The Euphoria of Weddings

We recently loaded up the "big" car and headed almost three hours west to a wedding in the beautiful mountains of Pennsylvania.  The ceremony was a light-hearted, sweet celebration of young love. I think. As usual, we were late and missed most of the ceremony save the final prayer and recessional.

I come from a very large family and have been going to weddings since I was a little Ette. "Don't eat until you get to the reception," my mother would order, "your [insert relative] paid a lot of money for this wedding, you can eat there!" It was our duty to make sure that our relatives got what they paid for. We were expected to eat our dinner and dessert, but not the Jordan Almonds; we had to give them to my mom.

The same edict was handed down about dancing. "The DJ/Band was so expensive. Get out there and dance... and bring your sisters." From young to old, the dance floor was always packed. Dancing, it seemed, was mandatory and at family weddings.  Were we out there because our mothers told us too be, or was something else driving us? Calling us to the dance floor like a Siren’s song?

Long gone are the wedding with the lavish cocktail hours where you can find every food imaginable and countless butlers passing anything the chef can skewer on a stick. Nowadays you find long lines for the one buffet station stocked with common cubed cheeses, crackers and cured meats, and the butlers are few and far between. Unfortunately the cocktail hour at this wedding was no different.

The buffet reflected the season, with fresh fruit along with the cubed cheese, but once the food was quickly eaten it wasn't replenished.  I did not have high hopes or expectations for the rest of the night. 

The reception room was well appointed with a marble dance floor and plenty of room between the twenty plus tables. The walls were full of large, unobstructed windows that seemingly brought the green of the outside in and the three chandeliers which hung above the dance floor were elegant and tasteful.  The chairs were wide and comfortable and there was enough room at our table of eight that I didn't have to keep my elbows tucked in - a habit from growing up in a big family crammed around a little table.

The reception quickly got down to business. In a rapid succession the bridal party arrived, the couple had their first dance, salad course...oops grace...salad course, the best man's toast and then dinner was served. After dinner there was dancing, dancing, cake and more dancing.  The wedding band never missed a beat, playing the ubiquitous Top 40 songs and (thankfully) mostly avoiding country music.

Looking around, something struck me right away; a lot of people were dancing and once someone was on the dance floor, they didn't leave.  You would see people get off dance floor just long enough to take a pee, grab a drink or grab another dance partner. I was even more intrigued by the people dancing at their tables. Not the polite/shy chair dancing, but people were stand-up dancing...at their tables. They were into it too! From young to old, everyone everywhere was dancing.  Everyone knew the words to every song and the moves to every dance. The entire reception hall seemed to sway together like the leaves on a tree blown by a lovely breeze.

I thought about this phenomenon for a few days.  Could it be that they were all commanded to dance by their own mothers like I was so long ago?  Could it be that there was a Top 40 hits cult to which they all belonged?  Were they ringers, professional wedding dancers paid to have a good time?

And then I realized that what I had witnessed, had been a part of, was the bliss brought on by love, by food and by an open bar.  This bliss exists, on some level, at every wedding. Maybe it wasn't their mothers command or an eternal pledge of worship to the Black Eyed Peas that made them get on the dance floor, maybe it was just the euphoria of weddings.  The desire for everyone to be a part of this special time for their loved ones, to celebrate the start of a new life together, the hope that the more you enjoy yourself at a wedding, the happier everyone's life will be.

Hurricane Irene: Sunday, August 28, 2011

On Sunday night, August 28 2011, the further Fred and I got from the impending flood in our neighborhood, the more relaxed I became.  I was safely on my way to my mother's house and Fred on his way to his.  I didn't care about any of our stuff, not my wedding dress on the second floor, not our wedding album, not...anything.  It's just stuff.  It's all replaceable.  The most important thing was that we were all safe.

The plan was simple and one that we had executed before; three of dogs were going to stay with my mom in Beachwood until we could get the house back in order and we were going to keep Cleo with us since she and Annie didn't get along. Fred, little Cleo and I were going to stay at his mom's in Belleville until the water receded.  Bianca was staying with with her mom in Budd Lake because of the storm. We didn't have to worry about her.  That was the plan.

Roads were quickly becoming impassable due to the flood.  I couldn't take my normal route to civilization just over the swollen river.  I had to take a detour through the back of Lincoln Park. I had to drive through Montville and take Rt.287 South to Rt. 24 East to Rt. 78 East to the Garden State Parkway South. It sounds complicated but it was only about 15 miles out of the way.

Everything seemed fine when I was on Rt. 287 South and traffic was flowing normally.  Rt. 24 was no problem but Rt. 78 East was closed due to... flooding I suppose.  I had to take Rt.78 West to...I wasn't sure where. I was on a detour from my detour and I was totally panicked. I had three unhappy dogs with me and now I had to take another detour. Every exit on Rt.78 West was closed and there was flooding all around. I couldn't even turn around so I cried, relaxed, focused and just kept driving west.  I remembered Rt. 78 West would take me back to Rt.287 South, further south, and that Rt.287 South would take me to the Parkway.  I instantly felt better and thanked God.  Then I cried again.

At my mom's house, I set up the dog's bed and crates.  I grabbed a Snapple and nuked a Lean Cuisine. That was the first thing I ate all day. I was on the "flood diet," where I am too stressed and too anxious to eat anything.  I basically fast from the time the water starts to come into the neighborhood to when the water starts to recede.  The diarrhea is terrible. I pet and kissed everyone goodbye, assured the dogs that I would be back to pick them up soon and got back on the road...




  

Hurricane Irene: Friday, August 26, 2011 to Sunday, August 28, 2011

Which came first...detachment or loss??? Friday, August 26, 2011 to Sunday, August 28, 2011

The day before Hurricane Irene hit NJ, Friday, August 26, 2011, I had a job interview at the United Nations.  I was so nervous about the interview that I was only half nervous about the hurricane.  Back in 2007 and 2010 our neighborhood experienced "major flooding" after getting only 5" of rain in a 24-hour period.  During both storms the neighborhood was flooded, the water came within inches of touching our foundation and we got 8" of water in our basement through seepage.  Hurricane Irene was forecasted to dump up to 12" of rain in less time.  We knew that this storm was going to be a game changer.

Friday, August 26, 2011 was also the last day of our Volkswagen Jetta. The car was on its last leg and since I was going into NYC, Friday morning I drove the Mini Cooper and Fred took the Jetta.  He drove the VW from our driveway - which in three days would be under 5' of water - to the parking lot of his office and there it died.  The Jetta would not turn over anymore. Being awesome, Fred didn't tell me about the car until after I came back from the UN.  We were now facing this storm with one car - something we hadn't done before.

We weren't sure what the river would do and not wanting to stay in the house during the storm, Saturday night August 27, 2011 we gathered the dogs and had a sleep over at the Mr. PC office.  Still in Lincoln Park, but not by water, we spent the night with the dogs in a windowless concrete block building and couldn't hear a thing.  We couldn't hear the wind or the rain, we had power the entire night and the only indication that there was a storm, besides that we were sleeping at the shop, was the news and weather reports on the radio and Internet.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/08/hurricane-irene-rainfall-map/ 

We received about 12" of rain from the storm.  As usual after the rain, came the flood.  It took about 24 hours, enough time for us to prepare, and then the rivers overflowed their banks, the water overtook the neighborhood, completely filled our basement and then got into the first floor.

On Sunday, August 28, 2011 during that 24 hours, when preparing for the water to come, our stuff went into three categories:  1) what we could/should bring upstairs 2) what we could/should put on top of other things that we hoped wouldn't get ruined by the water and 3) what we could lose.  Realistically we thought we could lose it all.  Inside the house we put things up 18" from the floor.  We put the dining room table chairs upstairs, the computer and technology stuff on our desks and we rested the couch on the coffee table.

The garage was a different story.  It is detached and about two feet lower than the house. During normal "major" floods we would get about 2.5' of water in the garage, so we tried to put things at least 4' up off the ground but that wasn't high enough. At the height of the flood we had at least 5' of water in the garage.  Twice as much water as the most we've ever had.

Like before, we were going to bring the dogs to my mom's house to stay during the flood.  This time we were not sure what to expect so we decided to not stay there either.  I packed all of the dogs and a few days of casual clothes in the Mini and drove to Marie's.  I borrowed her car to bring the dogs to my mother's house.  The tires on the Mini were bald - lesson learned: if you need them, get your new tires today because tomorrow there might be a hurricane and major flood and you might have to evacuate. Fred stayed behind to tie up some loose ends at the house and wait for me to come back and pick him up.

On Sunday, August 28, 2011 at 5pm we were placed under a mandatory evacuation and had to leave the house. This was another first for us. Our neighborhood had only ever had voluntary evacuations, but this one was mandatory.  Without hesitation Anne Marie went and picked up Fred at the house since I was still on the road to my mom's. After moving and evaluating all of our stuff and reconciling with the possibility that we could lose it all, he packed three days worth of work clothes, our Nespresso coffee machine and Nespresso coffee capsules and headed out.

Hurricane Irene delivered "historic" flooding to Lincoln Park and the surrounding area. No house in our neighborhood was spared; 9 houses suffered foundation collapses and some houses closer to the river had completely submerged 1st floors and water touching the 2nd floors.  People who had just finished rebuilding from the previous floods were devastated again.

In some places in our house, the water went as high as 12" on the first floor.  In other places, like the corner of the kitchen with the washer and dryer, we had only 3" of water. Thank God for an uneven house.  My sister is now using the washer and dryer. We lost almost everything in the garage, including books and the crystal punch bowl, but we were prepared for this possibility and had already detached ourselves from these things.  During the height of the flood our backyard was completely covered in about a foot of water and we lost all but one of our fish in our pond. According to our neighbors, a flood like this had never happened before.

About one week after Hurricane Irene came, Tropical Storm Lee passed through.  Thanks to Lee, the flood water from Irene, which under "normal" flooding conditions could take 3-5 days to recede, came back up to "major flood" level.

It would take almost two weeks to get into the house and begin to assess the damage...

European Tour 2011: 18 Nov - Travel and London

On our way to Paris we decided to drop by London. We are in London to celebrate the 80th birthday of my mother-in-law Marie, and to visit Westminster Abbey.

Click here to view these pictures larger

My mother-in-law is a real world traveler.  She's been to Japan, Hawaii, Australia, Ireland, Paris (for someone's wedding) and Egypt to name a few.  She has even been to London a few times.  In fact, her first time in London was at the same time as the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June of 1953. Unfortunately, Westminster Abbey was closed to prepare for the ceremony and Marie was not able to go in and see it.  Throughout the years she returned to London, most recently in 2005, and each time Westminster Abbey was closed for one reason or another. 

So, Fred and I thought that it would be cool to try again. We decided to make a trip of it.  Fred, Marie, Bianca - Fred's daughter- and I hopped on a plane, which was delayed due to a "Suspicious" Man, and went to Europe.  

Here are some pictures of our European Tour 2011-18 November - Travel and London

We did get to go into Westminster Abbey, but there is no photography allowed, so no pictures of the inside.  BUT we do have the ticket stubs to prove it!

Enjoy,

Johnette

Visiting Paris: Things You Will Need Before You Go

Paris...the mother ship...I am often asked by friends and family who are going to Paris - or who have friends and family going to Paris - to recommend things that they might need, see and do while in the City of Light.  I've compiled a pretty good list that I'll share below.

Takeoff over NYC from JFK International 

Airplane tickets:  Of course you should start with airplane tickets. I recommend taking the Air France Airbus A380 which currently flies from CDG Paris to New York, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Johannesburg and Tokyo.  There is a link to the Air France A380 website below so you can see how awesome it is.  We first took this airplane in November 2010 from JFK-CDG.  We sat in the cheap seats, which weren't so cheap.  We were cozy and squished, and I sat next to the window as usual.  There are ten seats across each row (3/4/3), with little to no leg room and we really felt sorry for the giant sitting in the aisle seat across from us.  It's good to be short sometimes. We did get a chance to see how the other half lived.  Since we were all the way in the back of the plane, we were able to run up the back staircase...yes, the back staircase... to the peek at the second floor business class cabin above.

Sunrise over the Atlantic flying East to Paris 

The food on Air France is pretty darn good for airplane food - especially when flying out of Paris. There are even snack and beverage self service areas for the passengers conveniently located throughout the cabin.  BUT... this convenience comes with a price.  Sadly, the service on the A380 left something to be desired. If you want a drink in the middle of the flight, you have to get up and get it yourself. The air hosts/hostesses no longer serve food or drink outside of the designated serving times. They don't walk up and down the aisles anymore between meal services with their drink cart, a bottle of water or even a small plastic garbage bag.  They also don't clear your tray if you are a slow eater - not that I"m talking from experience... twice on the same flight!

Safe landing at CDG Paris 

Not such a glowing review you say, well besides being a very smooth and FAST ride, there are CCTV cameras mounted on the nose, belly and tail of the aircraft. During takeoff and landing all of the TVs on the airplane show the video from the tail-mounted camera.  The pictures above are of our actual flight, but not taken by me... I was kinda nauseous watching.  Puketastic!

On the #69 with our Rick Steves' Paris 2008

Guidebooks :  Preparing for our Paris wedding back in September 2008, I bought a lot of guidebooks. As a pre-Paris welcome gift, I sent a different guidebook - and notebook- to each couple or person who was coming to our wedding.  We thought it would help our friends and family take better advantage of their time in Paris, but secretly I was super excited about it for another reason.  Not only did I get to spend a lot of time in bookstores buying these guides with discount coupons, BUT...I also quickly read each one of them before I sent them out. What????... I secretly wish to do this for each of my vacations ;) 
 
So, that is how I realized that Rick Steves' Paris is one of my favorites.  This guide is very user friendly, easy to navigate and to understand. There are suggestions for what to see and do broken down by length of stay as well as some great walking tours in certain neighborhoods and near most monuments. There is even an entry for the "BUS #69 SIGHTSEEING TOUR From the Eiffel Tower to Père Lachaise Cemetery".  Besides riding with locals, as many tourists take the Metro, this bus passes by the Bastille, the Louvre, and many other cool destinations on the way. In fact, Rick suggests that at the Bastille you "hop out and begin our walking tour of the Marais, page 263)."  Convenient and thoughtful! Rick Steves also offers walking tours by podcast for free on iTunes. http://www.ricksteves.com/

Notebook: Along with the guide books that we sent out, we also included a small notebook for...notes.  Your notebook can be as simple or as fancy as you want.  It can range from a small monochromatic spiral bound notebook to something fancier that has a pocket for the business cards you take from each place or restaurant you visit.  A pocket-sized notebook is a great way to help you stay organized and gives you easy access to important information.  

Being particular, I like to organize my notebook in a specific/chronological way.  I put our travel information first with the airline name/phone number, date and time of our flight...including the reservation numbers. The names and numbers of the pet camp where our dogs stay is usually next.  Any necessary transportation information such as car reservation number, phone number of the car service or even the bus info*. Our lodging information next, name, number, address of the hotel or door code/ entry directions when we rent apartments.  I always include any places we would like to see, anything we would like to do, and places we would like to eat.  Don't forget to include their closest Metro stop and their days/hours of operation.  I also use this notebook through out the trip to jot down any notes or suggestions you might get while still in Paris. Plus, this is a great way to jog your memory when people ask for recommendations for stuff they might need, see and do in Paris.    

Bon voyage! Paris is always a good idea!

Air France Airbus A380: 

http://www.airfrance.us/US/en/common/guidevoyageur/classeetconfort/A380_presentation_airfrance.htm


*Another Air France bus that we like is their bus service between CDG and Paris.

Waking up to French confusion

Waking up to French confusion - I wonder if this is how the few prisoners felt when the Bastille was stormed?

We are renting an apartment in Paris for the second leg of our "Winter European Extravaganza" - not the official title- and I let the apartment owner know that she can call me any time after 5:00am Eastern to process the credit card deposit.  Well I forgot! and so this morning I was not only woken up at 5:00 sharp by our hungry and barking dogs, but by the telephone.  On the other line was a very sweet French woman who might just be thinking twice about renting her apartment to some crazy drunken American.

The conversation went something like this:
Me: What?  Hello? What's wrong?*
Florence: Bonjour Johnette.  This is Florence from France.**
Me: What? Who? Where? Huh?*
Florence: Oh, is this too early? I am sorry but you told me that you wake up early and that I can call you after 5:00am.  My husband is here with his iPhone and I can now call to the US and we can process the credit card for the deposit on the apartment.  Is this ok now? Are you awake or have I woken you?  Hello? Johnette are you there? **
Me: What? Huh? Oh, yes. I'm sorry. No, no, I'm awake (drop the phone), I'm here, It's no problem. I just have to find the phone. *
Florence: Excuse me? Yes, I am calling you on the phone.**
Me (talking on the standard corded phone): No, no... I just have to find the...can you hold?***
Me (wondering to myself): How do you say cordless in French?

*In groggy English
**THIS WAS ALL IN RAPID SUCCESSION FRENCH - which is usually no problem as I would like to think that I am fluent, but just not at 5:15am!
***Talking now in the hybrid language of French-English-Sleep

I found the cordless phone and we were able to get through the transaction quite smoothly after that. My French even improved a bit, but really, I can't be held responsible for my grammar in my mother tongue before 6:00am let alone in a second language.

Taking the Airbus A380 EV1

Flying is always an adventure, an adventure in anxiety. I hate flying so much that I even get anxiety when I buy the airline tickets.  This past trip was no exception.  

Flight 007 JFK-CDG

In November - December 2010 we took a two-week trip, including Thanksgiving, to Europe to see some friends in Switzerland and Germany, and to chill out in Paris. After much hesitation and hemming and hawing, I booked two tickets on the Airbus A380, operated by Air France, flying from NYC to Paris Charles de Gaulle. 

The massive wing and tail wing.  Crazy big!

Since we were flying from JFK on a Friday afternoon, we didn't want to ask our friends or family to take us to the airport.  I booked us a private car with one of Fred's customers who is a private chauffeur to the stars - Danny DeVito and George Carlin when he was alive.  This should have been my first clue.  The trip to JFK which, at 3:00am, is a 45 mile/50 minute trip door to door. Since it was a Friday afternoon, the trip to the airport took us about 1.5 hours, it was no big deal as we built in enough time for typical traffic.  I figured it should cost about $300.00 round trip, and it wound up costing 1.5 times that.  Note to self, when the driver quotes you a price per hour, remember the price includes the time it takes him to get to you and to get himself back home, i.e. too expensive, so next time we just might ask a friend or family member to drive us.  


Who's game? 

A Korean Air Boeing 747 parked next to us. 
Our plane's bigger! (scary) 

This is the first post in the European vacation series.