A Drive to Den Haag

November 30, 2008 at 7:00 am (my life in france)
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Tuesday, January 14, 1992

After an early meeting in Utrecht, we drive to Den Haag for yet another meeting. I check out the shopping center “Babylon” at the Central Train Station. We depart for Paris and return home about 10PM.

Wednesday, January 15, 1992

Usual work day for David and it’s “move furniture and put the house back in order” for me – the carpet looks great!!

Saturday, January 18, 1992

What a beautiful day! The sun is shining for the first time since our return to Paris on the 29th. of December from home. In the A.M. David played golf with Ray and in the afternoon a drive out of Paris to the Northeastern part of France where we discovered beautiful valleys, small towns, and Roman medieval buildings in the town of Provins. What a beautiful old sigh to see.

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Visit to the Hoog Catherijne Shopping Center

November 29, 2008 at 7:00 am (my life in france)
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Monday, January 13, 1992

David ventures to his meetings and I visit the “Hoog Catherijne” shopping center – a huge shopping area above the Central Train Station.  I did manage to find a few bargains and with the VAT (Value Added Tax) France adds to your bill, it felt even better, and yes, I did find “head lettuce”.  Oh boy!  Everyone here eats French Fries as if they are going out of style.  They eat them with ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, thousand island dressing, etc. – a big hit in Holland.

In the evening we visit the Town Castle Oudaen, a medieval building in Utrecht, and proceed to have one of the most delicious meals in the Oudaen Restaurant there.  On our way back to the hotel we again visit “La Passage” cafe – having a most delightful end to an evening chatting with the bar tender who was Dutch, the cook who was from Morocoo and a helper who was from another foreign country.  A very pleansant and friendly cafe (English speaking).

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The Coast of the Netherlands in Den Haag

November 28, 2008 at 10:33 am (my life in france)
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Sunday, January 12, 1992

Drove to the coast of The Netherlands, visiting the city of Den Haag (The Hague).  The fog was still very thick.  But, all of a sudden, about 30 minutes outside of the city, the clouds parted, the fog disappeared and the sun was shining.  Wow!  There really are windmills and many, many beautiful canals in the countryside and thoughout the cities.

We attended the American Protestant Church in The Hague and then visited the coastal beach area of this country.  But, I’m not sure we picked the best time of year to be walking on the beach – It was SO COLD! Off we goto Delft, Netherlands, driving thru beautiful back country roads and gazing at greenhouses as far as you could see everywhere – bulbs and flowers being a major industry.

We visited the “Town Square” in Delft and browsed thru shops of the beautiful Delft pottery and crafts.  The sun quickly disappeared and was replaced by rain.  From Delft we ventured to Gouda (pronounced Howda) – the famous cheese town of Holland.  Not a single cheese shop did we find.  They make tons of it here and export to the world.  It’s back to Utrecht and a visit to the 24th. floor of the hotel to the Railroad Mine Bar and Grill enjoying the view of a very busy train station below.

Dinner at Cafe La Passage consisting of delicious spare ribs, french fries and salad (made with real “head lettuce”).  We decided right away that tomorrow one of my tasks was to find a store selling the lettuce for taking back home.

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A Drive Thru Belgium and into the Netherlands

November 27, 2008 at 6:37 am (my life in france)
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Saturday, January 11, 1992

Early up to finish our shampooing.  Bet our neighbors below are enjoying the noise.  We departed St. Germain at 11:30am, for Utrecht, Netherlands, leaving our wet floors behind, arriving there about 4:30pm.  Driving thru Belgium and into the Netherlands, the fog was so heavy we could barely see 100 feet away.  If there were any Dutch windmills, we couldn’t have seen them.  About 1 hour out of Utrecht, a temperature sign told us it was -1C, which was cold enough for us.

All of sudden we noticed frost had overtaken the sides of the road that we could see and then we were in the midst of snow.  Just beautiful!  We had to stop at a park area to admire it and, of course, take pictures.  There was just one little stretch of it and suddenly we were out of the snow.  Our arrival at the hotel was painless enough but we couldn’t really see the city for the fog.

One thing you quickly realize, though, people have bicycles instead of cars.  There are bicycles everywhere!  It’s easy to get run over by one.  They have regular lanes on the streets for bicycles and they even have their own stoplights at street crossings.  Amazing.

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Carpet Cleaning in a Small Place

November 26, 2008 at 6:31 am (my life in france)
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Friday, January 10, 1992

A busy, domestic day for me of moving all our furniture from rooms with carpet to the kitchen, bathroom and toilet.  We’re going to shampoo this dirty carpet!  A clean carpet in France is a luxury you only receive if you do it yourself.  Apartments do not clean carpets or repaint walls before you move in, as in the states.  But, we only discovered this on move-in day.  Since I’ve already washed all the walls, it is now time for the carpet.

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The American Church and Police Station

November 25, 2008 at 10:12 am (my life in france)
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Sunday, January 5, 1992

The American Church was comprised of many people returning from the holidays.  It was good to see our friends again.

Monday, January 6, 1992

Back to the Police Station in St. Germain.  Wow! We now have our Residence Cards and David’s Work Permit.  One catch, though.  They are only good for 1 year the first time they are issued, so, August 1, we have to renew for another year.  We’re the fortunate ones though.  Some people have been here over a year and still aren’t legally living or working here.  Ray and Maura’s baby was born toay – Stephanie Ann – All is well with all the family.

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Drive to Northwestern Countryside of France

November 24, 2008 at 10:10 am (my life in france)
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January 4, 1992

After a much needed late sleep we took a short drive to the Northwestern countryside of France around the Pontoise area – more castles, cathedrals, and quaint, old towns.

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More Calls to Versailles Prefecture

November 23, 2008 at 10:09 am (my life in france)
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January 3, 1992

More calls to the Versailles Prefecture – Finally, he finds someone who knows something.  The card is at the Police Station in St. Germain where David proceeds to go this evening.  By this time, my card is also there.  But, David doesn’t have our temporary ones with him and they are closing.

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Gloomy Weather in Paris

November 22, 2008 at 10:07 am (my life in france)
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January 2, 1992

The weater is still gloomy.  Haven’t seen the sun at all since we’ve been back.  Temperature averages about 36 degrees all day long.  Upon our return to France, in our mail was a letter stating that our final document for residence (our Residence Card) is ready for pickup.  David arrives in Versailles (which is where we went before) only to have them tell him he must go to our city of residence (St. Germain en Laye) to the Prefecture to get it.

So it’s back to the office for phone call making.  The Prefecture in St. Germain doesn’t have it, and no one is available who can shed light on the subject.

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New Year's Day and Some Sleep

November 10, 2008 at 7:16 am (my life in france)
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Wednesday, January 1, 1992

New Year’s Day – After sleeping half the day away, the afternoon David spent loading his new computer and I made my way thru tons of mail from here and paperwork brought back form the U.S.  Our TV sport channel did allow us to watch the Citrus Bowl game (not a very close game but good to watch American football).  Notre Dame and Flordia were to be carried live at 2:30am our time, but we just couldn’t stay awake.  We do get a rerun of it Thursday night.

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