Well, I made it back from France and was forced to take it easy the rest of the week to recover from jet lag. It really is tough being a graduate student :) Jeff and I went to see the Blue Man Group with some friends on Thursday then my uncle Mike (another of my Dad’s brothers) came to visit last weekend. I took him around campus on Saturday to enjoy the perfect fall weather. Fall is the best time to visit UIUC. The brilliant fall colors against all the brick buildings are amazing. The changing leaves more than make up for Illinois’ lack of topographical relief. We had a few drinks and carved pumpkins on Saturday night.

This week, my dad had his annual Railroad Environmental Conference at UIUC so he stayed with Jeff and I. I guess Illinois junk is better than West Virginia junk because my Dad has a knack for finding some strange item to buy and take home when he visits. The first year he came for his conference, he bought an apple press. I had a wisdom tooth pulled and had come home with my mouth stuffed with bloody gauze. My dad’s way of comforting me was to drag me to an old farmer’s junk barn in the middle of nowhere to check out a cider press he’d found advertised in the newspaper. I guess my mom never taught my dad the art of baby-ing children. Although I do at least get many gallons of yummy apple cider every year.

The most recent junk find is by far the best one yet. Today, my dad bought a 1950 Ford F1 pickup truck to restore. Its a pretty cool truck so I’m excited to see how his restoration progresses but I think this is another step closer to retirement (1) get your AARP card (2) get the old man reading glasses (3) start collecting projects to fill your time.........

Guess who's pumpkin in who's. I think Mike might have read too many Martha Stewart magazines. Unfortunately, the evil squirrels are slowly eating the faces off the jack-o-lanterns.

My last weekend if France. I spent it going to museums raising my level of culture. I rode an early train on Saturday morning and arrived in Paris around 10:30. My hotel room wasn't ready yet so I was forced to shop in St. Germain-des-Pres while I waited. I then headed to the Orsay museum to see the impressionists. The Monet's and Van Gogh's were my favorites. Since I was by myself, I got a headset which I will absolutely do again. It was like living a discovery channel show. Plus, I think I appreciate the art more when it has some context. In the evening I had a few beers before dinner at a bar in the Latin Quarter then got lost in the narrow, neon-light maze of streets searching for a place to eat. The Latin Quarter is definitely a good place to experience the night life of Paris and find a good, cheap meal...Finally. Food is expensive in Europe not to mention Paris. I paid 4 euros for my falafel but 4.80 for one beer.

On Sunday morning, I was at the Louvre when it opened to avoid the crowds at the Mona Lisa, a strategy which paid off doubly. I saw the best sunrise over the Ile de la Cite and, when I walked past the Mona Lisa hours later, the crowd was 15 (mostly Chinese) people wide by 15 people deep. Actually, I liked the Orsay museum better than the Louvre overall but now I can say I saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and many other famous, really old works of art. Afterwards, I walked to the Arc de Triomphe through the Tuileries Garden and down the Champs-Elysees. Okay, I admit to eating McDonald's for lunch but, you can get beer in a McDonald's cup with a lid and a straw so, that somehow elevates the whole experience. I took myself out for a date to end my time in Paris.

I had dinner in the Latin Quarter then saw Little Miss Sunshine (in english with French subtitles). Going to a movie in Paris was worth the experience. The seats were upholstered in plush, red velvet and the walls were painted a rich, royal red making the theatre feel very Parisian. I ended the evening with ice cream from a quintessential Parisian café complete with bentwood and cane bistro chairs. I guess I must now return to the real world but I can’t think of a better way to end my vacation.
My favorite Van Gogh at the Orsay museum.
Me at the Louvre. I went in this time.

After the Louvre, I went back to the hotel to take a nap. I was greeted by a huge crowd of Parisian rollerbladers when I left the metro. There must have been city wide rollerblade convention which started right outside my hotel. They filled a four-lane city street for at least a long block. I'm not really sure what they were doing but they were fun to watch.

Today is the last day of my science vacation, which has been relaxing and extremely productive. I’m glad I took this opportunity to travel alone for a month. I feel like I learned a lot about myself and grew a little as a person. Below, I’ve summarized some things I’ve missed. Hopefully, I’ll appreciate them more when I get home.

First, the mushy stuff. Hey, I have your attention, I might as well take advantage.

1. My husband. Not everyone gets the opportunity to marry their best friend. Jeff is the perfect person for me in every way and I can’t wait get home to him.

2. My family. As Jeff’s dad likes to point out, you can’t pick your family (or your in-laws). I’ve been blessed with a loving, supportive family network who I know I can always count on – both my own and the one I married into. I just want you all to know how lucky I feel to have you.

3. My friends. Unlike family, you can pick your friends and I must say I’ve chosen well! Thank you for being the kind of people I can rely on if I need and for listening when I need to vent. I hope I can be as good a friend in return.

Okay, that’s done. Now for the mundane, materialistic, silly stuff. I miss:
My cozy house and all its’ contents. The many magazines I subscribe to. My three kitties (you can’t be the cat lady if you’re married, right?). My own personal motorized transportation. Sidewalks generally free of dogshit and parked cars. Hot meals cooked by my husband (I might have eaten cereal for dinner a few times). Grapes without seeds. Trident gum. JKD/BJJ classes (I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t covered in bruises). Being able to communicate with anyone. American coffee but only the good stuff. Sliced bread. NO baguette. Peanut butter. TiVO. Television in general (I don’t know who won the Ultimate Fighter or Project Runway). 24 hour access to internet and telephone. Electrical outlets made for my plugs. Way WAY less second hand smoke. Overweight, polluting, money-driven, gum-chewing, flag-waving America. (I had a few conversations about American stereo-types in Europe and believe me they aren't endearing.)

I have one more weekend in Paris before I fly home so I’ll have one more vacation blog to post after this one. Happy Friday the 13th!!!!

Pepinier Park in the morning fog. I rode my bike through this park to Place Stanislas on my home everyday.

On a random note, I found French versions of the Mr. Man books yesterday.

M. Heureux made me Miss Happy.

If "smiley's" and "emoticons" (I'm suppressing my gag reflex just thinking about them) looked like the Mr. Man and Little Miss characters I might use them.

Weekend #3 in Luxembourg. The bad thing about living in a dorm room is that I don’t want to spend time there. The good thing about living in a dorm room is that I don’t want to spend time there…so I appreciate my weekend trips more. This weekend I visited my third capital city, Luxembourg, which I think was a good choice for a weekend trip. It’s small enough that I saw everything the city had to offer in my 1.5 days there, which were very relaxing.

I arrived on Saturday morning and checked into the hotel. I then made my way to the city center. Since the stores aren’t open on Sunday, I decided to just get lost in the old streets wandering in and out of shops and stopping to have a drink or a snack when I got tired. In fact, Luxembourg is the perfect city to wander in because it’s so small you can walk the whole thing in about 2 hours. Additionally, it’s built along a valley (the Petrusse valley) which is lush green and picturesque – not to mention the old buildings and monuments characteristic of European cities. I spent Saturday evening with a magazine and a bubble bath. A perk of staying in a nice hotel is the big, comfy soaking tub in my room.

On Sunday before leaving in the afternoon, I walked along the old ramparts the surround the city. I started with the casemates, which are an extensive series of tunnels build into the rocky hillside in the 1600’s to defend the city (although the ramparts were started in 963). Many pieces of the defensive city wall still remain and the crisp, sunny fall day made my walk extremely enjoyable. There was a free jazz concert in the courtyard of the Neumunster Abbey, so I stopped to have a cappuccino and enjoy the music. The only thing I didn’t get to do was go to a flea market to find my vintage postcards (I came on the wrong weekend). On the whole, however, it was an extremely pleasant trip.

A view of the Petrusse valley. The casemates are inside the rocky wall on the left. You can see part of the ramparts above the stream. The church on the right in the Neumunster Abbey.

A view up to the city center from the valley below.

A bridge over the Petrusse valley connecting the station district (around the train station, of course) with the city center.

Work week #3 complete. Only 9 days until I return to my life and my husband who I miss tremendously…but, as I am still on my science vacation, I plan to take advantage of every opportunity. Thus, I am going to Luxembourg this weekend as a birthday present from my parents. (Thanks guys!) I’m sure I’ll have a few pictures to post when I return.

This week has been fairly uneventful. The weather is cold and rainy which makes wandering the city uncomfortable so I’ve been working more than I might have otherwise and messing around with my blog – notice the new links. I will spare you another science lesson but I have included a few more lab pets below because I can.

I'm not sure what this is - we'll call him a big ugly worm.
Protozoa. They like to eat my sludge flocs.

Weekend #2 in Strasbourg
I met my Uncle Sam in Strasbourg, France this weekend. He lives in Vicenza, Italy and I don't get to see him very much so it worked out well that he could meet me. Plus, it helped keep me from being too lonely without Jeff.

The cathedral in Strasbourg is really impressive. Of course, the first thing I wanted to do was climb to the top. Sam agreed to climb the 330 stairs after some harassment from me. Unfortunately, the view wasn't worth the climb. However, the cathedral also has an astronomical clock to make up for its dissapointing view. It is one of the largest in Europe. We watched it chime at noon although the most impressive thing wasn't the intricate movements of the figures but the idea that the clock, built in 1352, accurately keeps track of the phases of the moon and the movements of the planets (6 of them anyway).

We spent the rest of the day wandering the city. Its rather small and we had seen most of the principal sites by about 3:00, including a small flea market and book market where I found my old postcards. We both needed a nap by then so we went back to the hotel for a few hours. In the evening, we sat outisde at one of the many bars and had drinks before dinner. Sam has been a teacher, then a principal, then a superintendant for the Department of Defense school system for 20 years and he has lived and traveled all over the world. I had alot of fun hearing about all the places he's been...and getting a few insights into my parents childhoods.

Strasbourg is right on the border between Germany and France. It definetely looked more German than French and they like beer as much as wine.

I don't think Sam likes having his picture taken very much.
The astronomical clock in the cathedral.

A covered bridge and dam once used to protect the city.