How to Ruin a Vacation

Blogging, picture taking, photo editing, and journaling came to a screeching halt the day after I wrote my last post. On Friday August 19, overnight, our rental car was broken into. We discovered it Saturday morning. The broken glass and empty trunk were our first clues. Marc's golf bag, clubs, and extensive assortment of golf gadgets, gone. Golf attire, gone. Two pairs of roller blades belonging to Marc and Nick, gone. After a trip to the police and change of rental car, we tried to salvage the weekend. And we were doing pretty good til Tuesday night. The 23rd of August.

Marc and I had decided to take the train to Paris that evening, for a quick dinner, and to pick up a bigger rental car that we could return to Paris when we went home. After the car break in, Marc had moved up his return flight and was coming home with us. The new rental car we had picked up in Reims was too small and would have to be left in Reims. We thought we had found the perfect solution: combine a quick date night with picking up a new car. All good, right? Well, it didn't turn out that way.

We arrived in Paris at 6:00 after a 45 minute train ride. We walked from Paris Est to Paris Nord, where we would pick up the train to the airport, for our car pick up. We made a fateful decision to have dinner at a restaurant just outside the train station, before continuing on to the airport.

In retrospect, we did a lot of things differently. We sat outside, which we hadn't been doing too often, since smoking was allowed. But it wasn't too busy because it was still early, around 6:30. The waiter seated us at the end of a section of empty tables, beside a lone diner. We should have asked to sit in the middle of those empty tables. But we didn't.

What ended up happening, less than 15 minutes after we had sat down, was that the man next to us left, and walked off with Marc's backpack. And we didn't notice. Even after Marc's backpack had mysteriously found its way to that man's feet. Marc was a bit suspicious, but apologized, and returned the bag to it's place under his feet. But he didn't wrap the straps around his legs, as my seasoned traveler often does.

A few minutes later, the waiter asked Marc if he had his bag. We looked down and it was gone. What a horrible horrible feeling that is. The waiter said he saw the man cross the street and head for the train station. He and Marc made chase. Marc said he thought it was strange that the man wouldn't have entered the Metro station on our side of the street, rather than opting for the train station that was crawling with police and soldiers.

In retrospect, and we find ourselves saying that alot, we think the waiter was in on it. He seated us and continued to serve in between our tables, rather than from the empty side. That man, seated by himself, neither ate nor drank. While I believe I would recognize him, I remained focused on his unattractive hands and strange white phone, not his face. And obviously not focusing on him when I should have been.

That horrible horrible sick feeling was justified. In Marc's haste to take care of everything that busy Tuesday, he had traveled to Paris with his laptop, iPad, video camera, 2 external hard drives which he normally doesn't carry and which were his computer back up and waaaay too many of our photos, headphones, bluetooths, fancy computerized pens, you name it. The GPS we thought had been stolen from the car, which we later found in the hotel room, lost for real this time. Because Marc had met a colleague at the mechanic's that morning to give him a lift to work. The hard drives, normally in the hotel safe, were with him because he directly transferred data to someone who couldn't open the emailed version Marc had sent. And because the first colleague needed a ride again after work, Marc was rushing to make the 5:15 train. The thought of trying to leave his backpack behind had crossed his mind, but with an upcoming meeting in Ireland, he figured he might get some prep work done for that, during the train ride.

All things we should have done differently, but didn't. I was carrying a new purse that we had bought on the weekend, an early birthday gift for me. The zipper was all wonky, wouldn't close properly. So upon arrival in Paris, I gave Marc our passports. Thankfully, those, along with his wallet and cell phone, were in his pants pockets. Not so, my camera.

It was loose in my purse, and somewhat awkward, so when we were sitting down for dinner, I asked Marc to put it in his backpack. He obliged. So that too, was gone.

But having had a computer crash on me, and loosing a mere 3 weeks of photos several years ago, I now religiously back up photos before deleting them from memory cards, and I carry 6 CF cards for my camera, so that I can change them out every day or two. So I really lost nothing but the camera itself. I told Marc it would have been SO much better to lose my computer. Photos backed up on CD's and CF cards, both of which were in the hotel room safe. And not much else of importance. Yeah, it would have been an inconvenience, but I've backed up my computer before, so the recipes, files, contacts, are somewhere safe at home. Perhaps not completely up to date, but also not completely loss. With that hard drive gone, Marc lost templates, files, years and years of work. And between that and the computer, the three months of work that he'd done in Reims was lost. Not completely. But probably close to half.

The police in Paris were little help, advising us we'd have to wait for at least an hour to file a report, and explaining that it was not allowed, in France, to view security camera footage. Now we realize that there's a good chance our thief was not on the train station footage, but we didn't know that then.

We still had to take the train to Charles de Gaulle airport, pick up our car, and drive the hour back to Reims.

We were so done. Defeated. Deflated. Discouraged. Wanting so desperately to JUST GO HOME. This was Tuesday night and we had busy plans for the rest of the week. Drive 5 hours to Amsterdam on Wednesday. Marc was jetting off to Ireland from there Thursday, for his meeting, while the kids and I toured. He'd return Friday morning, we'd get back to France for Friday night, celebrate my birthday in Paris Saturday and fly home Sunday.

But we wanted none of that. We just wanted home.

Marc notified employers and colleagues and the short version is that we did make the decision to return home Thursday. Ireland was out of the question as Marc had nothing for that meeting, what with his computer being gone. We certainly didn't feel like a road trip. We were anxious to get home, more than a little concerned about our financial security being breeched with this theft. While Marc didn't use this computer for most of our financial stuff, when he was on the road, he would pay bills, view our accounts, that sort of thing, from this computer. We wanted to get home, notify the bank, credit card companies, credit reporting bureaus, and of course, our insurance company. So we paid a $1000. change fee to come home three days early.

But in all bad things there are always silver linings. As the immigration officer pointed out upon our arrival in Philly, we were all there, intact, no broken bones, physically unharmed. He said he'd seen a lot worse. Many times. This fellow was actually hilarious and lightened our mood significantly.

We caught the early train home. Our wonderful neighbors were able to have our car waiting for us at the train station, and because we were home so early, I managed to pick up accumulated mail before the post office closed.

Our house was still standing, the cars all there, and most importantly, the basement was dry! We were so anxious, with the excessive rain that made August an all time record month for our area. Certain that we would come home to a musty soggy basement. Damp yes, but never full of water. Again, our neighbors had checked everytime it rained, redirected downspouts, and all remained dry. They moved our cars around to make it look like we were around, and our home was just as we left it.

We got home two days before Hurricane Irene was scheduled to hit. In time to hunker down and defend our home! To celebrate my birthday by candlelight, as the lights waivered, but the power remained, enabling our pump to keep running and our basement to stay relatively dry. Our original return flight on the 28th was cancelled due to the hurricane. The airport was closed. The trains stopped running. So we would never have made it home that Sunday. Coming home early was a good thing.

We're knee deep in insurance claims right now. I really should be doing that instead of writing this. But I'm tired today, after a somewhat sleepless rainy night. The rain makes me nervous. I'm always afraid that the power will go out and the sump pump will stop running and our basement will fill. It's happened before; its not just my wild imagination! So I figured I could more easily write with a tired brain, than try to properly document everything required by the insurance company. That's tomorrow's job.

Small victories and good things happening, reminding us that all we've lost are things. The hard drives are actually the worst, especially for Marc. But he's rebounding. School's started, Nick has his Funk and Reggae show at the School of Rock this week, Gaby's soccer season starts Saturday, and her name was chosen to be one of eleven UD kids to walk our pro soccer team, the Union, onto the field for this Saturday's game.

And we got our $1000 back from US Air. The day after we returned home, US Air announced they were waiving change fees for folks trying to reschedule their travel around the hurricane. So we sent them an email, asking if they would consider reversing the charges, given the situation. It took them over a week to get back to us, but it was worth the wait. That money will cover one of the deductibles for our two insurance claims!

Weekend in Paris

Saturday July 23rd marked the first day of two weeks vacation for Marc, and 2 weeks of travel for us. The facility he's working at here in Reims shuts down during that time, so we're off!

We decided to start out in Paris, with the hopes of catching the finale of the Tour de France, Sunday. Marc chose a hotel near the Palace de Versailles, our plan for the rainy Saturday.

The golden gates at the palace, on yet another rainy day.

A picnic lunch in the car turned out to be a good idea, rather than looking for restaurants in the rain.

This was the most grand of the pipe organs in the palace.

Bigger than my dining room.

I should have had someone stand by this fireplace for scale. Those aren't logs laid out -- they're trees!

Of course Elmo came along.

The gardens looked exquisite. We didn't go through them. There was an additional admission for that.

Our Paris hotel had these cool chairs in the lobby. This was the first of several hotels that would not give one room for the four of us. The kids were thrilled to have their own room. Mama wasn't so thrilled, especially being on different floors. But no one else was bothered.

Sunday morning sunset from our hotel room window.

That sunrise was the perfect start to a perfect day for the final leg of the Tour de France. Marc studied the route inside Paris and found a spot near a park, but away from the chaos that would be the finish. We were just thrilled to have the opportunity to see the cyclists.

Marc also found out that prior to the bikes coming through, there's like a parade of sorts. All sorts of sponsors come through, tossing goodies to the waiting onlookers. Kind of like our annual 4th of July parade in Oreland, but much faster paced. We could not believe the speed at which vehicles came by. This first one we saw, from a distance, as we arrived.

We found our spot and settled in for the show.

And what a show it was.

We got this nifty brella hat.

These folks tossed another type of chapeau that I ended up wearing. It was welcome on this, the first sunny day since we had arrived.

Dancers too!

Friendly gendarme, happy to pose with the tourists.

These were tossed our way too, and when inflated and banged together, they got everyone's attention.

It was probably almost an hour of this steady stream of vehicles tossing goods our way. We also got some bic pens and a lanyard. Not bad for just standing around.

We had to wait another hour and a half before the cyclists came through and we weren't about to give up our front row seats.

Finally, about 15 minutes later than scheduled, the cyclists. Still riding in a pack.

What a sight!

If you look closely, I did get one shot of yellow jersey guy, this year's first time Australian winner, Cadel Evans. When I realized he wasn't out front, I forgot to keep looking for him and almost missed him. 

Big thrill for him. Big thrill for Australia. And a big thrill for us too!

Two Days in Paris

We decided to make an overnight trip to Paris Wednesday the 20th of July. Two reasons: 1. Nick's friend Lane arrived in Paris Tuesday and was going to be there for a couple of days. 2. Marc could golf guilt free!

Picked up the train tickets on Tuesday, and found out that, despite me calling the credit card companies to advise of this trip, two of my credit cards were rejected. Thankfully, I had a third, for which I had also provided notification, and it worked. And thank goodness for skype. I was able to call the credit card companies, again, to confirm my travel. We've since had occasional problems with both mine and Marc's credit cards, but it's just due to the way some merchants are set up. Most credit cards in Europe have a microchip, and most credit cards in N.A. do not. Some merchants, and toll booths, are only able to process the chipped cards. And so it goes.

The ride from Reims to Paris Est is 45 minutes. Enough time for a few rounds of a card game the kids called Egyptian Rat something or other. They didn't play that when I was a kid.

I think our favourite thing about strolling the Champ Elysees was the fountains en route to the Louvre. They're encircled with chairs, and over the lunch hours they're full of people enjoying their long midday break.

Elmo came along, of course.

We decided to visit the Louvre Thursday, as there was rain in the forecast. But I made Nick pose for a picture with me, very similar to the last and only time that I've been here. When I was pregnant with Nick. I'll have to get the photo from Marc and see them side by side. We ARE in both photos!

Marc booked us a lovely room, right on the Champ Elysees, and this lovely cheese plate was waiting for us. There are definitely some benefits to the traveling Marc endures.

Before we could get in our room, we used the computer in the business centre to contact Lane. Gaby was intrigued by the difference in the keyboard. A French keyboard is difficult to use, when you're not used to it!

Thursday, we set out for the Louvre.

And so did hundreds of others, perhaps also escaping the rain. Not the best plan I suppose. It was so crowded, but we put up with the crowds to get close to the Mona Lisa. We were there, so we had to see her.

Packed in so tight, I could probably have lifted my feet and stayed upright. Insane! And all for this:

We saw her!

And so did Elmo.

The Louvre was fabulous. Overwhelming. And so crowded that we probably only saw half of what was there. But it was enough for that day. One more stop at the fountains after lunch, and we were on our way back to Reims.

By Metro.

And of course, the train. We were entertained by more pigeons at Paris Est, while we waited. We had fun, but were never able to meet up with Lane.

Thursday evening we had another dinner invitation. This was at the home of Catherine and Patrick, friends of Marc's from the golf course. Catherine is a fabulous cook. I should have photographed the appetizer, which was a sardine mousse served in individual sardine cans. It was light and delicious. The beef and carrot stew, the main course, was perfect for the fall-like weather. And also SO good! Dessert was mascarpone cheese and berries served in individual jars. Beautiful and yummy.

I meant to get both of them -- Patrick was in the kitchen when I snapped this.

A couple of their friends also joined us. No English this evening, which was fun and enlightening. I realize that Nick's 4 years of French have given him better comprehension than I have, though he's not comfortable speaking. I was impressed!

Of course by the time we finished dinner it was past 10:30. We're in France, remember?

Arriving in Paris

We arrived the morning of Sunday July 17th, weary, loaded down with waaaay too much luggage (I overpacked, as usual!) and lucky to have Marc's smiling face waiting for us on the other side of the glass at baggage claim. He'd arrived 2 weeks earlier. Since Reims, where he stays/works, is almost an hour's drive, he took an airport hotel room Saturday night and took the hotel shuttle to the airport to meet and assist us. Back to his hotel, we regrouped, showered, some of us slept, and then set out for a quicky tour of Paris in the afternoon.

First stop: Le Tour Eiffel, of course!

Gaby brought a little Elmo along to share in her adventures.

You can't escape the souvenir sellers!

Planking in Paris!

A rare photo of the 4 of us.

We drove to Reims in time for dinner (which is so unbelievably late here -- just can't get used to finishing by 10!) and to catch the Women's World Cup final game, the US and Japan. Marc had looked into getting us tickets, as the game was in Frankfurt. We decided against it because of the late start time of the game, 8:45 local time. The roughly 6 hour drive home would have been ridiculous. So we watched Japan defeat the US while dining at the James Joyce Pub, with Marc's colleague Stefan, who had just arrived himself, from Quebec.