to eat a a very busy brasserie. Our table was next to a pair of very talkative Germans who recommended to us sights that they thought we best see, including a French Grand Canyon. We just shook our heads, knowing we did not have time for that. After our delicious meal, we headed straight for the bridge. Looking for all the signs we could. We easily found the boutique which laid just under the bridge, a perfect place to take a few pictures, we did, each posing in our turn. The bridge is an amazing feat of wire and concrete, taller than the Eiffel Tower, but built by the same company. It lays magestically on the Tarn river valley. It is so amazing that words cannot describe its beauty and only a picture, as you can see can even capture its futuristic lines and height. Another interesting fact about it is, that it connects southern France and Northern Spain to Paris. We were all glad to see such splendor and importance while in France. After taking our photographs, we headed back home, again through the winding, twisting, beautiful roads that had lead us to our destination.

An Unexpecrted Visit to the Doctor and a Visit to Albi

On Monday, May 4 I had to visit the doctor to see if I would be allowed to stay in France. This was rather a disappointment because Ben and I thought it would be a useless thing to do. But we heard that if I didn't go through with it my carte de sejour could be taken away, so reluctantly we (Amy came too) all headed to the specific doctor's office that dealt with foreigner's coming to France. Once we got there, we showed the receptionist my carte de sejour and she motioned us into the waiting room, where we sat just about 10 minutes and a nurse came by to pick me up. She directed me to a little room to change for the x-ray. Once changed, she spoke to me in French and demonstrated the actions I needed to take to help her with the x-ray. That was easily done, but once done the real wait began. I looked at my watch, it wasn't nearly closing time for the office yet, but I felt like I was forgotten. Unfortunately my appointment was planned at 12 noon and we got there early so as to be seen before noon. That happened, but I had to wait for the doctor a good 15 minutes before he was ready to see me. When he did see me, he asked all the questions for the interview in French. I even told him " En Anglais, s'il vous plait" but he continued merrily in French, doing a few motions to explain what he was asking. I watched him quickly check my paper, which I figured was a good sign. Then, at the very end of my paper, he wrote a large OK. So I could only guess I was a-OK, that I was allowed to continue to live in France for the rest of the time here. He gave me another paper and I left the office, confused and relieved it was over. I told Ben all of my visit was in French. He couldn't believe it at first because he had been lucky, like so many of my friends here, and got the entire thing in English. Nevertheless I gave Ben the paper I had received and he told me he would give it to Christiane, our liaison while we are here. She would do what she needed to do with it and I could stay. I am not French, but the whole process was rather ridiculous. But such is life. Sometimes pointless things need to happen. Amy and I spent the rest of the day in Toulouse, enjoying the beautiful weather and shopping.

The next day (Tuesday, May 5) was spent on a rather different adventure, we had decided to take a train out of town. To the town of Albi. We had gotten our tickets the day before, so in the morning we arrived at Gare Matabiau early so we would be more than ready for our train. When we got there, about 20 minutes walking from the apartment, I could not see our destination on the board, the only destination that was even remotely close to our tickets was headed to a different location. It was headed to Rodez instead of Albi. That definitely got me nervous about our train, but all the other information followed our tickets. So I stuck with it, watching the Rodez stop carefully so we would catch what platform we would be headed to. It finally came up and we headed straight to it. When we reached to platform, to my dismay the tracks beside it looked to be under construction, it confused me so much that I thought we might be on the wrong platform, but everything pointed to it. After the train arrived, I knew for sure we were on the right platform. The train that appeared looked a lot like the train we took to Bayeux, so it was a smaller train, more like what you see in a metro station. There were both permanent seats and ones you could fold down. Amy and I sat across from each other on some of the permanent seats. The train was rather full going to such a small destination, but it seemed it made a few stops before Albi as well. So the train for the most part evened out, there were fewer people once we had stopped in Albi. Entering the station, I grabbed our trusty Rick Steve's guidebook which gave directions from the train station to the center of town. It was quite correct and soon we were standing under the massive St. Cecile Cathedral. We went in and Amy was amazed. We peeked around for a little bit, but I was unable to show Amy the cathedral's blind for it was closing for lunch time. So we walked out and I wondered if she was alright if we had lunch then (for it was about noon). She agreed and we walked around Albi for a bit trying to find a good deal on a meal. We found one at a petite restaurant that I unfortunately did not write down the name of. But we were able to get seats and were quickly served. Amy and I both had tarte salee or savory tarts. They were quite tasty and we savored every bite. Soon it was time for dessert and we both picked the tarte framboise or raspberry tart. It was also quite tasty, it was served with a small scoop of ice cream that just improved the taste. Our meal was soon over and we headed back to see the choir blind, which we had missed on our first visit. Once there we immediately entered the blind and I again read about the importance of the blind, that it was one of the few remaining and that each angel was holding something different. After visiting the blind, we headed to the Tresor, which I had not seen before. It held many of the cathedral's important relics, safely protected against heavy glass. When we descended the stairs, the cathedral had become busy with school children, it made it hard to get around and to talk to one another because of the noise and the amount of children. But we were able to exit by weaving in and out of the children as they stood in line. Amy thoroughly enjoyed the cathedral and I thought it was nice I had a chance to enjoy it for the second time and admire the grand artwork that adorned its walls.
The cathedral was not the only stop on the list when going to Albi. I thought Amy might like to see the Henri Toulouse-Lautrec museum as well. So we stopped by and I introduced her to his artwork. Again I enjoyed seeing the work for a second time. It was interesting to see if I caught anything different that I had not noticed before. I didn't catch much, but I realized what pieces of art I enjoyed the most. Which were his very practiced landscapes and dramatic pictures of people. Amy was quite fascinated and enjoyed his paintings more than his prints. But to each his own. Our trip to Albi was winding to a halt, for the train we were to take was to arrive in an hour. So with that hour we relaxed and sat down for a bit to enjoy the brilliantly sunny day and ponder the beauty of the cathedral and what we had seen for the day. Our rest was too quickly over and we trudged back to the station to wait patiently for the train. Many people were headed back to Toulouse, and Amy worried we might not fit. But to our happiness a larger train arrived to take us back. Without a hitch we arrived back in Toulouse to trudge back to the apartment and see what Ben was up to. I was glad Amy had enjoyed herself in Albi and what Albi had to offer. It had been a wonderfully art-filled busy day.