What a wonderful year for you all! Thanks for a nice beginning.

Hub and I are getting ready to leave tomorrow for Paris. Although we have our rooms, we haven't been to Parc Montsouris.

Chapter 2: Meanderings

We are the wander-around-and-see-what-you-find kind of tourists, so the next morning DH and I started out walking with the vague objective of arriving eventually at the Jacquemart Andre Museum in the 8th. First stop was a local bakery where we had MUCH better success than the previous evening’s dinner. Then we wandered along Rue d’Aboukir – sort of a garment district area – with some amazing clothes in the windows. I guess most of the stores are wholesale as quite a few of them had signs on the door sternly warning they did NO retail sales and “N’insistez pas s’il vous plait”, which made us laugh.

Then we stumbled across the Opera Palais Garnier (or whatever combination of those words is the correct name). I’d never seen it before. Just stunning. Toured around inside a bit.

Continued on our vague trajectory towards Jacqemart-Andre and came across the big Printemps department store. There is some sort of construction going on and they have a huge trompe l’oeuil sheet covering a large part of the building – it may sound funny, but it’s really beautiful. Here’s a website that shows pictures of some of it: http://www.leprintempsmiroir.com/index.php?lang=en I guess Paris even does something as prosaic as remodeling department stores with style.

We noticed people up on top of the building, so we figured if they could get up there we could too. So went inside and just began taking escalator after escalator till suddenly we were on the roof with an incredible view of Paris. Evidently this summer they had a guide up there who gave free talks explaining what is what in the Paris skyline that you’re seeing, but the program had ended the day before. Too bad. Well I recognized the Eiffel Tower all by myself at least.

More wandering with beautiful buildings seemingly around every corner – various churches, monuments, etc. until we arrive at the Jacquemar-Andre Museum. Enjoyed ourselves tremendously looking at the art collection amassed by this Parisian couple in the late 1800’s – Tiepolo’s, Rembrandts, Van Dykes, Frans Hals, etc etc. All in a gorgeous mansion on Boulevard Haussman. The salon has walls equipped with hydraulic mechanisms that can lower the walls into the basement, turning three separate rooms into one large room where they held balls for 1000 people at a time! I was amazed they had the technology to do that in the 1860’s. Puts Bill Gates’ house to shame. Really made us laugh when the English version of the audio-guide kept referring to the house as a beautiful example of the “upper middle class” lifestyle in Paris. In the 1800’s. I guess the upper middle class just ain’t what it used to be!

Chapter 3: We move up in the world

We had worn ourselves out and didn’t really want to go out for dinner that second night. So we just made a stop at the Monoprix (an interesting glimpse into French life itself) around the corner from the hotel and bought some food for an elegant in-room dinner. It was great – and definitely beat the soggy pizza from the night before.

The next day we moved to new digs. Get this: an old friend of DH’s has been living in Paris for the past 20 years and offered us his apartment for the rest of the week (he was going back to the States for a vacation). Nice enough, right? But just where was the apartment? On a little side street in the 5th, in the block between the Boulevard St. Germain and the Seine – exactly a block from Notre Dame. Surprisingly, we accepted his kind offer! Another friend of ours from California, who is currently living in Aix-en-Provence, came up to stay with us. We had a joyful reunion. DD came over to join us for dinner and we all ate at a little restaurant in our (new) neighborhood, Le Petit Pontoise. We all thought the food was good, but were not absolutely bowled over. After dinner we strolled the block or so to Notre Dame and then across the bridge to a café selling Berthillon ice cream. – which we passed right by. OK, I’m lying. We all got multiple flavors and loved them. A wonderful evening.

Tdudette - I hope you have a truly wonderful trip to Paris. I can't wait to go again.

Love your report-- looking forward to the next chapter!

How lucky you are to have this year! I would love to live in Amsterdam for a year. And to be just a train ride away from so many other wonderful places! Enjoy!

I'm so jealous that you get to live in Amsterdam and your daughter gets to study in Paris!
The Jacquemart-Andre is my favorite museum...I particularly love the cafe and gift shop. Thanks for the report, we look forward to more!

fifi - thanks! grasshopper - we are very excited about Amsterdam and hoping to be able to do some traveling too. anneeby - yeah, the Jacquemart Andre is great I think - small enough to be accessible and not too crowded - it was just right for us.

What a delightful post! I can just feel the vibe - Thanks SO much!

Thanks NorCalif. Ditto about Jacquemart-Andres. How great to get an apartment.
Looking forward to more reports!

Thanks for sharing, NC.

Chapter 4: A turn for the worse

The next day DH and I and our visiting friend started walking, first wandering through the Ile Saint-Louis, poking our heads into little shops that appealed to us, then on into the Jewish quarter of the Marais. along rue de Rosiers. Stopped at the famed L’as du Falafel to join the long line of people waiting to buy a take-away falafel (it reminded me of the soup-Nazi scene from Seinfled. Although the restaurant staff was very friendly and helpful, so there the similarity ended.) It was a festive line and provided time for some great people-watching. With “best falafels in the world” (not sure I’d go that far, but they were good) we walked down to Place des Vosges for a picnic lunch. Then went into the Victor Hugo house and museum, which we enjoyed in a quiet way.

Decided to head over to Pompidou Centre, but as we passed the Carnavalet Museum which is devoted to the history of Paris, we decided to stop in there for a visit.

(Cue ominous music … dum da da dum ….)

The visit started off well enough – different sections of the museum are devoted to different centuries in Parisian history. I found the exhibits to be of varying interest , but not enough information or context for a Parisian-history-rube like myself– and found the layout of the buildings (it’s in multiple connected buildings) to be confusing. I never knew what century I was going to see next and soon became hopelessly lost as well as separated from DH and our friend. Kept seeing some beautiful courtyards (different ones) outside various windows I passed. Finally decided to just try to go back to the entrance - if I could find it – and wait for DH and friend to hopefully show up there.

By this time I was on some series of wide marble staircases that didn’t seem to have much traffic, but I just kept going down and down, looking for some sign to the entrance. I should have been looking at my feet instead because I suddenly inadvertently took about 4 stairs at once and landed on the side of one ankle. I collapsed immediately as I could not stand up. No one was around so I just pulled myself to the edge of the last stair for a few minutes trying to assess the damage. The ankle was achieving behomoth proportions pretty rapidly, as well as some interesting colors you don't usually want to see on your skin, but fortunately there was no real pain. After a minute or two another visitor came down the stairs and asked in French if I was OK. I said non and managed to convey that I couldn’t stand up. She went off in search of some museum employees and eventually I could hear some commotion coming my way.

Several museum employees eventually joined me and wanted to call the “pompiers”. I speak some French but am not at all adept at it, but it was fairly obvious they meant an ambulance. At first I resisted, but eventually realized that was going to be the only way I could get out of there as I could not even stand, much less walk down stairs. But where was my husband? I had our only cell phone (where his was is a long story) and I also had the only keys to the apartment we were staying in. Help!!

Chapter 5: A much too literal “trip” report

The museum employees didn’t really speak English and I was sure in no shape to gather my pathetic-attempts-at French-wits about me, but eventually I was able to get across that I needed “mon mari”. They paged him but he didn’t come. But at least our friend heard the pages and she did come. She speaks better French than I do thank goodness, so we began to get some communication going. The museum employees were wonderful and so kind. Just then the ambulance crew arrived and after looking at my leg they insisted on taking me straight to a hospital.

I won’t lie. It was no fun. Especially just disappearing from the museum not knowing where my husband was and with no way to let him know what had happened or where I was going. That almost disturbed me more than my unstand-on-able leg did. I really had no idea how we were EVER going to find each other. My cell phone had been acting up and not working well, and as I said, he didn’t have one. Since I was the only one with the apartment keys, I knew he couldn’t even just go back there. It was awful.

Oh well nothing I could do. We zipped to a French hospital where they were very nice and took an x-ray of my leg right away. I knew it was bad news when the person who came in to discuss the results of my x-rays introduced himself as the “orthopedic surgeon”. He told me I needed surgery the next morning and would have to be kept in the hospital overnight. Oh no!

Wow, NorCalif, I'm so sorry you were hurt. I'm hoping the rest of your year goes better. What a wonderful opportunity for you and your family! Looking forward to more of your report.

How awful NorCalif! I'm so sorry for you but really can't wait to read more. This is better than the current novel I am reading.

No fun for you but so much more interesting than a traditional trip report!

Oh my, I was really enjoying your "trip report" and now, it is truly " trip" report. Thank goodness at least your friend found you.

I was going to reply " who goes to Paris for the Italian" food, when you claimed to have had the worst pizza ever( I actually reserve that honor I think, but at least I had it in Italy!!) , but now I feel so bad that you hurt yourself,, so I am still posting it, but feeling guilty,, LOL

Looking forward to next report very much. I wonder how the French hospital was, I can imagine without full commmand of language it would be confusing and stressful, I mean , most of us feel like that even about hospitals in our own town!!

Oh no! I was thoroughly enjoying reading about your experiences, but the literal trip...I really feel for you. Please keep writing as I know we are all anxious to hear how the hospital went, and especially how things ended up with DH.

Oh NorCalif. I was so pleased to see and read this thread of yours as I knew you were leaving at some point for Amsterdam.

I am cringing for you, I am so sorry about your fall and everything that took place, utter confusion and such a worry for you I know. Thank goodness your French speaking friend heard the page and came to your assistance. I guess you forgot to give her the key to the apartment?

Be glad you are not here in NorCalif. We had horrible triple digit temperture that went on for day. Over night the temperture has gone down thankfully but on and off (such as today) the wind is terrible!

I look forward to your next installment. Sending you good wishes and hope you are now all right!

Oh, my goodness. This is why I always keep an eagle eye on my husband when we are in museums or other crowded public spaces. I feel like my head is on a swivel sometimes, but I have an unreasoning fear of our getting separated when traveling. Your experience made me realize that we ought to have a backup "meetup" plan should we ever lose each other. Can't wait for the next installment -- I assume you found your DH, but I really feel for you!

NorCalif - I am really feeling your pain as I had a bad fall down a spiral staircase in a small restaurant on Ile St Louis in Paris in May 2007. I, too, couldn't get up and because of the narrow staircase, no one could help me! At least my husband was right there, heard me fall, and came running! He was finally able to lift me somehow from behind and get me the rest of the way down. Also, I was fortunate that nothing was broken. I had a torn meniscus - but all the swelling was in the ankle - so I thought I had hurt my ankle. It put a big damper on the rest of the trip - three more days - and made the trip home very uncomfortable. But it could have been so much worse!

I am very anxious to hear the rest of your story - if you had the surgery and how you got back to Amsterdam. Guess it was good you didn't have to come all the way back to the states.

Oh, what an awful thing to happen - I can only imagine how upsetting it was to have such an accident, and not be able to find your husband! Where was he?! And what did he do when he couldn't find you?

I do hope that you are feeling alright now, and that you have been able to recuperate enough to enjoy your new year. The trip report, up until the real "trip", has been a delight to read.

I can't wait to hear how things went after your hospital stay.

Paule

Great report, NorCalif! I'm not so sure I like the "surprising twist" part of it, but most interested to hear more.

I once briskly stepped off a moving Italian train in Rome, but I don't want to hijack your story. Please tell us more about the French hospital experience.

Thanks for writing this up, Nor Calif. I'm hooked!

Anselm

This makes me wince in sympathy. I have one bad ankle that has been broken once and sprained severely several times, and this is something I could sooo easily do myself - fortunately have managed not to do it when traveling (yet?).

NorCalif, you can NOT stop here!!!

I'm so very sorry for your accident, but I must know how things have turned out for you!

bozama! You could have said see you next fall? Sorry to make light, NorCalif.

Seriously, hope all is well as can be now.

Oy, your tale has convinced me - clumsy as I am - that it is worth the price for each of us to have a call phone when traveling.
Your style of walk-around-and-see is right in line with my own.
We are all anxiously awaiting the next installment!

Thank you all so much for your expressions of sympathy! And I don't mind the funny remarks. Better to laugh than cry, right? (I did some of each.)

I'll try to write up the next installment right now.

Chapter 6: Move over Michael Moore (I can investigate foreign healthcare too)

They took me up to my hospital room - a nice private room with private bath. (However I would NOT generally recommend this particular hotel. The décor is sterile and the staff gives you almost too much personal attention. And I mean personal.) The nurses were unbelievably kind and cheerful but communication was a real problem. I was trying to understand what was in the IV they were giving me, what the pills were they brought in, etc. You know how they always advise you to be really watchful in hospitals and ask lots of questions to avoid medication mistakes? Well it’s hard to do when you don’t speak the language! I had begged them to let my friend come in the ambulance with me and they had kindly let her, although I don’t think they were supposed to. She was a big help with the language issues – although there were still major gaps in communication as I don’t think she had ever boned up (get it?) on French medical terminology.

The anesthesiologist came in and he spoke some limited English. He told me I had broken one of the bones in my leg and ruptured a lot of ligaments (a lot? How many do I have anyway? For that matter, exactly what ARE ligaments? Do I really need them?) He said the orthopedic surgeon would have to operate and put screws in my ankle (now I’m really screwed, I guess) as it had “no stability.” He said they would operate at 8:00 AM the next morning. Oh great. Now I was scared. I have a lot of doctors in my family. I know they don’t know anything! ;->

And it had now been a couple of hours since I left the museum and I was also still frantic about my husband. My friend and I were discussing whether it made sense for her to go back to the apartment and see if DH turned up there. I could barely stand to part with her though as she was both my only known friendly face and my translator. But then, hallelujah, my cell phone rang and it was DH!

He must have missed the paging at the museum because had been outside in the gardens for a while (that’s his story anyway. I haven’t inquired at any of the nearby cafes to see if he was really whiling away the time with a carafe of wine.) After looking for me forever in the museum, he gave up and went in search of a place to buy a phone card that he could use to try to call me. He of course was not terribly worried – he just thought my friend and I were dithering around in some exhibit or other talking our heads off (uh, it’s been known to happen). He ran into all kinds of problems finding a phone card and making it work in various public phones he tried, but at last was able to make the phone card work. But evidently my cell phone (which had been going through an extremely temperamental phase) did not care to pass along the information that I was getting a call. Eventually however technology triumphed and the pay phone and my cell phone agreed to cooperate with each other for a crucial minute or two. He was of course quite distressed to learn what I had been up to. He would head for the hospital tout de suite. Thank heavens!

LoveItaly - It's good to hear from you too! Sorry the weather back home has been so hot. The weather is at least one thing that went right about our trip - sunny and in the 70's!

Chapter 7: Reunited – and it feels so good (well mostly good, except for my ankle)

DH arrived pretty quickly. It was so wonderful to see him!

They brought me a dinner, although it was after dinnertime. And I feel some national pride in reporting that French hospital food is just as execrable as US hospital food. I guess maybe their top chefs are employed elsewhere.

We asked the nurses if DH could spend the night in my room and they said yes. (I think they would have had to call security to evict him if they’d said no.) They said my surgery was going to be postponed till 2:00 PM the next day due to a big semi-emergency surgery they’d had to schedule in the morning.

We sent my friend back to the apartment and DH and I both spent a fairly uncomfortable night. He was sleeping contorted in an armchair (although we later found out we could have asked to have a cot moved into the room. Who knew?) And I was uncomfortable because I was hooked up to an IV, had to hop to the bathroom when necessary, and my ankle hurt. Although I have to say it caused me much less pain than they expected it to and I never had to take the heavy-duty pain medication they kept bringing in.

Woke up from a fitful sleep to have to just lie there and await surgery with nothing to do but worry. An area in which I am already an Olympic contender. Started to freak out more and more about the communication issues before and after surgery. Finally remembered I had taken out travel insurance for the trip over from the States that was still in force and it had a 24/7 medical assistance number. I decided to call them to see if they could recommend any Anglophone doctors in Paris that I could maybe have oversee my treatment. They recommended that I go to the American Hospital of Paris. I called the American Hospital and they said “everyone in the ER speaks English” and that they would see me if I wanted to transfer over there and they would be able to schedule surgery if necessary. Meanwhile 2:00 PM had come and gone at the hospital I was currently in, and they’d had to postpone surgery again, so I had a window of opportunity to accomplish the transfer. So I bailed on the hospital I was in and took a taxi to the American Hospital. The French hospital staff had been unfailingly kind and the surgeon and anesthesiologist seemed quite competent, I just wanted people I could talk to!

I brought my x-rays with me, so was able to see the orthopedic surgeon at the American Hospital right away. He said he didn’t think I needed surgery! You can’t believe how happy that made me! Although I still worry (see Olympic-worry-contender comment above) that I don’t have any way of knowing which opinion was the “right” one. Anyway, he slapped a cast on my leg, gave me a pair of crutches (the only thing they asked me to pay for before I left) and sent me home. Free at last!

Wow, what an adventure!! Its always good to get a second opinion, especially one you can understand,LOL Hope it heals well.It is weird how one doctor wanted to operate and one didn't? Did the second doctor explain it to you ? Its always better not to go under anyways unless you really have to.

I do think your husband staying at the hospital was very nice, I know I wouldn't want mine there, I mean, sleeping in a chair all grumpy,, but then my hubby is 6'4" and an arm chair would not have been a good idea. He really didn't mind?? I guess he was freaked out about losing you the first time and had to keep his eye on you! LOL

Chapter 8: Casting (!) about for help while traveling

Spent our last full day in Paris lounging about the apartment, with a 2000 pound cast (I’m pretty sure they must have used plaster of Paris. Hee hee. ) on one broken leg trying to learn to use crutches well enough that I don’t break the other one. We had tickets home to Amsterdam on the train for the next day, this past Saturday. Fortunately (for me) our friend was coming home to Amsterdam with us – we’ve been planning to explore the city together – so I would have two able-bodied people to help me navigate the train stations, etc.

Gare du Nord does have wheelchairs it turns out, although we had been told they didn’t. The wheelchair was driven by a really thoughtful young man who figured out which door of our train car was closest to our seats and was extremely helpful in getting me on the train. He clearly had experience helping people who are disabled for one reason or another. He would not even accept a tip.

We were crammed into really small seats on the train. After a while the train conductor noticed my plight, with my cast not being able to really fit in my seat, so he moved all three of us to a private compartment that had an entire wall of seats where I could lie down and prop up my leg, without us even asking. So that part of the trip was quite comfortable (may save the cast and put it on for future trips). ;->

Then the problem came. The rails in Amsterdam’s Centraal Station position the train with quite a gap between the train steps and the platform (reminded me of the Woody Allen movie where Diane Keaton parks halfway out into the street and he says, “Don’t worry. I can walk to the curb from here.”) Only I couldn’t walk to the platform from there and I, as a novice crutch user, just could not negotiate the whole step-gap-platform thing and it was too narrow for my companions to help me.

So I had to triumphantly return to my new home town by crawling, on my hands and knees, onto the platform in front of hundreds of passers-by. As I struggled back to my feet and my crutches, I caught the eye of one 20-something young man who had evidently been watching my progress with interest. He gave me the kindest, most approving smile. He seemed to be saying “Good for you!”. It made my day! Isn’t it funny how much the tiniest kindness can mean to you when you need it? He’ll never know that he is a permanent and cherished part of my memory of this whole episode. A good lesson to be kind to people, even in small ways, I guess.

So I’ve been back home in Amsterdam for two days now, not able to go anywhere really as I am not allowed to put weight on the cast or the leg, and there’s only so far I can go, holding my cast up, while on crutches. I’m supposed to have the cast on for 3 to 6 weeks. I had planned to buy a bike when we got back, to explore Amsterdam with, but that's out for the time being. So we’re looking into renting one of those scooter-things that people who have mobility issues use. Look out Amsterdam!

I'm so sorry you had this happen - but what a lovely ending to such a stressful story! I'm incredibly clumsy, so I'm sure your information about how to find an English-speaking doctor will come in handy eventually!

Glad you made it to your new home alright - I loved Amsterdam, I'm so jealous you have a year to explore!

Oh my! I sincerely hope you heal well, find good medical help with whom you can communicate, and go on to enjoy this sabbatical year.

You have a public now, though, and you have to tell us how it all comes out.

Well that really was a "trip report" to end all trip reports!

Have you been to see an orthopod in the Netherlands? If one doctor said I needed surgery and another said I didn't, I'd be tempted to go for a third tie-breaking opinion and to find out WHY surgery is a go/no go. And as least you're "home" so if he/she says you do need surgery, you won't be recovering far away. Excellent facilities in the NL and you'll have no trouble finding English speaking medical professionals.

Love your cheerful, joking approach to what could have been viewed as a total disaster. An unusual trip report from an unusual person.

Carry on, NorCalif, you're doing great!

What a great report! you are a terrific 'teller of tales'...and I thank you for sharing.

This is also a trip report I will bookmark for all those folks who scoff at the necessity of Travel Medical Insurance. Hey, it gave you that most generous of benefits in a crisis: options!

Interesting that you went to the American Hospital when you were in Paris. I got a touch of pneumonia when we were in Paris last October, and I hopped a bus from the 7th. Long bus ride to Neuilly-sur-Seine.

What a lovely ride to an even lovelier suburb of Paris that was. The hospital itself was modern, and the staff was extremely nice and competent. We had an interview with an older gray-bearded French doctor who was straight out of central casting, who fixed me up with appropriate antibiotics, and sent us on our way with a very moderate bill. BTW, the bill was paid by our health plan in the States very promptly, and with no fuss.

Great report! Hope you are on your bike shortly.

Dear NorCalif,

A friend of mine here in Zurich had a similar accident and received a similar diagnosis. A year later she still is having problems and now the specialists tell her things were done wrong back then and her ligaments will never properly heal. She is only in her 40s.

I don't want to scare you. I just want to urge you to make sure you have the best doctors and to get a second or third opinion and if things aren't healing as promised to stay vigilant and be assertive.

and, I absolutely love your report and also would love to hear about your ex-pat experiences in Amsterdam... I loved Amsterdam...

gruezi

Hello NorCalif, I am so glad you are home! You are a true sport with a great sense of humor! And your poor husband, except my late husband would have been having some wine and figuring that I had wandered off too, lol.

As reading about your time in the hospital I was thinking "I wish they had taken her to the American Hospital" so I am relieved that is where you took yourself to my dear. I say that as my daughter-in-law ended up with appendicities while in Paris and she was taken to the American Hospital where they operated on her and to this day she comments on how good experience (well if you can call having an operation a good experience) and all the English speaking personnel.

Arriving at the station in Amsterdam! NorCalif I would have been in tears. Acutally I probably would have ended up breaking my other leg. Crawling out of the train..well you are a real trooper! The young man smiling with you, precious!

Now about the "screws..pins" in your ankle. I am so glad you got the second opinion at the American Hospital. My husband ended up with an injury like yours (thrown out of a golf cart driven by a drunk minister..looooong story, don't ask, lol). Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa insisted that he needed to have pins put in his ankle. He declined and his golfing buddies got him home and he saw our doctor the next morning who sent him to the specialist. Long story short he was told that he made the right decision to not have the operation. As I recall he was told one could always have the pins inserted if they were needed but once the pins were inserted they could never be removed. Anyway NorCalif like you he was in a cast for weeks but long story short after he healed he never had any problem with his leg or ankle.

So getting a third opinion would be a good idea, just to put your mind at ease.

Take good care of yourself and enjoy being waited on and pampered. And thankfully you will be in beautiful Amsterdam for a year so you will have lots of time to explore and also to go bike riding!

I hope your daughter is enjoying her time in Paris and all is well with her.

Sending you a hug and many good wishes. And I am happy to report the weather is fantastic today! Just perfect.

Echo getting another opinion.

But applaud your report, and your courage in adversity.

It's funny isn't it, that misfortune makes the best story afterwards!

Do keep us posted on your year in Amsterdam, I for one would love to read about it, and your travels too, because in Holland you are so close to so many other wonderful places.

Take care, and wishing you a speedy recovery.

So glad you went to the hospital. I fell and "twisted" my ankle on the Palatine Hill in Rome in 2003. My ex convinced me it was just a bad sprain and I should walk it off.

Turns out I had fractured the ankle and torn ligaments. Because I did not seek medical attention I now have some residual permanent damage.

But at least you can add to your travel memories an exciting "trip". You at least have a sense of humour about the whole thing. What a great attitude!

I'm almost embarrassed to say that your trip report had me laughing out loud, but you asked for it. Great, good humor in the face of some pretty scary adversity. Thanks for several good laughs. And good luck to you as you heal. Take care.

I am so glad that you made it to the American Hospital and didn't need the surgery after all. Although I was aware of the American Hospital, I am making a big mental note for future reference and hoping I never need it! It's always scary to think about having an accident or illness in a foreign country and on top of everything else having trouble communicating. Also, makes me more aware of the trip insurance issue. We have bought it for the last several trips, and I bought insurance for our coming trip in October just today.

Glad you made it back to Amsterdam and hope you heal quickly. I know you're anxious to see all that you had planned to see while living there. Hope you have a great year with no more accidents!

One more vote for more opinions. You might send your x-rays, cat scan, etc. to US md that you or your family trusts. I broke elbow second day of 23 day trip to Japan. Japanese md said I should have surgery when I returned to US. The many US mds I showed the x-rays to during my time in Japan all said...not so bad, it will heal, just keep the cast on for 3 weeks. I needed major surgery when NYC "Upper Extremety" surgeon took more cat scans, x-rays, etc. Now arm just fine. So, if you don't feel as if everything great when it should be great...another md needed.

NorCalif: you are a trooper!!

Reminds me of the time I tripped down the stairs walking in to a gift shop, and as I clung to a glass display case, while three employees were calling for help, my husband walked by on the other side of the shop and waved BACK at my frantic waving to him!! (with a "having fun in the gift shop?" smile on his face)

And this was in the USA at Epcot in Florida!!

Needless to say, I went home in a wheelchair to our local friends' house, but later found I only had a sprain.

I wish you great success in regaining movement ability so you can explore the lovely Amsterdam to your heart's content. You deserve it.

You are brave. I bow to your resiliance

I am such a wimp that I would have stayed at the French-speaking hospital and just kept grinning and nodding.

I just asked my DH what he would have done if he couldn't find me in the museum and he said he'd ask to borrow a cell phone and call me. I reminded him he doesn't speak French and he just shrugged. Sigh.

Good luck with your recuperation.

I hope you have a speed recovery NC! Your spirit is amazing. In the spring we were in Paris and I almost did the same thing in one of the museums. Luckily, I was a able to avoid tumbling down some steps but I thought I was going to have a heart attack, my heart was thumping so hard. All I could think of was what could have happened. Sounds as though many of us are so envious of this wonderful opportunity your family has. Keep us posted.

Dar NorCalif - Thank you for this report. I felt so sorry for you but could not stop laughing. Hope to read more of your adventures as you are a wonderful writer and I hope your ankle is completely healed.

What a trip, literally! We are leaving for France/Belgium next week and we plan to visit Carnavalet Museum ! We'll be sure to watch our steps while we are there.