This is an open air market in the Parisian suburb of Vincennes. The Jordans rented a condo in the suburb, a little more than four miles from the center of Paris.

Planning this trip abroad had been easy for Frank and Barbara Jordan of Butler.

Barbara had been to France on three other occasions and spoke the language. Their accommodations were arranged through their travel club.

But actually getting into France, at least for Frank, proved to be the tricky part this time.

The Jordans planned to leave May 1 for a trip to Paris, Cannes, Amsterdam in the Netherlands and London and return May 31.

“We had the time. We're both retired geologists. We had a little bit of extra funds,” said Barbara.

“The one thing is we initially ran into some problems. We had made arrangements with a travel club for accommodations,” Barbara explained.

But, she said, they both failed to realize that a new agreement between the United States and France allows France to refuse entry to anyone whose passport expires within 90 days of his projected departure from France. Frank's passport expired June 14, and they learned he would not be allowed into France without a new passport.

Of course, said Frank, they discovered this while at Pittsburgh International Airport.

“We were there with six suitcases and our ride long gone,” said Frank.

They decided Barbara would fly on to Paris by herself while Frank stayed behind and tried to get his passport situation straightened out.

“I called the passport office and made an appointment and the next day flew to Philadelphia,” said Frank. “I figured out where the passport office was. By making an appointment, it means sitting in a big room with 100 other people.”

He was issued a new passport and then flew back to Pittsburgh and on to Atlanta where he caught a flight to Paris.“Charles DeGaulle Airport was 35 miles from our apartment,” said Barbara Jordan, “but I managed to find him.”“We had no idea,” of the passport issue, said Barbara. “Not every country does that. They really tightened up the immigration laws.”Barbara said their travel club got them a condo in Paris for about $218 a week and a townhouse near Nice for nearly the same price.“We were very pleased with all the accommodations,” she added.The Jordans said their time in Europe was a relaxed ramble through different cities.“We had reservations, but other than that, it was just free form. It was pleasant. It wasn't too structured,” she said.“We were in Paris for two weeks, the Riviera from the 10th to the 23rd. Then we went to Amsterdam for four days and then London for three days,” she said, adding it was a “bucket list” trip to take in some sites they had long wanted to visit.“My family is half French. I felt the affiliation,” said Barbara. “I know enough French to get by.”Their condo was in the Paris suburb of Vincennes, a little over four miles from the center of Paris.“Everybody spoke English, and everyone was very friendly,” Barbara said.

“People say the French are rude, but you get what you give. Make an effort to speak French to them,” she added.The Jordans took a dinner cruise on the Seine, visited Parisian landmarks such as Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, the Pere-Lachaise Cemetery with its famous tenants including rock singer Jim Morrison and writer Oscar Wilde, and even made a stop at the celebrated Crazy Horse Cabaret known for its risque stage shows.At the Louvre, they took in an exhibit of Egyptian relics dating to the Roman conquest at about 100 AD.“The Romans started to go native,” said Frank. “You can tell by some of the faces on the sarcophagi.”The Jordans found it easy to move around the city.“You just hop on the Metro,” said Barbara, referring to the rapid transit system that runs mostly underground.“You can get the Metro down in a day or two,” Frank added.“It was really nice to have two weeks,” said Barbara. “It gave us a chance to relax. There wasn't the pressure to see this museum, that theater. By the time we left, I felt I knew the neighborhood. I was sorry to leave.”The Jordans were especially sorry to leave the neighborhood's open air markets, coffee shops and patisseries, bakeries that specialize in pastries and sweets.The weather was stormy and rainy in Paris but improved when they traveled to the south.

They took a train to Nice on the French Riviera where they stayed at a townhouse in Moue and made trips to Cannes during the film festival and to Grasse, a city known since the 18th century as the perfume capital of the world.Barbara said Grasse is surrounded by fields of lavender, roses and lilies of the valley, flowers used in perfume making.“It's older and not so well kept,” Frank said of the city.“Grasse didn't feel as safe, ” Barbara added.“Especially toward the evening,” said her husband.Cannes seemed more welcoming. Although, the Jordans said it was impossible to attend any screenings during the film festival, they did see a few celebrities.“I saw Emily Blunt,” said Frank, adding they also spotted Sharon Stone in the midst of her entourage.After Cannes, the Jordans traveled flew to Amsterdam via Oslo, Norway.“I wanted to go to Amsterdam for about 30 years,” said Frank, to see the Amsterdam coffeehouses where smoking marijuana openly is, if not legal, accepted.But both the Jordans said the real discovery was a crepe restaurant that was better than anything in France.Then the Jordans flew to London, where they stayed at the Regency House hotel in the Bloomsbury section of the city.They visited the British Museum where they viewed the famed Elgin Marbles.

“We had to see them. It's the number one draw,” said Frank of the classical Greek sculptures that were removed from the Parthenon by the English Ambassador Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin, in 1801.“The Greeks stole them from the Egyptians, the French stole them from the Greeks and the British stole them from the French,” he said. “They were not in good condition. Lord Elgin took them back to Britain to preserve them.”“They were near broken down from all the wars. Soldiers were taking pot shots at them,” he said.Arriving back in Western Pennsylvania gave the Jordans a chance to reflect on the differences between the United States and Europe.“Stores are generally open later. They have alcohol with all their meals, except breakfast,” she said. “The stores are family-oriented. Chains are few and far between,” said Barbara.“Family groups are out in the parks with the elderly included in all activities,” she said. “The people are very fashion-forward, Even the maids wore high heels.”“We had a wonderful time. French food is the best we've had in the world, but we haven't been to Italy yet,” said Barbara.

Frank and Barbara Jordan, retired geologists from Butler, spent the month of May visiting Paris, Cannes, Amsterdam and London. The top photograph shows an open air market in the Parisian suburb of Vincennes. The Jordans rented a condo in the suburb, a little more than four miles from the center of Paris. Above, Barbara Jordan stands in front of a Salvador Dali poster in the artists' market of the Montmarte neighborhood of Paris. At right, Frank Jordan explores a London telephone call box. The Butler couple's travel also included an airport stopover in Oslo, Norway.

Frank Jordan poses in a London telephone call box. The Butler couple visited France, the Netherlands and London with airport stopovers in Oslo, Norway.

While living in Paris for two weeks, the Jordans visited some landmarks including Notre Dame Cathedral.

While in Amsterdam, the Jordans visited one of the city's infamous coffeehouses where the smoking of marijuana is tolerated, if not legal. But they both said they were more impressed with a crepe restaurant they discovered in the Dutch city.