The Battle Belongs to the Lord

It has been over a year since I last posted something to this blog. I am testing out posting from my iPod. I am even adding proof that spring has come to Montana. (Last week’s snow, not withstanding.)

Sometimes God just drops something in your lap and says, “Enjoy.” Thanks to a business trip for my husband, sufficient frequent flyer miles due to airline mergers, and a very helpful Delta agent, we were able to travel to Paris for almost a week in December. The icing on the cake was being able to track down some cousins whom I had only briefly met several decades ago. My family spent many hours walking the streets of Paris and seeing the sights. Here are a few of the highlights of our trip.

Biggest Surprise: There is a good reason why December is not a popular month to visit Paris. We expected the weather to be chilly and overcast. Imagine our surprise when we landed in Paris to a good old-fashioned Montana snowstorm shortly before the airport closed. Oblivious to the havoc the storm caused, we happily made our way to our hotel via train while Parisians spent hours navigating icy streets trying to get home in one piece.

La Bastille: Everyone knows about the Bastille–the prison that was stormed by angry peasants on July 14, 1789, setting in motion the French Revolution. So, imagine our surprise when we arrived at the Place de la Bastille and found, not a large prison, but a pillar commemorating an uprising on July 27-29, 1830. It turns out we were about 221 years too late to see the Bastille and there was more than one overthrow of the monarchy in the aftermath of the revolution. It seems that July was just a bad month for kings in France.

Longest Line: The lines through airport security were not bad. The lines at the Louvre were non-existant. At the Eiffel Tower, however, we waited 1.5 hours to get to the elevator door. We went up at night and had an amazing view of the city, despite the fog.

Most Unusual Food: Unless you are an adventuresome eater, I would not recommend the Andouillette. The English translation of “chitterlings” did nothing to enlighten me. But, I am not one to back down from a challenge and insisted on ordering it despite the waiter’s warning. I ate it all, though I did not care for some aspect of the flavor. What is it, you ask? Pork intestines.

The Language Dance: You are in France and you need to speak to someone. Naturally, you assume they speak French, so you make an attempt. They stare at you blankly, and so begins the language dance. You each shift from language to language until you find a common match. In the end you either successfully communicate, or simply shrug your shoulders and say, “Sorry, I don’t know” or “I don’t understand.”

Last, but not least,
Family: Twice I have visited family that I had never met before. Twice, I have been warmly received, just like, well, family. We had tea with my first cousin and later, dinner with my second cousin and his family. Thy wined and dined us as we caught each other up on our respective branches of the family. Meanwhile, my daughter managed to play with her new-found cousins despite the language barrier, aided in part by the universal language of “Wii.” It was a very special evening. I only hope I can be as welcoming when long-lost family tracks us down and visits Montana.

One week of my two-week silence can be explained by our going to visit my mother-in-law in Tacoma over Spring Break. The weather was not exactly spring-like, but God graciously gave us clear roads on either end of a week where chains were required on Snoqualamie Pass several times.

I was sick most of the week with a cold that my family graciously shared with me. That meant I got to laze around the house, crochet, watch too much TV, and let my husband do all the work. Not a bad life, really.

On our way home, we met up in Idaho with a group of friends from our church who had spent the week helping out with Gospel Union Mission in Spokane for the week. We stayed at a hotel with a water park including a wave pool and three water slides. My daughter had a blast with a bunch of her friends. Even my husband, who is not much of a water person had a blast. I was well enough to enjoy myself as well.