Monday, November 24, 2008

Happy

I reconnected with an old friend today! Yay! I saw her son was on Face book so I sent him a message asking if, indeed, he was her son. He answered back and then I noticed that his mom requested that I be her friend! There were a lot of women with her name, so I wasn't sure who was who when I did the search.

I knew this woman when I lived in Wisconsin with my first husband. She is originally from Paris and her husband is from the south of France. Anyway, she would have these wonderful dinner parties and we would have the best time. They moved to Prague and then to Dubai. I did visit her once in Prague. I spent a week with her. It was between marriages and I took a friend with me to Prague. He hated traveling so it was a good thing we went together. We found out we were not for each other. I mean, I would almost rather travel than do anything else. Then they moved from Prague to Dubai one summer. It was the summer Kendall was 11 months old and my in-laws were taking us to France. I knew that Sylvie visited France every summer so I called her in Prague to see if we could set up a rendezvous in France. Yes, they would be vacationing in the French Alps for a couple of weeks. So, at the end of my trip with my husband's family, Kendall and I stayed a few extra days. My in-laws put me on a train in Paris and I took a 3 hr ride to Geneva, Switzerland. I sat by a woman who spoke no English and I couldn't speak French. I relied on the kindness of strangers to help me with the stroller, luggage, etc. I was so naive when I planned this trip to see Sylvie and her family. I had no idea how hard it was to travel by train with an infant. So, Sylvie and her daughter met me at the train station in Geneva and we drove an hour to the Savoie Region. They had rented a chalet. It was magical being there and seeing Sylvie and her family again. I was there for Bastille day. Three days later, I headed back to the train station and on to Paris. My in-laws met me at the station and we stayed in the Hotel Luxembourg. I flew back to the U. S. the next day.

I am a people person. I feel like I can never have too many friends. And then there are those people I never want to lose touch with. And when I do lose contact, I feel sad. I thought I had lost contact with Sylvie forever.

4 comments:

Auburn Kat said...

Wow! What an amazing story!

I can't believe you traveled like that with Kendall when she was so young!

Auburn Kat said...

I forgot to add this...good for you!

Kelly said...

I can't believe I did it, either (looking back).

And thanks. I'm really glad I've gotten in touch with my friend again.

Char said...

Oh I love travelling as much as you do. My hubby always tells me I have ants in my pants. I'm happiest when I'm going somewhere! As for Facebook, it's winning me over too.