Germany and Canada In France #2

You remember when I wrote about my young German friend Julia? She and her boyfriend came to visit us for a few days last month when we were staying in Martignac.

Well, we are together again! This time in Paris. Julia is here with her mother, father, and brother for the weekend.

Let me tell you about Julia's family and how wonderful they are.

When Joe and I were planning our first trip to Europe in 2006, Julia said, "You must come visit me and my family when you come to Europe! Please stay with us in Germany." We accepted her generous offer and factored that stop into our holiday plans.

As we were getting ready to leave Canada, she wrote to say that she had gotten a summer job at Disneyland Paris, so she wouldn't be seeing us when we were visiting Germany.

"Is that okay with your parents?" we asked her. "They don't mind hosting two complete strangers in their home?"

She assured us everything was fine with her parents.

When we arrived in their village, we felt very uncertain as we rang their doorbell. Talk about a cold call! But Julia's mother opened the door and warmly welcomed us into their home. Julia's father arrived shortly afterwards with a big smile and a big hug.

Thank goodness their English was excellent, because other than 'gesundheit' our German was non-existent.

Alex and Christine are both pharmacists and run their own pharmacy. Before our arrival, they made arrangements to have a pharmacist from another city come to take over their business so they could take a few days off to show us the sights.

They took us to all the 'bourgs'. Strasbourg, Heidelberg, Luxembourg. We laughed, we ate, we drank, we drank some more.

I cried (of course I did) when it was time to say good-bye to Alex and Christine, and their son Florian. I was so grateful for their hospitality.

We have stayed in touch over the past 5 years. When they learned we'd be in Paris this week, they booked a hotel near our apartment to spend the weekend with us!

Joe cooked everyone a fine meal at Julia's boyfriend's mother's apartment last night. Today we met for lunch at our apartment then hiked up to Sacre Coeur for a wander around Montmartre.

We are meeting them later on tonight for dinner at a restaurant.

This visit has made me stop and think about how a young German girl's decision to attend a Squamish high school in 2003 led us to staying with her family in 2006, becoming friends, and spending a weekend together in Paris 5 years later.

Pretty incredible if you ask me.