Francophones just skip this one

This is partly a practical matter and partly an exercise. Knowing that I'm going to be spending some time in Francophone countries (France, Monaco, Switzerland, and Luxembourg) I'm going out of my way to rap on the sluggish ketchup bottle that is my knowledge of the French language. The below is a letter to Sister Dominique, the head Sister of the Dominican dormitory that I stayed at last time I was in France, asking if PST and I might be able to stay there. If this works it's gonna be a coup. Practically speaking it's a GREAT location, right in the 6th arrondissment, near the Luxembourg Gardens and the Latin Quarter. More on the experiential side, I would be delighted to be able to return to the same place and develop some continuity in a foreign country. Though part of the goal of this trip is to see and experience a great deal, the subtler and more important part for me is to get out of the tourist rut and *experience* Europe rather than just seeing it.

Anyway, the letter. I post this for the same reason that a cat brings you a decapitated mouse. Because I'm proud of it (dirty and disheveled though it may be) and because I like you. Bon appetit!

Cher Soeur Domininique,

(Je suis sur que vous etes toujours en charge; je ne peux pas imagine la centre sans vous!)

Je vous souhaite un bon matin! Je suis ravi d'avoir vous trouver encocore, grace a l'internet et mon memoire faible. Il y a presque trois annees que je suis passe une julliet chez vous en assistant des courses a l'Institut Catholique. J'etais avec une groupe de etudiants des Etats Unis avec Tom Blair et Shelley Vincent et j'ai aime bien la centre et la compagne des soeurs. Merci, encore pour une accueil chaleurex a France et une introduction magnifique a Paris!

Je suis heureux de vous dire que j'ai l'opportunite de retourne en Paris cet ete. Mon frere vien de obtenir son licence universitaire et nous allons faire un sejour en Europe pour fete son succes. (C'est genial, n'est pas? Si vous avez un frere, et vous deux avez acheve vos etudes, qu'est-ce que vous devrez absolumment faire? Oui, voyager en Europe!)

Je voudrais savoir s'il est possible de retourne entre vous (avec mon frere, cette fois) pour deux ou trois soirs au fin de juillet. Je crois que nous allons arriver en Paris vers le 30eme.

Je vous remercie de l'attention que vous avez accordée à ma demande. Dans l'espoir de recevoir bientôt une réponse de votre part, je vous prie d'agréer Ma Soeur, mes meilleures salutations.

Chaleureusement,
PNT

The Tragedy of Suburbia

I recently watched a lecture on the dismal failure that is community design in America. James Howard Kunstler gives a powerful and insightful look at "places not worth caring about", and how we come to have so many of them. I heartily agree with many of his concerns and conclusions, and I hope to spend time in Europe grokking what makes spaces alive and worth caring about.

PNT: What I found interesting about Kunstler's indictment of failed [sub]urbanism in the US is that many of the proposed remedies have a very pronounced European feel to them. It seems to me that one of the things that makes Americans abroad so delighted by the architecture and layout of the cities is that we simply don't get it around here. Quaint streets, narrow pedestrian alleys, bustling squares, and quiet courtyards are not attractive because they're merely novel; I think they provide us with something that we're just not GETTING in much of American. Un certain "je ne sais quoi", if you will. No wonder all these new strip malls and housing developments are trying to channel Tuscany or provincial France.

is not

(Images courtesy of Valley Commercial Contractors and yours truly, RamblingRovers.)

Full disclosure

During my Washington, DC trip of a few weeks ago (to check out, and eventually accept a place at, Catholic University of America School of Law) I ended up chatting with some folks from the Air Force OSI. OSI's mission is most succinctly described as the Air Force's in-house FBI/CIA/Spooks. They have a much broader mission profile than the larger agencies, and, being small, they operate with a greater degree of independence. Sounds pretty interesting, and only reinforces my interest in some of the spookier careers out there. One of them had a bit of advice for me when I told him that I would be traveling Europe this summer: Take a Standard Form 86 with me and fill it out along the way.

Apparently the US Government is mighty particular about where you've traveled and how you account for your time while abroad if you are interested in working intelligence. SF-86 is the standard questionnaire for national security positions, and collects this as well as much more information. So little as a single day or country not disclosed can be grounds for immediate and irrevocable termination of candidacy.

Considering my and my brother's perennial interest with this sort of work, I think it's probably prudent to do exactly as the man says. Plus, once its filled out for this trip and for our previous trips (including Canada, Vatican, British Virgin Islands, and Berkeley) we'll have a complete list of everywhere we've been for ourselves, as well.

[Edit: 2/2/09 - That advice was right on the money. Though it's been my experience now with DoJ and State that low level (less than Top Secret) clearance doesn't demand the closest scrutiny, not having at least estimated information will leave some conspicuous holes.]

Cream-filled Rorschach tests

Apparently there's a tradition/running joke in Prague that came out of a novel by a famous (though inexplicably lost to history) Czech novelist who once mused that people can be divided into 3 categories:

1) Those who would pass by a plate of stale donuts and think nothing of it
2) Those who would pass by a plate of stale donuts and consider throwing them at passers-by
3) Those who would pass by a plate of stale donuts and actually throw them at passers-by

In honor of this all-encompassing personality test, the Imperial Cafe, an upscale Prague eatery, offers an additional menu item: a plate of rock-hard stale creampuffs and the tacit permission to pelt your fellow patrons. Just remember that in doing so you've not only united the populace against you, you've also armed them.

Also, if you'd like to contact us, you can always email me at pnthomas(at)gmail(dot)com. (Donut story first heard on "Czech Republic: Prague with Samantha Brown" on the Travel Channel.)

Oh captain, my captain

Since we are both unabashed geeks, we've decided that a particular obscure village in France must be on our itinerary. It turns out that the eventual birthplace of a certain French captain is in fact a real city and is not too far off our route. La Barre is a tiny village in the Loire Valley between Le Mans and Orleans. Is there actually anything vaguely related there? Probably not, but it's really about the journey, a sentiment I'm sure our good captain would agree with.

Monkeries and Nunneries

Reverend Teri had a magnificent idea for yet another place to stay in Europe: monasteries and convents! It may at first seem like staying with the monks and nuns would cramp your style if you were a twenty-something romping across Europe, but remember: The monks INVENTED beer! Plus, I hear that the monks are known for eating well (The cliche isn't "skinny friar," after all) and they're apt to have a great deal more to tell and share about the area. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea. Plus, it promises to add a new and interesting dimension to the "Your place or mine?" discussion. (<--- If you are a parent person, I'm only kidding.)

*PS: Apparently the Basilica of Sacre Coeur de Montmartre (oh, THAT one) has a retreat house/pilgrims house. Could be interesting!

Bottoms up or the rest in your hair!

An essential part of going local is knowing how to raise a glass in the proper fashion. Cheers has the local toasts for each of the countries that we're visiting. The title of this post comes from the translation of the rather charming Danish toast, "Bunden i vejret eller resten i håret."

In other news, Patrick and I have hammered out a couple more changes in the schedule. We're stealing a day from Berlin and adding it to Prague (I think we'll have more of interest to us in Prague) and we're also liberating a day from St. Malo and trying to find out where to stick in an R&R day. After all, quaint and historic as St. Malo is, it's 300 square yards of beautiful old city, then 2 miles of Oakland shoreline.