Re: Robynn is still on vacation...

[Guest guest]

Hey there...

I haven't been able to check e-mail often, I'm in the

mountains in France, the Massif Centrale, to be exact.

As I mentioned in my e-mail in response to Francisco,

I just got back last night from a five day trip to

Sweden (and a very little time spent in Copenhagen, as

that is where our airplane landed and took off).

Sweden is quite beautiful. We were on the Baltic sea,

and hung out at the beach, in between wedding

festivities. (we were there for my friend's wedding.)

the wedding was a blast, and quite international.

(the bride) was born and raised in France,

lived in London for several years, and in Sausalito

for three years. Her mother was born in Sweden. Her

father was born in Germany. So, we had a host of

people from Germany, Sweden, France, England, and the

U.S. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that the groom is

from Switzerland, so all of his friends and family

from Switzerland were there.

's father is the Vice Chancellor of the

European Union, in charge of Human Rights. Although

he was educated in Germany, he actually got his law

degree at the University of Michigan (very famous for

their international law program)...the same place I

got my law degree!

The people there were fascinating...she's from a very

high achieving family, and has similarly interesting

friends. We had two professional journalist, one

television commentator from Berlin, another from

Paris..a fairly celebrated opera star...the head of

the World Bank...and some other similarly interesting

people. I was at a particularly fun table, with

people from SF and Berlin (the SF people were mostly

from other countries, but they currently live in the

City) so we all exchanged phone numbers and e-mails.

it was one of those weekend weddings: a dinner on

Friday night, the wedding on Saturday at a beautiful

old Swedish church, followed by the reception at a

gorgeous flower conservatory (Sweden is like flower

central, by the way...a very very good thing in my

book!). The next morning, we all met for breakfast at

this very charming place that had an incredible garden

outside where we all ate. And then Sunday night, we

all reconvened at 's parents Swedish house to

watch the final match in the World Cup, which was

sadly lost in a final penalty match by France...but it

was exciting nonetheless.

's family has three daughters and three houses:

one on the beach in Alicante, Spain...which the

oldest daughter will inherit, one near the beach in

Sweden, which will inherit, and then a big big

house in Strasbourg, France, which (oddly

enough...the ex-wife of my ex-boyfriend Olivier) will

inherit some day.

Anyway, the beaches in Sweden are really

beautiful...we were on the Baltic Sea. Almost all

Swedes and Norweigens can speak English...and I mean,

VERY WELL. They are super super super friendly and

easygoing people. I didn't meet anybody who wasn't

extremely helpful and nice.

We stayed on an ex-pig farm which has been converted

to a charming B and B. The owner, Ingvar, is such a

sweet man. He would talk to me every a.m., and I

would translate to French for . We had a great

time.

As for France: the day I arrived, had very

thoughtfully made an appointment for me with my

favorite hair salon in Paris, and he even remembered

my hairdresser, Martial. (No slam on you American

guys...but REALLY girls, can you even IMAGINE an

American man even THINKING about doing something like

that...let alone remembering the name and location of

the salon, and the name of your stylist?)

Afterwards, we went to dinner with Olivier...who

invited us to go to his friend's house in the country

(Didier, one of the guys who stayed with me...the one

who is a famous jockey). This will be in Normandy,

and we are going later on this week. Olivier was very

sweet, and he was trying to negotiate with about

how they could share their time with me in the future.

It was pretty funny, actually.

Then we drove up to Auvergne, where has his

farmhouse. His brother, Christophe, was having his

40th birthday party, so there were about 60 people

three sheets to the wind by the time we arrived (at

around 9:00). Totoche (Christophe's nick name) called

out, " Ah!! Ma belle soeur de Californie est ici!!! "

(basically, YAY! My sister in law from California is

here!), and he came over and hugged and kissed

me...much to the irritation of about five women, who

were looking very jealous. (Christophe is extremely

handsome, and very hard to get...so these women hadn't

heard him say the sister in law part...and were a bit

miffed.)

The party was great, went on until 7 in the a.m.

There was a very very large television screen so that

we could watch the France/Brazil quarter finals in the

World's Cup...and let me tell you, it was super

exciting to be in a room with 60 drunk French people

watching their team beat the Brazillians in a soccer

match of this importance! Much celebration.

As for me, I was jet-lagged, and only lasted until

about 3 in the a.m. Embarrassingly enough, my future

niece Lena, and 's God daughter, tte, walked

me home. Embarrassing because they are nine years

old, and were still going strong at 3 a.m.! (we were

only across the street from the party, but the girls

were at my side from the moment I arrived...and were

playing a bit of tug of war, which was pretty cute.)

The next day, we had a big Petanque tournament (which

is the French version of Italian bocce ball) at his

Uncle Gerard and Aunt Josianne's place. Totoche

stayed with us for a few days (I adore him, and 's

other two brothers, and ). Then we all

descended to Lyon, where all of the brothers live

during the week.

Lyon is the second largest city in France, and was the

place where the original kings all hung out. It is

actually the gastronimique capital of France, where

all of the famous French chef's come from. It is very

much like Paris, centered around a river that runs

through the center of it...old beautiful

buildings...the main difference is that there is more

of a mediterranean feel to it (it isn't far from the

Italian alps, and it is quite South...just above

Provence and Languedoc). Many of the buildings are an

antique rose color. It's really quite beautiful.

I saw 's apartment, which is in the chi chi

quarter of town...very cool, with a great view of the

river. However, Christophe's apartment was SUPER

cool...it was an old silk factory, so he has these

enormous windows, and inside, there are all of these

rough hewn wooden beams, and brick and stone. It's

very very charming. And here's the sad part. He pays

approximately $400 a month for it. Yikes.

Anyway, the 14 of July is there big celebration of the

French Revolution...the change from monarchy to

democracy...and we will be staying at 's friends'

house. They are having a big party, and apparently

they have a huge terrace that lets you see all of the

fireworks over the river (they live in Lyon as well).

I return to Paris towards the end of this week, and

we'll probably do a few museums, and then Olivier is

throwing a belated birthday party for me with all of

our friends. And then...sadly...it will be time to

head home.

So, that's the report. I'm doing very well...a little

tired, but otherwise, doing just great.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the evening we arrived in

La Chaulme (the little ancient village where 's

family originated, and where he now has one of the

family homes), it was still light (it stays light here

until after 10 o'clock.) There were some people

gathered at the church, singing old traditional French

songs, and it echoed throughout the village. It was

so hauntingly beautiful.

Also, the church bells ring every morning at 7 a.m.,

and play a pretty song...and then again at 6 p.m.

It's super charming.

More later,

Robynn

--- Donna Jordon wrote:

> Pam

> She's on vacation, she left after my vacation. So

> I'm not sure if she will be gone 1 or 2 weeks more.

> She was going for 3 weeks. Don't worry when she

> gets back she will pop in, just not sure she will be

> able to catch up on so many emails. I just read and

> deleted after vacation until I got back on schedule

> with everything. Take care. How about Robynn is

> she still on vacation? Donna J

>

> Pamela A Marsh wrote:

> Has anyone heard

> from . She has been way too

> quiet. If anyone sees or speaks with her, let her

> know I asked about her.

>

> Pam Marsh

>

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

Robynn What beautiful memories to have. All these great things you able to do and enjoy before you settle down to children, are get memories you will always have. So happy to read of all the beautiful places and what a wonderful time. Update us again when you get home. Take care. Donna JRobynn VanPatten wrote: Hey there... I haven't been able to check e-mail often, I'm in the mountains in France, the Massif Centrale, to be exact. As I mentioned in my e-mail in response

to Francisco, I just got back last night from a five day trip to Sweden (and a very little time spent in Copenhagen, as that is where our airplane landed and took off). Sweden is quite beautiful. We were on the Baltic sea, and hung out at the beach, in between wedding festivities. (we were there for my friend's wedding.) the wedding was a blast, and quite international. (the bride) was born and raised in France, lived in London for several years, and in Sausalito for three years. Her mother was born in Sweden. Her father was born in Germany. So, we had a host of people from Germany, Sweden, France, England, and the U.S. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that the groom is from Switzerland, so all of his friends and family from Switzerland were there. 's father is the Vice Chancellor of the European Union, in charge of Human Rights. Although he was educated in Germany, he

actually got his law degree at the University of Michigan (very famous for their international law program)...the same place I got my law degree! The people there were fascinating...she's from a very high achieving family, and has similarly interesting friends. We had two professional journalist, one television commentator from Berlin, another from Paris..a fairly celebrated opera star...the head of the World Bank...and some other similarly interesting people. I was at a particularly fun table, with people from SF and Berlin (the SF people were mostly from other countries, but they currently live in the City) so we all exchanged phone numbers and e-mails. it was one of those weekend weddings: a dinner on Friday night, the wedding on Saturday at a beautiful old Swedish church, followed by the reception at a gorgeous flower conservatory (Sweden is like flower central, by the way...a

very very good thing in my book!). The next morning, we all met for breakfast at this very charming place that had an incredible garden outside where we all ate. And then Sunday night, we all reconvened at 's parents Swedish house to watch the final match in the World Cup, which was sadly lost in a final penalty match by France...but it was exciting nonetheless. 's family has three daughters and three houses: one on the beach in Alicante, Spain...which the oldest daughter will inherit, one near the beach in Sweden, which will inherit, and then a big big house in Strasbourg, France, which (oddly enough...the ex-wife of my ex-boyfriend Olivier) will inherit some day. Anyway, the beaches in Sweden are really beautiful...we were on the Baltic Sea. Almost all Swedes and Norweigens can speak English...and I mean, VERY WELL. They are super super super

friendly and easygoing people. I didn't meet anybody who wasn't extremely helpful and nice. We stayed on an ex-pig farm which has been converted to a charming B and B. The owner, Ingvar, is such a sweet man. He would talk to me every a.m., and I would translate to French for . We had a great time. As for France: the day I arrived, had very thoughtfully made an appointment for me with my favorite hair salon in Paris, and he even remembered my hairdresser, Martial. (No slam on you American guys...but REALLY girls, can you even IMAGINE an American man even THINKING about doing something like that...let alone remembering the name and location of the salon, and the name of your stylist?) Afterwards, we went to dinner with Olivier...who invited us to go to his friend's house in the country (Didier, one of the guys who stayed with me...the one who is a famous jockey). This

will be in Normandy, and we are going later on this week. Olivier was very sweet, and he was trying to negotiate with about how they could share their time with me in the future. It was pretty funny, actually. Then we drove up to Auvergne, where has his farmhouse. His brother, Christophe, was having his 40th birthday party, so there were about 60 people three sheets to the wind by the time we arrived (at around 9:00). Totoche (Christophe's nick name) called out, "Ah!! Ma belle soeur de Californie est ici!!!" (basically, YAY! My sister in law from California is here!), and he came over and hugged and kissed me...much to the irritation of about five women, who were looking very jealous. (Christophe is extremely handsome, and very hard to get...so these women hadn't heard him say the sister in law part...and were a bit miffed.) The party was great, went on until 7 in the

a.m. There was a very very large television screen so that we could watch the France/Brazil quarter finals in the World's Cup...and let me tell you, it was super exciting to be in a room with 60 drunk French people watching their team beat the Brazillians in a soccer match of this importance! Much celebration. As for me, I was jet-lagged, and only lasted until about 3 in the a.m. Embarrassingly enough, my future niece Lena, and 's God daughter, tte, walked me home. Embarrassing because they are nine years old, and were still going strong at 3 a.m.! (we were only across the street from the party, but the girls were at my side from the moment I arrived...and were playing a bit of tug of war, which was pretty cute.) The next day, we had a big Petanque tournament (which is the French version of Italian bocce ball) at his Uncle Gerard and Aunt Josianne's place. Totoche stayed with

us for a few days (I adore him, and 's other two brothers, and ). Then we all descended to Lyon, where all of the brothers live during the week. Lyon is the second largest city in France, and was the place where the original kings all hung out. It is actually the gastronimique capital of France, where all of the famous French chef's come from. It is very much like Paris, centered around a river that runs through the center of it...old beautiful buildings...the main difference is that there is more of a mediterranean feel to it (it isn't far from the Italian alps, and it is quite South...just above Provence and Languedoc). Many of the buildings are an antique rose color. It's really quite beautiful. I saw 's apartment, which is in the chi chi quarter of town...very cool, with a great view of the river. However, Christophe's apartment was SUPER cool...it was an

old silk factory, so he has these enormous windows, and inside, there are all of these rough hewn wooden beams, and brick and stone. It's very very charming. And here's the sad part. He pays approximately $400 a month for it. Yikes. Anyway, the 14 of July is there big celebration of the French Revolution...the change from monarchy to democracy...and we will be staying at 's friends' house. They are having a big party, and apparently they have a huge terrace that lets you see all of the fireworks over the river (they live in Lyon as well). I return to Paris towards the end of this week, and we'll probably do a few museums, and then Olivier is throwing a belated birthday party for me with all of our friends. And then...sadly...it will be time to head home. So, that's the report. I'm doing very well...a little tired, but otherwise, doing just great. Oh, I forgot

to mention that the evening we arrived in La Chaulme (the little ancient village where 's family originated, and where he now has one of the family homes), it was still light (it stays light here until after 10 o'clock.) There were some people gathered at the church, singing old traditional French songs, and it echoed throughout the village. It was so hauntingly beautiful. Also, the church bells ring every morning at 7 a.m., and play a pretty song...and then again at 6 p.m. It's super charming. More later, Robynn --- Donna Jordon <dsjordon (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote: > Pam > She's on vacation, she left after my vacation. So > I'm not sure if she will be gone 1 or 2 weeks more. > She was going for 3 weeks. Don't worry when she > gets back she will pop in, just not sure she will be > able to catch up on so

many emails. I just read and > deleted after vacation until I got back on schedule > with everything. Take care. How about Robynn is > she still on vacation? Donna J > > Pamela A Marsh <sweetnlow20012001 (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote: > Has anyone heard > from . She has been way too > quiet. If anyone sees or speaks with her, let her > know I asked about her. > > Pam Marsh > > __________________________________________________ >

[Guest guest]

Robynn:

Your life reads like a wonderful chick flick! I really enjoy reading

your travelogue. Life, it seems, is offering up the best to you just

as you offered up the best of yourself.

Wow, it's great to hear you're doing so well. How on earth will you

ever come back to everyday life in the US? Will you ever need to

come back?

Francisco

> > Has anyone heard

> > from . She has been way too

> > quiet. If anyone sees or speaks with her, let her

> > know I asked about her.

> >

> > Pam Marsh

> >

> > __________________________________________________

> >

[Guest guest]

Sounds wonderful! I'm glad you're having such a

good time and that things are still going so well with you and !

At 02:17 07/11/2006, Robynn VanPatten wrote:

>Hey there...

>

>I haven't been able to check e-mail often, I'm in the

>mountains in France, the Massif Centrale, to be exact.

> As I mentioned in my e-mail in response to Francisco,

>I just got back last night from a five day trip to

>Sweden (and a very little time spent in Copenhagen, as

>that is where our airplane landed and took off).

>

>Sweden is quite beautiful. We were on the Baltic sea,

>and hung out at the beach, in between wedding

>festivities. (we were there for my friend's wedding.)

> the wedding was a blast, and quite international.

> (the bride) was born and raised in France,

>lived in London for several years, and in Sausalito

>for three years. Her mother was born in Sweden. Her

>father was born in Germany. So, we had a host of

>people from Germany, Sweden, France, England, and the

>U.S. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that the groom is

>from Switzerland, so all of his friends and family

>from Switzerland were there.

>

>'s father is the Vice Chancellor of the

>European Union, in charge of Human Rights. Although

>he was educated in Germany, he actually got his law

>degree at the University of Michigan (very famous for

>their international law program)...the same place I

>got my law degree!

>

>The people there were fascinating...she's from a very

>high achieving family, and has similarly interesting

>friends. We had two professional journalist, one

>television commentator from Berlin, another from

>Paris..a fairly celebrated opera star...the head of

>the World Bank...and some other similarly interesting

>people. I was at a particularly fun table, with

>people from SF and Berlin (the SF people were mostly

>from other countries, but they currently live in the

>City) so we all exchanged phone numbers and e-mails.

>

>it was one of those weekend weddings: a dinner on

>Friday night, the wedding on Saturday at a beautiful

>old Swedish church, followed by the reception at a

>gorgeous flower conservatory (Sweden is like flower

>central, by the way...a very very good thing in my

>book!). The next morning, we all met for breakfast at

>this very charming place that had an incredible garden

>outside where we all ate. And then Sunday night, we

>all reconvened at 's parents Swedish house to

>watch the final match in the World Cup, which was

>sadly lost in a final penalty match by France...but it

>was exciting nonetheless.

>

>'s family has three daughters and three houses:

> one on the beach in Alicante, Spain...which the

>oldest daughter will inherit, one near the beach in

>Sweden, which will inherit, and then a big big

>house in Strasbourg, France, which (oddly

>enough...the ex-wife of my ex-boyfriend Olivier) will

>inherit some day.

>

>Anyway, the beaches in Sweden are really

>beautiful...we were on the Baltic Sea. Almost all

>Swedes and Norweigens can speak English...and I mean,

>VERY WELL. They are super super super friendly and

>easygoing people. I didn't meet anybody who wasn't

>extremely helpful and nice.

>

>We stayed on an ex-pig farm which has been converted

>to a charming B and B. The owner, Ingvar, is such a

>sweet man. He would talk to me every a.m., and I

>would translate to French for . We had a great

>time.

>

>As for France: the day I arrived, had very

>thoughtfully made an appointment for me with my

>favorite hair salon in Paris, and he even remembered

>my hairdresser, Martial. (No slam on you American

>guys...but REALLY girls, can you even IMAGINE an

>American man even THINKING about doing something like

>that...let alone remembering the name and location of

>the salon, and the name of your stylist?)

>

>Afterwards, we went to dinner with Olivier...who

>invited us to go to his friend's house in the country

>(Didier, one of the guys who stayed with me...the one

>who is a famous jockey). This will be in Normandy,

>and we are going later on this week. Olivier was very

>sweet, and he was trying to negotiate with about

>how they could share their time with me in the future.

> It was pretty funny, actually.

>

>Then we drove up to Auvergne, where has his

>farmhouse. His brother, Christophe, was having his

>40th birthday party, so there were about 60 people

>three sheets to the wind by the time we arrived (at

>around 9:00). Totoche (Christophe's nick name) called

>out, " Ah!! Ma belle soeur de Californie est ici!!! "

>(basically, YAY! My sister in law from California is

>here!), and he came over and hugged and kissed

>me...much to the irritation of about five women, who

>were looking very jealous. (Christophe is extremely

>handsome, and very hard to get...so these women hadn't

>heard him say the sister in law part...and were a bit

>miffed.)

>

>The party was great, went on until 7 in the a.m.

>There was a very very large television screen so that

>we could watch the France/Brazil quarter finals in the

>World's Cup...and let me tell you, it was super

>exciting to be in a room with 60 drunk French people

>watching their team beat the Brazillians in a soccer

>match of this importance! Much celebration.

>

>As for me, I was jet-lagged, and only lasted until

>about 3 in the a.m. Embarrassingly enough, my future

>niece Lena, and 's God daughter, tte, walked

>me home. Embarrassing because they are nine years

>old, and were still going strong at 3 a.m.! (we were

>only across the street from the party, but the girls

>were at my side from the moment I arrived...and were

>playing a bit of tug of war, which was pretty cute.)

>

>The next day, we had a big Petanque tournament (which

>is the French version of Italian bocce ball) at his

>Uncle Gerard and Aunt Josianne's place. Totoche

>stayed with us for a few days (I adore him, and 's

>other two brothers, and ). Then we all

>descended to Lyon, where all of the brothers live

>during the week.

>

>Lyon is the second largest city in France, and was the

>place where the original kings all hung out. It is

>actually the gastronimique capital of France, where

>all of the famous French chef's come from. It is very

>much like Paris, centered around a river that runs

>through the center of it...old beautiful

>buildings...the main difference is that there is more

>of a mediterranean feel to it (it isn't far from the

>Italian alps, and it is quite South...just above

>Provence and Languedoc). Many of the buildings are an

>antique rose color. It's really quite beautiful.

>

>I saw 's apartment, which is in the chi chi

>quarter of town...very cool, with a great view of the

>river. However, Christophe's apartment was SUPER

>cool...it was an old silk factory, so he has these

>enormous windows, and inside, there are all of these

>rough hewn wooden beams, and brick and stone. It's

>very very charming. And here's the sad part. He pays

>approximately $400 a month for it. Yikes.

>

>Anyway, the 14 of July is there big celebration of the

>French Revolution...the change from monarchy to

>democracy...and we will be staying at 's friends'

>house. They are having a big party, and apparently

>they have a huge terrace that lets you see all of the

>fireworks over the river (they live in Lyon as well).

>I return to Paris towards the end of this week, and

>we'll probably do a few museums, and then Olivier is

>throwing a belated birthday party for me with all of

>our friends. And then...sadly...it will be time to

>head home.

>

>So, that's the report. I'm doing very well...a little

>tired, but otherwise, doing just great.

>

>Oh, I forgot to mention that the evening we arrived in

>La Chaulme (the little ancient village where 's

>family originated, and where he now has one of the

>family homes), it was still light (it stays light here

>until after 10 o'clock.) There were some people

>gathered at the church, singing old traditional French

>songs, and it echoed throughout the village. It was

>so hauntingly beautiful.

>

>Also, the church bells ring every morning at 7 a.m.,

>and play a pretty song...and then again at 6 p.m.

>It's super charming.

Eleanor Oster

eleanor@... (personal address)

www.smallboxes.com/gastricbypass.htm

San , CA

Open RNY (100 cm bypassed) 07/15/2003

P. Fisher, M.D., Kaiser Richmond (CA)

~5'9 " tall

05/09/2003 319 Orientation

07/15/2003 ~290 Surgery

Current 157±2 Goal until plastics?