APRIL 20 LETTER:
Dear Everyone,
Berenice says:
I had a nice description of our leaving Madrid and arriving in Paris. However, I threw it away after I found out that the place we went to in Paris to send e-mail was out of sight in price. We took a bus from Madrid to Paris. It went through the Loire Valley which was an impressionistic painting all the way. Jon and I have a conflict - he wants to live in Madrid and speak Spanish and I want to live in Paris and speak French. We will have to resolve it somehow.
Paris seems very familiar to me. We are staying the the 15th Arrondisement, a wonderful area which has the most fantastic open market I have ever seen, every Sunday. I can actually find my way around and feel very comfortable here.
Our Hotel, the Printemps, is one Jon knew about and we can afford. However, we cannot afford to eat out here - everything is double what is was in Madrid.
Jon says:
We had a wonderful 16-hour bus trip from Madrid and arrived at 1:30 the afternoon of the 16th. Berenice immediately called the Hotel Printemps and confirmed that we did have a reservation. We took the Metro to the Hotel and checked in. We got a fourth floor room, but Berenice likes it and does not want to change rooms, even though the hotel has no elevator. Our room is small, but costs only 140 Francs per night (there are 6 Francs to the dollar). We checked around and find out we have the cheapest hotel in all Paris. We tried out our little TV (which we brought with us), but it doesn't work in France.
Yesterday we found an e-mail place in the Latin Quarter which charged one Franc a minute (outrageous!). We got our mail and found out that the relative we were planning on staying with in Luxembourg had had emergency vascular surgery and was recuperating preparatory to a second vascular surgery. Last night Berenice called him (on his cell phone to Luxembourg) and he answered that cell phone in Zurich Switzerland, where he is recuperating at his son's house. Alex answered the phone and said that he was feeling alright after his surgery and that we could stay at his place in Luxembourg for two weeks in May. We told him we would visit him later when he had recovered from his second surgery and we could have a nice visit then. (We very much feel that we would be in the way there right now.) The good news is that his first surgery was successful and we are sure the second will be too. We hope to go to Luxembourg later this summer.
This necessitated a change of plans for us, so we are going back to Spain on May 1. We will try to find a place to stay in northern Spain along the coast in order to escape the heat. Right now, we are not sure where that place will be.
Berenice's son-in-law Paul and her two grandchildren are coming to southern France in June and If we are in northern Spain it will be easy for us to get together with them for a few days.
We both love Paris and Parisiens, but hate the prices. There is not a bargain to be found here. By dint of hard work, I was able to find the internet cafe that I am presently writing this from. The cost is 40 Francs/hour, which is 3 times as expensive as Spain (although here we are using a 17 inch screen, which really helps Berenice.) The internet place yesterday had keyboards with unusual key arrangements (e.g., q where the a should be) and I didn't relish typing on them. Where we are now, there are standard QWERTY keyboards.
[Berenice says the blue skies of Madrid are not here and the weather is like any East Coast city of the US in spring...but the ambience is very different.]
We are doing very well here - part of the fun is trying to live within our budget. We got weekly Metro passes for 80 Francs per week. These are good for both subway and buses and we like to ride the buses too.
We wash our clothes in the sink and hang them on the radiator to dry. The radiator is always hot and we always leave our window part way open.
Personal Messages:
Pam D: We love your messages. You're story about the girls going to the prom was hilarious. We regret that Porky had to be restrained, but sometimes pigs can get obstreperous.
Mike and Jana H: Mike, thank you for letter. We enjoyed hearing from you. Are you still working at Boeing? It's great to hear that the kids are growing up so fast. What colleges are they considering.
Schifty: So Vallejo continues, continues, continues. It was great to hear from you. I imagine you in your office there at the Green Hammer (isn't it Karen's old office?) I am very glad I am not working anymore.
Tom N: Tom, thanks to your reservation we got our room. It was the last room available and we have checked around and found out that anything else would be monstrously expensive. We think that Africa might be okay if you are not camping out on the savannah or in the jungle and are in organized campgrounds or staying at hotels. We agree that we do not think that Poland would be a good place to go. We will keep the Chech Republic (minus Prague) and Budapest in mind if we can't find anything in northern Spain. We love you and Jacky.
Terry and Paul: Thank you for telling us about Alex. We used the cell phone number you gave us and talked to him. He said that he felt pretty good but he would need a second surgery. We don't need the meds until after June 15. Can Paul bring them? Are the kids bringing an extra teddy bear? Jon's prescription # is 154251.
Re the two checks: Just endorse them and put them in our CalFed account. You probably have an exemplar of Jon's signature in the papers we left.
Jon spent 4 days in Perpignon, France and found it a very compatible city for him. We will be rather close to there since we will be somewhere on the northern Spanish coast. We are looking forward to seeing them.
Sherri N.: Dear Daughter, we got your April 13 e-mail and always personally reply when we get your wonderful letters. Love to you and the Kids and Othon.
Cantara: We are glad that Rob has his first anniversary at the restaurant and are proud of him. Claude did not tell us about Michael but we are glad to hear he is recovering.
Alan M: Alan, you are right on about the Yugoslav situation and your joke about further proposed bombing is on point.
Leslie M: We love your lyricism about Paris, your favorite city. Berenice feels it too.
Andy and Maureen: You can send scanned docs as attachments and we can open them and read them. Send us a picture of your family. Love to all of you.
Wendy Morrison: We are proud of Anders and Berenice hopes that someday Claude (her son) and he will meet (two great musicians). It is amazing that Anders is going on tour in Japan as a drummer. Tell him his SAT scores are the same as his dad's except that his dad got the higher score in mathematics. Congratulate Anders for me on his superb musicianship and that I think he might become another Gene Krupa.
Everyone: Does anyone know of a good coastal city in northern Spain where it is cheap to stay during the summer and it is relatively cool?
APRIL 28 LETTER:
Dear Everyone,
Berenice writes
Although it looked like we were going to leave Paris and go to northern Spain, we have changed our collective mind and will stay in Paris at least another month. This is such a splendid city and Jon is studying French diligentement while I am trying to get by on what I know. So we will be at the Hotel Printemps which is the cheapest one we could find in Paris. It is still more expensive than Madrid but barely affordable for us.
We can manage it by cutting down on other expenses like food. There is a fantastic open market in our Arrondisement (neighborhood). It is open two days a week and just fascinates me. I feel more comfortable in Paris than I did in Madrid...more at home. I love neighborhoods and we are in a real neighborhood.
Jon writes
We are staying here in Paris until at least June 1. We love it here. It is more costly - 24 dollars a day rather than 16 dollars a day in spain, for lodging and everything else is more expensive but we are adjusting our expenses so we can stay in our budget.
We have visited the Luxembourg gardens and the Jardin des Plantes (Garden of Plants) and we loved them. Today we strolled down the Champs Elyssee and enjoyed all the tourists. We went to the Diana Memorial and read a lot of the encomeniums to her there. The memorial is an ad hoc one about 100 yards from the place where the accident occurred.
We love this city and might stay on after June 1 if we can find an affordable apartment. I am working very hard on my French so that we will be able to look for something nice to live in. French is easy after Spanish. It seems like 80 percent of the words have English cognates and this makes the vocabulary memorization a dream. In Spanish, only about 20 percent of the words seem to be cognate with English words.
Our hotel room is small and on the fourth floor so we go out in the morning and return later in the evening.
The first week we were here it rained intermittently each day, but we managed to avoid the showers. The last couple of days have been beautiful and there has been no rain.
We tried out our little Spanish TV which we brought with us but it does not work in France. We have found and English radio station called Talk Radio and we can listen to it late at night. It's truly boring Joe Pyne-type shock radio. Does anyone remember Joe Pyne?
Thanks to everyone who gave us info about Paris. We read everything that you wrote to us.
Personal Messages
Cantara Christopher - We will try to look at the parts of your new novel as soon as we can get more computer time. We usually spend one hour a week at the computer and it sometimes takes us one-half hour of that to read messages we receive (we love getting messages).
Monica S - Berenice says your letters have been wonderful and informative and thank you for writing with the news of Josh and Claude. The chestnut trees are blooming all over Paris and this city is really a delight. I am glad Jon changed his mind and decided to stay. If we are lucky enough to find an apartment here for about 500 dollars a month we could spend the summer.
Paul C - Thanks for the info. Jon bicycled through Barcelona in 1993 and liked it a lot. He camped out near the airport and took a bus into town each day. It is a truly great city, esp. with the Gaudi architecture (the Holy Family Church - will it ever be finished?) and the great people who live there. We have the impression that Barcelona is a little more expensive than Madrid, but it is truly worthy of a visit to check it out.
We don't know about Francepass, Euro Domino or Carte Kiwi. Try Let's Go-France (which you should buy). Cheap ways to get around Europe from London are Easyjet and Eurolines, a bus line. Easyjet is really cheap from London. Try them at www.easyjet.com. I don't know where Eurolines is on the web. Try a search for the name in Yahoo. We use Eurolines to get all over Europe. We used Easyjet to get to Madrid. They are the absolute cheapest.
Eurodisney is a great idea. I told Berenice that Genie and Marie would probably want to go to Eurodisney (now Disneyland Paris) and she poohpoohed the idea. Hah - I am proven right again.
The train through the chunnel is expensive. I know they have a website.
We are looking forward to seeing you. We may be in Paris but you should definitely also plan on visiting Barcelona. You can check it out for us too. Look at Let's Go - Spain for Barcelona.
Pam D - We didn't know you had been to the northern coast of Spain. We are glad to hear that. Anders' trip to Japan should be really great for him.
Porky and Miss (now Ms.) Piggy were having a great time cruising Lake Powell until Kermit, her former boyfriend, showed up. Porky was flown to a hospital in Tulsa which was built by Oral Roberts. He is expected to recover and is being urged to enroll in Oral Roberts University. What next for that little bundle of energy?
Glad to hear that Dan will be graduating shortly and that Steve will spend a semester at sea. What is a semester at sea? When we were in college, we were always at sea.
Terry - Berenice writes - glad you are house hunting. Why don't you buy the Castro house? it would be perfect for you and the kids. I will make a reservation for Paul and the Kids at the Hotel we are staying at as soon as we know the nights that they will be staying here. We hope to be in Paris at that time too. Tentatively, I will make a reservation for them for the nights of June 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29. I'm going to try to reserve a 23 dollar a night room for them with toilet and shower down the hall.
Paul and the kids should definitely go to Spain too and the cheapest way is Eurolines. We rode from Madrid to Paris for 81 dollars each. They also have good connections in London.
Do not send the toys until we request them.
Wendy Martin - We are glad you went to Madison, WI. It's a great city with a really great University. It will be great for you to have a year off. You can do what you want to do then. We will check out the market at the Jules Joffren metro stop.
Andy and Maureen - Thanks for the info re your bicycling trip through wet Spain. I keep telling Berenice that the rain in Spain does not fall mainly in the plain, but she didn't believe me before.
Congrats on your 10th anniversary and on your joint gigs together. They must be fun.
Berenice says she wishes you could see the food market here.
So Antonia has gigs too. Wow, what a family! I just found out that my son is going to Japan for a 10-day gig as a drummer. Wow!
It's always good to hear about Valya. We miss her and think about her often.
Andy, we will remember that San Sebastian and Bilbao are great places to check out, as well as a village near San Seb called Leguerio.
Kathy N - Berenice says that she learned to speak French because her husband and in-laws spoke French. Her husband was from Luxembourg and one of the common languages there is French. We don't really miss anything about America. We think it's a great country and we think that the places where we have stayed here are great countries too. There is no anti-American sentiment here as far as we can tell.
Portland sounds nice. Why not Seattle? Both get a lot of rain, but Seattle has relatives. Your Aunt Kay and your Uncle Tom could be of great help to you in Seattle.
So, we can get Derek's fonts from www.welcome.to/shyfonts - is that correct? They are really good if Derek gets fan mail about them. Hi to Derek and the five little ferrets. Is shyfonts named after shyguy?
Don N - Hi, brother. Thanks for your informative letter. We are so glad that you are seeing mom frequently. Berenice has been sending her cards. Say Hi to Mike from us. We knew he was a great dad the first that he came home while we were there and we saw Justin's reaction to his arrival! We hope that Derek finishes HS. He's got the ability certainly.
Glad you like your job and sorry to hear that Karen's job is not all it could be. A person needs some certainly as to hours she will work.
Berenice writes that our differences are not so minor because of our personalities and our backgrounds, but we hope we can keep working things out. She says she does not want to be a divorce statistic. After all she stayed married for 41 years to a difficult man.
Say hi to mom and tell her Berenice mailed a card to her yesterday.
Tom N - Tom, please pay 1k (plus the regular payment) to USAA to reimburse USAA for payments made to the hotel here.
How are you doing? We are doing just fine.
Wendy M - We are working up two new books -
A Farewell to Arms - The story of the American negotiator of the Kellogg Briand Pact
The Son Also Rises - A shocking unauthorized biography of Marshall Field, the Chicago department store magnate, who practiced the most insidious form of nepotism.
What do you think? Will you be our agent?
Love to all.
Jon and Berenice
MAY 12 LETTER:
Dear Everyone,
Our letter last week apparently went off into cyberspace and never got to anyone of you. Too bad - it was full of great and interesting stuff.
Berenice says: We hope to stay in Paris through the summer and maybe longer depending on whether or not we can find a studio or small apartment that we can afford. We probably will be staying at our hotel through June as we would like to be in that area when Paul and the children come.
Jon says:
We are having a wonderful time here. The weather has been really wonderful for just sitting in the Park or just walking around. We have found a wonderful new library that is only 6 blocks from our hotel and we are going there during the day to read and study. In the late afternoon, we like to ride buses around the city and just look at the different areas.
We found a $3 a picture theatre and we are excited about seeing a movie for the first time in over a month. They shown some American films with French subtitles so we can use the films to help in learning more French.
The French language is wonderful! It is fun to listen to and fun to learn. I finally got through my book "French in 90 days" and now I am starting to go through it again. What fun!
Berenice had an eye appointment today. The opthalmologist gave her a very thorough exam and the cost was only $25. We also can get our dental work at the same place at a very reasonable cost.
We are finding it difficult finding an apartment because I am lacking in confidence in speaking French. Berenice already speaks some French, but we probably need both of us to get an apartment. We will try to stay in the hotel another month until we get an apartment.
Paris is lovely for retired people. the people here are so interesting! It is not like the US. Here people only follow rules when it suits them. I like that and it fits my lifestyle.
There are a lot of roller bladers here and we see them everywhere on the sidewalks.
Since our last message apparently did not go through, short comments follow:
Bob B: We want to hear about how you like the electric car, LA and the Getty Museum. We loved the museum partly because it favored people arriving by public transportation over those arriving by car.
Pam D: We love your letters.
Paul and Terry: Europasses sound fine - the best deal we found was Eurolines Bus for $165 round trip London-Paris (total cost for all three of you). Eurolines is at www.eurolines.com.fr so it is probably at www.eurolines.com.uk in English.
Wendy Mar: How did jury duty go? You're are right - it's human to have frets over things especially when two people are living in the same room. We realize this and are trying to come to terms with our different needs. Thanks for the help.
Tom N: 79 percent of the French back the bombing to end ethnic cleansing. No more Hitlers is the attitude here. The papers generally support this position. French jets are doing 6.5 percent of the sorties, a significant percentage.
As to Colorado, the only lesson to be learned is that when kids see other kids talking about and doing disturbing things, the former should tell their parents. This would have stopped almost every one of these types of incidents. The psychopathology exists in every society, but in the US it gets acted out. There is tremendous presssure on young American males and this is the result.
Antonia M: We are glad to hear that Valya is fine. We are going to see the view from Sacre Coeur and we will look for the Kandinsky exhibit.
Leslie M: It's great all the things that you are doing with Book Passages (a great store) and on line. We read some of Bill Bryson in England and he writes engagingly about the US. He is another Dave Barry (that is a compliment).
If we missed anyone who write last time, we apologize.
Steve N and Anders N: How about writing? Thanks, Dad
Love,
Jon & Berenice
MAY 22 LETTER:
Dear All,
Berenice writes:
It is truly the saison des cerises (the season of the cherries). I gorged myself on a pound of them at the wonderful outdoor fair we have in our neighborhood two days a week. Also, the melons from the provinces are coming in and they are, in flavor and taste, unlike any melons I have ever tasted on the US. Since we will be finishing with our hotel room the end of June, I am hoping by that time we can find the little studio I am dreaming of for $500 a month. Having our own kitchen would be such a help since the cheapest meal in a restaurant here is around $10.
The markets, however, have wonderful food to be prepared at home. I am looking forward to the visit of Paul, my son-in-law, and my 2 grandchildren toward the end of June.
I am starting to get more courage and, for the first time, spent the day without Jon and on my own. I braved a local bus which crossed the river and went way beyond any place I was familiar with, but I did manage to get home by dark. It is scary to get lost in a city where you are not comfortable with the language and, considering my impaired vision, I am just glad I made it back. But I do have to try to become more independent of Jon. Jon concurs.
We have found a wonderful library within walking distance of the hotel. In addition to having a section of bilingual books (English on one side of the page and French on the other) they also have one of the most complete and interesting record/tape/sheet music library I have ever seen. If we can find a place here, we will get a library card. We go there four or five days a week and I read all the latest news in the Herald Tribune and study some French, whereas jon spends four or five hours studying French. He has a much better understanding of the vocabulary than I do. We don't know yet what our plans will be for the summer although Jon wants to stay in Paris. It is alright with me but I am tired of living in a hotel even though it is inexpensive (only $750/month), but it would be fun to have our own place.
Jon writes:
We both love Paris and Parisiens. I love the freedom that exists here and the tolerance that people have for each other. There is no difficulty in living here. Even the language problem becomes smaller every day as we gain confidence in our ability to communicate. We hope to be able to communicate above a rudimentary level in a short time.
I love the library we found. It's a city library and has great places to study. It is only four blocks from our home.
Each week, with our increasing language capabilities, we are able to do more. Yesterday we went to a shopping center we had visited a month ago. What a difference! I was able to read everything and it made me feel so confident.
We take bus rides to different parts of the city almost every night. We love the beauty of this city.
Of course, I still read the French sports pages to see how the Utah Jazz (basketball team) are doing.
Personal Messages:
Gloria M: We added you to our e-mail list. If you want to get off, let us know, otherwise you are on in perpetuity. We welcome Jason to Paris, although it is quite late. Our address is:
Jon and Berenice Nelson c/o Hotel Printemps 31 Rue du Commerce, Room 35 75015 Paris Tel: 01 45 79 83 36 Fax: 01 45 79 83 36
We could find a hostel for him. If he comes without calling, we are home every night and he could come by.
We hope that you and Ernie are well.
Kathy N: We love hearing from you, Kathy and are glad to hear about Sedona, the New Yorker you recently added to your family. Berenice hasn't gotten into overalls yet, but it is a good idea. She remembers that you looked great in them in Phoenix. We eat cheap food here: baguettes, salad and some fast food. You can e-mail Anders at the bcohen... address (complete address is above if you print this out) and ask him to send you a pic. We love you. Hi to Derek.
Sherri N: Please make sure that Gloria M gets the above message. It's probably too late, but maybe next time.
Pam D: What your kids do! Allison in 3 Penny Opera; Steve in Rainmaker; Scot finishing his law school finals and Dan being pinned! They are great. Berenice's eye is fine. She had her checkup and the pressure was OK.
Steve S: Great that Vallejo settled and not so great that you are probably out of job, but GREAT that you go to Nepal for 6 weeks at the end of June. You should have a lot of messages from us when you get back.
Leslie M: We found a book in the library called Paris Pas Cher which has a lot of cheap things to buy and to do. We even found a free hairdo for Berenice, but she doesn't want to go because the stylist gets to choose the hairstyle and she knows it will be real short. Please give us the name, address, etc of your Bohemian friend near Sacre Coeur. We need help finding a place to stay and perhaps he/she could help us. We would be willing to pay for any help of course. Great that you and Loren will spend some time in LA, a great city too.
Paul, Terry, Claude, Monica: Paul, we have reserved a hotel room at the Mondial Hotel near our hotel for June 23-29 for three persons for 300 Francs a night. It is near our hotel. Do you want us to keep this reservation given that you have found another hotel. When Paul comes, could he also bring Jon's renewed drivers license? We may be going to Luxembourg and may have access to a car there if we have a drivers license. Have you heard how Alex is. We will try calling him today.
Terry and Paul, please send the toys and t-shirts to us at the address shown above either by airmail or Fedex (slowest way for Fedex). Berenice would like you to add some calcium and multivitamin pills as they are very expensive here. Claude and Monica, disappointed not to have heard from you but we will try calling you and also Terry and Paul as we found a cheap way to phone from here.
Tom N: Thanks for the account info. I'll send you the info on Vanguard later. I think I sent you and e-mail on it and I kept a copy of that e-mail. Hi to Jacky. How is work coming along. You leave for Africa in less than a month and you must be very excited about that.
Wendy Mar: You are always so busy! But soon a sabbatical. Mais oui? Then you will be able to relax! We love your lovely letters and are always glad to hear from you.
With love,
Jon and Berenice
JUNE 11 LETTER:
Dear Friends,
Berenice writes:
We are going to continue to try and find a place here and thank you everybody for your advice. If we are not successful, we probably will move to a smaller town at the end of the month. I would like to see a little of the countryside and get away from cities for awhile.
Jon writes:
We appreciated your comments on our dilemma regarding finding a studio apartment in Paris. We have found that in order to get a decent apartment we have to put up about $3000, for an apartment that rents for $750/month. This is a little rich for our blood so we are probably going to leave Paris at the end of the month. We want to remain in a French-speaking area and are thinking of the following priorities: (1) a little village in the south of France; (2) Rabat, Morocco; and (3) Nancy, France (a city near Paris). We'll make up our minds as the month progresses.
Meanwhile, the weather continues to be great here. We love Paris although Berenice can no longer stand living in a little hotel room and she wants a kitchen.
We have solved one of our big problems: where to find places to eat. We found two restaurants this week where the prices are reasonable. The are both near our hotel. Our advice on finding an inexpensive restaurant here is: Find a restaurant where the employees are North African but the restaurant isn't. Imagine finding a place here with pizza for 25 Francs (vs. 59 Francs at Pizza Hut). One of the restaurants we found even let's us sit outside and eat without charging extra.
We are doing just fine. We only go to the library two or three times a week now and the rest of the time we usually hang out in our neighborhood.
Berenice's hair was so long that I told her she either had to get a violin or a dog license so she went to John David Biguine (a coiffure chain) and got a haircut. She got about three inches cut off so her hair now comes only to her shoulders. She looks real cool.
We didn't get to the Louvre last Sunday because the Louvre workers were on strike. They were on strike for about 15 days but now the strike has been settled. We won't be here for the next free Sunday which will be the first Sunday in July.
Berenice is trying to learn how to drink expresso coffee rather than coffee creme. Good coffee creme is sold only at McDonalds here and Berenice wants to break her addiction to McDonalds' coffee. I *myself* have renounced McDonalds since I find their prices too high, their service too slow and their food inadequate to my needs. With the two new restaurants we found, we don't need to go there anymore.
Personal Messages:
Antonia M: First, Happy Birthday to Valya. We hope that you had a great time together for her birthday.
We find Mark's advice to be very sound. We have used the FUSAC magazine and we have been to the American Church. The unfortunate thing is that it is difficult to find a studio which we can truly afford. We will check the next issue of FUSAC (it comes out today) and will keep in touch with the American Church here. We will definitely call Mark as it would be great to talk with him. Thank you for all your help. You are great.
Pam D: Glad to hear that Steve is going to be fine. Tell him not to try to do too much too soon as he needs to rest for a while. Great to hear that Dan is a natural nurse, not just one who has a degree.
Tom N: I'm not sure I would forego that. When we were in the Castro, we noticed that it was a great way to meet people! Thanks for all the advice. We esp. appreciated the info on Rabat. Carcassone, Grenoble, Angeloume are being kept in mind by us. We probably can't find a place here, but we loved living here. It is a great city and the people are wonderful. You are leaving on the 17th, right. Have a great trip, Tom and Jacky. Take care and we will continue writing you and you can write us when you get to a computer.
Thanks for all the help that you have given us, Tom. Is that computer still holding up?
Don N: Don, congratulations to Derek upon his graduation. We are proud of him too and will send him a message on his e-mail to tell him so.
Steve S: Thanks for looking for Giselle's e-mail address. We have more or less given up trying to get an apartment here, as you can see from the above. You recommended we think about Rabat as did my Brother Tom. Funny, I never think about the Green Hammer at all, just the people who are (were) there. I guess the process was more important than the substance to me.
Jim Sch: congratulations on the publication of your new book "The Race." We will look for it when it comes out in England on July 1. In the meantime, we will find details at amazon.com in the near future. Thanks for Kraft's advice. I think that he is right: we could get an agent to do what you suggested. The problem is that apartments do not fit our limited budget because so much has to be put upfront and the apartments themselves are expensive.
We are taking his advice and checking out the Rue l'exposition. We would love to find other inexpensive restaurants. We hope that you are doing well and appreciate hearing from you.
Paul and Terry and Claude and Monica: We are looking forward to Paul's visit and I (Berenice) will confirm his hotel reservation here. We'll try to meet Paul when they come in if he wishes.
Anders N: We hope that you have a wonderful time in Japan.
Love,
Jon & Berenice
JUNE 19 LETTER:
Dear Everyone,
Berenice writes:
I am looking forward to seeing my son-in-law Paul and the grandchildren next week. They are in London now and will be staying at a hotel near us. We have kind of given up on finding a place in Paris and will probably head south at the end of the month (looking for that "village" that I always dreamed about). I really do miss having a place of our own and especially some kind of a garden. I guess I am burned out on cities, in spite of the parks with many flowers and trees. It is just not the same as being in the country. So we will go on a journey again to see what we can find.
Jon writes:
Berenice read "Under the Tuscan Sun" and thinks that a village would be a great place to go, so we are going to find one in the Pyrennees Mountains if we can. A place with a 1,000 souls or so should qualify, I think.
Paris remains a wonderful, captivating city and its inhabitants are wonderful! I would love to stay here but the rental market for us seems too difficult. Since we will probably go to Madrid next winter, I don't mind living just north of Spain this summer and polishing my French some more.
I enjoy immensely the new restaurants that we have found - those with affordable menus.
Last weekend we went to Montmartre to see the Sacre Coeur Church and we ran into an American from Portland, Or. We spent the afternoon with her and had a very enjoyable time. Other than her, we have not seen many Americans as we have not sought them out.
There was a plumbing problem in our hotel room this week so we couldn't use the sink and bidet for a night. It was eerie not to be able to use our respective toilets. As Berenice says: "There is no one who does not use the sink and bidet as a toilet." So we have a room with a WC! The plumbing problem was fixed and we are now back in sync.
About two weeks ago I started smoking again. I guess I just want to be a real Parisien. After a week I started chewing the Nicorette gum again and I am again a nonsmoker (no cigarettes for a week now).
We love the way that the Parisiens live - they feel free to do anything within reason and I love that. I'll miss them.
Personal Messages:
Terry P: Thanks for the package. It arrived 3 days ago and we are now well supplied. We will give Paul our address below and we'll give him the other information he asked for. Berenice talked to Genie and Marie on the phone last night. She says it was great to talk to them. We are glad that you are able to relax knowing that Paul and the kids are fine too. We are glad they arrived safely at Andy's.
Claude and Monica: Claude, it was great to get your letter. It was a great letter and well worth waiting for. We will keep in mind your comments about Tunisia being perhaps better to go to than Morocco. We are glad you both are fine. Berenice plans to come back to SF before the end of the year for a visit as she misses her kids. She'll keep in mind the Y2K problem and won't travel over the New Year for sure. She thanks you for the birthday wishes.
Cantara C: Thank you for the list of rentals in the South of France. We want to go to a village to let Berenice decide whether she actually wants to stay in a place like that. I (Jon) believe that I will love a village also. I will get a bicycle and ride all over the country.
Contact Andrew Cole (he's in the list of addressees above). He lives in Morden south of London and might have a place for you two to stay from August 25 to August 28. It's up to you and him to see if something can be worked out.
We gave up on Paris because the rental is so difficult for us. Also, for some reason, Berenice has become bored with Paris. What is the saying "If you are bored of Paris, you are bored of life." She says that not having much money and staying in a little hotel room has a lot to do with it, along with the absence of cooking facilities. Her boredom dovetails nicely with my wanting to go to a village also. It should be cool in the mountains this summer and then we can go on in the fall, unless we really like the village.
We will get out to look at your place before we leave, we hope. We really appreciate your looking at "Loot" for us and thank you beaucoup.
Paul C and Kids:
Thanks for all the info about the folks in Osseja. We will wait until you get here before we talk about contacting them.
Correct our address: It is not 311 Rue du Commerce but 31, Rue du Commerce. Thanks for sending the package.
As soon as you know the details of your arrival, please let us know. Depending on when you arrive, Berenice may have to pay the first night to confirm your reservation at the Mondial. The Mondial is at 136, Boulevard de Grennelle, 75015 Paris. From the La Motte Picquet Metro stop, you go the the McDonalds at the corner (Berenice's favorite breakfast place) and then go left on Grenelle for about 1/2 a block and voila, there you are.
Give us info on your arrival plans and we will meet you to squire you to the hotel. You can call us before 10 a.m. or after 9 p.m. We look forward to getting your call because we will not be doing our next e-mail until the 27th.
We checked an atlas and it appears that Osseja is only about 60 miles from Perpignon. There are night trains to Perpignon from here so you should have no problem getting there.
Have a great time in London with Andy and Maureen and the kids.
We got your new e-mail address but we'll just send this to Andy right now since we know you will receive it.
Hi to Andy, Maureen, Sean, Tristan, Victor. And also, to Valya. What a great family!
We will see you soon.
Wendy Mar: Berenice is glad there was a family reunion for Laurel's graduation. She only wishes that Earl and Teresa could have been there.
We love all the help that we get from you regarding places to stay. Berenice has a dream of a village and Leslie has not yet written her book exposing the fallacies of "Under the Tuscan Sun" so we will go to a village.
We may come back to Paris this winter when Jon is fluent in French conversation (Berenice says: If ONLY he would try to speak to somebody!), we will see.
Tom and Jacky N: When you get this you will be in South Africa or Zimbabwe. We hope that you are both fine and that the climate agrees with you. Take good care of yourselves. Tom, I appreciate all the help that you have given us. We could not have done it without your help, advice and counsel.
Tail winds!
JUNE 26 LETTER:
Dear Everyone,
This is Jon sitting at the keyboard. Berenice stayed home today and I am going to do 3 hours of internet surfing to use up the amount of time we purchased a few weeks ago. Since we came to Europe we have only been using the net for e-mail, so I am looking forward to some heavy duty surfing.
The big news is that Paul, Berenice's son in law, and Berenice's two grandchildren, Genie (age 11) and Marie (age 7) arrived in Paris from London 3 days ago. They arrived on the Eurostar a train which goes through the chunnel and only takes 3 hours to get here from London. We met them at the station and took them on a nice bus ride to their hotel. Their hotel is around the corner from ours and they got a very nice room. It's on the fourth floor (5th floor in the US) and there is no elevator, but they don't have any problem with that.
The first full day they were here we all went to the Eiffel Tower and they climbed to the first stage for a great view of Paris. the kids love the playgrounds that are in our neighborhood. They all have great play equipment and one of them even has a little climbing wall that Genie likes to climb.
Yesterday, Paul went to see the cathedral at Chartres and we took care of the kids. I had a dental emergency so we had to spend two hours waiting for the emergency clinic to open up and then my appointment took over an hour. Since both Genie and Marie attend the French American School in San Francisco, they both speak French and Genie was an invaluable interpreter for me at the clinic. My reading ability in French is great as is my ability to speak, but my ability in aural comprehension is not so great, so when Genie and I came to a rough spot where I could not understand something, she translated for me. It's great to have French speakers available to help us. The dental clinic turned out to be part of the welfare system so I was able to get my work done for $16, rather than the $160 it would have cost me in the US.
We then took the girls to my favorite library and they loved it. There's a whole children's section full of books and they both love to read.
Genie and Marie both loved the pizza at the pizza restaurant we had found. Paul had a great time at Chartres. Today they are all going to visit Notre Dame and tonight Paul is going to treat Berenice to supper while I mind the kids. Berenice had been dying to go to a good restaurant at least once while we are here.
Our present plans are to go south to Perpignon, France, which is near the Mediterranean. We will probably spend a couple of days there before heading into the Pyrennees Mountains to see if we can find Berenice a village. We hope that Paul's in-law relatives can help us find something. We will keep in mind all your suggestions.
We regret leaving Paris. Berenice just cannot stand not having a kitchen and detests staying in a little hotel room. This is a great city with great people, and I am very happy that we were able to stay here for 2 and one-half months. I think that Berenice is going to find that she really prefers a medium-size city, but we will see. Anyway, it will be fun to see the villages and the country!
We will probably take a train south although I am going to check out the bus too. Paul and the kids have France Passes so they may take a high speed train south and we will see them there later.
It is really great to see Paul and the kids and they are really great for Berenice too.
Personal Messages:
Andy and Maureen: Thank you for taking such good care of Paul and the kids. They loved staying with you. I don't think that the kids really noticed London. All they talk about is the other kids.
Pam D: Thanks your your e-mail, Pam. For some reason we didn't get the virtual flowers for Berenice's birthday, but it is the thought that counts. I will tell Berenice about them and she can imagine a huge bouquet from you. Thanks! We are glad Steve is recovering. If he wants to learn Spanish, I recommend the book "Spanish in 90 Days." It's put out by Hugo, an English publisher. I used it to learn Spanish and used another of their books to learn French. If Steve wants to take up drumming, he should call Anders and talk to him about it. We are glad that he (Steve), like all your children, has so many interests.
Kathy N: Thanks for your letter. We are sorry that Los Alamos has a great job but doesn't have very good places to stay.It's good that Motorola is always there. I can't imagine temperatures of 110 degrees anymore, but I have been in Phoenix when the temp was that high. What is the joke: It was so hot in Phoenix that all of my patio furniture was standing on one leg! It's good to hear that Derek likes to cook and that you both like the same things.
Have Steve write me with his good hand. I never hear from him. I'm glad to hear that he is OK.
Julia O: It is great to hear that you are doing fine and that you love your work. It's only a matter of time before the $$ start coming in. Let us know how your Yosemite case comes out. Tell Steve that we hope he has a great time in Nepal (and Laos). We will e-mail him there from the little village that we find in the south of France.
We will see the movie "Buena Vista Social Club" as soon as we find it subtitled in English. Again, we have a problem with understanding what others are saying in Spanish or French, although we are getting better. I remember that years ago I went to see "Basic Instinct" dubbed in Spanish. Every time Michael Douglas said something in Spanish, I was totally flummoxed!
Leslie M: We will avoid Provence. Tell Peter Mayle to write on some other subject other than Provence. I had not heard of the French Department named Correze so I will go to the library and look it up. Berenice and you and Teresa stayed in the Dordogne, right? Berenice knows that area a little and it is a possibility.
Last week we walked through the Marais and visited Les Halles and looked at the Pompideau Center (closed indefinitely for restoration). We enjoyed it very much.
Tom and Jacky: You guys must be arriving in South Africa about now. WE are concerned about the two of you, so take it easy. Safety is more important, but I am sure that you have it in mind at all times. You said that someone was helping you set up a "safe route" through South Africa to Zimbabwe, but you might have to travel 80-150 km per day in order to find safe places to stay. How can you travel 100 miles a day in an unfamiliar place like that. I can't do that myself (except, of course, for my disputed record in Iowa of 125 miles in one day with a tail wind.)
We have found enough restaurants so that we are able to eschew McDonalds. Funny, Berenice insists on breakfasting at McDonalds because she thinks that they have the best breakfasts.
I'll check out the Aix-on-Thermes that you mentioned. The village that we are thinking of going to (Osseja) is right next to Andorra so Aix can't be too far. One thing that we like is that, if we can't find anything on the French side we can always pop over to the Spanish side of the mountains!
We are glad you are being picked up at the airport in Capetown, even though the political pedigree of the person picking you up may be a little different from persons you are used to! Let us know who he turns out to be.
We met a cyclist at Les Halles. He's German and has been on the road for 37 years! So far he has travelled 460,000 km (300,000 miles). We had a nice conversation and I bought one of his little books. What a fantastic dude! The last 10 years he has been cycling mainly in eastern Russia and China. He must have liked our conversation because I was overflowing with admiration for his accomplishments.
Things are going great here. I love Europe and never want to leave. I want to stick with Spain or France, though, because I do not want to learn another language! My four years of college German will never really be used because those countries are just too expensive for us.
We go south on the 30th of this month and may be incommunicado for awhile if we can't find a cybercafe in the village or environs. Let us know your exact date of return.
Tom and Jacky, take care and thanks for all you have done for us.
Kay N: Kay, how are you doing? We would love to hear from you.
Love,
Jon & Berenice