We had a grand last day with Kristine. Had friends over to her apartment for dinner and wine Monday night. Kris has Fabulous friends and are a great support network for her. I made 2 kinds of soup and we had fresh veggies, dip, cheese ball, and soup.
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| Friend Suzanne and daughter Sara |
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| Kris, Inga, and Jean with soup. Can you tell we have had some wine? |
Tuesday morning was traveling day. Gorgeous 40 degrees! Sun, sun, sun!!! Got the apartment cleaned up, we got packed, Kris and I planted the pansies that we had bought in her window boxes on her deck, and cleaned up and set the deck up for summer. It was fun working with Kris because she is so darn creative, so we made the deck look like it was in a magazine (Well, not really, but the best we could)
Hanging candle jars on a wire.
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| Kris getting ready. Rosie the Riveter |
Then Josime picked us up at 1;00 and drove us to Shippol airport. Our flight was not until 4:40 but Jerry wanted to be early, and it was fine with the girls. Kris had a doctor appt. at 4:00 so we just decided to humor him and get there early. Good thing!
We walk in and look at the departure board. Our flight is there: Non-Stop Amsterdam to Minneapolis. CANCELLED!!! OMG. Jerry freaks (not really, but it makes a better story). I go to KLM desk and she says, "Well now, let's get you home". She was so nice, booked us Amsterdam to Montreal, Montreal to Chicago, Chicago to C.R. Leaving.......just about NOW! But we are flying "Standby". She says, "Don't worry, you'll get on".
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| Kris and Josime waiting for KLM to come up with a solution. |
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| Josime had made a lemon chocolate cake (we would call them bars) for Lola & Bob that we bring home |
So we get to the gate and they are waiting for us, go through customs, bag is too heavy because of the cake, pay the fine, get on the plane and we have been upgraded to Economy comfort! It gives you 4-5 more inches of leg room, and let me tell you that 5 inches feels like the difference between a Volkswagen and a Cadillac back seat in a 7 hour flight. So, all's well that ends well.
People have asked, best part....favorite part....best food....favorite place? Really, there aren't any or we couldn't choose. We love Europe and how they live. We think the European people really have priorities in the right place. Family is top. Fun is too. Money is not that important, or clothes, but beauty (art, architecture, color...) is really important. Quality is huge and I watched women find the best bunch of broccoli at a market, tasting cheese before they buy it, finding the vendor that they thought had the best stuff. The people that we met were so nice to us, never cross or impatient with our poor Italian, French, or Dutch, or stupidity. Jerry had a man spend 10 minutes helping him buy stamps at the post office while the other people waited patiently. That just wouldn't happen here. Or when I got lost in the museum, the guards were so nice to me. They are polite to each other ALWAYS. They greet you when you walk in and when you walk out of a store, and not because some marketing guru says that's how to get more customers, but because they are polite. They say thank you over and over and over. We found more easy smiles, more patient demeanor, more willingness to tease and kid than you find here. And, we have made life long friends with some.
So, my favorite part? Going and living like a local for a while, even though we were FAR from locals, it is a good life. We will definitely go again, see different things, but go again for sure. And that is the day after I got home, and I am exhausted. Imagine what I will say when I find the money for the next trip? Thanks for sharing this experience with us. It was fun writing to you each day. Ciao!
