4 The Hampton Roads Messenger Editorial


My African American European Vacation: France


Part three of a five part series; View photos at hamptonroadsmessenger.com


to take to get to our hotel. Our hotel was very close to the Eiffel Tower and the military museum. Aſter we checked into the hotel, we asked the desk clerk about a place to find vegan food. She assured us that we would be able to find it at the café a few blocks away. Te sun had already set when we made our way to the café. Te “veggie burger” there turned out to be lettuce tomato and cheese on a large bun, although I explicitly said that I did not want cheese on my “veggie burger.” My daughter enjoyed her meal, which consisted of some type of pasta and vegetable combination.


BY ANGELA JONES Over the last couple of months,


I have written about my vacation in Europe. Te first two countries I visited were England and Scotland, where English is the prevailing language. Te third country I visited, France, required me to brush up on the French that I learned in high school and during one semester of college. I like to think that those days were not that long ago but when I tried to speak to the natives in Paris, that wishful thinking went out of the window. I was actually quite surprised, and so was my daughter, at the extent of my French vocabulary. It was when I needed to string those words together to make a sentence, that the difficulty arose.


While flying from Edinburgh,


Scotland to Paris, France, a very nice woman traveling with her daughter suggested that my daughter and I take a boat tour while visiting Paris. She told us that the tours were inexpensive and that we would be able to view many of the city’s attractions from the tour boat.


When we arrived in France, we


only had dollars and pounds, so we searched the airport for a place where we could exchange those for Euros. Initially, we tried to purchase a train ticket with pounds but we soon learned that most vendors in Paris only accept Euros as a form of cash payment.


My daughter did a great job of mapping out the train route we needed


Paris seems to give you energy.


Although we had traveled most of the day we did not feel tired and even attempted to walk to the Eiffel Tower aſter our meal. Te Eiffel Tower was further than we had anticipated, so we turned around and retired to our hotel for the evening. By then it was close to midnight, yet we felt safe walking around in the city because the area was brightly lit and heavily traveled.


Te next day, we visited the very


ornate military museum of France (Te Musée de l'Armée). It is located at Les Invalides, the final resting place of Napoleon, who swore that he would wipe out the Moors. Moors were Africans who ruled Spain and other parts of Europe from 711 AD until 1491, which is similar to how Europeans have ruled the Americas since 1492 up until today. Today, there is confusion about who Moors are. Much of the Moorish history has been lost. Napoleon was said to have shot off the nose of the Sphinx. For these reasons, as one can imagine, I paid a special tribute to Napoleon when I visited his final resting place.


Aſter leaving the military


museum, which has a beautiful golden roof, we tried to find vegan food once more. Tis time we used Google and Uber to get us to the perfect restaurant. Somehow we missed the information about it not opening until 7pm when we went to the restaurant’s website. We arrived closer to 5 p.m. We would not be deterred. We decided to visit


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Virginia Beach - meets on the first four Tuesdays of each month. In July the meetings are scheduled on the first two Tuesdays only. Formal session begins at 6 p.m. Portsmouth - meeting dates are the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m.


Volume 12 Number 2


the Louvre Museum while we waited for the restaurant to open.


One can spend a week at the


Louvre, which has 35,000 works of art throughout its 652,000 square feet, and still not see everything it has to offer. We only spent a few hours there and we were amazed at the beauty on the inside and outside of its walls. I am so glad that we were able to see the Louvre at night. Te museum’s iconic pyramid shaped glass dome illuminates at night.


Inside the museum there are


stunning paintings and sculptures of Western art from the medieval period to 1848. I was able to take a photograph of the Mona Lisa painting and many other notable works of art. I’m glad we purchased the digital guide with maps and narration which provided more details about the works of art..


Aſter leaving the Louvre, we were


finally able to get our first truly vegan meal in Paris. We went a restaurant called the Loving Hut. Tey replicate non vegan dishes with vegan substitutes. We had quiche and fake fish. It may not sound very appetizing to meat eaters but It was quite tasty. I was able to speak to the restaurant owner in French; He was originally from Montreal.


Iverson FROM PAGE 1


The Club is in a critical part of the downtown community providing support


and in need. opportunities to those


youth can create strong, mentoring relationships with caring


Perhaps most importantly, adults who


believe in their future success. The court, which is estimated at


$60,000 will not only be functional and supportive, but look great and create a first-class environment for Club members. Because of his advocacy and support, the court, once completed, will be named Iverson Court. Iverson


is working with his sponsors and partners,


including Reebok,


UpperDeck, Stance, and Panini America, to pull together support for local kids.


“Mentors like Poo Johnson and


Calvin Hobson coached me and kept me on a path to success, and with support from them and my family, I knew I could reach any goal,” said Iverson. “I just want to provide that same opportunity to other kids in the neighborhood.”


November 2017 On our third day in Paris, we


took the boat tour, where we could see a great deal of the city without wearing out our legs. As we moved along the Seine river, we saw many spectacular buildings and bridges. We were so close to the Eiffel Tower, I felt as though I could reach out and touch it. Aſter the tour, we walked to the Champs-Élysées, a street with exclusive boutiques, and shopped at the Louis Vuitton and MAC stores. We also walked to the Arc de Triomphe, a well-known monument in the center of a busy roundabout, which honors those who died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.


people living there were friendly. As throughout most of Europe,


Paris was breathtaking and the there


are many American tourist visiting the city. We met another mother- daughter pair from New York at a grocery store. On the train from the airport we were able to see the more depressed area of the city, but for the most part, people seemed to be living rather comfortably and appeared to be happy. I believe I could be happy living in Paris, as well.


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