We had them all ready to go and that's when I noticed a problem. Let me back up to last night. As we were driving back to the apartment I asked my SWEET husband what he had for dinner (Tuesday night). He said a salami sandwich. I said really? That's lame. He didn't respond. When we got back into the apartment I went into the kitchen and it was a little messy….David isn't really bothered by dirt/crumbs, he is only bothered by clutter. I wiped down the table and counter and then opened the freezer to get some ice. There was a hamburger patty inside a tupperware container in the freezer that caught my eye….hmmmmm. Didn't think anything more about it UNTIL I tried to start my mushrooms.
We have an induction cooktop and it was locked. Locked = no heat. It has happened to me once before and I couldn't remember how to "unlock" it so that I could turn it on. I pulled out the owner's manual and found the directions. I followed the steps in the booklet to no avail. I followed the steps 4 more times before I nearly screamed and left the kitchen. Marcie was sweet enough to try to turn it on and followed the steps while I was in the laundry room turning off the STINKING alarm on the dryer. Who's idea was it to put alarms on washers and dryers? I DO NOT need reminding that there is laundry to finish.
Now it was obvious….the reason my husband had a salami sandwich and that there was a frozen hamburger patty in a piece of tupperware in my freezer was because he somehow had locked the STINKING cooktop Tuesday night and couldn't unlock it.
FINALLY, after NOT following the printed directions I was able to unlock the cooktop and turn on the burner to start the mushrooms. Whew….I had nearly lost my salvation on that one. (Not possible, but you know what I mean)
Off to the market. I cautioned Marcie before we even turned the corner….let's get the meat and the vegetables first and THEN you can go crazy looking at everything. That advice lasted all of 23 seconds. She stopped at the first stand to take pictures, she stopped at the second stand to look at the baked goods, she started to stop at the third stand and then said, "oh, this is what you meant by 'let's get the meat and vegetables first' isn't it?". It was hard, but she did it. It is an overwhelming experience the first time you are in a market that offers so many things.
We successfully purchased a tenderloin roast (un filet de boeuf) and some chicken breasts from my favorite butcher and then headed to the produce stand. (Yes, this is the same one I always go to and the owner speaks English) Lettuce, passion fruit, fingerling potatoes, tomatoes, apples, pineapple and cucumber. What a haul. I headed back to the apartment to put the groceries away and let the girls "loose" in the market.
David was taking a half day of vacation and was actually home when I walked in the door. He headed to get a hair cut, to pick up some bread from the gas station and was going to go for a run. He promised to catch up with us later in the afternoon.
By the time I walked back over to the market the girls were on their way to find me….they had run out of cash!! Lisa had scored some Christmas gifts and a new coat. We discussed what we wanted for lunch and headed over toward the center of town….I know where they serve a delicious nutella milkshake and it happens to be next door to my favorite cheese shop. We stopped at the bank to withdraw some Euros from the ATM. DISASTER struck. I wasn't really paying much attention to what the ATM screen was telling me, I was with my American sisters and we were speaking ENGLISH….I had put in 355 as a withdraw amount (so that I would get some small bills) and it gave me an error message. I had to re-enter my pin and change the amount….suddenly, the machine gave me the ultimate ERROR message…..I had entered the wrong pin 3 times and it was RETAINING MY CARD!!! CRAP! I was so "in Indiana" in my brain that I had used my US pin, not my FRANCE pin.
Inside the bank we went. The very sweet bank employee explained to me that she couldn't get my card out of the machine until tomorrow….then she went on to tell me that I could come back tomorrow and pick up my card but that it wouldn't work. They would need to issue me a NEW card with a NEW pin. "How long will that take', I asked. 'Sometime late next week', she replied. DOUBLE CRAP, I was leaving for Madrid on Wednesday. No credit card and very little cash until my husband met us….Marcie used her card to get a cash advance and saved the day.
The cheese shop was closed but the cafe with the Nutella milkshake was open. Lisa and I ordered a quiche Lorraine and Marcie ordered a sandwich. David called and headed our way to meet us. He finished all of our lunch leftovers.
As we left the cafe I noticed a big white poodle coming toward us. Lisa was in heaven! We chatted with the owner (German lady) who was trying to explain that she was looking for a "stud" to breed her poodle. Lisa explained that George was not capable. The husband handed Lisa a huge piece of chicken liver to give to the dogs as a treat….I thought she was going to vomit. No hand sanitizer!!
We walked through Strasbourg showing them Petit France and just enjoying the beautiful sunshine.
We made it back home and prepared a delicious dinner capped off with a ice cream/pineapple/passion fruit dessert. The best part of the day was seeing our kid's faces….FaceTime is AWESOME. I so enjoyed seeing Eric, Skib, Sam, Spencer and Sarah.
Thursday I drove David to work so that we would have the car. The first order of business was to color my hair. Did you know that Lisa could do that? Fortunately, my wonderful friend and hairdresser in Indy (Julia) sent me here with the right ingredients to cover the grey…..
Our first stop was IKEA. My personal decorator and hair colorist, Lisa Hall, was on hot pursuit to bring my apartment into the POSH living space she had invisioned. Unfortunately, David and I do not care so much about what our apartment looks like. We compromised and she picked out some lovely additions for several rooms.
Next, we went into Germany to shop. Lots of fun showing the girls the German grocery and we even ate lunch at McDonald's. Lisa and Marcie picked up some Dominican cigars and a few other little trinkets and we headed back home. We put together our IKEA purchases and then it was time to pick David up from basketball practice. Driving in Europe in the dark without a specific address is fun….take my word for it. Pizza from Gepetto's for dinner and a night full of laughter.
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| $15 table….gotta love IKEA |
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| New tables, lamps and furniture arrangement…thanks Lisa |
Friday was All Saints Day and nearly everything was closed. We took a long walk to our local park L'Orangerie and also visited the small zoo that is inside the park.
We then stopped at what was quite possibly the only cafe that was open for lunch. Marcie ordered a "salad" and was quite surprised when her plate was delivered….
After a round of naps, we headed out so that they could see the Cathedral. To our surprise, several of the tourist shops were open and a few more items were purchased.
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| Lisa couldn't bear to leave anything behind….she wanted it all! |
We got up early for the drive to Frankfort. It was a rainy day, so the gloomy weather matched my mood. I couldn't believe that a week had flown by so quickly and that I was sending two of my besties back to the states. We dropped them at the terminal, I helped them in with their bags and said a very tearful (but fast) goodbye. I'm not sure if they were as sad as I was, but David was there to console me when I came back to the car.
David and I took the opportunity to visit Heidelberg, Germany on our way home. It was a great distraction and helped me to enjoy what would have been a very sad afternoon.
I am ready for more visitors, so please book your reservations for Chez Sternasty as soon as possible!!
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