Saying Goodbye

Have you heard the saying, "My future's so bright, I have to wear shades!"? That's our girl Juliet! Lots of approving glances for the sunglasses, purchased on our shopping trip today. Mom Jeanne was still sick today, so Matt, Juliet and I went shopping, partly because we "needed a few things" and partly to give Jeanne a chance to rest and get better.

The three of us took the metro in to Paris, to the children's shop Aubert. We went with a shopping list, but of course we managed to find several things we hadn't realized we needed before. We found a net bag to hang in the bathtub, to hold our bath toys; a picture album for pictures of our favorite people (actually, relatives) and it's plastic and can be chewed on; a charming little butterfly excellent for teething; and the sunglasses. After all that exhausting shopping, we had to stop for lunch, to keep up our strength! Matt had a club sandwich and fries, I had a salad with warm goat cheese (my favorite), and Juliet had a bottle of formula (her favorite). Juliet kept reaching for her Dad's club sandwich, though; she looks like she's ready to start eating grownup food. What fun that will be!

On our way to the big department stores, Printemps and Galleries Lafayette, we noticed a lot of people eating ice cream. We decided we better have some ourselves, since we had looked in vain for ice cream yesterday! A stop at Haagen Dazs fortified us for the rest of our shopping trip. French Mother's Day is next Sunday, so we had our work cut out for us. I can't reveal here whether or not we were successful, as someone's mother reads this blog. But I can tell you we had fun looking!

Once again, Juliet was so good. She really is easy to take along, and so very interested in everything that's going on around her. It was so hot today, and most French stores aren't air conditioned because they don't need to be; it's usually temperate. By the time we got home at 6:00, we were all three exhausted and sweaty. Juliet got her bath early, then Matt fixed dinner while Jeanne fed Juliet. Both our girls went to bed early. Tom called around 10:00, just as Matt was going to bed. Tom is going to be able to pick me up at the airport in Chicago tomorrow. It will be good to see him again.

I hate saying goodbye to the Paris Mellins, as we call them, but it doesn't seem so bad this time, because I'll be coming back in August to care for Juliet while her day care center is closed. So I'll just say, "A la prochain", until the next time. I love you all and I'll be back before you know it.

Sunday in the Park

A summer-like Sunday morning, and both Matt and I slept too late to go to the market with Jeanne and Juliet. Matt had gotten up early with Juliet, then gone back to bed. I had no excuse. We missed going to the market, but Jeanne bought a beautiful sea bass for dinner, among many, many other things. When she came home she had three or four huge bags of groceries and supplies, plus Juliet and the stroller. I don't know how she does it!

Juliet seemed much better today. She spent the morning and early afternoon catching up on her sleep and her formula intake. We had planned to go walking in the Bois de Boulogne, but mid-afternoon Jeanne started to feel crummy. So we changed our plans, and Matt, Juliet and I headed to Parc Monceau instead. The Bois de Boulogne is a great park, but it's a little further away and much larger. It was a very hot day and we decided to go to a closer, smaller park. I was amazed when we got there; there were hundreds and hundreds of people! Families with children of all ages, young people, old people, people everywhere, laying on blankets on the ground, walking the paths through the park, kids playing soccer, throwing tennis balls, riding scooters and tricycles and bikes, families picnicking, sleeping, reading, talking.

Even with all the people there, it was quiet. No one was playing loud music on a radio, there were only occasional high-pitched squeals from a child or two, and though the blankets were not that far apart, you couldn't hear the conversation of the people nearby. I really like this about the French culture; they are quiet and respectful of others.

Juliet was in her element. She loved feeling the grass tickle her feet and hands (see above photo), and she loved laying on her back and watching the wind move the tree branches back and forth. When that happened she would just giggle! She also loved watching other small children playing nearby. We fixed her stroller so that she was almost in a sitting position, but even then she held her head up off the stroller the whole time. She has gotten really good at that. She's not close to sitting up by herself, but she's really good at holding her head up if you support her back.

We stayed at the park for a long time, since Juliet was having such a good time. Matt and I were, too, as we had a chance to talk and enjoyed the cooling breeze on a hot day. By the time we got Juliet home, she was good and tired. She made it through bath time and her bottle, but she had a little trouble falling asleep. I think she'll sleep well tonight though, because she had a lot of fresh air today. Jeanne barely made it through dinner because she wasn't feeling well; I hope she feels better because she says she has to go to work tomorrow. Matt has the day off for the holiday, so he and I will take Juliet shopping and out to lunch. My last day in Paris for a few months, but I get to spend it with two of my favorite people. Then I'll have to see if I can fit everything back in my suitcase for the trip home. I better not buy too much tomorrow...

All Juliet, All The Time

It's Saturday, and the headline in the paper says, "A Taste of Summer". Parisians will go crazy this weekend because it's unseasonably warm, sunny, and it's a three-day weekend. Yes, it's another May holiday! I know you're wondering how many holidays can fit in one month. This time it's Pentecost, seven weeks after Easter (which is celebrated on Monday here), the time when the Holy Spirit descends on the Apostles, giving them the ability to speak different languages so that the word of Christ can be spread around the world. And, as the clerk in Denmark noted, "It's a day off."

Beth and Charlotte stowed their luggage at the hotel and arranged for a taxi to pick them up there at 5:00. Since their flight to Denmark is at 7:45 P.M. they have the whole day to enjoy Paris. Then the three of us, and my luggage, took the metro to Levallois to see Matt, Jeanne and Juliet. I'll stay with them until my flight leaves early Tuesday.

Juliet was alternately sleeping and being fussy this afternoon. Very un-Juliet like! Matt and Jeanne attributed her fussiness to immunizations earlier in the week; the doctor had told them it can take up to ten days for symptoms to appear. Beth and I thought she might be teething, although she would be a little young for that. But she was drooling a lot (Juliet, not Beth) and Matt thought he could feel a little ridge on her upper gums. Later, when we took her for a stroller ride, I could see her eyes were red, and wondered if she might have allergies. So here we were, four otherwise sane adults, trying to figure out what could be wrong with our Juliet, and hypothesizing all over the place. I guess we will have to wait until tomorrow to see how she's doing. It's just so hard, not knowing how to help her feel better. This afternoon I asked Jeanne what she wanted for Mother's Day (another holiday--May 30), and she said, "I want Juliet to be well."

Beth and Charlotte stayed for lunch; Matt and Jeanne made a pasta salad, and we had goodies from the bakery for dessert. Conversation kept Beth and Charlotte there until almost 3:00, when they left to see the modern art at the Pompidou Centre before they met their taxi for the airport. After they left, Jeanne went to run some errands while Matt and I stayed with Juliet, and she was alternately fussy and sleeping again. Poor little thing! Finally about 6:30 we took her for a stroller ride, and she fell asleep on the way home.

Tonight we had a late dinner; a lovely quiche made by Matt under Jeanne's direction, a green salad, bread and cheese. Simple and delicious. Laundry, computer work and conversation kept us up way too late; I'm hoping Juliet will sleep in past her normal 6 A.M. wake up time. But that's probably wishful thinking. Today was a great day; I didn't do anything but wash a few dishes, but I got to hold my granddaughter, take her for a stroller ride, change her, help bathe her, kiss her sweet head and feet and tummy, and spend some time talking to her parents. I look forward to another quiet, wonderful day tomorrow. A day of all Juliet, all the time. Except hopefully not at 6 A.M.

The Louvre

Yes, we saw the Louvre today. And here is my sister, standing next to the statue she posed for; it's now in the garden area next to the Decorative Arts building. I think the likeness is quite good.

When we were walking down our first hallway this morning, Charlotte said, "Oh my God you guys, we are in the Louvre!" And it should have that kind of effect on people; the building itself is a work of art, and then there are the thousands of paintings, sculptures and objets d'art, including furniture and jewelry. The sheer volume of items can be overwhelming so you have to decide what you want to see, and then stick to it. We decided on European painters, which of course is way too broad a category, because there are several floors in several buildings dedicated to paintings. I think Charlotte would have gone on forever if Beth and I hadn't begged for a lunch break. While we bought lunch, Charlotte went to see the Mona Lisa. Beth and I didn't want to fight the crowds.

Refreshed after lunch, we did a little shopping in the museum shops, then went to the main entrance to see I.M. Pei's masterpiece glass pyramid. It still manages to delight and amaze me after all these years. Then followed a stroll through the Tuileries Gardens, stopping to admire the beautiful purple iris in full bloom, Parisians and tourists sunning themselves on chairs by the pond, and children riding the merry-go-round. I think summer has arrived in Paris.

Back in the Marais, we shopped at BHV for an hour. Have to get those last-minute gifts, or remembrances of Paris. In my case, I had to get some short-sleeved tops; it's suddenly gotten very hot! Tomorrow Beth and Charlotte fly back to Copenhagen, for their flight to America on Sunday morning. And I will move in with Matt and Jeanne for two and a half days, before my flight early on Tuesday morning. It's been a great trip so far, and I'm looking forward to spending time with my granddaughter this weekend. Poor Juliet isn't feeling well due to immunizations she had last week; today she had a fever and wasn't eating or sleeping well. I so hope she'll be much better tomorrow. My sweet Juliet; my beautiful, hold her head up, talk, talk, talk, help Grandma turn the pages of the book, splash in her bath, sweet Juliet.

Versailles

This morning Beth and I awakened to the sound of knocking on the door of the room across the hall. It was only 8:30; had the maid gone crazy?? As we gradually woke up we realized that the knocking sound was on our own door, and when Beth answered it, it was Charlotte. She woke up at 7:30, so excited to be going to Versailles. She went down and ate breakfast and didn't bother to take the key because she was sure we would be up by the time she was finished. We quickly got up and got ready to go!

Perhaps I should mention that my niece Charlotte has studied and read about the kings and queens of many nations, but most particularly England and France, all of her life. She is certainly the most knowledgeable person I know when it comes to who was married to whom, and when they lived, and who their children were, and how they exited the royal life: divorced, died off or beheaded, all the gory details. So visiting Versailles is kind of like the Holy Grail for her. I felt honored to be able to take her there.

Well, I almost didn't take her there. Matt and Jeanne got our tickets online for us last night, and gave us instructions about getting there. We were to take the RER C train to Versailles Rive Gauche. From there it was just a short walk to the Chateau. We found the train easily and were confidently watching the station names go by. Another tourist asked us in broken English, "Are you going to the Chateau?", and we said, "Oh, yes, just follow us; we know where we're going!" Then a French woman seated near us said, "You are going to the Chateau? Then you have missed your stop." The stop was named Viroflay Rive Gauche; there was nothing about Versailles, nothing about the Chateau. So we got off at the next stop. The woman assured us we would be able to walk to the Chateau, although it would be quite a hike.

Getting off at the next stop we were still in the town of Versailles. It was the three of us and the middle-European tourist we had conned into trusting us. But now a new problem: people were inserting tickets into the turnstyles, to exit the train platform. I had never seen this before. We didn't know what to do and were trying to find someone to ask, when another French lady, leading a group of confused tourists, approached. She was talking (in English) about what a shame it was that they didn't have better signage, and how confused all the tourists got about where to get off the train for the Chateau, etc., etc. Then she talked with the station master (?) and told him these tourists had to be let through the exits because it wasn't their fault they missed the stop, the country didn't have good signage and what a terrible reflection this was on the French people, etc., etc. Anyhow, we just silently joined the group of people she was helping. Thus began the formation of a strange little tourist group: the four people the French woman was helping originally, the three of us, and the middle-European guy. Off we set to find the Chateau, with the French woman cheerfully leading our rag-tag little band.

Of course we did make it to the Chateau and we had a wonderful day there. The opulence, the sheer beauty of it all, the size of it all, the names: Mansard, LeNotre, Marie Antoinette, the Dauphin; it's as if history has come alive. Charlotte was a wealth of information, and many times she began her stories where the audio guide left off. We had a great time.

I have to say, though, that even at the Chateau, the signage could use some work. We got lost twice trying to find the Trianon area, with the smaller chateau where Marie Antoinette preferred to live, and where she and Louis XVI had beautiful gardens with plants and trees from all over the world. We did manage to find a nice place to have lunch, midway between the Chateau and the Trianon. By that time we needed to sit down and rest our feet.

We finally headed back home at 5:00 after a full, full day. The ride home was a lot less eventful, to say the least. It's pretty easy once you know the routine. Back at the hotel we soaked our feet in hot water, took long showers and rested before going out to dinner. Matt had made reservations for us at Enoteca, an Italian restaurant near us. It was great just sitting (!) and eating dinner, and talking about the day and what we had seen. Charlotte thanked us for being troopers and walking as far as we did; we told her we'd be recovered enough to go to the Louvre tomorrow. Yikes! I might need some more foot-soaking.

We totally forgot about our feet as we ate Enoteca's excellent desserts, all of which are made in the restaurant. Beth had hazelnut ice cream with hot chocolate sauce (drowning in hot chocolate sauce, actually) and Charlotte and I had little chocolate cakes with ginger ice cream, strawberries and a drizzle of chocolate sauce. We were floating along on a sugar high on our way back to the hotel; a beautiful, balmy night, 10:00 and not fully dark, the cafes brimming with people drinking, smoking, laughing, talking. Paris.

Ile de la Cite

We awoke to blue skies and warm sun again today. The perfect day to spend on Ile de la Cite with all the other tourists, and the pickpockets and beggars. Seriously, it was a gorgeous day, and after breakfast we walked down to the island where Paris began so many centuries ago. Our first stop was the conciergerie, home to kings as well as prison or holding cell for many waiting to be guillotined during the French Revolution. Marie Antoinette was probably the most famous prisoner. One can't view her prison cell any more because it was turned into a chapel, but there is a very good reproduction of it.

In one room of the conciergerie there is a list of all the people guillotined during that time; there was one "Melin" on the list. The list was interesting because it gave the names and in many cases, the occupations of the beheaded. Some on the list were "wife of" or "widow of" so I guess in that case you were damned by association. There was a comedian on the list; either his jokes weren't that funny or he was joking about the wrong people. Apparently anyone could make the list and lose their head if they associated with, talked about, supported or were married to the wrong people!

After the conciergerie we visited the Sainte Chappelle, which has to be the most beautiful chapel in the world. Of course the upper level, which has the unbelievable stained glass windows, was reserved for the king. The lower level was for the regular folks, and while it's pretty, it's not spectacular. It's hard to believe that during both World Wars, the stained glass was removed from the upper chapel, numbered and stored to be replaced after the war. Staggering to even think about the logistics of a project like that!

Next we walked to the Marche des Fleurs, the Flower Market. I believe this market goes on every day of the year, and they sell flowers, and trees, and vases and garden ornaments and tools, and much more. One day of the week, it becomes a bird market instead of flowers; I've never been to that but I'll bet it would be interesting, and noisy.

Before seeing Notre Dame we decided to get lunch. Of course there is no cafe in the whole area that isn't touristy, so we chose one a little bit off the beaten path, on a small side street. Called "Le Tango de Chat" or The Cat's Tango, the sign features dancing felines. That should have been our first clue that this place was a little wacky. Actually the food was just fine, but the service was what you would think of if Laurel and Hardy ran a cafe. We were seated outside, and a young man came out of the restaurant and gave us menus. We waited quite a while, and no one came to take our order. Then we saw this man walking toward the restaurant from about a half block away. When he got to our table he asked if we were ready to order. We gave him our order even though we didn't think he worked there; maybe they just called him in for the 3:00 rush? Well, he didn't communicate too well with the chef or the other waiter. They brought out a steak though Charlotte had ordered chicken, then tried to give it to Beth, as if saying, "Well, somebody has to eat this!" When it came time for dessert, both Charlotte and I had ordered chocolate mousse. They had run out of mousse and asked what we wanted in place of that. I ordered ice cream and Charlotte ordered apple tart. They brought the tart and asked what kind of ice cream I wanted. I ordered chocolate; they brought the ice cream and asked Charlotte what she wanted for dessert, even though she was just finishing her apple tart. Yikes!! Good thing the food was good. And Jeanne said it is kind of a famous place.

Notre Dame was a treat as usual, although there were hundreds of people walking through the church, and outside in the area in front of the church. One really does have to watch for pickpockets. We walked inside the church, marveling at its beauty; you can't help but feel reverent, no matter what your religious views. Walking around the outside, you cannot even believe that this huge structure was put together so long ago. The technology is incredible as well as beautiful. A most enjoyable walk both inside and out.

After that a short walk to Shakespeare and Company, an English bookstore nearby. We don't buy anything but it's a neat place to just browse. Then back to the hotel for a very short half hour rest. On the road again, to Levallois, where I buy dinner (takeout) because we're all too tired to cook! But we do manage to reheat some quiches, and throw together a salad and some bread and cheese. Juliet is tired, and after her bath and a little play time, she falls asleep for the night. We only had time to read "Pat the Bunny" about 10 times, but I'm sure we'll get the chance to read it again this weekend; Juliet is fascinated with little books.

Matt and Jeanne are tired, too, so we make it an early night. Beth, Charlotte and I are going to Versailles tomorrow, so we need a good night's sleep and an early start. A demain--until tomorrow!

Paris At Last!

Yesterday was a travel day, and you know how those are...even the best ones are stressful and tiring! Last night I had no wifi, so no blog. Tonight I'll try to cover two very busy days in one blog. Here goes: The day started well on Monday as we made our way to the Copenhagen airport. We arrived in plenty of time, which was to be a blessing. (I just know Tom and Brian are shaking their heads and saying, "See? See? It pays to be early so that when The Horrible Thing happens, you have time to fix it.")

I checked in and was waiting for Beth and Charlotte to finish their check-in and join me. I waited, and waited, and waited, and then realized that something was wrong. What was wrong is that Air France now has a 20 kilo baggage limit per person. Not a per bag limit, a per person limit. And Charlotte, having spent four months in Denmark, was quite a bit over that limit, and the airline was going to charge her 300 and some dollars each way. So $600 plus, when a passenger ticket was about $200. After standing in the check-in line for twenty minutes or so, they were told they had to go to another counter to pay the fine. At the other counter, my sister told the man, "We don't even need to take the stupid bag and I don't want to pay $600 to take it! I won't have any money left to spend in Paris!" So the guy said, "Well, maybe you could store it with the lost luggage, down the hall. But you only have ten minutes to either store it, or get it on the plane, so you better hurry." Charlotte frantically repacked her bag so she had all she needed, leaving her books and souvenirs in the bag we would leave behind. She and I then ran down the hall, found the storage place and left the bag, ran back to the check-in counter so that Beth could check the one bag, which was now under the weight. We then collapsed in a heap (figuratively speaking), sweaty and nerve-wracked, and went to our gate where the plane was already boarding. A little too much excitement before lunch. But at least the rest of the day seemed smooth by comparison!

Our flight went well, taxi ride to the hotel went well, and we even had time to stop at a cafe for tea and coffee before meeting Jeanne at her work at 6:00, as she was leaving. We got to go with her to pick Juliet up from the daycare center. It was great to see the daycare center, and meet the very caring young woman who cares for Juliet during the week. But, oh my, seeing Juliet again was incredible. I have been thinking about her every day, but here she is, in the flesh, so to speak, and she has changed so much, and grown so much, that she's like a different baby girl. She is fatter (in a good way), and more responsive, and she smiles more and she laughs now!! She holds her head up and her eyes follow movement much better, and her hands reach for things and grasp things, and oh my goodness, she's just changing every day and I don't like missing that!

Juliet likes her bath now; she doesn't scream at all, in fact she splashes a little bit and seems to enjoy the feel of the water on her skin. She doesn't stare at the mobile over her diaper changing place; she looks instead at the face of the person doing the change. When she takes the medicine for her reflux symptoms, she starts making a face as soon as she sees the tube of medicine. Then she does an artful job of pushing the offending medication out of her mouth with her tongue. She has a few tiny baby books, and she reaches for the pages and seems to be trying to turn them, although this could just be the opinion of her doting parents and grandparents. Grandpere Jean said, "Look! She can read!" So we might be a little overboard.

We had a lovely dinner with Jeanne, Matthew and Juliet Monday night, and we stayed late talking with them. Consequently, we didn't get up very early this morning. We went to breakfast after 10:00 and got a bit of a late start on the day. We made up for it, though. Our first stop was the Arc de Triomphe, always my choice for the first thing to do in Paris. First of all, it's a very neat monument. Secondly, from the top one can see all of Paris, the avenues radiating out from the Arc like spokes. Seeing Paris from up there always makes me want to jump right in and go exploring in this fabulous city.

We set off down the Champs Elysees, stopping to glance in a few of the elite shop windows. We went to the Grand Palais and peeked in at the beautiful art deco glass roof. The exhibit there was closed on Tuesday. Across the street at the Petit Palais, there was an Yves St. Laurent exhibit, and the line was so long we didn't even get in it. We just continued our walk down the Champs Elysees, to the Place de la Concorde, with the Egyptian obelisk and beautiful fountains. Only one fountain of the two was working; in fact, most of the fountains were not working. It seems they should be working already, as there are lots of tourists around!

By this time we needed a rest stop for lunch, and we chose Angelina so Charlotte could have their world-famous hot chocolate. Charlotte and I ordered lunch, and then pastries, and Beth was smart enough to just choose coffee and a pastry. By the time we left we were all on a sugar high. We walked through the Tuileries gardens on our way to the metro, arriving back at the hotel with enough time to rest, shower, and leave for dinner with Jeanne's family and a few friends. The dinner was a sort of surprise birthday party for Matthew, arranged by Jeanne so that we could be there, too.

We had a wonderful evening with family, friends, good conversation in French and English, great food and a lot of smiles all around. I am happy; I am in Paris, the weather is beautiful, my granddaughter is brilliant, the wifi is working, and tomorrow will be another day full of adventures.

Tivoli, 39 Years Later

It's our last full day in Denmark. We're on the move again, from Helsingor to Copenhagen. Breakfast at the Hotel Marienlyst affords us the opportunity to taste Danish cheeses; at least, we think they're Danish. One is a blue cheese, which could very well be Danish, and the other is called "ost" which sounds Danish. They're both OK, not anything to write home about, but good. I think I am spoiled by having eaten so many French cheeses. We will try Danish pastries again later today, just to settle the "which is better: Danish cheese or a cheese Danish" question. At breakfast I also get to try "Danish bacon" which is just like those little cocktail wienies you dip into chili sauce at cocktail parties, except without the chili sauce.

Charlotte has managed to cram four months' worth of clothing, books and souvenirs into two suitcases, a backpack and a laptop case. We struggle, but we make it onto the train in Helsingor and off again in Copenhagen. An even bigger struggle is getting the luggage onto the bus to our hotel. Isn't there some travel rule that says your suitcase shouldn't weigh more than you can lift??

Once more safely ensconced at the Avenue Hotel, we set out to see where Charlotte has been attending school here in Copenhagen, and to get some pastries at the shop she likes best. Her classes are held in a really nice part of town, and it's great to see where she's been the past four months. Unfortunately, the bakery isn't open on Sunday, so we miss out on the "best pastries [Charlotte] has ever tasted". We settle instead on Andersen Bakery back at Tivoli. It is here that the cheese/pastry debate is settled once and for all: Danish pastries win. It's no contest.

Beth and I were at Tivoli, the famous amusement park, 39 years ago. After my junior year abroad study program in Madrid, my family joined me and we visited Copenhagen and a few other cities. Beth would have been 9 years old, but both she and I recalled being at Tivoli and a few other places around Denmark. I don't think Tivoli has changed that much. We remembered the lake, the rides and games of skill. I can clearly recall watching Beth and my Dad paddle a little boat around the lake. Or maybe I don't remember it, but I've seen pictures of it so many times, it seems like a memory. That's probably it. Memory is such an odd thing; experts now say that our memories change constantly.

It's not important to me that the memory I have of that day in 1971 is accurate; rather, I am glad to have that memory because it helps to define my feelings about family, and it reinforces the bonds that tie me to my sister, my brother, my Mom and my Dad. My Dad has been dead for almost 19 years now, but he is still a part of my memory bank. We are connected through our shared stories even more than our shared DNA.

For dinner tonight we went to the Restaurant Akropolis near our hotel, and had a fantastic dinner. We talked a lot about our itinerary in Paris, what each of us wanted to see or do. We're going to have a great time there, weaving our lives together for a short time before we have to return to our own realities. We're going to make more memories; each of us will remember the trip in her own way, but together we will have new stories to share and to cherish. I can't wait to get started on our new memories!

Helsingor

After another great breakfast this morning, we set out for the town of Helsingor and Kronborg Castle, probably the inspiration for Shakespeare's Hamlet. I have to admit that the bad weather is getting us down a bit; it's in the 40's and rainy a lot of the time. This morning it was pouring when we left the hotel, so instead of the bus we took a cab. More expensive, but we didn't get soaked. The forty-five minute train ride to Helsingor took us through many small towns, with lots of glimpses of the sea through the trees and between the houses. They didn't check our tickets; Charlotte says the fine is quite steep if you can't produce a ticket, so that probably keeps most people honest.

Charlotte met us at the train station and we went straight to Kronborg Castle. The castle has a huge moat and imposing ramparts; had it been a nicer day we would have walked around the ramparts. Today we decided to just go inside where it was warmer....barely. The Royal Chambers are not very impressive; there are some nice paintings and gorgeous tapestries on the walls, but there is little furniture and though the rooms are large they seem cold and unwelcoming. Little wonder the royal families stopped coming here in the late 1600's or 1700's, I forget which.

The chapel is truly beautiful--lots of carved wood on the pews and the altar. By contrast with the rest of the castle, it was never destroyed or damaged by fire. Seeing the chapel, one can imagine how the rest of the castle must have looked at one time. Another highlight was the ballroom. It was the largest royal hall in Northern Europe, bigger than any I have ever seen, and lined with gorgeous pictures on the walls. There is a black and white tile floor as well.

We also went through the casemates, not knowing what they were. These gloomy, dark and dank underground passages were used as soldier quarters during times of war. It's hard to imagine that up to a thousand men and their provisions were quartered here, sometimes for months. Beth and I kept walking and walking through these twisted, convoluted underground rooms, thinking we'd never get back to fresh air. Visions of rats and snakes and possibly dead bodies kept crossing my mind. When we finally made it out, Beth said she noticed they didn't collect our tickets for the casemates, and she was pretty sure that if we had gotten lost down there, they wouldn't have come down to find us.

Cold, a little wet and tired, we went to a nearby cafe to have some tea and coffee, and get a sandwich for Charlotte. We stumbled onto a perfect place in an old home, that felt like your neighborhood bar or coffee shop. Lots of different beer bottles surrounding the top of the bar; on the bottom of the bar, the end panels from different wine boxes. Bric-a-brac everywhere; fun, kitschy stuff on counters and table tops; a really nice owner who spoke English (of course) and brought a tray of cookies even though Beth and I only ordered coffee and tea. Charlotte's smorrebrod, which is an open-faced sandwich, had lightly fried fish, shrimp, homemade mayonnaise, fresh dill and caviar. She said it was very good.

After an hour or so spent in a warm, dry place where we enjoyed watching the local men play snooker (we think), we were energized to walk into Helsingor and look around. There is a nice downtown shopping area, with cobblestone streets and some promising shops. At this point it was after 4:00 and the shops were closed, as they will be tomorrow. We said goodbye to Charlotte and headed back to our hotel. Charlotte has a farewell dinner with her friends from the school tonight, then she'll have to pack up all of her stuff from her last four months here.

On the recommendation of the hotel desk clerk, Beth and I went to Amici Miei, an Italian restaurant in Helsingor. We had an incredible dinner (pizza Margherita for Beth, sea bass for me), over which we lingered until we ran out of conversation. I love that about European restaurants; they don't hurry you in the least. They never bring the check until you ask for it, even if you talk for hours without ordering anything else.

Tomorrow we will return to Copenhagen for one last day before flying to Paris on Monday. Hold on, little Juliet! Grandma will be there soon.

Cheese Danish

One of my blog groupies asked if we could find out whether or not Danish cheese is better than a cheese Danish (just to let you know what type of discerning readers we're dealing with here). And, of course, we will certainly have as a goal trying some Danish cheese over the next two days. My niece, Charlotte, who has been in Denmark "studying" for the past four months, tells me that the Danish pastries, cheese and otherwise, are delicious. Charlotte and her mother Beth, my sister, are pictured above, studying the guide book to decide where we'll go to dinner. My family is always concerned about where their next meal is coming from; I don't know why that is. We've always had enough to eat, but our favorite subjects are usually 1) the meal/snack we've just eaten, 2) the next meal/snack we will have, 3) food in general.

And that brings up one of the main reasons I was so excited to go on this trip: Denmark is part of my heritage. My maternal grandfather and grandmother came to the U.S. from Denmark. So I was eager to learn a little about the character of the Danish people. My helpful sister told me that she read recently that the Danes are the most satisfied people in the world, perhaps mainly because they have very low expectations. This actually fits with a prevalent attitude in my family, sort of an Eeyore outlook on life: "Well, things aren't very good, but what do you expect, it's probably what we deserve..."

I've noticed a few things about Danes. Their language, for one thing; they have no words for "please" or "excuse me". I don't think they're rude, because I've had some very nice encounters with Danish people. I've asked for directions and they've asked to look at my map, and together we've found the right way to go. They could have just said, "I don't know where that is." Maybe they're just blunt, and they don't need all these niceties. The other thing is, everyone speaks English, maybe with the exception of really old people. I haven't encountered anyone yet who didn't slip easily into English when I spoke a few words.

They have bike lanes on all the streets in Copenhagen, and lots of bikes everywhere! Stay out of the bike lanes unless you have a desire to be run over. I prefer to think the Danes are healthy and 'green', but maybe they just don't have the gas money. The hotel rooms, restaurant bathrooms and other public areas are spotless, yet there's a lot of litter in the streets. I can't explain that. They seem to dress for comfort; it's been very cold here, and I'm not seeing flip-flops, but rather good, sturdy boots, coats and scarves. I've seen a lot of drinking (almost everyone in the restaurant has some kind of alcohol), but I haven't seen any drunks.

So a lot of contradictions, and no real good feel for the character of the Danes. Just a wonderful place to visit; another good day today. After changing hotels today (we decided not to go to Sweden since there was so much we had not seen in Copenhagen), we headed to the National Museum. It's Danish history, a free museum, and well worth a visit. We spent hours there, and especially enjoyed the "prehistoric Denmark", and "Denmark, 1660 to 2000". Excellent.

Then we met up with Charlotte, did some shopping and had a nice dinner. We walked Charlotte back to the train station where she got her train for Helsingor and we got our bus for the Avenue Hotel. We didn't realize you had to press the button when you wanted the bus to stop, so we went a little beyond our stop but had a nice walk back to the hotel. Tomorrow we will go to Helsingor to see the castle and Charlotte's school for the past four months. And we'll try some Danish cheese.

It's May! It's May!! It Must Be a Holiday!

It's May in Europe and not much time goes by before there's a holiday. Today was a holiday in Denmark (also France), for example, and last night we were discussing what the holiday was. We asked our charming hotel desk clerk, and she wasn't sure either. Something to do with Easter, she thought. Then she shrugged and said, "Well, it's a day off anyway..." Of course, being in the tourist industry, she didn't get the day off. But all the shops were closed, and a lot of Danish people were out and about today.

We finally found a list of holidays in our guide book. It turns out this is the Day of Prayer, 40 days after Easter. Matthew has told me there are quite a few holidays in May, which make it a great month for taking a little time off from work. When a holiday comes on a Thursday, like it did today, you can also take Friday off, and faire le pont, or "make the bridge" between the holiday and the weekend. Numerous holidays seem to make a happier, more mentally healthy work force.

We started our day with a big, healthy breakfast at our hotel. Included with the cost of our room was a generous breakfast: coffee, tea, juices, breads, ham, cheese, cereal, yogurt, fresh fruit, coddled eggs and maybe more (that we didn't try today but will tomorrow). With this meal under our belts, we were fueled for the day. We walked toward the center of town and stopped first at the Dansk Design Center. It's part museum, part gift shop and part exhibition space, showcasing Denmark's best design talent. Really fun place to look around, and to see the award-winning designs from decades past.

After the Design Center we headed across the street to the NY Carlsberg Glyptotek, or the Carlsberg Collection. In 1897, the Carlsberg brewing family donated a beautiful building, an unsurpassed collection of ancient sculptures from Greece, Rome and Egypt, and a large collection of French and Danish paintings, to the city of Copenhagen. This collection is worth a few hours of one's time; plus the cafe is a great place to take a break for coffee or tea and a wonderful pastry! Take it from us...

The pastries fueled us for a long walk down one of the main shopping streets. Although only one or two shops were open, the people-watching was great! We saw where the National Museum was, as well as Christiansborg Palace, both of which we plan to visit tomorrow, before our Copenhagen cards run out, and we leave for Malmo, Sweden.

Back to our hotel to rest up before dinner. We decided to try one of the cafe's in our area: called Bang and Jensen, it's a hot spot for young people. We knew we'd be the oldest people there (sure enough, we were) but it sounded like fun so we went! We got there and all the tables were full so we just stood in the doorway like dorks until someone left their table and we were able to sit down. Once we were seated, we saw that others did pretty much the same thing; you just had to stand around and wait for something to open up. Then we didn't know how to order dinner, but finally figured that out by watching other people, again. So we're not exactly hipsters...but we did all right. The food was great, and inexpensive, too. A very fun spot for the young...at heart. That's us!

Copenhagen

Tom got me to O'Hare Airport in good time. For the first time ever in my life, I walked right up to the SAS counter, showed my passport, hefted my luggage onto the scale and walked away 30 seconds later with my boarding pass. With three hours and five minutes before our flight, I headed over to Terminal 1 to intercept my sister, flying in from Phoenix. It's really fun being able to go on this trip with her, and share these memories with each other and with her daughter and my niece, Charlotte.

The flight is uneventful, if quite bumpy. I'm usually good about sleeping on the plane, but I seem to be keyed up this time; I do get a few hours of sleep, and Beth does, too. We won't be total zombies when we get to Denmark!

Going through customs is easy; as in every other country in the world, just go through the door marked "nothing to declare". The other door is marked "idiot". Of course, we really don't have anything to declare...other than we're happy to be on this trip together, and eagerly awaiting exploring a whole new country.

It's a cold, rainy day in Copenhagen (pronounced with a long "a", according to Charlotte). Getting the train from the airport to the Central Station in Copenhagen turns out to be very easy. We have purchased the 72-hour Copenhagen Card, which will give us free access to buses, trains and the metro as well as most museums and other tourist sites. Once downtown, we easily find our hotel, the Savoy, about five blocks from the station. It's in an area that is vibrant with restaurants, bars and shops. Tomorrow we will do a lot of exploring; for now we just take a short walk after checking in to the hotel.

After that we meet Charlotte so the poor girl can get something to eat. She has had finals all day long and is starved! She looks tired and I imagine she is! After her finals and final papers due, we will have to help her pack up and clean up before we leave for Paris. For now, conversation with her mom and aunt, and a little pizza, pick her up. As she leaves to return to school to work on papers, Beth and I head to the hotel for a little R and R before our dinner.

Dinner at Restaurant Spicylicious turns out to be excellent! I would never have chosen it because of the funky name--sounds like a tourist trap, doesn't it? But my chicken curry is spicylicious, and Beth's tofu thingy is spicylicious, so trust your guide books rather than my intuition. With our stomachs full, we return to the hotel for a good night's sleep before our first full day in Copenhagen. Sweet dreams.

Back Home Again in Indiana

I can't believe I've been home for over two months now; not a day goes by that I don't think about my sweet Juliet, and miss her. I'll see her again in a week, and I can't wait! I know she has grown and changed a lot. She won't remember me, so I'll have to be patient until she feels comfortable with me again. Matt and Jeanne tell me she has a bit of stranger anxiety; I hope she won't cry when I hold her.

I received the most wonderful gift from a dear college friend, Sue, the other day. It's a silver frame with a picture of Matthew, Juliet and me, and a poem by Jacqueline Shaheen. The poem is titled "Between Mother and Son", and it brought tears to my eyes when I first read it, and in fact every time I've read it. Here it is:

My heart is younger, higher

Than any time since I held

Your beginning life against it.

The mirror does not lie.

I am as my mother was,

As I, of course, would never be.

On this day of days, time is gracious.

It has, I think, a special fondness

For first-time grandmothers.

And so leaves one thing unchanged...

I love your daughter as I loved

The son cradled in my arms,

That long ago yesterday,

When I was you and you were she.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Holding Juliet takes me back to the days of Matt's infancy, but without all the fear and uncertainty of being a new parent. Holding her is pure joy, fascination and love. Being a grandmother is the best job I ever had.