Homeward Bound

I've fallen behind a bit on my blogging. I didn't do anything exciting during the past weekend, because I was sick with some virus the kids were spreading around! I'm feeling much better now and am really looking forward to going home in 3 short days. We welcomed the new consultants today and will be busy orienting them tomorrow. Off to Frankfurt on Thursday and then headed to New Orleans on Friday!!

Belgium

It's Sunday evening and I've just returned from a weekend in Brussels. I had a good time, but my countdown has definitely begun. I go home in 12 days! I've had a great time exploring some of Europe, but I'm definitely ready to head back to NOLA, my home and to see friends & family.

I've posted a few pictures from "Europe's Capitol City", as they call it - the land of beer, chocolate (and, as I learned...), tapestries and lace. I saw some beautiful tapestries! Good thing I have to think about how I'm getting this stuff home - that has stopped me from buying many things. I've posted some pictures of Brussels' Grand Place, the city's major square. The cobblestone streets are enchanting. The square is lined with houses from the 17th century, which are ornately decorated - I could not take my eyes off of them! You could gaze for hours at the detail on those buildings!

Another picture that I'm posting is of a small statue of a boy peeing. There are several stories about this little boy but no one seems to know the real reason why he gets to be immortalized in this way. What is known is that the original statue dates back to at least the 1400's. The statue that's there now is a replica. Anyway, this statue is a very popular tourist attraction and there are souveniers everywherewith this little peeing boy on them. Those items all just seemed crude to me, cut I guess people go for them because they are everywhere, as are chocolate shops. I enjoyed this little extra. Most of them will give you a sample, so I just wandered in and out of several of them, sampling along the way!

Riquewihr & Bernkastel-Kues

Until today, you’ve probably never heard of these two towns. You probably didn’t even realize they were the names of towns. Those are the places where I spent this weekend. Yesterday, I drove through the vineyards of the Alsace Region of France to visit the picturesque town of Riquewihr. It was a delightful little village, but it rained most of the day and my day was somewhat uneventful. I did a lot of driving, since Riquewihr is 2½ hours from my hotel, so I had planned to take it easy today, finish the novel I’ve been reading and maybe visit Kusel, a small town near by which was having a festival this weekend.

I headed down to the hotel lobby for breakfast and ran into two co-workers who told me that they were leaving in 15 minutes to go to the Weinfest der Mittelmosel (wine festival of the middle Mosel) in Bernkastel-Kues, which is about an hour drive from our hotel and is in the middle of the Mosel wine region in Germany (on the Mosel River). I almost didn’t go, but decided “you only live once” and opted to check out the wine festival with them. I am so glad that I did! The town was delightful, and the festival seemed to be a big deal, judging by the number of people in attendance. The town is surrounded by vineyards, which produce mostly Riesling wines. There was a parade that lasted 2+ hours and which was dedicated to celebrating wine, numerous booths selling wine and bratwurst (you can expect this EVERYWHERE), and many of the stores in the town were open. Throughout the day, small bands walked around playing their tunes and stopping in front of one of the weinstubes (wine bars) or biergartens (beer gardens) to play for the crowd and then receive free drinks. Good food, good wine, good music and a festive atmosphere. When the end of the day came, none of us wanted to leave.

On another note, I heard from my renter on Friday and he told me that he was back at the house and that it looks good. He said that it looks like the only damage is one board down on the fence line! I’m so excited about this news, especially since it’s the first news I’ve gotten about my house since Gustav hit. Of course, power is still out and I’m sure I have a stinky frig, but I have some great friends who offered to clean it out for me! Now, let’s brace ourselves for the possibility of Ike…

Gustav & The Rhine River

Today, I took a drive along part of the Rhine River. Very pretty. I had to get out of this apartment partly to get my mind off of Gustav and worries that I would lose a second home to a hurricane. I returned to what seems to be some pleasant news: He downgraded to a Cat. 2 and doesn't seem to be doing a whole lot of damage. Of course, we're not out of the woods yet, but I'm hopeful.

The Rhine is a very pretty body of water lined with multiple vineyards and dotted with some charming German towns. Unfortunately, I'm too tired to write about my day or post pictures right now. I may do that later.