Carmen’s Corner: A Rabbit’s-Eye View of a Journey across Western Europe
Mom and Dad and Uncle Marvin had spent a lot of time packing up the van when, suddenly on Friday morning, it was time to pack ME. Dad put my cage in the back of the car, right behind his seat so I could stay close to him and Mom. Fortunately, it was a nice, warm day, because it took a while to get the rest of the car packed and the apartment cleaned up. Mom and Dad handed over the keys to Doña Laura and we were on our way. Belgium, here we come!
Although the previous week and a half or so had been cold and blustery, we enjoyed great weather as we made our way northeast across Spain. I’d seen southwest and southeast Spain before, but this was my first trip northeast. We passed through five autonomous communities (sort of like states in the US) and nine provinces (sort of like counties, but bigger and less numerous), many of them new to my parents. A couple of hours after dark, we passed over the Pyrenees at a low spot—there wasn’t even snow! It was a big relief to not have worry about the road conditions. (Not that I was worried: I leave that sort of thing to God and my people!)
An hour up the road or so, we planned to stop for the night at the house of friends of Uncle Marvin. We had a bit of a tough time finding it: they kept closing roads that would take us there. Eventually we went up over a hill on some back roads and soon found it. It was a nice spot: a converted farmhouse with a big yard where they could grow grapes. It looked like a picture out of a French textbook. (Not that I read French textbooks, although I hear they’re delicious.) I got my dinner while my people got theirs: Steve and SueAnn were nice enough to wait till we arrived at nearly 11 p.m. to have their dinner. We settled in for the night.
The next morning, after taking some time for rest and fellowship, we got on the road again. My favorite part early on was a beautiful view of the Pyrenees from the north in the background with a huge flock of birds in the foreground. Soon we got on the highway system, where we seemed to stop to pay tolls as much as we drove on the roads. But central France was pretty, although it might be prettier when it’s not December. That night we stayed at a small hotel along the route, about an hour south of Paris.
Sunday morning I got to see the Eiffel Tower as we drove past Paris. I’d have seen it a lot longer if it hadn’t been Sunday morning, because traffic would have been horrendous. But that’s okay: I mean, it’s a pretty tower and all, but since it’s metal, I can’t chew on it. Shortly afterward we were greeted with a beautiful rainbow and about ten minutes of drizzling rain. For three days on the road in winter, ten minutes of rain wasn’t bad at all!
Soon we crossed the border into Belgium, and shortly after that, we were pulling up in front of our new home—at least for the next six weeks or so. We were greeted by one of Mom’s friends, who had the house full of baby stuff. There were also lots of people from the church to help unload the van. It didn’t take long before we were resting and settling into our new place.
Now I’m sitting in front of Mom’s pretty coral aquarium. It looks like they all made it safely. It’s a cold, rainy day—the kind that makes me glad to have a fur coat. (It’s all natural, too!) I’m practicing my new favorite word in Dutch (“wortel,” which means carrot) and staring at Mommy’s great big belly and wondering how much longer till I get to play with my baby brother.
We had a great trip, and God was so good in taking care of us. Thanks for all your prayers for us!
Love,
Carmen
Comments