This was a relatively brief two week trip to France, Belgium and Holland. I primarily went to attend my friend's wedding in a small French village.
The trip began with my arrival in Paris. I've been to Europe several times, so I wasn't too concerned about planning or anything like that. To make a long story short, I arrived with my cash card, a credit card, a few hundred French franks, and an old phone card.
My first discovery was that I had accidentally taken my French ski-card, and not my phone card, and my French currency wasn't valid anymore. I next learned that I had forgotten to transfer any money into my debit account, and European cash machines don't allow transfers from other accounts.
Luckily, I still had about $7 in my account, and this was enough to get me where I needed to go. I later found an internet terminal and transferred much more. I could tell the trip was going to be fun!
Next my friends Karin and Bill arrived, and we toured Paris and visited my Parisian friends Marine and Bruno. We then loaded in a rental car and headed into the countryside for the wedding.
We stayed in a massive Chateau with all the other wedding guests, and feasted and drank continually. During the wedding, I took lots of pictures as you may notice. Afterwards, in the French tradition, we partied all night and sampled numerous delicacies ranging from cheeses and exotic game hen to Champagne and Ratafia.
After the wedding I continued north to visit my friends AnneLaure and Frank. There I spent a day touring with AnneLaure's father, and spent half a day with Frank and his associates doing agricultural research.
Next I headed to Maastricht to tour a bit on my own and meet up with a Dutch friend named Marjan. We then hitch-hiked south through Belgium to our mutual friends Anne and Patrick in Verviers. In Belgium we hiked the local hills and had a great time!
Next it was back to Paris for me. Marine and Bruno let me stay with them, and I also got to see my very dear friend Alexandra. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time left to spend in Europe, so after a day of touring Paris, and an early morning shopping run to an exotic Parisian clothing shop, I had to return.
Europe was great, I love the styles and people and culture. My friends were all wonderful, and it was great to see them again and hear about their jobs and lives.