Leaving for Paris via Germany

A week from tomorrow, May 26, Maggie and I will be heading out on our semi-annual trip to Europe. Maggie always goes twice each year and I go at least once, but always try to go a second time. This will be my only trip this year due to conflicting events.

We’ll spend the first three days at Maggie’s parents house, just north of Duesseldorf. This is, in my opinion, getting the worst part of the trip over with first. I only wanted to stay two days, but Maggie convinced me we’d be short-changing her parents, and so I agreed to a third day.

Then we’ll be training over to Paris for five nights – the extra night for the in-laws came from Paris. I am really looking forward to this as it has been nine years since I’ve been to Paris. We’ve been in France a couple of times, most notably three years ago when we rented a 40 foot canal boat and toured the Alsace region of Paris, including a delightful stay in Strasburg.

While in Paris, we are going to the Louvre, taking a night bicycle tour, seeing a concert at the Theatre Gaitie in Montparnass, and spending a day at the French Open tennis tournament. The rest of the time is planned for people watching at various cafes around Paris and, hopefully, a jazz club or two.

We are then going to take the fast train – 325 kph – to Frankfurt and spend three days with Maggie’s sister. We then return to Maggie’s parents for two days and a meeting of the cousins, ehich we haven’t done for about five years.

Five years ago, I met many of Maggie’s cousins, many of whom I had never met. Many came out of the former eastern sector of Germany. As is tradition, they all brought their favorite home-made schnapps and, of course, I had to drink with each of them separately. Man, that’s a lot of schnapps and a lot of cousins.

Then we spend one last day with Maggie’s parents – you see what I mean about too much – and then fly back to the USA where I am scheduled to have orthroscopic surgery on my knee. After two weeks in Europe, I will need the rest.