France for Katrina

The pursuit of excellence has always been an attribute of my daughter Katrina. With as challenging a curriculum available to her in high school, she graduated second out of 495 students. Rewards befall those that excel. It was only fitting that my reward be to take her to France as a graduation present. The destination had much to do with her six years of French language study. Places and history are a large part of lesson plans. Katrina’s Paris agenda began formulating with French 101. Trip preparation began with testing her use of French by phone to hotels from a guide of small places to stay.
Jet-lag had no effect when we arrived in Paris. The Metro station near our quaint hotel gave access to the wonders we sought. This was my forth visit but being with someone who did her homework made it seem like the first time. Along the Seine to savor Notre Dame and Palais du Justice, Katrina was able to find clothing boutiques en route for those all important very European outfits and accents. Her street-side glace cacao (chocolate ice cream) will go down in her memory as did my peche melba (peaches and ice cream) on my first trip to Paris. The following day the wonders continued with Sacrê Coeur, L’Opéra, Place de la Concorde with L’Obelisk, the Louvre, Mussée D’Orsey, and then we climbed to the top of L’Arc de Triomphe and Tour Eiffel before walking down Champs-Élysées. A late evening taxi to the Moulin Rouge made the sights complete.
Maybe I should not have been so anxious to leave Paris. I later found in her journal, “Did I mention how much I love Paris? It’s more beautiful, more welcoming than I imagined. I’m so incredibly happy I’m here. I’m on the verge of tears. I could stay here for ever… awe, I can only hope.”
We rented a cute lime green Peugeot convertible and headed for the Loire Valley. At Pontlevoy we stayed at the most darling L’Hôtel de l’école. Their restaurant rivaled our best meals in Paris. This is Châteaux country with Chambord, Amboise, and Chenonceau. The surrounds were as adorable as you would ever desire.
Who am I to know that a young lady would not appreciate the burgundy wine country of Dijon? We got there by way of sun flower laden country roads but the vineyards and wine tasting was for dad. The next test of her resilience was a thirteen hour drive to Germany. In addition to calling this a business trip for the IRS, I wanted Katrina to know there was more to Europe than France. The Swiss Alps differ from the Rockies; bratwurst is just as fattening as filet au beurre; and mad Ludwig’s Neuschwanstein is as opulent as anything Louis XIV ever did. It was probably not until we booked a suite at my favorite Hotel Hachinger Hof outside of Munich that Katrina readied for our new experience. My good friend and business partner Klaus was able to show Katrina the merits of Bavaria and Munich.
Next our arrival in Strasburg gave solace to our quest and the village of Krumeich allowed her to parlé vous again. It was renowned for ceramics and we found gifts for those back home.
Our final point of interest was the Champagne region of Reims. Our stay in a four room addition to buildings at the vineyards of Guy Delong near St. Euphraise et Lairiyet could not have been better. Guy proudly gave us a tour and insight into the work of his great-grandparents farm. With his help we were able get reservations to the four star restaurant L’Assiette de Champonaise. The best champagne and six courses of the finest food and most lavish service our money could buy was a great way to end our ten day pursuit of excellence.