Housing Success! (to quote Hilaire)...

We had a very successful trip to DA City this last week and it felt like we'd been there for 10 days rather than 4! We had dinner and lunch with new colleagues - I showed The Dutchman around the department, my new office, the campus, etc. Medieval Pop drove in and we spent some time with him and Medieval Aunt #2 who lives in the area...

And we looked at a few hundred apartments (or so it seemed)! TD and I had a very weird slightly existential moment during our visit - we were snarking at each other because we were driving around a new city that is a bit complicated to traverse - lots of one-way streets, etc. We were looking at apartments in complexes that were about a 15-minute drive to campus - this isn't the biggest commute in the world, but for some reason I was feeling more and more isolated the more we saw these apartments. I had this inexplicable feeling that I would be living in no-man's land and that this would seriously impact my experience this next year in my new department. So, we were sitting at the Steak n' Shake (heaven!) one night after we'd been looking at apartments all day and I realized that it wasn't necessarily where I would be living that was making me feel lonely, but that I would be living there alone. Once we talked about it I started to feel better.

SO! On Friday we got up and were on our way out to the most promising of the apartment complexes (even though it was about 20 years old and needed a bit of renovation) and TD said we should drive by this little bungalow for rent just to take a look. It turned out to be located only a mile from campus (if that) and it was the cutest, nicest-kept little house you could ever want! It's in one of the lovely neighborhoods surrounding campus where tons of faculty live. It's a two-bedroom, 1000 sq ft. house with a landscaped yard, central heat/air, a working fireplace, a washer and dryer already there AND it's cheaper than any of the apartments we looked at! I had a brief heartattack and then called the owner to try to book a viewing. However, they weren't starting viewings until this week, but she had some pictures of the place if we wanted to come by. The pictures were very nice and the owner lived there for 10 years before she and her husband bought a larger place - she's very invested in keeping the place nice and in good repair, so I rented the place without even seeing the inside! (She will have 2 full weeks to clean, paint, touch up, make repairs after the current tenant moves out and before I move in).

I instantly felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders - for some reason, living close to campus and in that faculty-rich neighborhood had made all of my misgivings go away.

So, to celebrate, we did a little furniture shopping - we bought this couch (pictured below on the left) but in a deep red microfiber:

And a dark wooden frame chair in a very funky pattern that I can't really describe. The furniture should be ready right around the time we move to DAC.

So, all in all, it was one of the most successful trips on record - we just got everything done we needed to! Now, how else can I avoid writing this article??

Random thoughts addendum:
1) When I saw the permanent nameplate on the door to my new office - a nameplate that they'd deliberately ordered and spent money on - I got choked up.
2) I crave tuna fish salad and Triscuits right now.
3) Why am I only wearing one flip-flop around the house?

"Blah"gging...

Sorry for the relative blog silence. I feel like I had things to tell you but I've forgotten.

Lately, we are feeling just a teensy bit overwhelmed over at Chez Bloggez Moi (a.k.a. "Medieval Woman HQ" or "The Dutchman's House of Pancakes"). TD is only one step down from a full on nervous breakdown about his paper and the 17 core exams he has to grade (this will determine whether the baby economists will be able to continue on in the Ph.D. program!). We are also leaving tomorrow at the butt-crack of dawn to drive to a far away airport and get on a plane and go to Dream Academy City. Once we land in DAC, we will rent a car, drive an hour and a half and go directly to Human Resources at DA to fill out paperwork. We will also hopefully stop by the department before they close and see my new office, get all the stuff lined up (course enrollments, desk copy orders, etc.), perhaps chew the fat a bit.

Then the next day solid will be spent looking at apartments. I'm renting in one of those new complexes (I'm spoiling myself with central air and a pool...), so I've printed out floorplans, directions, etc.

The move itself will be interesting - it will involve crossing an international border, probably having our U-Haul examined with a fine-toothed comb, the Furballs poked and prodded, the Dutchman scrutinized before he can get a travel visa, etc. Then we still have a two-day drive to get to DAC.

In the midst of all this, I am planning my syllabi for next semester (I've given up on trying to get that article started before we go) and we're also trying to find a one-year car lease for TD to take over.

Yesterday, I took the Furballs into the vet to get their yearly vaccines and to get a print out of a health certificate and their medical records for the trip. They were pissy as usual when they go there and I had them sitting on a bench in their respective carriers in the waiting room while I got all the records and paid the people. A woman came in with a great big, stupid-looking black lab* on a leash and waited to be helped. I looked over and saw that the dog was sniffing around the waiting room and wagging its tail. I looked away for a few seconds and when I looked back, I saw the dog standing a foot away from the furballs and then he instantly lunged at the carriers, barking, snarling, clawing, biting....! I screamed at the woman to get her dog back and she pulled him away and looked a little miffed at me, saying, "I didn't even know there was anything in those!" - I was so shaken and furious I actually said, "Well, lady, it's a vet's office, the chances are a pet carrier is going to have PETS in it - keep your damn dog away from my cats!!!" The vet techs didn't ask her to sit down and hold her dog's collar or anything - all they said was "the cats are fine" and everyone in the office looked at me like I was a crazy over-reactor! These were those flimsy little mesh carriers - if the woman hadn't pulled that frickin' dog off, I could have easily torn through it and killed one of them! A pox on that woman...

I've already found a nice, quiet little cat hospital in Dream Academy City, so I'll be happier to take them there.

I won't be blogging much until we get back this weekend!

*Quick PSA: I actually like dogs and labs in particular, but this one was a brute!

The Prezzies and The Randomness

One of the best things about coming back to North America from Europe is that the time change makes you get up early - I feel like I can get *so* much done in a day - except that I have absolutely no work ethic at this point.

First off, I asked for everyone to send me ideas about what they'd like me to bring back for them - I realized yesterday as I was uploading, labeling, and organizing photos from the trip (I anal-retentively do this right when we get back because otherwise I can't remember which church is which) that I neglected to take pictures of the food-stuffs that I promised! However, whenever we got a cheeseplate (chevre! pecorino! buffalo mozzarella! camembert!) I always thought of you, Hilaire!

Squadratomagico, I actually did keep my eye open for some white truffle oil, but I couldn't find any! However, the pasta I had one night in Florence (at a little cafe looking out on the Duomo) had black truffles in it (along with a lovely cream sauce over bowtie pasta).

Dr. Virago, we had croissants and cafe au lait every morning in our hotel in Paris. And, on our last night in Paris, we went to a chic restaurant called (in English) "The Cow on the Roof" (hee, hee!); we had an amazingly fantastic meal - the Dutchman ate escargots almost every day we were there (I watched) and I had the coquilles saint jacques with a creamy mushroom risotto and a chocolate souffle for dessert. Top all that off with a half bottle of Moet and a bottle of burgundy - that one's for you!

JB, let's talk about the wine - dear god! First off, I noticed that the wines in Europe (Paris especially) are much more subtle than the ones you can get where I live. We drink a lot of Chilean, Argentinian, and Spanish wine here (because it's the wine we can get most reasonably priced) and it's a lot richer than the wine we drank there. The D's father came down to meet us in Tuscany for a night (he's on a driving trip all over France and Italy at the moment) and he brought us all kinds of fantastic wines. But we couldn't drink them all (even thought there were 10 of us!) - damn the airlines not letting us bring liquids on board! Here is proof of one of our valiant efforts one night:


Sisyphus, I did actually see a lot of awesome doors - and I did take a picture of one - I'm a sucker for architectural shots. This is an old door (not sure how old) in the little town nearby:


Morgan, I did see a lot of lovely manuscripts (especially at the Cluny Museum of the Middle Ages in Paris) but of course they wouldn't let me take any pictures! However, I did snag a picture of a medieval tapestry, so this one's for you:


NK, crepes and gelato were consumed often and very happily! When we had dinner in the lovely medieval town of Lucca one night, on our winding way back through the oldest part of the city toward our car, we stopped at a particularly nice gelato place on a square overlooking the main church. I had passionfruit and coconut gelato - yum! And the most interesting crepe-y thing we had actually wasn't in France, but in Italy - one of the Dutchman's first courses one night was "crespelles," which was filled with cheese, a little cream, and some asparagus and mushroom slices (*thud*)!

And finally, Dayna, your present was actually the one I took pictures of - gargoyles! Here are two of the best:
This one is on the Duomo in Pisa:

And these guys were on the medieval church of St. Merry in Paris:


And, Sisyphus, in response to your comment on my previous post - I did have a gorgeous Italian all ready to bring back with me (I won't go into the details of how I snagged him - it was a very complicated plan which involved a bag of these yummy almond biscotti cookies, a big net, and a tranquilizer dart) - but he wouldn't fit into my carry-on luggage! And we were already over the limit on our checked bags - do you know how much they charge you per kilo for that shit????

So, now to a list of funny random things that happened or that we saw on our trip. This list was composed while we were sitting outside at a little cafe in Paris just a block away from the Eiffel Tower - we were drinking *the most expensive* Kronenbourgs (French beer) on the planet and watching the rich Parisians walk by.

1) Most random question asked to us in a French bistro: (In French) "What is the population of Japan?" - we were stumped. But I just looked it up on Wikipedia and it's 127,433,494 (2007 estimate).

2) On our way over to Europe, we took a red eye to Paris from Home City before we had a long layover and caught our plane to Italy. When we landed at Charles de Gaulle at 6:15am, what did we see on the grassy patches in between the runways? Rabbits. Tons of rabbits. I'm talking about hundreds of rabbits here. As the plane taxied to the gate, they all hopped away from the plane as it passed by. If you think about it, it's actually quite a safe place for them to be - they don't get onto the runways themselves (a big swathe of concrete isn't that enticing for a bunny) and it's not like they're going to get spooked and hop in front of a 747 like they might on a regular road.

3) When we were at Montmartre (which is on a very steep hill in Paris), we were wondering how the hell people moved into their houses when they were on such steep streets and then on the fifth floor of the building. At the time, I was puffing my way up towards the Sacre Coeur and was wondering how the hell they'd make it to their front door. Then, as if from on high, we saw the answer:

This is a moving truck with a little platform furniture elevator on it. While we watched, they loaded a dining room table, a couch, and assorted chairs on this contraption and lifted them up to the big windows of this apartment.

4) In Italy, there were many many tourists (obviously) - we were for some reason constantly getting caught in groups of Japanese tourists who panic if they're seperated from one another by a stanger. So, we ducked out of the fray for a bit at Santa Croce and had lunch and what did we then see going by? A group of Japanese tourists riding along the bumpy Florentine streets on Segways! It was very surreal...

5) In the little town near where we stayed in Tuscany, there was a nice grocery store and the butcher loved to speak English - particularly *American* English, he said, and was so happy to hear that I was American. So, never one to look a gift horse in the mouth (or a friendly, pro-American butcher for that matter who will give us extra prosciutto and not charge for it), I was the one who ordered our stuff. One day we were there buying something and he was also getting us some cheese - in the middle of trying to figure out which cheese was which he tried to explain the difference between two of them. He kept saying something in Italian and making a gesture like he was gently squeezing a sponge. I blurted out, "Oh! You mean this one is mushy?!?" - he cackled with delight and called out "Mushy!" at the top of his lungs. Then for the rest of the time we were there, we would hear him yelling "Italian something something something Mushy! something something..." - when we finally left, he said "I love mushy Americans!! Ha, ha!..." So, I take credit for teaching the Italian butcher a little more English...

More posts to come!

Back on this side of the Pond!

We're baaaaaaack! Okay, so I can't say it like that creepy little Poltergeist girl. The Furballs have Velcro-ed themselves to me and won't let me out of their sight. They're also planning my Imminent Downfall because I failed to smuggle prosciutto back for them...

Put simply, it was 2 weeks of pure heaven all wrapped up in 4 different languages: French, Italian, Dutch (our friends), and English. Seriously, I was never really sure which language I should be speaking!

I have so much to blog about and I'm planning on splitting it into several posts (The purchases! The gifties! The food! The random funny things that happened! The huge work insights I had - huh? - no, I'm serious about this one...). But for now, we're still trying to overcome the time difference (it feels like it's 8:30 pm and we should be going out to dinner right now) so I'm going to make this post a selection of a few teaser photos.

Our room with a view in our Tuscany house:

A picture of our pool with the olive grove behind it:
And a shot of the patio on the front of the house:

*In Italy*
The fortress in the little town of Montecarlo, a brief (yet hot and sweaty!) walk from where we stayed in Tuscany:

A street in the sleepy town of Montecarlo:

A detail of the Leaning Tower at Pisa:

The Duomo in Florence:

The arched walkway at the Church of Santa Croce in Florence:


*In Paris*
The medieval church at Montmartre:

One of at least 20 obligatory pictures of the Eiffel Tower:

One of the stained glass windows at Notre Dame:


And finally!

Medieval Woman and the Dutchman at the Sacre Coeur:

Medieval Woman's European Vacation

Sorry for the radio silence since I returned from K'zoo - and all I can promise is that it will continue until the end of the month, because tomorrow evening - in a flurry of flip flops, beta blockers (ya'll know how I hate to fly), and probably a beer or two, the Dutchman and I will board an Air France flight on the first leg of our trek to Tuscany!

We stay in the Tuscany house for a week eating, drinking, and sightseeing with 8 friends from the Netherlands and then El D (note the switch to Italian already!) and I will head to Paris for a romantic 4 days all to ourselves. This will involve croissants, cafe au lait, large quantities of wine, canoodling, and me refusing to go up in the Eiffel Tower.

I will report on everything fully after we get back on May 31 - including lots of pictures! But, until then, what can I bring everyone from Tuscany?? (I'm sorry to say that these will be virtual presents - i.e., I'll see the thing - say, a maserati - and declare, "That one's for so and so!" I don't start getting paid until the end of August!)

So, think of your favorite Italian (or Parisian) things and let me know! My mother, who loves the movie Under the Tuscan Sun, has asked that I bring her back one of these:

This gorgeous critter is Raoul Bova, Italian actor and all-around foxy eye-candy.

So, until we return, "Ciao!", "A bientot!", and "Pray for no turbulence!"

What Happened While There and How We Got Back

Post Part the First - The Trip:

We got back last night from a five day trip to grad school city - the Dutchman had a conference to attend there and we combined it will the opportunity to see all our old friends (saw JB, who agreed to let me indulge one of my fern bar vices!). We had an amazingly wonderful time! We saw all the new babies, consumed a startling amount of food and alcohol, laughed until we were hoarse - I told the Dutchman at one point that it was like swimming in friendship. And that's exactly how it felt - to be with all of them again on various days at various meals really drove home how much I miss them and miss grad school city - even after two years of living elsewhere.

I'm sorry I've been terribly remiss in updating my blog from the road (or in keeping up with others), but the computer at the hotel was right in the middle of the lobby. Not only was there a perpetually long line to use the thing - making me realize that I could only check email and put out the two dozen student-involved fires - but that anyone and everyone who was checking into the hotel, would read your email over your shoulder. However, the hotel WAS FREE because the Dutchman's conference paid for the whole thing - we only had a $44 tab to clear up when we left and that was because I ordered room service and a pay per view movie one day (Deja Vu - pretty good thriller!).

Post Part the Second - How We Got Back:

Some of you might have noticed that the entire eastern seaboard got hammered by a nor'easter on Sunday and Monday. We got caught in that. For various reasons, the local airport had to close the next day (Monday) and our flight out was canceled. They bumped us to Wednesday morning, which was the earliest we would have been able to get back. WELL, I have exams to write and continue to put out student fires - that won't do! So, the Dutchman and I rented a car and drove it the whole long way back (about 11 hours given the weather) - we drove through the nasty part of the storm that was still happily clinging to the Northeast - a blizzard in between two major cities that you've heard of - going 40 miles an hour on the highway (while the trucks go 80) at night! But we're now safely home and it's back to work for us both today. In the end, we're getting our plane tickets partially refunded and that will more than pay for the cost of renting a car, so we'll save a few bucks when all is said and done.

One thing I was particularly happy about was that the car we rented had Sirius satellite radio (which meant all 80s all the time), but it also had NPR all the time - we were able to keep updated about the horrible Virginia Tech shooting. My cousin goes to school there and we heard from his mom that he was safe, but in lockdown in his dormroom. I don't know if he knew anyone who was hurt or killed in the shooting...

I will post more on individual loveliness with friends, etc. as soon as I finish these piles of grading and write these stinkin' exams! It'll all be over by Sunday!