Shortly before we departed for our Balkan Danube River Cruise in April, we received an invitation to join the 589th Fête de Jeanne d'Arc in Orléans, France on May 8th, the day in 1429 the French broke the English Burgundian siege of Orléans. Nearing the end of the day, Joan of Arc was wounded by an arrow in her shoulder. Witnessing Joan leaving the battlefield, the French became demoralized and began to call off the attack. Once Joan concealed herself modestly in a nearby woods, she removed her tunic, pulled out the arrow, bandaged her shoulder and returned to the battlefield. Seeing a sixteen-year-old girl on her steed urging attack reinvigorated the retreating French, who turned around, stormed the English tower, broke the siege and forever changed the tide of the 116 year's war.
Our Danube itinerary scheduled us to depart Bucharest May 3rd via Amsterdam and Chicago. Wait, Amsterdam? What if we jumped off plane, onto train to Paris, rented a car and drove to Orléans? If not us, who; if not now, when? Nola was deliriously happy. Amsterdam, Paris, Orleans, no flies here. We spent two days in Amsterdam impersonating as museum tourists, hopped a fast train to Paris, rented a car and drove to Troyes where we discovered new glasses for Suzanne before heading to Orléans. We paraded in the Fete de Jeanne d'Arc in Orléans, France! It only took 300 years or so to figure out that New Orleans, Louisiana and Orléans were related! However, since we returned home from Orléans, France on May 13, Nola has been brooding in my camera bag. She's upset that I haven't shared her work from Amsterdam, Troyes and Orléans.
