A lot has happened since my last blog almost two months ago.
During May, I was in France. This trip was pleasurable in that I didn't have to rush around. Although I worked on a research project at the Société d'Histoire du Protestantisme Français, I also had time to visit friends (Maryvonne and Christian) in Erquy. For the past few years, we have been able to visit important historical and cultural sites in Brittany. As usual, I attended Parissoirée on two Sunday evenings. There was a tour group from Philadelphia at the gathering and two people from the group knew Lee Wesley, retired ELCA pastor who was the executive director of Lutheran Social Services in New York at his retirement. It is small world and even smaller Lutheran world. in addition, I was able to see a number of films. Thanks to my friend Yves, I bought a discount card for the M2K movie theatres. While I try to immerse myself into French life while there, I did have two highlights which involved Americans. At the beginning of the trip, I caught up with John Grimes (spouse of Dr. Barbara Ballard) who was in Paris for 4 days. We worshipped together at Notre Dame Cathedral one evening.
I always enjoy worship while in France: Notre Dame, Saint Sulpice, and L'Eglise des Billettes always uplift me while traveling. I was able to use my iPhone to record some of the glorious organ music
At the end of my trip, my cousin Larry and his wife Debbie arrived on my last full day in Paris. They were celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary with a trip to the French Open and then on to Italy. We has a great time walking down the Champs Elysées in the morning and dinner at Le Café Rendez-Vous in the 14th arrondissement. Although they live outside of Philadelphia, we rarely see each other so it was great to spend time together. My return was different in that I few from Paris to Belgium and then Belgium to Dulles International. It was a great flight over the Atlantic. I returned to the States on May 30. I hope I can return in the fall or winter.
I should also add that I limited my purchase of books in Paris. I only bought two works: Tempête by Le Clézio and L'Elixir d'Amour by Eric Emmanuel Schmidt.
This past weekend, family and friends gathered to celebrate our Aunt Dot's birthday. Ricky grilled a lot of meat. We had a grand time. I couldn't help thinking that the Strobert family is really shrinking.
This past Monday, I met a former colleague Duane Larson and his wife Joen for lunch at Bloomingdales. Duane was in New York for a conference. The last time I was with them was at dinner in Helsinki, Finland two years ago. I was also able to meet the owner (Phillip Masson) of La Grenouille on E. 52 street in Manhattan. He lives between New York and Erquy, France. He knew Henri Reyntjes so I wanted to meet him. He is always in New York when I am in Erquy. It was nice to make the connection.
My return to Gettysburg today was uneventful in terms of traffic. I took my sister to work at Bergen Community College and continued on from there for Gettysburg. It is always great to be in New York with family, however, it is an adjustment to return to G'burg.
More later.
