home again home again

...and with a european sinus infection as a souvenir! i think my body is punishing me for the cheese that i ate....

so much to tell about the trip, but that pseudophedrine does a number on me. that, and the jet lag.

i only lost julie one time on the whole trip. we had just gotten on the metro (subway) en paris, when i realized -- ahoy! -- we were headed the wrong direction. i exclaimed to julie: "this train is going the wrong direction!" and then i hopped off, just in time for the doors to SLAM SHUT behind me. a trainful of parisians observed with amusement as my mouth dropped open in horror while julie hurtled away from me into the big black subway hole. it was our first night in france, julie had no money on her, and doesn't speak a word of french (except i taught her how to say "bonjour" on the way there, and i didn't feel confident that she could approach somebody and say "bonjour" in just the right manner so that they would know to direct her back to our metro stop, place monge). so i did what any reasonable person would do: i sat down on a bench and cried. luckily, julie came sailing back into the station shortly thereafter, and we ran into each other's arms like in a kleenex commercial.

more highlights to come.