Getting to France--not an easy task

Trip Start Apr 30, 2006
1
12
Trip End May 12, 2006


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Where I stayed
private home
(Lembach hotels)

Flag of France  , Alsace,
Sunday, April 30, 2006

      I had a bit of trouble getting to France. The plane from Cleveland to Chicago was delayed by weather in Chicago. They said it would be 2 hours, which would have meant that I'd miss my plane, but it turned out to be only about 30 minutes, so I thought I was okay. However, once we got to Chicago, our gate wasn't ready so we sat on the taxiway another 30 min. Finally, we got to the gate and off the plane. BUT, the cargo door was jammed and we couldn't get our luggage. They sent for a mechanic, got it open, and I got my bag. The wheelchair pusher (I always ask for a wheelchair in big airports since I can't walk fast or far) got me to the gate for the international flight just as they were starting to board, so we were ok. Carol and I weren't seated together, but we were able to convince some people to move so we could be together and talk. The flight was wonderful. We had a chicken and rice dinner (okay, sort of Lean Cuisine), then she went back to her seat and we both tried to sleep. We got a couple of hours or so. We got into Frankfurt fine, zipped through immigration and customs thanks to my wheelchair pusher, then to the rental car place. We were upgraded from an Opel to a Mercedes A-class (thank you, Avis). It is a cute little car, four doors, automatic, plenty of room for our stuff, and rides very well. We had to fill it up 3 times-at about €35-40 each time (US$45-50). Gas in the area is about US$1.75 per liter, or $6.60 per gallon!
      We set up the GPS system and would have had no trouble getting through Frankfurt except there was a bicycle race and the way we wanted to go was blocked. But our trusty GPS found a new route and we were on the way. I drove on the autobahn with NO trouble, just not in the fast lanes. I got up to 110 kph (70 mph) with no problem. We were a bit late getting into Lembach (150 km, 93 miles away), nearly 4 p.m., but we got there and that was a victory in and of itself. We met Denise and Daniel Lubrez and their son, Jonathan.
      We were introduced to our home for the next 10 days, the upstairs apartment in the old part of the house, c. 1800. The stairs are more of a ladder, but we got used to them. There's an entrance hall, a sitting room with a bedroom off of it (Carol's room), another bedroom (mine), a kitchen/dining room, and a bathroom off the kitchen (with shower and a very noisy toilet). VERY NICE! After a supper of puree of vegetable soup, with croutons, assorted cured meats, slaw-like salads of celery and carrot, cucumbers and beets, and hardboiled eggs, fantastic French bread, crème caramel (flan), and four regional cheeses, we talked until bedtime.
      Note; 1 May is a holiday in France-Labor Day. They have a lot of holidays, maybe 20 per year, in addition to at least 5 weeks of vacation. Ah, that's the life.
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