Crazy Adventures in the Life of a Redhead

After such an incident last week, I was given a very calm and lovely respite during my travels this week. In this entry, I will talk about my trip to Lyon and my 80-mile bike ride to the home of the author of the “Marseillaise,” the national song of France. What memories! Continually, I am amazed by traveling and the meaning of the opportunity to visit foreign places. It is really a blessing to have the occasion and the ability to visit elsewhere and to experience what an area of the world and its people have to offer. I was not disappointed with all I saw, felt, thought and absorbed. Epitomizing the concept of the lone traveler, I went a grand distance to visit Lyon, which is considered one of the cultural and historical capitals in France. It is a lovely city, and there is surely a great many things to explore. Unfortunately, I had six hours to squeeze in everything I could ever want to see…and wouldn’t you know it, I did a pretty good job, including Gallo-Roman ruins and a historica...

I thought I knew this well enough already, but I think the Lord is trying to really make me get it: life is about taking both the pain and the joy at the same time and also, you know, try to avoid some of the pain by avoiding silly mistakes...maybe this is where I am missing the point! So, I decided to start something called the Stupid Jar. All stupid mistakes that I make, which involve money, because those are the mistakes that seem to make the most lasting impression, and maybe other things, just for the heck of it, will be put into the figurative “Stupid jar” and there they will accrue. So far, let me detail what is in the SJ…25 euros for a defunct cell phone that I bought at a market, which I knew I shouldn’t buy and was warned against buying; 3 euros for a missed train and replacement ticket; 3 euros for getting professional identity pictures when I could have gotten them at the grocery store; and four euros for giving my charge in Paris my metro ticket, not knowing a problem woul...

I chose that title because for this round of adventures, it surely is true. I am not sure if any of you remember what I wrote a few articles back, but it was something to the effect that when one travels alone, it does not matter much what happens because there is no one but yourself about whom to worry. Well, on this journey to Paris, I was responsible for a 15 year old, which was fine until the day we were supposed to leave and I lost her. In fact, I did not lose her, but she got on the train --- of which I was not aware --- and left me behind, left me frantically trying to find her, wondering how I would find her. I will explain more, but let’s just say that I learned some valuable lessons on this trip, and they were not cheap. The lessons that stick with me the most are those that affect other’s opinions of me (in this case the family for whom I work) and my wallet (in this case extra metro tickets and a cut in salary for the week). Okay, I will start from the beginning. Sit back a...

I had not originally intended on visiting this city because my family told me that it is an ugly city and not worth the visit. Well, after buying the Guide Vert and seeing that Bourg-en-Bresse contained a site worth a visit, I decided to reconsider. Outside of the city center, there is located an amazing monastery called the Brou. It has an incredible story surrounding it, and it is very intriguing to say the least. Although very much worth the visit, they were unfortunately redoing the exterior, which means that scaffolding was covering half of the grand basilica. What a shame! After so many adventures on the bike, I must say that it was a little refreshing to be in a city again, where I did not need a bike to see many wonderful things. I took the easy path, simply hopping on a train and walking around the city. So, with my lentils and zucchini that I brought from home and 2 euros for a delicious snack later in the day, I struck out to discover this “ugly” city. Now that I have visite...

So, normally, I am a very calm person who works on having an accurate perspective on the things the Lord presents me with; however, Christ has taken me to a new level and has used a minor harrowing experience to teach me or remind me of an important lesson. It is easy to be tranquil and thankful when the sky is shining blue, but when the winds start to blow and the sky turns black and you’re on a bike with no way to get home, the tears may start flowing and you may become a little irrational, forgetting all the peace you just felt. During the latter times is when a person must rely on the strength that solely comes from the Lord. During latter times is when I must cling to the strength I know I have, and during the latter times is when one must remember the blue sky and admit that the black sky is only here for a relative moment and will soon transform, just like everything does. Nothing in the world is permanent in this life. Now to explain…I planned a lovely bike ride and bus trip a...

Recently, I left on a trip that consisted of over 100 miles on my bike. It was glorious! Let’s just say my bottom did not thank me once it was over, but it was so worth it, that I do not mind the fact that I will be recuperating for a couple of days. The funny thing is that I just looked at the real Tour de France website, and they ride more than 100 miles each day for the whole month of July, and here I am complaining about a puny little trip I took. Well, I suppose I am no Lance Armstrong or whoever is in the running for the Tour this year. Maybe later on, I will have a chance to actually see the race…who knows. Anyway, I started in this small, rundown village called Tonnerre; which, upon saying that was my first stop, I received two types of looks --- confusion (they had never heard of it) or disbelief because everyone knows there is nothing in Tonnerre. Well, the people in the latter category were definitely right: there is nothing there and they have terrible signs giving directio...