Ilona Cole, Story 41 (and Birthday Wishes)

My Birthday Dinner in Paris

Hotel Napoleon, Paris

It was the year 1992, my retirement and my 65th birthday. Even though my retirement date was June 1st, I was allowed a few days before to leave so we could be in Paris on June 2nd. For the last twenty five years my wish was to have lunch or dinner in Paris with my sweet Heart for my 65th birthday.

We landed in Frankfurt/Germany and Hal, my husband, rented a sporty BMW. We first drove to Darmstadt to visit my sister and her husband and started the next day on our trip to Fontainebleau for a few days and then a week in Paris. We took the toll auto- route  

Ilona Cole, Story 40

This Green State of Washington

Mount Hood

It had been three years since I had come to this country from Germany, and I still had not yet gotten used to the incessant rain. Not really rain, but dark clouds and drizzle. Early summer my Husband Hal suggested we take a drive to warmer and sunnier places. We started out from Seattle driving south and east and our first stop was Reno, Nevada. Not for the gambling, but there was a famous restaurant/ bar that had old beautiful rifles on display. My husband

Ilona Cole, Story 39

The Famous Monk

Visiting the Champagne Region of France

It was a few years after my Hal, my sister Friedl, her husband Georg and I made this wonderful trip together through the Burgundy region of France, we decided we wanted to make another trip with them, but this time to Epernay, France. We had our Airline tickets and had a car reserved and were looking so forward to our vacation.

We arrived at the Frankfurt Airport to a beautiful, sunny and warm day. Friedl, Georg and their younger son Rainald welcomed us right after we went through custom. They were all smiles, so happy to see us and we exchanged some warm hugs. Hal picked up our car and we all went to Darmstadt first to spend the afternoon together and have a good night

Ilona Cole SHORT STORY 37

Fun Sunday Afternoons

Horses

The time was a few years after WWII had ended in Germany. The facilities that housed my own horse were gone along with the horses, the whole cavalry regiment stationed there, in fact my entire City of Darmstadt was destroyed during an Allied raid on 9-11-44. Not much other than housing was being rebuild right now. I knew of a great place in New Isenburg, a suburb of the City of Frankfurt. The streetcar would be running to the outskirts of New Isenburg and from there the Frankfurt street car would bring me and my friend Hedy to the facility that had quite a number of stalls with horses for rent by the hour. I planned on going riding next Sunday and see how it would feel being on a horse again since l944.

Between New Isenburg and Frankfurt is a beautiful, well-groomed forest with great riding trails. I had asked my friend Hedy if she would want to accompany me and go for a ride. We both arrived at the stables and after being asked some questions the gentleman walked us to the stables. He left and came back with the groom who again asked us some questions one of them if either one of us had ever ridden before. We both had. The groom brought from the meadows below two horses. A beautiful chestnut brown one with alert and wonderful eyes and a silver gray one with a mischievous look in his eyes. The groom took them to the stable to saddle them, handed me the reins to the chestnut horse and gave Hedy the reins to the silver-gray horse. Then he stood there watching us.

I mounted the horse and heard Hedy say: