a bathing suit and 18 days of traveling

I realized on Monday that this Friday (29th) I am leaving for a work assignment in Marseille. Though we will be working hard, there will likely be some time to see a beach or two. So, to prevent a repeat of me laying out in my black bra and board shorts like I did in Italy--sorry Mom--the bathing suit search commenced.

See, over here different rules apply. EVERYONE wears either a bikini OR just the bottoms, for men this is in the form of the speedo. The "one piece" that we Americans have come to know and love is extremely rare here. I know that I should probably just let go and adopt a phrase like "when in France do as the French do" or something like that...but let's face it, there are just some things, like showing your business off in public, that are non-negotiable in my book. So after searching high and low I was finally able to locate one at a sports store, because, in the mind of the French, that is the only reason one might need this type of suit; for competitive swimming. Don't worry, I will do my part to impress the other beach-goers with my swimming skills since it may appear that I am a professional.

Anyway, now that I have the essentials I am looking forward to finally seeing the south of France. I will return next Friday (5th), repack, and then take off on Sunday (7th) for a 10 day tour of N. Africa. So, if you don't hear from me for a while know that I am sweating a lot and seeing some new parts of the world.

Italy pics are now posted in their entirety!! Sorry if you already looked at the few I had, but now you should look again :)

Le Tour de France

Lance Armstrong won his 7th (and final) Tour de France today in Paris! I watched him race by 7 times from my spot by Tuileries on Rue de Rivoli. He is the one in the yellow jersey on the L (in case you have never seen him before and couldn't figure that out yourself) And, yes I did personally take this picture, it is not ganked from a news site :)

Quote of the summer...

"That Jesus, Hes gonna ride you to the grave. You know?" - David Graham, TN

Off to Italy

Yes, thats right...today I leave for Italy!! We are taking a night train to Milan and will then be in Florence for 2 nights, Pisa / Cinqua Terre for 1 day/night, and then back to Paris by way of Milan early on Monday the 18th. I will try to check e-mail while gone so feel free to drop me a line if you want :)

Back in France

I returned to Paris yesterday. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for me this weekend. Though I was not directly in danger during my time in London, my mini "holiday" shook me up more than I realized. I talked to a lady who said that when you are close to traumatic events you will have a response, though you may not see it immediately it will come out eventually. Once I boarded the train for home (France), I felt myself relax in the familiar and as my emotional state of "survival" diminished I really wanted to hear a familiar voice, so I called a friend and upon hearing her I began to cry. She asked what was wrong, and I couldn't really define it but to say that it had been a "crazy weekend", which was true, but didn't answer exactly what caused the tears to come so long after the tragedy on Thursday. I spent the rest of my trip home journaling and trying to process...I didn't resolve much, but it felt good to get it out.

See, I went to London in search of some time away for refreshing and with hopes of seeing a few friends. I really wanted some renewed intimacy with Jesus and to see His hand in my life...and I now realize that is exactly what He gave me, it just looked different than I thought.
-I saw His hand in all the tiny details that ended up keeping me in the station where I could find my friend who took me in for the night...if I had been able to get on the underground or buses, like I tried to, I would have been stranded; alone in the city, without any transportation or resources.
-I saw His hand in giving me more time with these friends than I had planned...they unselfishly shared what they had with me, helped make sure my family knew I was safe, and took time to listen...reminding me that I was cared about.
-I saw His hand in letting me help with a ministry project on a street in London Friday night...I was encouraged by my friends' boldness and diligence to see God's Word get into the hands of the lost.
-I saw His hand when an acquaintance from Friday night decided to join me in exploring London Saturday morning...she encouraged me in my work and was a comfort in facing the still unstable underground system.

So, all in all my trip accomplished what I desired...He knew the events of these days long before I made my plans, and though I was sad to know that my being there caused worry for you my family and friends, I am glad I went.

A Caedmon's Calls song lyric:
"this days been crazy but everythings happened on schedule...cause you knew how you'd save me before I fell dead in the garden, and you knew this day long before you made me out of dirt. and you know the plans that you have for me, and you cant plan the ends and not plan the means, and so i suppose i just need some peace"

The famous view of London....I took this on Thursday when we were starting our adventurous walk

I was able to spend some time catching up with my friend Reid, thanks again for all your help!

Saturday morning I stopped by the Texas Embassy, it felt good to spot the Lone Star flag outside and be reminded of home :)

I am alive and well and spending an unexpected night with the Josefys...who also have other company in town...it turned out to be a crazy day after I wrote that last post I found out the truth behind the "power outage" as they originally suspected it to be. Terrible. Know that I am in good hands and that we had an adventurous 3 hour walk to their flat this afternoon from central London. I love you all and will keep you posted :)

Cheerio from London

The day started early with the alarm set to ring at 5:30am...but like normal when I have to get up early, I slept fitfully and woke up by 5...just as well, there is always more last minute things to do before you leave than you think...I set off at 6 for, as my mom calls it "downtown Paris", and boarded the Eurostar train for London at 7am...the ride was pleasant with lots of grass, rolling hills, and picturesque villages along the way, not to mention the ride under the English Channel :) I arrived safely in London at 9 to find out that there have been power failures on the underground lines and that the stations are closed...not yet sure what is going on. This is my first vacation on my own, just a single woman out discovering Europe.

Yuna came to France

ahh, tourist season has arrived...

the blind guy and the cube

Today I was at a friends house and her daughter was watching a French TV program. It caught my attention because the people on this "game show" were speaking in English, and then there was the French dub-over...making it hard to understand either language since you could hear both....Anyway, so the host has this rubix cube and he gives it to a lady in the audience and asks her to scramble it, and then he calls up this guy who is sits down at a table...he recieves the scrambled cube from the host, is given 5 minutes to study it, then he is blindfolded (twice, just to be sure he cannot see), then he starts turning it all kinds of crazy fast ways and no lie, he solves it within 32 seconds!! It was incredible, and at the same time odd...maybe stuff like this is the norm for French TV, not sure since I don't have one at chez moi.