Mejorada del Campo

We arrived at Fernanda’s house in Mejorada del Campo in beautiful weather. Sunny and warm. It is located in a suburb of Madrid in an area that looks like our southwest. All I need is a cowboy hat and a horse. She has a two story house with a rooftop that is a patio. Had a good nights rest.
On Tuesday, after being lazy for awhile, we went downtown for Lilia to make an appointment at a beauty salon.

She made the appointment for 7 pm at El Templo de Evelyne. We went back to the house for a break. At 7pm we arrived at El Templo de Evelyne and found that they were in the middle of a couple long processes. We waited and while doing so, a couple more people came in and as time went by, the folks that came in after us were processed. It was getting close to 8pm and there was one person left in a chair and everyone went outside for a smoke break. We had been waiting for over an hour and decided that we really did not need to be treated like that and left. Had to walk past the smokers and they were concerned, but we had decided not to try them again as there are actually numerous beauty salons here. Golly gee, another experience.

Brussels to Madrid by plane

There is a reason or more why I no longer want to fly. We had decided to fly to Madrid because a 22 hour train trip with changes did not sound too exciting, especially with all our luggage.

We had made arrangements with a taxi driver the day before and he was there waiting at 6:30 for us. Our flight was scheduled for 10:45 but I always like to arrive early, in case of problems.

First thing was the check in counter wasn’t open until 9. Finally we went to check in and the lady picked on us because I hadn’t told them about the mobility scooter. I told her that I didn’t see anywhere online to do that. While checking in our luggage, she made a mistake, she labeled the scooter as luggage, even though I would take it up to the door of the plane.

We then went through security. They were very curious about my backpack. I thought maybe it was the portable concentrator, but that ended up not being the problem. It was the adjustable wrench and screwdrivers that I had purchased in Rome to make adjustments on the scooter. He said I couldn’t take them, so I made a present of them to him. As you know, I might stab someone with the screwdrivers, but I asked him what was wrong with the adjustable wrench and he said “since it is six inches long, I could hit someone with it”. Oh well. By the way, when on the plane, I ordered a bottle of Schweppes Tonic and it was given to me in a glass bottle. I think that is a more formidable weapon than a wrench.

Flight was good.

Got to Madrid and the scooter was not waiting for me at the plane’s door. A person with a wheelchair was there to take me to the baggage claim. Let me tell you, we went down many ramps and outside to a special van which gave us an amazing tour of the whole outside and underground of the airport. Then another person picked me up in a wheelchair and took us to the baggage area.

Got the bags, but no scooter. So the attendant took us to the place where special items were supposed to be delivered. Hung out there for at least a half hour. Lilia then went back to the baggage claim area and the staff person went over to the Iberia counter for assistance. Lilia found it at the original baggage claim. 

Fernanda and Karol were there to pick us up as we exited and we had an enjoyable ride to their house. 

There were other guests there from Belgium and Rome that were just leaving to go to Mayorca. Chatted for awhile and had dinner.

All in all a good day.

July 28 in Brussels and Dinant

Got up and decided to go to Dinant since it wasn’t raining. Over to the train station and g to tickets round trip for 1/3 of what I have been paying on-line for being senior citizens. I’m not impressed with the on-line ability now.
First thing we did was  the wrong train (right track, wrong train). We realized our mistake as soon as we started moving. A conductor finally came by and was a really big help. He told us which stop to depart from and which train to get on that would take us where we want. Did that and got on the next train and the conductor had been notified and was on the lookout for us. Everyone was out to take care of us. We got to Dinant only about 1/2 hour after we were originally scheduled to.
What a beautiful little town! Nestled alongside some high cliffs with a gothic church, a saxophone museum as Adolph’s Sax came from here, a cable sky ride to the citadel. See video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwUVmbUdSkA
If you are ever in Belgium, this town is a “must”.
Got home ok and visited the “Hello Summer” festival again and wandered around our part of Brussels.
All in all, a great day.

July 27th - the Belgium RR strike and the Change in Weather

We had great plans, and train tickets, to go on a day trip to Dinant, Belgium today.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Unfortunately the trains went on a one day strike. They offered alternate routes and the 1 1/2 hour trip turned into a 2 1/2 or 4 1/2 hour trip with train changes. Since it was a day trip only and lousy weather, we decided not to go today.
Also, Pauline, who was going to be here this evening, could not make it due to the strike.
So Lilia and I went to the Horta museum. He was a well known architect in the early nineteen hundreds.
http://www.hortamuseum.be/en/Welcome
It was interesting and helped keep us dry.
Back to the apartment to warm up and dry.

Brussels - July 26th

Well folks, another hot and beautiful day. After lounging around until the apartment got too hot, we took off for the Botanical gardens. Nothing to write home about.
https://visit.brussels/en/place/Botanical-Garden
So we went to the Music Museum. Wow, what a place. They have some awesome antique instruments in there and a lot of beautiful music in the headsets. We stayed until they closed at 5.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_Instrument_Museum_(Brussels)
Went to the Hello Summer festival again and got an Italian Ice.
Then we found a place to eat. Food was ok.
Taking the train to Dinant tomorrow. Place was recommended by the train conductor.

Have to add a development. The night of the 26th there was a parade of folks on bicycles and in a couple of pickup trucks with DJs and loud music that came down the street that we face. This was about 10:45 pm. The police were with them and it lasted about 15 minutes. There must have been a couple hundred bicycles. It was fun to watch from our 4th floor balcony right above them.

And that was after getting to watch some folks “fixing the worlds problems” on the street at the small gathering hole directly below us. The “fixes” became louder with each ensuing beverage. They ended the discussion just before the parade came through.

The adventures never end...

Brussels

Arrived as Europe was preparing for the hottest heat wave in near history. It will get to 102 on Thursday the 25th.
Anyway, upon our arrival, Nesrin met us at the apartment door. This apartment is directly in the city center and almost all the museums and monuments are in walking distance. We explored and went grocery shopping. There is no AC in the apartment, but we do have a fan.

Today, Thursday, we will go to the museums to keep cool.
We did just that. Walked to the Royal Palace and wandered around for awhile. The king was away, so he couldn't greet us personally, so he sent his staff. It was quite comfortable there.
Then we went to the five museums. They are right next door and when we went in we were told that since we were of such an ancient age, we would get in free because the king did not want the elderly to suffer in the hot weather.
Let me try to explain.  There  are five museums at the Royal Museum. There is only one entrance. When you get your ticket, it is good for all. If you get an audio device, you need to tell them which one you will start with so they can code in the related program. We picked the ‘Old Masters’. The AC in the museum was working very well and we had already decided to stay until they close at five. Let me tell you, we didn’t complete even 2/3rds of the Old Masters and it was five already.
We left (temp 101) then and on the way home we found a festival just starting up. We decided to attend. Had normal festival stuff, loud music, beer, a mister, volleyball, beer, table tennis, beer and sangria, food and a lot of perspiration. Stayed awhile and had a couple beverages, then decided it was too hot and came back to the apartment. had snacks and watched Dunkirk movie.

Pétange/Luxembourg City

We arrived July 20th at our AirBnB in Pétange and immediately were overwhelmed by the most BEAUTIFUL garden we have ever seen. Although encompassing only a back yard, it rivals Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia. The apartment was also amazing. The owner, Claudine, is one of the most gracious people we have ever met. She is so pleasant and welcoming.
We explored the little town and ate at a couple of their restaurants. We found the train station only a few blocks away, with trains to Luxembourg City and many other places. Later in the week, we did take it to Luxembourg City.
On Monday the 21st, Pauline and her parents picked us up and we went exploring outside of Pétange. We went to the Bastogne War Museum. OMG, what an amazing museum. I would suggest that any of you that may end up in the area, definitely go there.
https://www.bastognewarmuseum.be/en/home-en/
On the grounds of the museum there is an enormous star shaped monument dedicated to the approximately 75,000 American casualties of the Battle of the Bulge.
The exhibit inside the museum is extraordinary: a little background of WW1 followed by a great lecture via audio guide on the politics leading to WW2 and the battle of the Bulge. It was a very expensive victory.
Then we went to Durbuy, advertised as the smallest city in the world, and explored. It is the most charming village. Remember Beauty and the Beast? It seems like Belle will appear singing "bon jour..."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durbuy
Tuesday was a do nothing day, except more exploring and Lilia had her pedicure from Claudine, who is in the business.

Wednesday, the 23rd, we trained to Luxembourg City to ‘be tourists’ and explored. Pauline and her brother Hugo met us there at the Pffafenthal elevator that goes from the upper city to the lower city. It is a free elevator that takes you down / up 71 meters (233 feet) in a transparent enclosure with a spectacular view.
https://www.visitluxembourg.com/en/place/misc/panoramic-elevator-of-the-pfaffenthal
Hugo and Pauline then drove us to their house in Athus, Belgium where their parents were preparing a cookout. Had snacks and a delicious meal ‘al fresco’. They live next door to a large pasture; we were looking forward to see the cows come for their evening meal, but the darn beasts never showed up 🙄

On the 24, Claudine graciously took us to Arlon to get the train to Brussels. Now we can brag about visiting 3 countries in half hour. To get from Petang in Luxemborg to Arlon, that is in Belgium, it is necessary to drive through a corner of France. Quite confusing.
There had some anticipation of difficulty because they have no elevator, so I made arrangements in advance for assistance. Well, when we got there, they were ready for us, and even got us on an earlier train. They also coordinated with the Brussels station that we were arriving there an hour earlier. The staff at Arlon were some of the nicest, professional and most helpful people we met. One of them was also the conductor and he gave us suggestions of what to do in and around Brussels.
Train ride was uneventful.

The 19th in Dunkerque and beyond

This morning we did the laundry and folded and ironed. Actually Lilia did some ironing. It was supposed to rain, but it didn’t. We are packing for our trip tomorrow to Luxembourg. The train leaves from De panne, Belgium and Nathalie is taking us to the station. That is so nice of her.
Later today, Christophe will be picking us up and he says he has reservations at a restaurant in Belgium.
We went to Watou in Belgium to the place of the Watou beer brewery. The St. Bernardus. The food was delicious and the scenery was enchanting. Thank you Christophe & Lauren.
In the morning Nathalie picked us up and gave us a ride to the De Panne train station. We then had an uneventful ride to Arlon, Luxembourg where Pauline and her dad picked us up. We did change trains in Brussels and got off in Arlon instead of Luxembourg at the suggestion of Pauline. It was a struggle to get all our “stuff” out of the station because they had no elevators. Pauline’s dad did the heavy lifting. Thank you Alain. Also, Arlon was closer to our AirBnB in Pétange, Luxembourg.

Dunkerque, the 15th to the 18th

I took this post from Lilia and will use it for Dunkerque. Since our arrival, we have been taken to many places by Marie’s parents. They both have been wonderful hosts and we are thankful for their attention. We went to a farmers’ market/flea market and I got some new suspenders and had a great time looking at the goodies. Wish we could bring some home. Went to Belgium (couple miles north) and toured Veurne and Ypres (Ieper in Belgium). They are both beautiful towns. We also went to Brugge (Venice of the north) on another day and had a nice canal boat ride. Brugge is a beautiful village. We went to a Belgium Irish pub and Lilia got to experience an interesting jellied chicken dish.

Anyway, she survived.
Other days when Chris and Nathalie had to actually work (I guess there are those who work!), Lilia and I would go into downtown Dunkerque and visit museums. We went to the Museum ‘Dunkerque 1940 - Operation Dynamo’ and another day at the ‘Maritime Museum’. They were both terrific museums and well done.
Took the FREE bus into town. All the local buses are free to all. Got my HAIR CUT downtown. Lilia thinks it is too short, but I like it. Soon, I will be shaving my head. This is the second time I had a haircut on this trip. The first time was in Bergamo.
This whole time has been an awesome experience. Dealing with trains and doing all ticketing & scheduling on my cellphone. Paying for meals without having to swipe or insert. Arranging places to stay (AirBnB and hotel websites).
The most challenging so far is having the three big bags (two suitcases and the Mobility scooter) and getting them on and off the trains. This takes a lot of physical labor provided by Lilia and strangers. We also have a couple of substantial backpacks. We already had to replace one of the suitcases because the wheels died.
I do think we may fly from Brussels to Madrid because it costs the same and takes 20 hours less time than by train.
The only thing left to conquer is getting the photos from my phone onto this blog because I try to update the blog on the iPad and It’s a pain to have to email the photos to myself.
Later

Bastille Day in Dunkerque 2019

We watched the early stages of the celebration on the TV. Then Nathalie and Philippe picked us up and we went to the street flea market and farmers’ market. Lots of neat stuff went on for block after block. Got me some new suspenders.

Made in France, of course.

Had some snacks on the street, of course. It was a very lovely day.

Met Christophe and Lauren and went for a ride into Belgium. We went to Veurne where they have the Procession of the Penitents the last Sunday in July. We went to the Saint Walburga church and some other sights, then off to Ieper or Ypres, as the call it in France. This was a town that was animated in WWI and had many soldiers killed there. They have a large monument and graves for the fallen soldiers.

Later, on the way back, we decided to stop at the beach and see the fireworks for Bastille Day. We saw some, buy the wind and coldness were really roaring. So I was the first one to run back to the car. We ate dinner in Belgium, so we were done for the day.

Our thanks to Christophe and Lauren for a wonderful day.

Traveling to Dunkerque

On Saturday we packed up and Marie picked us up and took us to the Starbucks at Disneyland. Since there is a train station there also, we caught that train to Gare du Lyon. Got on the train and, lo and behold, it was not going all the way there because of the Bastille Day preparations. Figured we could get off at the trains last stop and catch a cab Gare du Nord. We did so, but there were no cabs to be found. So we walked a ways to the tourist office and they called a private cab for us. Just so you know, the price of an Uber is the same as a cab in Paris and surrounds. I guess Uber is no longer a good deal. In fact, when we got to Paris upon arrival, we took a cab and paid $56 USD to get to Serris. I checked on Uber after the fact and saw that it would have been 60+ Euros ($67 USD) had we taken an Uber instead.
Anyway, the Mercedes Benz large van came and took us to Gare du Nord, where our train to Dunkerque was departing from. He was blocked by hundreds of riot police, etc., so we got off about a half block from the station. We had first class tickets, but had to go to the second to last car to get on. Nice and comfortable. Got to Dunkerque around 3PM and Marie’s father, Christophe, was there to pick us up and take us to our AirBnB.

Nice place, ground floor and airy. Lilia and I went to the grocery store and stocked up with the basics, then off to sleep.

Another day in Paris

Lilia and I returned to Paris on the 12th and decided to just ride the Hop On / Off for the day. After finding one (there are at least three, but the stopping locations aren’t marked too well) we picked the Opentour bus. We went the whole blue route, then the green route and got off at the

D

L'église de la Madeleine

And toured it. 

We then came back to Serris, we did have some difficulty with the tickets, but since we were just tourists, people helped us out. Got back to the apartment and chilled out.

A Relaxing Day

Today, July 11, we decided that we would get caught up and stay local in Serris, with the exception that we will eat supper with Marie at Disneyland this evening. We are happy we will see her again. She is such a nice person. 

Did laundry, dishes and updated this BLOG. 

Paris

Wednesday was the day to go to Paris. It would be great if I could speak French so I could have some idea of what was happening. As usual, Lilia to the rescue.

It took one bus and one train to get to the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris. Then we went to the post office and sent out some postcards and sat outside at a cafe and had coffee and croissant doing some planning. Such a comfortable day. We were thinking of going on a hop on hop off bus, but couldn’t find designated stops, so we took the subway to the Musee de l’Orangerie (art museum) which is at the Place de La Concorde (where all the guillotine executions happened in the 1790’s, including King Louis XVI).

After the museum, we strolled around and enjoyed some granitas and even had a hot dog. Most of the walk areas were blocked so it made for some interesting walking in that area. 

Oh, did you want to know why? Because Bastille day is on the 14th. That would be this weekend and they are setting up bleachers and all the necessary items for the public to enjoy the events. We will miss the festivities in Paris, but hope to see some in Dunkirk, where we are going on Saturday.

Disneyland Paris

We met up with Marie, actually she came to pick us up, and proceeded to Disneyland Paris. What a beautiful day! Marie made it extra special. We checked out where she worked and wandered around for the day. We went on many rides including the “Small World” exhibit. You remember that tune, don’t you?
“It’s a world of laughter
A world of tears
It’s a world of hopes
And a world of fears
There’s so much that we share
That it’s time we’re aware
It’s a small world after all”
Are you mentally singing it now? I will be for a month or so.
Got to meet Goofy and Mickey. I chose not to kiss Mickey.

We ate at a restaurant in Frontier land in the Cowboy Cookout Barbecue. Good grub.
Checked out more rides and watched an awesome Stars On Parade. As usual, Disney really puts on a show.
It was getting near supper time and we were all draggin’ a bit, so we called it a day at Disney. Marie then showed us her home. Nice place and convenient to her work at Disneyland.
Lilia and I had enough to eat so we just had a salad at home. Nothing that interests us on the tele, and it was kind of late, so nighy-night.

I have to add my impressions to Jerry's post.
Besides the wonderful day we had thanks to Marie, I noticed the area around the park: new, orderly and pristine.
This is because Disney has bought big tracts of land in all the small towns around the park and developed them in its image and likeness.
It would be interesting to see what effect this will have on the local culture.
On our first day here we went to the aquarium, located in the ground floor of Val D'Europe. The exhibit is very nice, but I could not believe the mall. All the big and expensive brands were there, from Prada to Louis Vuiton. At first I thought "why?". It is so far from Paris. But then I realized, Disney is attracting all sorts of moolah.
Cheers my friends! Or as they say here, Sante!

Next stop - Serris, France and Disneyland Paris

On July 7th we got on the high speed train to Paris. Non-stop and 300 Km/h. It was a nice trip in a nice train. Got to Paris and cabbed to Serris to meet the nice lady who owned the apartment we had arranged for through AirBnB. Beautiful apartment.
That evening we took a walk and found a little grocery store with almost all we needed. Actually, they were preparing to have a grand opening the next day.
Communicated with Marie who was in Dunkirk visiting her parents. She said she would return and we could go to Disneyland on Tuesday.
On Monday we went to the Val de d’Europe. Quite an extraordinary mall/shopping area. Bought some more kitchen supplies and ate lunch. Weather was beautiful, not too hot and cool in the shade.

Barcelona (El Masnou)

We arrived at the Barcelona ferry terminal and if we hadn’t had enough fun with dogs in Rome, we had a dog owner who kept getting in the way of us getting a cab. Seems she had ordered a cab, but forgot to tell the cab company she had a medium/large dog. We also were waiting for a large cab and whenever one would arrive she would rush in front of us (and anyone else) and scare off the cab as none of them would take the dog. Lilia called the cab company again and told them that we didn’t have a dog, just three big pieces of luggage (the scooter folds up) and two backpacks.

The next cab that drove up, the dog girl tried to cut in front, but Lilia talked real fast and we got that cab.

I had arranged for a room at El Torino hotel in El Masnou just north of Barcelona city proper. What a beautiful place. There was a beach that went on for miles (like NJ Shore) and beautiful weather. There were places to eat along the beach. Nice.
Beyond nice. Absolutely divine. This is the Mediterranean we are talking about. 💟💟

It was quiet there and the owner lived on premises and his family has owned the hotel for about 50 years. They also have a little restaurant on the premises. We spent some time wandering around this little town. The train was one block away for us to go to Barcelona, which we did.
We also went to the hospital so they could look at Lilia’s wounds. They redressed them and said to come back the next day. The next day they removed almost all the bandages and said that it appeared to be healing fine.

We saw many sights in Barcelona and took the hop on/off bus. We took the cable car to the castle. There were many great things to see there.
The castle, BTW, is Montjuic. It used to be military installations for the protection of the city and the people of Barcelona, until Franco's dictatorship. The atrocities committed there are countless. A real black story. 😣

Rome to Barcelona via Grimaldi Ferry

Boarded the ferry in Civitavecchia (suburb of Rome) and first thing, they did not have an easy way to get my mobility scooter to the upper level. Had to drive in between the trucks they were loading. Route was oily and greasy, but worked fine. When I had purchased the tickets, they had no rooms left so I had two chairs. Checked with the purser and they suggested we come back after they were underway to see what rooms might be available.
We then went to see the ship’s doctor to see what could be done about Lilia’s hand. He was very nice and tended to her wounds and rebandaged them. She looked like her hand had been demolished. He took gentile care of her hand. He also provided a sling so she could keep her hand up.
We went to the deck while getting underway and watched the land slip away, then went to the purser’s desk and they arranged for a room for us (with a view).
It was a nice trip and we slept soundly and arrived in Barcelona terminal around 4PM.

Back to Rome and an Incident

Having had such a nice time in Venice, it was hard to return to Rome. It was a nice train ride and we were glad to see the hotel again. They even had our bags already in the rooms. We then went out for awhile and enjoyed Rome again. No planned tours. Unfortunately, Ken, Brenda, Sam & Dave left the next day (the hotel made them boxed breakfast as they left very early). Lilia and I stayed one more day and went to the Spanish Steps and just enjoyed the city one more day. On Tuesday, July 2nd, we went to Civitavecchia to catch the Grimaldi ferry to Barcelona.
While waiting in the Grimaldi ferry terminal, Lilia became friendly with a dog that a couple had with them. She even took the dog for a walk. When she returned, she decided the dog needed some water so she got a plastic cup and filled it and the dg drank it and the cup went to the floor and the dog started to eat it. I mentioned to Lilia that the cup probably wasn’t too good for the dog to eat, so she went to take it away and the dog latched not her right hand and wouldn’t let go, even when Lilia was trying to free her hand by swinging it in the air with dog attached (25 - 30 pound dog). Just as I was getting up to grab the dog by its mouth, it let go. Lilia stepped in front of me and was swing her hand like a pendulum as it hurt. She did not realize that blood was flying all over. There was blood spatter everywhere and as the seconds ticked after she stopped swinging her arm, there was a large amount of blood n the floor. Someone came to help and I started handing out bandaids to that person. Finally someone came showed up with more gauze. Got the bleeding covered and it pretty much had stopped, but there were numerous puncture wounds all over her hand. Anyway it was time to board the ferry. Just a note: this ferry is as big as a cruise liner. It transports, people, cars and many semis from Rome to Barcelona. It takes about 22 hours.

To Venice

The six of us went from Venice to Rome. Let me just tell you that Venice is all you imagine it to be and more. 
We had a nice apartment (BnB) near the fish market and also near the Grand Canal. We went to see Basilicas and museums and more. There was also an outdoor concert setting up. Of course, I insisted we have a gondola ride. It was nice.
We used the water boat the whole time, often crowded but convenient.
Unfortunately, our time there was short and we reluctantly returned to Rome.

An Article About The European Heat Wave

You might find the article at the end of the link interesting: NYTimes: Europe’s Defenses Are Tested by a Heat Wave. Expect More.
Europe’s Defenses Are Tested by a Heat Wave. Expect More. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/01/climate/europe-heat-wave.html

Copy the link and paste it into your browser.  ** hope this works.