To Michigan and a Wedding

It was in June of last year that Susie and I headed back to the Midwest, Michigan in fact, to attend Jane and Dave's wedding. If you know these two, you know the story, if you don't it's been recounted elsewhere on this blog. This time, it's another wedding, in late May instead of June, in Grand Rapids instead of Holland and family instead of friends. Specifically, it's the wedding of our niece Rachel, third and youngest daughter of Susie's younger sister Joyce and her husband Carl.

Susie flew out of Boston this afternoon, having been escorted to Logan Airport by Peter Pan (of the bus line and not of Neverneverland fame). She will stay with her mom for the next three days and spend most of that time baking delicious treats for the wedding -- I'm bringing three cookies and slabs of cut brownies; Susie will be working on various almond-base cakes and a choux puff delicacy that I can't wait to taste and photograph.  

Rachel at Christina's wedding, nearly a decade ago:

Rachel at her sister Melissa's wedding, almost seven years ago:

Anyway, she's there and I'm here (old story, eh?) until Friday early AM when I pack the car with my gear, point the nose of the A4 toward I-90 and head toward the "Winter Wonderland" or whatever the motto is today for the Peninsula State. I'll be posting photos and details of the Michigan trip and the wedding, right here next week.

The weekend before Susie fly out of Boston we drove north to Cambridge, MA, and spent a beautiful afternoon strolling the grounds of Mt. Auburn Cemetery in preparation for a lovely concert late in the afternoon in Story Chapel at the cemetery. (Photo above: "Willy, Mary and Charlie.") Two clarinetists and a pianist played works by Brahms, Mendelssohn and Schumann, a fitting end to a gorgeous day of appreciating life -- as others were doing as well. As we walked back toward the chapel following out tour we came across a photo shoot with several women dressed as brides. Not surprising since the cemetery now makes it incredible gardens and two chapels available for weddings. One has to appreciate a certain symmetry if not harmony in all of this.

Work keeps me both engaged and busy -- commencement ceremonies this weekend at Johnson & Wales, after that summer kicks in. Susie continues to work on growing her future in the wacky world of pastry and desserts -- God only knows what's in store for her in that regard, but if the past is any indication of the future the coming weeks and months will be interesting indeed.

Susie returns to Providence; Paris breathes easy

It was a beautiful Friday afternoon in Boston; a few intermittent showers but otherwise sun and warm temps greeted me as I pulled into the central parking garage at Logan Airport. Susie's flight was on time, she whisked through passport control, and a few minutes later she grabbed her bags off the carousel and headed out the door into the waiting area of Terminal E -- where I was waiting.

She was tickled to be out in the open air again after sitting inside a narrow metal tube for the better part of the day.

After a short ten-minute walk up and out of the terminal, across the pedestrian bridge into the garage, down six levels and onto I-90 heading east. We exited at I-93 south and joined much of the entire population of greater Boston heading out of the city. The traffic arteriosclerosis notwithstanding, we were back in Providence by 6pm. Once the bags were in the condo, the Cremant was opened, glasses filled and toasts all around to her safe return home – at last!

After an early dinner and some unpacking, Susie showered to get the volcanic ash off her, and soon hit the proverbial hay.

A pretty good day indeed.

Susie goes to Giverny today and Providence on Friday

Well, the latest news is hardly news, I'm afraid. Chaos still seems to reign over the skies in much of Europe. Hopes rise and fall hourly as to when the tens of thousands of travelers wandering around airports from London to Krakow will wend their way home.

The good news for us is that Susie is booked on a KLM flight out of Paris this Friday mid-morning, connecting in Amsterdam for Boston. She arrives in Beantown a little before 4 in the afternoon local time. None too soon for my money.

Even though she was scheduled to leave Paris today she made good use of the wonderful weather (for a change) and the extra time and headed off to Giverny to check out Monet's world-famous gardens.

Half of the trip was free, due mainly to the overwhelmed French railway bureaucracy and the idiotic French policy of not allowing non-French credit cards to be used in their automatic ticketing machines. The fools. (She planned to buy her ticket on board since the lines were so long and she couldn't used the machines. No one ever stopped to ask for a ticket.) The return would've been free since no one bothered to check her return ticket.

After a short bus ride from the train station to the village of Giverny she caught sight of some incredible floral colors:

I'm hoping for more details from her soon. I'll let you know as soon as I know.

The Latest Travel News from Paris (a very small part of it)

The official news as of Monday morning is "Paris airports will remain closed until 8am Tuesday morning." I was informed yesterday by an Air France agent that in fact the airport would reopen at 3pm Tuesday. That would necessitate a cancellation of Susie's flight so, after some time on the phone (twice) we got Susie booked on a Friday morning KLM flight out of Paris to Boston, connecting in Amsterdam.

I had to return to the hotline -- and listen to the same music loop for another half hour just to reconfirm since we received no confirmation by email. We now have that bit of electronic data in hand. Now, like tens of thousands of other folks, we sit and wait. And, of course, the "Ash Attack" -- which is what the NYT appears to be calling this particular situation -- is by no means over. Where the "Cloud" goes and when is certainly not known to any of us.

Meanwhile, a few are focused on other things:

Outside the church of St. Germain des Pres. Naturally. (photo by Susie.)

Good news from New England and unsettling news from Paris

Luxembourg Gardens

The good news, from the Northeastern corner of the United States, at least the small world in which I live, is that Susan's Uncle Frank is back on the road to recovery. Frank suffered a severe heart attack last week and after two stents and several days in the ICU at Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA, has bounced right back.

On a more somber note, a friend here in Providence is having to make the one drive we all wish we didn't have to make: the one that leads us to an old friend or family member to say that final goodbye. Godspeed to you Barbara.

And Godspeed to you, too, Uncle Frank.

May hearts lighten just a wee bit today/
anguish has its own peculiar way/

By now most of you are keenly aware of the airline chaos that has struck Northern Europe, producing a ripple effect throughout the world. The Paris airports remain closed and, we are told, will remain so through at least Monday. (photo above: Jardin du Luxembourg.)

Susie is scheduled to fly home on Tuesday but right now, it does not look as if that is going to happen. Originally, I planned to join her this Tuesday and we were both going to return in early May. Once hired full-time by Johnson & Wales University, though, I had to put that trip on hold and we rescheduled Susie's return for April 20.

While the inconvenience suffered by so many travelers is most stressful, for them and for loved ones waiting at home, no one has been hurt, and nothing catastrophic has happened. For that we should all be truly thankful. As for Susie's predicament, if one has to be stranded anywhere what better place than Paris.

Like most of Nature's ways this, too, shall pass. In its own time, not ours.

I'll post more information as I get it.

Be well and be happy. Life is short.