My six things.....

Cathy tagged me and asked me to list 6 "wierd" things about myself. This is what I came up with.

1) I eat macaroni and cheese with ketchup. It's the only way I'll eat it. When I make my own macaroni & cheese from scratch (w/velveeta or cheddar cheese) I'll add a little worstchester sauce to the mix.

2) I like wear a corset. I buy them here

3) I ignore the prompts etc. that Netflix sends me letting me know what movies are arriving. I set up my laptop, turn out the lights and put the movie in the DVD player and wont' know what's playing 'till I hit the start button. I like the surprise. And then, I like to pause the movie and google stuff from it.

4) Whenever I eat chinese food and the waitress puts the fortune cookies on the table, I won't let anyone touch them until I have picked mine out. I think that if someone else touches your fortune cookie, it ruins the fortune.

5) I have a weak stomach and if I don't remove something from my refrigerator within the first 2 weeks, it will sit there for months until my friend John comes over and removes it for me. He's very sweet about it. He did ask me once not to wait 6 months to remove something but I get embarrassed by it so I keep putting off asking him to do it.

6) I wait too long to scoop out the litter from my cat box. Both kitties are very patient about this but believe me, when I finally get around to doing it, it's not a pretty site. Each time I tell myself I'll clean it out more frequently. The problem is that I get the best smelling kittie litter I can find AND I feed them Science Diet. Their feces doesn't really smell bad with this cat food so I don't smell it. It's usually the urine smell that hits me and makes me clean it out.

Ok, Ya'll, that's all I could come up with.

Billy-isms

Ok, so my friend Billy takes me to see the Nutcracker Suite last night. I think I've mentioned him before, he's the one with whom I went to see E.O. Wilson's lecture. Billy is my Harvard Grad friend who went on to get his PhD in Biochemistry THEN proceeded to medical school. (I mention his credentials for 'new visitors' to my blog. I just to keep everyone up-to-date.)

We have this thing. Neither one of us like sweet 'n low, so any time we go to a restaurant we measure it's class by the sweetener they offer.

Before the ballet, we went to Birra Poretti's downtown for dinner and saved dessert for after the ballet. Who can resist dessert after watching the sugar plum ferry scene? So, anyway, we go back to BP after Nutcracker and order dessert and coffee. The restaurant was dark and all I could see were sugar and sweet 'n low packets. I noticed that Billy pulled out one of his "Equal" packets; he always carries his own. I tease him about carrying his own stash.

I proceed to drink my coffe and eat my canolli. After a minute or two, he hands me a napkin. It's the chemical formula for Aspartame. It is such a Billy thing to do.

Yeah, he's geeky in that way but he's really cute and sweet. I told him I wanted to keep the napkin. He asked me if he should sign it; he's convinced he'll be famous one day.

By the way, after a second look, we noticed that tucked between the sugar and sweet 'n low were Splenda packets. I just couldn't see them because it was dark. So, BP is back up the class scale.

Ouchie Pooh

I was in a 3-car accident last night. I was the lead car and thankfully didn't hit anyone in front of me. No injuries, just a boo boo on my car.

For once I've been hit by someone with insurance! I've had a few fenderbenders over the last 5 years and no one seems to have insurance but this time, it doesn't have to come out of my pocket.

Well, that's all I have to report for now.

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

Introducing Musetta - The Umbrella Cockatoo

Hi Everyone, I'm Musetta! But when mommy says it, it's more like "It's Musetta! The greatest bird in the whole wide world". You would think I was in a circus or something.

I'm going to be famous one day and make lots of money doing tricks and stuff. And when I am, I'm going to buy me a peanut farm, 'cause I love peanuts. You know, I'll do just about anything for a peanut. I like men, too.

My favorite toy is the Kong Tuffy I love it so much I try to go to sleep with it but everytime I try, it just slips through my tallons and falls to the bottom of my cage. It wakes me up when that happens. I do arm curls with it, I drink water with it, I like to poke one of my tallons into the center and bounce it off my head and I play with it on top of my cage like I'm a monster. I have lots of things I can do with my Kong Tuffy.

I don't travel much. One time, mommy forgot to lock my cage and I decided to explore. I found all sorts of cool stuff. There was a purse that was hanging from a door knob and I chewed the bottom off. And then I found a pen on the floor and I opened it up and spread ink all over the place. And then I found the phone cord and decided to chew through it. I think I made her mad when I did these things.

A couple of years ago I laid some eggs. Mommy really freaked out and she called my doctor. All I remember her saying was "at least we know she's a girl now". Duh! I could of told you that!

Ok, I gotta go now. I have important things to do, like act like a clown, hang upside down on my toys and annoy mommy with my loud shrieking.

We're taking it slow

This is why I hate Meredith Grey's character so much. So, the episode begins with her and McDreamy in a tub together. He is kissing her on the neck in the tub and she is saying, "hey, we're taking it slow".

She is taking a warm bubble bath surrounded by lighted candles WITH HIM and that is her way of saying "we're taking it slow".

So, what else is he supposed to be doing in the tub with her? Talk about makeup?

Another new toy for Mama!

Yes indeedy! I finally got me a camera. So, I thought I would start with a photo of my quilt. Below you will see the squares I have completed thus far. The hoop is on the square I'm currently working on.


I have a lot of work still left to do. I have many squares that still need quilting work.

Below is a close of up Sun Bonnet Sue. I am quilt stitching butterflies; in this square I have embroidered 2 butterflies. This square is special because the black fabric comes from a quilt my sister Diane is doing. So, I have embroidered her name on this square as well.



Isn't she cute? She is the ONLY square with two embroidered butterflies. All the other little girls have only one. The embroidered butterflies are in different areas of each square.

Each girl has the same blue bonnet.

Here, below is Overall Joe. I am quilt stitching little fish and the embroidered fish are in different phases of jumping out of the water. In some cases you only see splashed water where the fish is supposed to be.

Each Joe has a blue blue shirt that matches Sue's bonnet. Each Sue has a different skirt and there is an overall Joe whose overalls match her.

I can't wait to finish this quilt. It needs to be washed.

Boy did it take a long time to load these photos.

The end isn't right

I watched Desperate Housewives last Sunday and it's on again tonight. There is something about the end that bothers me. This is only going ot make sense if you saw it. If you didn't see it and you plan on seeing it (you can do so at www.abc.go.com) then this will spoil it for you.

They kill the woman at the end of the episode. There isn't any reason to do so; she's unarmed.

She gets hit in the head with a can of food and drops the gun. Then she gets into a struggle with someone. Then a person standing by picks up the gun and shoots her in the head. Why? It wasn't necessary. The woman is about 50 something so it should be pretty easy for one or two people to restrain her.

There was no need to kill her and it bothers me that they did it that way.

Something I've never done before

I'm one of those people that is called "brand loyal". I have only one gas card. I have the same insurance I've had since I started driving. I was raised in a Republican household and I vote Republican. And if I don't vote Republican, then I vote Independent. In the early 90's I couldn't bring myself to vote "the enemy", so I went half-way and voted for Perot.....twice.

This time, I went all out and voted Democrat. I am so angry with the party and I had no other recourse. That was it. That was all I knew to do. And now I discover, I'm not alone. There are other loyal Republicans who feel as I do that the party is letting them down.

My issue is not so much with the war on Iraq as much as it is women's issues and a lack of tolerance overall for people who see things differently. I sincerely think that the Republican party is just a bunch of white, self-righteous, christian men who believe they know what's better for us than we do. I'm sick of it. Really, I am.

I love Mac

For those of you who have never heard of Mac Cosmetics let me be the first to tell you about it. It is a fabulous line of cosmetics. I was referred to them by a colleague last year and I have fallen in love with this product. If you haven't heard of them before it's because they don't really advertise, they've grown by word of mouth.

It isn't just the cosmetic but it's also the people who sell it. They are the best.

Yesterday, I used the very last drop of fluid foundation and I went to the Rice Village to get a replacement. Unfortunately they were out of my color so they called a store in the Galleria. I don't know which one they called but I headed over to Nordstrom's and went to the Mac counter there.

They, too, were out of my color. The rep was so sweet. She created a sample for me to take home and use until their shipment arrived. That's not the first time they've done something like that. Early this year I wanted to switch the type of foundation I was using and wasn't sure which color I wanted. The store in Rice Village gave me at least a week's worth of samples in the two shades I liked to help me decide.

And the girls there aren't snobby at all! They take the time to really help you get the right color and look.

So, if you haven't tried Mac, yet, get ye to a store near you. It is a fabulous cosmetic.

If you're happy and you know it.......

Musetta, my little umbrella cockatoo, loves peanuts. She'll do just about anything for a peanut, even a stale peanut. She doesn't seem to like peanut butter though. I think because it's messy.

One time, way back when, I shared some of my spaghetti with her. In order to do so, I had to sit on the floor and put some in a little bowl for her. She likes to eat what I eat sometimes. Anyway, after eating a couple of sauce covered strands of spaghetti, she walked over to me and wiped off her beak on my blue jeans. So, I'm pretty sure that peanut butter just looks and feels very messy to her.

But when it comes to peanuts, all you have to do is say the word and she stops whatever important thing she is doing and comes to full attention.

I made up this little song that I sing to her sometimes. It goes to the tune of the song "if you're happy and you know it clap your hands."

So my little song goes:

If you say the word peanut, you better mean it.
If you say the word peanut, you better mean it.
If you say the word peanut, by god you better mean it.
If you say the word peanut you better mean it.

Yeah. I definitely need a life.

To Be or Not To Be

My friend, John, and I went to see the opera Don Giavanni. This was written by Mozart and is based on the tale of Don Juan. It was a very long opera but was well done. Mozart has a clever way of telling a story.

The charactor of Don Giavanni is one of those who on the one hand is all charm and on the other a worthless philanderer. You love him and "hate" him at the same time. Mozart doesn't really portray Don's evil side as darkly as he could so hate is too strong a word to represent any ill feelings you may have for the guy. Maybe reproach would be more appropriate a description.

On our way back from the opera we were discussing this delimma, this love 'em hate em' character. He had one named Trent in his musical Deep in the Heart. Trent was an abusive asshole but he was so incredibly sexy and charming that it wasn't difficult to see how a woman could be seduced into his lair. I brought up a movie that came out in 1995 called Richard III and asked John if he had seen this movie. This was a really good example of a guy you liked and loathed at once.

He asked me if this movie had Kenneth Branagh in it. Kenneth had played many Shakespearian roles and John started telling me of the one he played in Hamlet. He went on to tell me that Robin Williams was in this movie, too. So then the conversation goes as follows:

"Really, Robin Williams was in it? Who played Brutus, then?"

"Brutus?"

"Yeah, you know, 'et tu brute?'"

"No, that line was from Julius Caesar"

"Oh. Then who played Hamlet's girlfriend. What was her name, Sophoclese or something?"

"That was Ophelia"

"Ah, yes, Ophelia. I remember. She gets killed because she is standing behind a curtain and Hamlet stabs her"

"No, no, her father was standing behind the curtain and Hamlet, thinking he was someone else, stabs him. As a matter of fact, Ophelia goes crazy from the fact that Hamlet murders her father and she frantically runs into the woods and dies."

"Oh yeah, Hamlet dies, too. He commits suicide, right? Poison I believe."

"Hamlet dies and there is poison involved but he doesn't commit suicide."

"This is the play with the witches, right?"

"Witches? That's MacBeth"

"Doesn't Hamlet start with 'There is something rotten in the state of Denmark?'"

"Yes, but I don't see what that has to do with witches."

Hmmm, I think I need to go back and re-read some Shakespeare.

Cyberspace to Paris - Final Chapter

From the Eiffel Tower

April 14, 1998

Andy and I woke up on time and were out the door headed to the airport as scheduled. I would have liked to talk to his father a while longer; he seemed very interesting.

Once we arrived at the airport, we had one final cup of coffee together and had our last conversation. We embraced one another and shared our last kiss before I boarded the plane. I turned back around one last time; I can still see him walking away.

Based on the way Andy interacted with me during this trip, I interpreted him as being very sincere towards me. He was attentive and sweet. All in all, I loved very moment we spent together, even when I went to the Louvre by myself. I wanted nothing more than to wake up every morning and see his jeans and tennis shoes on my bedroom floor. I don't know how Andy felt about me since I didn't go there with him.

Andy and I took different roads for our lives. His dreams and goals were different from mine. In retrospect, I had a wonderful adventure with him and believe that if I had the opportunity, I would do it all over again and again and again.

I have decided not to meet people over the internet anymore. The outcome can be too painful and I want this one adventure to be the last of its kind. I suspect that I will never experience anyone like him again.

There will always be a special place in my heart for him.

Kisses to you, my friend.

Cyberspace to Paris - Part 17 & 18

April 12, 1998

Andy and I walked from our hotel to the Eiffel Tower and decided we would climb it together before leaving Paris. Since Andy was averse to elevators (claustrophobia) we climbed only as high as we were allowed to climb.

It was very cold that afternoon. All the while that we were in line I kept thinking of ear muffs and warm gloves. We waited in that line for 1.5 hours waiting our turn to climb. Just 15 minutes before getting to the entrance a couple with a small child cut in line in front of us. We were completely stunned by this and since we couldn't tell what language they spoke didn't really know how to address it. It was really interesting how we talked about it later that evening from the hotel.

After climbing the tower, we sort of just wandered around the city. We didn't do a lot. It was cold and we were both tired. I was feeling depressed about the trip coming so close to an end. I was growing fond of Andy and didn't want to leave him and yet, I was also looking forward to just being home. Traveling does that to you after a while.

April 13, 1998

Andy and I had our last breakfast together in France this morning. We loaded up the car, closed out our bill and headed for Calais to catch the ferry to Dover.

The weather in Paris this morning was beautiful. The sun shone brightly and it was a sight I didn't see a lot as we seemed to find cloudes wherever we went. Then, about 45 minutes outside of Paris, we hit a snowstorm. Finally, we arrived in Calais and caught the ferry.

On the ferry we met a really nice couple. The conversation was interesting enough and it made the ride go by quickly. I think they were amused by our story. Like most English they seemed to want to know from what "class" Andy came. Once on shore, we immediately pulled into a petrol station for fuel. The odometer on Andy's car read 150300. We went 100 miles over our budget. Not bad.

Since we ran out of money, we had to stay the night at his father's house; I think it was just outside of London. I was able to meet his father, stepmother and adorable little half-sister. I liked all of them.

His father booted the girl out of her room for the night and let Andy and I share a blow up matter, I believe. I can't recall if it was a blow up or not but it was one mattress. Andy was really perplexed that his father would do this because as he said "what if we hadn't gotten along?". I guess he thought his father was being rather presumptuous. It was a pretty big mattress, so if needed, Andy and I could find our own space.

I was so tired, I fell asleep right away. I was so afraid to allow myself to feel any closer to Andy than I already felt. I didn't know how to even express what I was feeling and didn't know if Andy wanted to hear it, especially in his father's house.

I regretted that this was our last day together. I woke up in the night to find Andy turned on his side (away from me and toward a light), he was reading. I can still see his back. I didn't touch him, I didn't want him to know I was awake, I wish I could turn back the clock.

Cyberspace to Paris - Part 16

April 11th, 1998

I made a big mistake this morning. There were a lot of emotions going on inside of me and I had reached a point where I needed to spend some time alone. Coming to Paris from Houston is a big ordeal and it's not cheap. I had no idea when I would have another opportunity to be here.

Andy's claustrophobia and the limited bus schedule was restricting what I was going to be able to do in the city and I really really wanted to go to the Musee de Louvre; I had missed it the last time I came to Paris. There was no way to get there from our hotel without taking the below ground subway and he would not get on the subway.

I left Andy at the hotel and went to the Louvre. He was very angry at me for doing this. I think he thought I was punishing him. In my defense, prior to our trip, I had told him that I would come to a point in this trip where I would need some time alone. It is very much a part of my personality to take time in isolation to regroup.

I spent the morning in the Louvre. The works there were beautiful and I especially enjoyed the french paintings of the 17th - 19th centuries. Collet, Ingres, Boulangeais...there are so many to name. Unfortunately, I did not find any of Bouguereau's paintings there. He is my favorite artist.

I observed local artists coming into the museum with their sketch pads. They drew the sculptures and sketched some of the famous paintings that were displayed. The works were so beautiful and there is so much context within the paintings themselves. I was so overwhelmed by the beauty of what I saw that I was brought to tears.

When I returned to the hotel several hours later, it appears as though neither one of us were harboring any bad feelings towards one another. I was disappointed that he didn't leave the hotel. He was still upset with me but I apologized for the way I handled the morning and we talked it out a bit. He succeeded in helping me see that there were other ways I could have handled the situation.

I suggested that we count our money to see how much we had left. We decided we could splurge on one final meal. I picked out my leather skirt and a silk sweater. Andy picked out the jewelry and lipstick I would wear; then we headed out the door for an Italian restaurant.

I was wearing thigh high stockings with the rubber grips. For some reason, these stupid things would not grip my thighs, so halfway to the restaurant they started to slip down my legs. Andy and I had to continue to duck into coves along the buildings where I could attempt to pull the stockings back up. We finally found a restaurant where I rectified the problem.

It was at this point that I realized I was falling in love with Andy. I would be heading back to the states in about three days and I had nothing waiting for me.

There was a young couple who lived in the same apartment community as myself. He was about to graduate from law school. Two days before this trip, he pulled me aside and told me that if Andy asked me to marry him to do it. He told me not to worry about anything, he would put together the legal matters for me once I returned. You had to understand their story in order to appreciate where he was coming from.

Cyberspace to Paris - Part 15

April 10th, 1998

This day is Good Friday. We got up, had breakfast and headed into Paris.

Since this was Easter Weekend and Good Friday was a holiday, Andy and I were greeted with very long lines, everywhere. We started first at the l'Arc the De Triomphe. Andy had this thing where he didn't want me to ask anyone to take our photos because he didn't want the French to know we were tourists. However, if the person we approached was Asian, then it would be ok to ask them to take our photo. Luckily, I found such a person at the L'arc and we had our photo taken at the top of the structure.

After this we wandered over to Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. We were really discouraged by the long lines. I told him about Feyrouz Deli, a Lebanese place, where I had my first shwarma sandwich 10 years ago. We decided to go there and eat. I thought I knew exactly where it was, but 10 years was a long time ago and it took us a couple of hours and a few beers to find it. But we did find it and I discovered it had grown to a full service restaurant. The food was outstanding and we had a great dinner.

I could tell that Andy's claustrophobia was bothering him on the subway and unfortunately, there was only one above ground line that ran. Fortunately it was the one that took us to the Eiffel Tower. Since this was Easter Weekend, the buses were on a very small schedule and many of them were not running. So, we were pretty much forced to use the subway. I could tell that this was going to restrict our movement in the city.

Cyberspace to Paris - Part 14

April 9th, 1998

Andy and I took breakfast downstairs in their kitchen. Mr. Nouri, always the perfect host, suggested I make a selection from his library of music to listen to while enjoying breakfast. I requested Vivaldi's Four Seasons. It is my favorite classical piece.

As we pulled out of the driveway, Mr. Nouri was taking his empty wine bottles to his trash can. He held them up to us and he said (In French) "When the bottle is empty, life is full. When the bottle is full, my life is empty" Mr. Nouri believes that wine is to be shared with friends.

We arrived at our hotel in Paris at 3:30 that afternoon. When checking into hotels and such in Paris it is customary to produce your passport. I'm not sure why this is. The day before, while touring the castles, Andy and I had stopped in Chinon to exchange the remainder of our travelers checks. The woman at the bank did not remember to give my passport back to me after verifying the authenticity of my signature. Luckily there was a division of that same bank just a block down the street from this hotel. I was able to get my passport sent to me and it arrived the next morning.

Up until our arrival in Paris, I had not given great consideration to the way I was feeling towards Andy. I'm a slow burner and I needed to process what I was learning before coming to a conclusion about him.

It was difficult at first because he was like a stranger to me. He also seemed nervous, as was I and I felt some self-imposed pressure to continue the feelings I had for him while we interacted on the internet. It took a day or so for me to overcome those feelings. In some cases I just decided to go with it in spite of what I was or wasn't feeling.

Here, in Paris, I felt a flood of emotions towards Andy. I don't know how much of that was complicated by the fact that we were in Paris, but I know that the feelings were quite strong.

We both decided we wanted to "start Paris" in the morning so we opted to stay in the hotel and eat picnic food and listen to music.

Cyberspace to Paris - Part 13

April 8th, 1998

Andy and I had no idea what we were going to do with this day when we woke up. Not to worrie, Mr. Nouri had already anticipated that. When we sat down for breakfast, he presented us with a map that highlighted a loop around the area with 6 sites (castles) for us to visit. We made all six of them that day.

When we returned, we were tired so we took a quick nap. After an hour we went downstairs in an effort to head out for dinner. Mr. Nouri had just opened a bottle of wine and indicated that he wanted Andy and me to sit and share it with him. His wife joined us as well but she didn't talk much. Mr. Nouri was somewhat chauvinist and didn't seem to want his wife to talk so she sort of would nod off during conversation. This made both of us uncomfortable.

By about 9:00 we were able to escape and find dinner. This was the best meal of our trip. We went to a place called L'Auberge St. Pierre. The host was so incredibly polite as were the waiters. Andy was so cute. He looked at me across the table and told me to select his meal and order for him. He wanted to see how well I knew him. I did well.

When we got back, we were hoping not to alert Mr. Nouri of our return because we knew he would want to talk. The clever man had one of those motion detecting lights on his drive way. There was no way of returning without anyone knowing. Sure enough, he was waiting up for us.

Down to his celler he went and produced one of the nicest brandies I've ever experienced. I want to say it was Napolean III. He was not approving of my choice to drink this as I think he believed there was a more appropriate drink for women that I should be enjoying. I'm not sure if he offered it to me or not but I opted for the brandy. We stayed up until close to 1:00 visiting with him. His english was limited so I had to translate for Andy. I don't think that Nouri had access to the internet so we weren't sure he understood how we knew one another. It didn't matter really.

This was probably the best day we had of the entire trip.

Tomorrow, we go to Paris!

Cyberspace to Paris - Part 12

April 7th, 1998

We had breakfast this morning at the hotel restaurant. We got a really charming table with a great view of the harbor. Shortly after being seated, a stately, elderly couple entered the dining room. Andy and I were the only ones there at the time. "Madame, Monsieur" they each said as they entered the room; I'm not sure they looked at us while acknowledging us. It's customary for the French to acknowledge the room upon entering and to bid farewell to everyone when exiting. It's just that the way they did it seemed very cool. Oh, and she had her small dog with her which she proceeded to feed at their table. Anyone surprised?

These next two days were really a lot of fun. We decided to travel West towards Paris about 150 miles and stay in Saumur.

So, along the Loire we went stopping once at Challone to take advantage of the market. There we bought fresh bread, cheese, meat and fruit. Then we found a picnic spot along the water and ate sandwiches and drank Orangina. I love Orangina but to me it tastes better in France than it does here.

When we arrived in Saumur, we found the tourist office where they had brochures listing bed and breakfasts in the area. Andy and I settled for the cheapest one, which was realy a chambre d'hote - basically a room someone "rents" from their house. Promptly we phoned for availability and directions.

This little chambre d'hote was absolutely charming, and so were the couple who owned it: Mr and Mrs. Nouri.

Our room was cozy. The first thing that one notices apon entering are the little mirrors scattered throughout. They had the little "Happiness is...." characters on them that were so popular in the 70's.

Then, there was the issue with the lights. The light switches didn't make sense. One outside switch would turn on the lights across the room and inside the bathroom. A separate switch turned on lights near the entrance of the room and other parts of the room. It was really sort of comical trying to determine what lights were connected with the multiple switches.

And finally the bathroom that was adjoin to the room; it was separated only by a curtain, no door. Andy and I felt we knew each other well enough to be able to work through this one. We were correct and we even enjoyed teasing each other about it.

After we put our bags away we went downstairs and sort of wandered through the their house. We discovered an endless music collection and an array of different gadgets and other things. We stepped into the kitchen and waited for Mr. Nouri to come talk to us.

He was really quite a character; an older man with a very big white mustache. He wore wooden shoes, like the ones you see from Holland. He had two pairs: one pair for inside and one for outside. His inside shoes were painted orange and had been painted 7 times. Neither Andy nor myself were sure if he meant 7 different times or 7 coats of paint. His outside shoes were painted black. He didn't mention how many times they had been painted.

He also owned the old property across the road where he was pounding out walls and discovering secret rooms.

That first day in Saumur, Mr. Nouri sent Andy and me into the local town to see the work of a local artist who specialized in illumination. He was really quite talented and knew everything there was to know about the subject. He was very cute, too.

Andy and I then headed back to the house, we showered and went out for crepes from one of the local eateries. Always a tasty treat.

Cyberspace to Paris - Part 11

April 6, 1998

We were awakened by a knock at the door. The hotel brought us breakfast; we were not expecting that. So, we had breakfast in bed which was really really nice.

When I checked us out of the hotel, I noticed that they forgot to add the wine to our tab so I brought it up and paid it. Andy got mad at me for this. I just didn't feel right not paying for it. If we had driven off and I noticed, then I would have blown it off.

Off we went to Le Croisic, only 77 miles from Quiberon, another harbor town. I don't really recall the reason behind the places we decided to visit. It may just have been that when Andy and I laid out our itenerary, we took turns deciding where we would stay. Mont St. Michel was definitely my pick.

When we arrived we discovered our hotel was just off the water. The weather was slightly warmer but not by much and it was still very wet. We wandered up and down the coast for a while and window shopped. Later we found a bar where I had a demi-fraise. That, my friends, is a beer with a strawberry flavor added to it. A pinache is another similar drink but it is a beer mixed with their version of lemonade. Both are rather tasty. Andy drank his beer straight, like the respectable man that he was.

We noticed the people here did not seem happy. They didn't talk to one another and barely seemed to even acknowledge each other. Everyone seemed to have a dog as their companion. When we were ready to have dinner, we set out to find a restaurant with a decent selection of seafood; dictionary in hand. My vocabulary as it relates to seafood was limited. It seemed that all the restaurants had a sign indicating that they were pet friendly. "Your dog welcome here" is basically how it translated. It seemed so odd to me to come from such a happy place as Quiberon which was only 77 miles away to here where no one smiled.

The retaurant we ate at was called L'Atlantique. At first we were the only couple in the restaurant then after about 20 minutes another couple arrived. After they had been there only about 10 or 15 minutes they started to argue. She slapped him and then left him at the restaurant. Then she returned only about 15 minutes later with her dog! How sad. It seemed that these people could find companionship only from the canine variety.

When we went back to the hotel we hung out at the bar and stayed up late talking. I wish I remembered the things we talked about because we did a lot of it. Some of it personal, some just observations about life and our adventure.

The next two days would be the days that Andy and I decided we would just "wing it", so we didn't have a specific destination yet in mind. We did, however, know that we needed to be heading in the direction of Paris.

Cyberspace to Paris - Part 10

April 5, 1998

I didn't sleep well that night but we got up as planned, had breakfast (croissant and coffee) and headed South.

Our first stop was St. Malo where I bought stamps and post cards to send to friends back home reassuring them that indeed I was still alive and not hacked up in a million pieces. We found a little cafe where I wrote my cards while drinking down hot chocolate. Then we decided to walk around a little.

St. Malo is a very interesting little town. First of all it is surrounded by a concrete wall and throughout the town there is a lot of concrete; we didn't notice much green at all. The weather was very very cold and the concrete seemed to emphasize that. The laughter of the children and the friendly people around us seemed to take the edge off the cold.

I observed a very strong tie to WWII in this town. I think that when the Germans were retreating from U.S. they set the place on fire and just about destroyed it. I remember while in the cafe seeing a large photograph on the wall that was of a boat carrying U.S. soldiers back to a New York Harbor. It looked like it had been taken in the '40's. There seemed to be a strong appreciation here for the U.S. but I never really had a chance to ask anyone; it was just something I sensed. I regret that we didn't spend more time here.

We continued heading South to our destination: Quiberon. This is where I learned a couple of interesting things about Andy. The first thing was his claustrophobia. I may have already known this about him but this was the first time I was able to really observe it. Our hotel room was on an upper floor and our bags were too heavy to carry up the stairs. Andy's solution was to put the bags on the elevator, press the button of the appropriate floor, then run up the stairs to meet the bags. That was hard core.

This particular hotel was located in a suburban area. When we stood at our window, we could watch children playing soccer in the field below.

We arrived here early afternoon and the weather was slightly warmer here than it was at Mont St. Michel so we decided to walk into town and wander along the coast. Both of us were in the mood for pizza so we set out to find a decent place to eat pizza and decided we would have dinner there later in the evening. This is the second thing I learned about Andy. Andy had to see all the options before deciding where we could settle down to eat. I was ok with this because I noticed that he did eventually decide but it became a routine throughout our trip.

Once we knew where we would have dinner, we headed to the sea wall to take a stroll. We weren't aware that the sea was as angry as it was because not long after getting there, we were drenched by a wave. Soaking wet, we found a bar to hang out and dry. This was really nice because the bar itself slowly started to fill up with people, even young people and children. Andy and I felt like we had stumbled across the most happening place in the village and everyone seemed so happy here.

We left and overstuffed ourself on pizza. (Interestingly, they put a raw egg in the middle of the pizza). When we walked back to our hotel we were both still a little damp and we were cold. So we raced each other back to the hotel, the winner would get to use the tub first. I lost so while he bathed I went down to the lobby and got a bottle of wine and glasses.

We grabbed the blanket off the bed and tried to cover ourselves with it while sitting on our terrace with the wine but it was just too cold, so we decided to spend the rest of the evening inside drinking wine and talking. Andy and I had our first kiss.