When the husband is away...

Ha, just kidding. And I promise that in this post there will be no mention of supposed "dangerous" activities because I didn't participate in any, ok?

Anyway, Jeremy is in Ghent, Belgium, right now at another science conference. This time he is giving a new talk and with fancy animated powerpoint slides. I'm quite sad to report that he has not yet found where the Belgians are keeping the good french fries. Come on, people!! When I was working in Liège last year, I was so heartily disappointed by the wan, tasteless fries that I thought the delicious ones were surely hiding in the north of the country (Liège is in the French-speaking south and Ghent is in the Flemish north). But if we cannot find those mythical Belgian frites, then we will be forced to conclude that they are an American delicacy dressed in foreign clothes, like Chinese food. So far, the best "frites" are to be had on 7th St and 2nd Ave in NYC.

I'll join him tomorrow evening for the frite hunt! Putting aside ruminations of tasty potatoes for a moment, the city is supposed to be very beautiful. We are staying in a converted 13th century monastery! Here is a little taste of the Gothic craziness from Google Images:












The past week has brought pretty gorgeous, warm weather to Cologne, and I have been taking a few afternoons a week to go on long bike rides. It is amazing how fast you leave the city here and wind up either in industrial wasteland (à la Queens) or suburbia. I did find an interesting café or two and the Belgian supermarket (Belgium again! My goodness, that tiny country is everywhere) on my jaunts.

Has everyone seen the movie Juno? And The Namesake? Both are completely brilliant.

And finally-- Karen!! I forgot to go to the crypt in Paris! I will have to remember next time.