The first thing I said today was *Oops* as I realized Rach and I had both slept until 12:15. So much for that morning run! Oh well, our bodies were obviously tired! And why would that be, you ask? Let me explain....
Both my back and arms currently hurt from the work in the last couple days! My back pain probably comes from the power hosing I did on the walk ways and stairs the other day (which is a really addicting tool - my new favorite), the hours of sweeping two of their massive garages, and the trench I dug for the hose (Dad, you'd be so proud of how straight my line was). The arm pain comes from the roof tiles I had carry down this narrow, winding staircase from one level of the cave to the next. EEK! That one was scary - one step had been completely rotted away, so I had to skip a step and hope I didn't lose my balance or my life.
At the end of the day yesterday, my purple kerchief had changed from a headband to a dust mask, so I looked like a bandit most the day :) David said I was probably sweeping away 100 years of dust and dirt, so I let my imagination go wild as I wondered who had stepped foot in that part of the house and how it had been used in the past. So cool!
Rach and I got all cleaned up for a lovely bike ride along the canal. The riding part was a failure (one bike tire was flat and the other bike's chains weren't working), but the lovely part was quite successful! After we got over our frustration at the bikes, we just walked them until we the perfect spot to sit and talk. With the bikes leaning against the trees, we sat in the tall grass and relaxed with back massages. We laughed at how many mood swings we had been through in the last couple days and discussed how much we're learning about ourselves.
The setting was perfect - calm canal, endless row of trees, soft grass, sunset in the distance...all wrapped up in a warm, gentle breeze. The icing on the cake? Reading Anne of Green Gables!! We found the scene where Diana first talks about Gilbert and how handsome he is, and then when Gilbert calls Anne "carrots" and she reacts by smashing a slate over his head. HAHAHAHA. Too perfect. How is it that a simple name - like Anne, Marilla, Gilbert, or even Prissy Andrews - can automatically fill your being with happiness? Rach and I have been feeling a bit homesick the last couple days, so we couldn't have picked a better book to read aloud.
We came back to an omlette dinner and a promise for a movie and ice cream bars (Sundara and David definitely love their ice cream!). I got to Skype with Mom and Dad - BLESSINGS on whoever created Skype!! Dad, HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY a day early!!!! You're one incredible man - I love you so much!!!!
We then watched a movie with Anthony Hopkins (love that guy) about the British aristocracy during WWII. I can't recall the title, but it was very interesting - apparantly, just before the war, the British nobles and aristocracy (who ruled the country at the time) were attempting to negotiate with the Nazi party for peace. They were willing to support Hitler and spare their country any harm. David said he has never been a fan of capital punishment, but he'd gladly bring back the guillotine just for that one occassion. Interesting....so many things go on behind the scenes...you can study history the whole of your life and never know it all. Both David and Sundara are fascinated by the world wars, so they've shared some interesting insights.
Anyways, now I'm rambling about things. Well, we're off to a music hall tonight for what should be a great cultural event! Rach and I have decided to leave on Wednesday and spend a few extra days just relaxing and enjoying Europe while we can! YAY.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
A few moments from the day...
Since Rach and I are feeling, well, FAT, we went for a run this morning. This region is the warmest in the country, but the unexpected cooler weather makes it perfect for outdoor activities. We ran along the canal and enjoyed the rustling trees and quacking ducks.
Our duties for the day consisted mostly of painting (which would explain the headache); I was assigned to a few "rads"(radiators) to clean, scrape, and paint. Not bad actually, since I had a lot of time to think and pray and listen to music in the background. This house is almost never without music! Love it. One of David's good friends is coming to town on Thursday who loves the Beattles; David gave us homework assignment of learning some lyrics to a few songs so that we could all sing together while they're here. LOL. So fun.
Rach and I took a lovely walk through the village and found it to be somewhat similar to CA. The houses look more modern and just have that Pacific Coast look. It started drizzling at one point, and once I got over fussing about the wind in my eyes, enjoyed the warm rain on my face. We found a wonderful patch of soft grass on the canal bank to lie down in while talking and laughing. We've discovered we laugh a lot together, and mostly at silly things. It's a great thing, though...especially since we've learned to laugh at ourselves more on this trip :)
I just love the canal. It's so peaceful. People rent river boats and just float on down the water like there's not a care in the world. Plus, the trees are just so inviting with their outstretched branches...I wish they didn't cut the lower branches off so that we could climb them.
We had an interesting discussion about nuclear power at lunch today. David has his own website that he uses as a platform to speak out against certain environmental wrongs...right now, he's focusing on a nuclear waste sight in Britain that would be terribly detrimental to the generation 50 years from now. As a geophysicist, he's using his knowledge to make the public more aware of the stupidity of the idea. Very interesting!
Rach and I were called upon to make dinner tonight, but we were limited to using fish for the main dish. They had suggested fish pie, which neither of us had even heard of before. After looking up recipes online, it turned out to be much like a chicken pot pie...easy enough, right? Well, actually, it was. I think we stressed ourselves out for a bit in the kitchen, not knowing what the expectations were and how it was supposed to taste. I mean, who wants to try out a recipe (which we didn't even follow anyways - did more improvising than anything) on people you just met?! But it actually turned out quite well & there almost no leftovers by the time we were all done. I'll have to make for yáll back home :)
Sundara and David asked about our families tonight...so we had a chance to brag on you :) Of course we both mentioned homeschooling, which always brings up interesting perspectives and insights. It was good tonight, though! :) Mom and Dad, I SO appreciate what you sacrificed for us!!!!
Well, off to bed now. We get to join Sundara for a run to the market in the morning...bright & early at 8 :)
Pray for warmer weather! Also, we've decided it's not worth it to go to Nice :( It would be a 6hr journey and at least an extra $300. I'm disappointed, but we are going to find some equally fabulous things in the area to do. The closest beach is just about 45 mins away, so at least we'll get some coast-time! Also, they've invited us to a music festival in town this weekend, so we look forward to that!
Can't believe the trip is going by so fast - we are trying to soak up each moment for what it's worth!
Our duties for the day consisted mostly of painting (which would explain the headache); I was assigned to a few "rads"(radiators) to clean, scrape, and paint. Not bad actually, since I had a lot of time to think and pray and listen to music in the background. This house is almost never without music! Love it. One of David's good friends is coming to town on Thursday who loves the Beattles; David gave us homework assignment of learning some lyrics to a few songs so that we could all sing together while they're here. LOL. So fun.
Rach and I took a lovely walk through the village and found it to be somewhat similar to CA. The houses look more modern and just have that Pacific Coast look. It started drizzling at one point, and once I got over fussing about the wind in my eyes, enjoyed the warm rain on my face. We found a wonderful patch of soft grass on the canal bank to lie down in while talking and laughing. We've discovered we laugh a lot together, and mostly at silly things. It's a great thing, though...especially since we've learned to laugh at ourselves more on this trip :)
I just love the canal. It's so peaceful. People rent river boats and just float on down the water like there's not a care in the world. Plus, the trees are just so inviting with their outstretched branches...I wish they didn't cut the lower branches off so that we could climb them.
We had an interesting discussion about nuclear power at lunch today. David has his own website that he uses as a platform to speak out against certain environmental wrongs...right now, he's focusing on a nuclear waste sight in Britain that would be terribly detrimental to the generation 50 years from now. As a geophysicist, he's using his knowledge to make the public more aware of the stupidity of the idea. Very interesting!
Rach and I were called upon to make dinner tonight, but we were limited to using fish for the main dish. They had suggested fish pie, which neither of us had even heard of before. After looking up recipes online, it turned out to be much like a chicken pot pie...easy enough, right? Well, actually, it was. I think we stressed ourselves out for a bit in the kitchen, not knowing what the expectations were and how it was supposed to taste. I mean, who wants to try out a recipe (which we didn't even follow anyways - did more improvising than anything) on people you just met?! But it actually turned out quite well & there almost no leftovers by the time we were all done. I'll have to make for yáll back home :)
Sundara and David asked about our families tonight...so we had a chance to brag on you :) Of course we both mentioned homeschooling, which always brings up interesting perspectives and insights. It was good tonight, though! :) Mom and Dad, I SO appreciate what you sacrificed for us!!!!
Well, off to bed now. We get to join Sundara for a run to the market in the morning...bright & early at 8 :)
Pray for warmer weather! Also, we've decided it's not worth it to go to Nice :( It would be a 6hr journey and at least an extra $300. I'm disappointed, but we are going to find some equally fabulous things in the area to do. The closest beach is just about 45 mins away, so at least we'll get some coast-time! Also, they've invited us to a music festival in town this weekend, so we look forward to that!
Can't believe the trip is going by so fast - we are trying to soak up each moment for what it's worth!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Southern France...a new experience in and of itself
Well, I know that I haven't finished Paris yet (see, this is where I get myself in to trouble...I get behind and can never catch up, especially since I want to be so detailed with my accounts...thanks for sticking with me through the back-and-forth memories:) ), but I only have so much time right now and really want to share about the last 36 hours.
So, back in Amberac with Sandy and Roger. The last 24 hours with them were actually really somber. We all felt sad knowing that something so good was coming to an end. I realized AGAIN that I have a hard time with goodbyes...something I want to work on in the future (especially before leaving for Thailand!) But Saturday morning was really lovely; Sandy, in all her graciousness, drove us a few villages away where we got see an authentic bric-a-brac. These French garage sales have been very popular in the past, but they have just recently been dying out since no one has the money to spend. Thankfully, this one was going in full swing with 10's of stalls set up in front a beautiful weeping-willow-lined pond.
It was really interesting to see what kinds of items people wanted to sell - anything and everything, from hat pins to old greeting cards, cuttlery, clothing, toys, etc. I guess the saying "One man's junk is another man's treasure" is true everywhere! But there were some really interesting items that I was SO tempted to buy, but then I thought of the plane ride and had to stop myself. These countryside folk really don't have much, and it was obvious from what they were selling; at the same time, though, they took great pride in what they did have. I did find some little glass rings to wear as a remembrance of our time in Amberac...haven't taken them off since :)
Saturday evening, I made "the family" chicken broccoli braid :) Rach and I wanted to give them a taste of our American food (Rach had made chicken pot-pie earlier that week), and they really enjoyed it! A few adjustments were made: pastry dough instead of croissants, different cheese (shredded cheddar is hard to find here...hmmm, wondery why), and rotisserie chicken instead of chicken breasts. It turned out well, though! Like Mom said, I never thought I'd be making that dish in the middle of France! But hey, a good recipe is a good recipe, right? :)
Sunday morning was awful. Went for my last run along the sunflower patches, had our last egg breakfast from the chickens, laughed our last funnies with Roger and Sandy. They drove us to the train station early, considering the fiasco we had on the way to Tours :) We all got teary-eyed while we said our goodbyes. After they were out of sight, Rach and I found a bench on the platform and shed a few tears together, just sitting quietly and looking at the trains. Wow. What wonderful people they are; how blessed we were to be a part of their lives for just a little while; what great friends we've made; how sad that it went by so fast. Those were the thoughts.
I felt a little bit like Anne Shirley leaving Miss Stacey, but thankfully Diana was still with me :) (Yes, we've been making quite a few references to those characters lately).
The train rides to our next host went really smoothly, for which we were grateful! We finally felt confident in using the stations and now new how to find our way around. We had a short lay-over in Bordeaux, the wine capital of the world, but we unfortunatley had to spend most of it inside the station. By the time we got off the train, figured out where the next one would be coming in, paid .50€ for a bathroom, we didn't have much time left. Still, I went wandering outside for a few as Rach watched our luggage and journaled. It seems like a lovely town, and from what I read quite the place to see. On the train ride to Angouleme from Paris, we had met a fellow who lived just outside of the city; he has his own furniture-renovation shop here and made the town sound worth seeing. Still, my venture outside was short-lived as some guy followed me and kept trying to ask my questions. After explaining that I didn't speak French, he said he spoke a little English but understood more. Well, whatever...that would get us no one. So like a little girl I quickly got back to the station and stayed with Rach, who, after hearing the story, promptly asked if my wallet was still in my purse. Thankfully, yes :)
The train ride was just beautiful...it took us from the rolling hills to the foothills of the Pyrenees. Unexpectedly, Rach and I feel quite at-home in this terrain - it's like Golden is just to the south of us. Anyways, Rach had told Sundara and David what we were wearing that day, so we were successfully located :) We walked right by David when we hopped off the train, but he didn't notice us until later because he was looking for shorter girls. LOL. They've commented several times on how surprised they are at our height. haha. (well, we're getting surprised at our height going out the other direction...geepers, the food is just too good here).
The chateau we now reside in for the next two weeks is absolutely incredible. The largest in the village, it was built in 1880 as an addition to the one-level house that now serves as a garage or "cave", which they pronounce"carve". The land it sits on was owned by the family in the smaller home, who was here in 1750. It changed hands in 1900, then again in 1979. Nazi generals actually occupied the house during the war, which I find eerie and fascinating at the same time. The house has three levels at Rach and I have our own room on the top floor. I was wearing a purple sweater yesterday, so Sundara thought it was appropriate that I get the Violet Room. YAY. Love it. Everything is purple, even the water-heater. The best part BY FAR is the view from the window: it overlooks the pool, which is surrounded by palm trees and flora of all kinds; Rach's window is directly to my right, so we get to chat out the window as we admire the landscape; to my left is a view of the church steeple and another old chateau; and directly ahead, just down the hill, is the peaceful and historic Canal du Midi. The canal is 300 years old! It was quite the sensation was it was constructed, allowing the grapes and wheat in the area to be transported en masse. Rach and I walked down the lane this afternoon and so so enjoyed the calm quite; it just exudes tranquility. Plus, the canal is lined with wildflowers and plane trees, which are now one of my favorite trees becuase of their unique bark; look it up on google - - the bark is a mixture of browns and greys and whites, all splattered together like a Monet painting or something. SADLY, they are having to cut a lot of them down b/c of a fungus in the water :(
Last night, David made a wonderful Asian dish for us and a couple other guests, Jeff and Dave. Jeff has worked with them over the last 8 years but is returning to Wales soon; his son, Dave, was here on "holiday" as well. I found out that Jeff attends a local international church where his wife interprets for this American pastor. I hope to go with him on Sunday.
I slept so soundly last night and woke up to the birds singing. Rach and I learned how to use their espresso maker this morning (actually, we made lattees). We had a yogurt, fruit, and granola breakfast - yum. The chores for the day consisted of weeding, sweeping around their large pool area, landscaping a bit with rocks and mulch, etc. After our walk down the canal, we returned to help with dinner.
Sundara's career was in theater - she was actually in one of the French soap operas back in the day! She had hope to do more, but London didn't suite her and she was raising a family at the time. She is a very eccentric woman, but full of life even at 71. David is a "retired" geo-physicist and still speaks at conferences and what not. They both love music: David plays the bass guitar and Sundara sings; they often host concerts in their home, mostly string quartets or jazz groups, for charity - - they are supporting some friends of theirs that are running a medical clinic in Morocco. Very cool! Rach has loved connecting over music and playing their piano. We both are kicking ourselves for not sticking with those music lessons...the parents were right when they said "You'll regret quitting". Dang it.
David brought out a World Atlas at dinner I showed him parts of CO that mean something to us. It was weird looking at the map of home, here in France...it kinda made me homesick, actually! Arvada was even on the map! Aw.
Well, I've officially failed at getting to bed before midnight already. lol. But "Tomorrow is another day, with no mistakes it...yet":)
Love you all!
So, back in Amberac with Sandy and Roger. The last 24 hours with them were actually really somber. We all felt sad knowing that something so good was coming to an end. I realized AGAIN that I have a hard time with goodbyes...something I want to work on in the future (especially before leaving for Thailand!) But Saturday morning was really lovely; Sandy, in all her graciousness, drove us a few villages away where we got see an authentic bric-a-brac. These French garage sales have been very popular in the past, but they have just recently been dying out since no one has the money to spend. Thankfully, this one was going in full swing with 10's of stalls set up in front a beautiful weeping-willow-lined pond.
It was really interesting to see what kinds of items people wanted to sell - anything and everything, from hat pins to old greeting cards, cuttlery, clothing, toys, etc. I guess the saying "One man's junk is another man's treasure" is true everywhere! But there were some really interesting items that I was SO tempted to buy, but then I thought of the plane ride and had to stop myself. These countryside folk really don't have much, and it was obvious from what they were selling; at the same time, though, they took great pride in what they did have. I did find some little glass rings to wear as a remembrance of our time in Amberac...haven't taken them off since :)
Saturday evening, I made "the family" chicken broccoli braid :) Rach and I wanted to give them a taste of our American food (Rach had made chicken pot-pie earlier that week), and they really enjoyed it! A few adjustments were made: pastry dough instead of croissants, different cheese (shredded cheddar is hard to find here...hmmm, wondery why), and rotisserie chicken instead of chicken breasts. It turned out well, though! Like Mom said, I never thought I'd be making that dish in the middle of France! But hey, a good recipe is a good recipe, right? :)
Sunday morning was awful. Went for my last run along the sunflower patches, had our last egg breakfast from the chickens, laughed our last funnies with Roger and Sandy. They drove us to the train station early, considering the fiasco we had on the way to Tours :) We all got teary-eyed while we said our goodbyes. After they were out of sight, Rach and I found a bench on the platform and shed a few tears together, just sitting quietly and looking at the trains. Wow. What wonderful people they are; how blessed we were to be a part of their lives for just a little while; what great friends we've made; how sad that it went by so fast. Those were the thoughts.
I felt a little bit like Anne Shirley leaving Miss Stacey, but thankfully Diana was still with me :) (Yes, we've been making quite a few references to those characters lately).
The train rides to our next host went really smoothly, for which we were grateful! We finally felt confident in using the stations and now new how to find our way around. We had a short lay-over in Bordeaux, the wine capital of the world, but we unfortunatley had to spend most of it inside the station. By the time we got off the train, figured out where the next one would be coming in, paid .50€ for a bathroom, we didn't have much time left. Still, I went wandering outside for a few as Rach watched our luggage and journaled. It seems like a lovely town, and from what I read quite the place to see. On the train ride to Angouleme from Paris, we had met a fellow who lived just outside of the city; he has his own furniture-renovation shop here and made the town sound worth seeing. Still, my venture outside was short-lived as some guy followed me and kept trying to ask my questions. After explaining that I didn't speak French, he said he spoke a little English but understood more. Well, whatever...that would get us no one. So like a little girl I quickly got back to the station and stayed with Rach, who, after hearing the story, promptly asked if my wallet was still in my purse. Thankfully, yes :)
The train ride was just beautiful...it took us from the rolling hills to the foothills of the Pyrenees. Unexpectedly, Rach and I feel quite at-home in this terrain - it's like Golden is just to the south of us. Anyways, Rach had told Sundara and David what we were wearing that day, so we were successfully located :) We walked right by David when we hopped off the train, but he didn't notice us until later because he was looking for shorter girls. LOL. They've commented several times on how surprised they are at our height. haha. (well, we're getting surprised at our height going out the other direction...geepers, the food is just too good here).
The chateau we now reside in for the next two weeks is absolutely incredible. The largest in the village, it was built in 1880 as an addition to the one-level house that now serves as a garage or "cave", which they pronounce"carve". The land it sits on was owned by the family in the smaller home, who was here in 1750. It changed hands in 1900, then again in 1979. Nazi generals actually occupied the house during the war, which I find eerie and fascinating at the same time. The house has three levels at Rach and I have our own room on the top floor. I was wearing a purple sweater yesterday, so Sundara thought it was appropriate that I get the Violet Room. YAY. Love it. Everything is purple, even the water-heater. The best part BY FAR is the view from the window: it overlooks the pool, which is surrounded by palm trees and flora of all kinds; Rach's window is directly to my right, so we get to chat out the window as we admire the landscape; to my left is a view of the church steeple and another old chateau; and directly ahead, just down the hill, is the peaceful and historic Canal du Midi. The canal is 300 years old! It was quite the sensation was it was constructed, allowing the grapes and wheat in the area to be transported en masse. Rach and I walked down the lane this afternoon and so so enjoyed the calm quite; it just exudes tranquility. Plus, the canal is lined with wildflowers and plane trees, which are now one of my favorite trees becuase of their unique bark; look it up on google - - the bark is a mixture of browns and greys and whites, all splattered together like a Monet painting or something. SADLY, they are having to cut a lot of them down b/c of a fungus in the water :(
Last night, David made a wonderful Asian dish for us and a couple other guests, Jeff and Dave. Jeff has worked with them over the last 8 years but is returning to Wales soon; his son, Dave, was here on "holiday" as well. I found out that Jeff attends a local international church where his wife interprets for this American pastor. I hope to go with him on Sunday.
I slept so soundly last night and woke up to the birds singing. Rach and I learned how to use their espresso maker this morning (actually, we made lattees). We had a yogurt, fruit, and granola breakfast - yum. The chores for the day consisted of weeding, sweeping around their large pool area, landscaping a bit with rocks and mulch, etc. After our walk down the canal, we returned to help with dinner.
Sundara's career was in theater - she was actually in one of the French soap operas back in the day! She had hope to do more, but London didn't suite her and she was raising a family at the time. She is a very eccentric woman, but full of life even at 71. David is a "retired" geo-physicist and still speaks at conferences and what not. They both love music: David plays the bass guitar and Sundara sings; they often host concerts in their home, mostly string quartets or jazz groups, for charity - - they are supporting some friends of theirs that are running a medical clinic in Morocco. Very cool! Rach has loved connecting over music and playing their piano. We both are kicking ourselves for not sticking with those music lessons...the parents were right when they said "You'll regret quitting". Dang it.
David brought out a World Atlas at dinner I showed him parts of CO that mean something to us. It was weird looking at the map of home, here in France...it kinda made me homesick, actually! Arvada was even on the map! Aw.
Well, I've officially failed at getting to bed before midnight already. lol. But "Tomorrow is another day, with no mistakes it...yet":)
Love you all!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Final day in Paris: from photo booths to night on the Seine
Our final day in Paris began with a frustrating trip to Gare du Nord - one of the six large SNCF train stations. We had heard of these 12-25 youth passes, which can save you a lot of money on longer train rides throughout Europe. With all the traveling we anticipated, we thought it'd be a good idea to purchase the pass...plus, we needed to get our tickets to Angouleme still! So, we head off to the station, gearing ourselves up for a potentially stressful event. Yup. We were right. Haha.
First of all, the station was HUGE! Multi-leveled and no telling which way is up or down. In order to get the pass, you need a wallet-sized photo. So, we hopped in one of the photo booths that served this purpose & spent forever trying to figure out the process. Our first booth appeared to be broken, so we hopped to another one. Rach finally got it to work, but when her picture popped out we realized it was WAY too big - - more like a portrait for the grandparents or something. lol. So she lost about 5€ on that one and had to do it over again. It was a good laugh, though, and will make a nice souvenir :)
So then it was my turn...should be easy, right? Well only if your coin slot doesn't suddenly get stuck, so I lost about 2.50€ on that. On to the third photo booth. Success!
Laughing, we went found our way upstairs to the ticket line...which we stood in for about 30 mins or so. With just a couple people left in front of us, I suddenly froze internally and then turned to Rach and asked, "Do you think we need our passports??!" Big eyes. Oh wow...we really hoped not! We had left them in a safe place back at the hotel when we first arrived & didn't even think about it that morning. Well, thankfully, 30 minutes later we were walking away with our 12-25s and tickets to Angouleme. Hurray! We felt accomplished. Beatrice, our attendant, was very helpful and spoke fairly good English, so we were grateful.
Thankful to leave the station, we made our way to the Arc de Triomphe via the metro to Victor Hugo Ave. The neighborhood we found ourselves in was extremely well-to-do, lined with gorgeous shops and gated homes. At one point we concluded that people living in this area probably spend more in a day than we would the whole month! It was a fun place for window shopping though.
Once we made it down the lane, we came upon the busiest traffic circle in all of France... sporting 12 boulevards shooting out from the round-about. The Arc seems to stand with great power and confidence, as it's grounded in the center of this star-shaped traffic route. Before we could take it all in, though, we stopped at a cafe for a light lunch. While sitting there, a group of what we presumed to be veterans entered the restaurant in their military uniforms, medals and all. It was actually quite touching.
As walking across the street would be suicide, we went through the underground tunnel to reach the Arc. This icon of the French Republic was really amazing with the intricate carvings and gigantic statues on the pillars. It's possible to go to the top and see what I'm sure is a fantastic view down Champs Elysees to the Louvre, but the line was too long; we walked around for photos and just sat for a while to take it all in. The Arc itself is honors those who lost their lives in the French Revolution and Napoleanic Wars; there is also the tomb of the unknown soldier for WWI, which was quite moving with the flame burning and the bouquet of flowers.
Our next item on the agenda was going to be Mont Martre, where we thought we could spend the rest of the day and evening. Sadly, Rach's back was really hurting and we decided to split ways for the first time. OH, first, though, we took a metro back to the Notre Dame area to get tickets for the night-time boat tour. We tried to find the parking garage that BikeAbout calls home (they were offereing cheaper tickets for the boat ride) ...but after wandering and wandering, we stopped and just stared at the river. HAHA. I'm sure this is a more common sight among tourists than we think, but we were just so tired and didn't even know what we wanted. Eventually, we decided that Rach would sit by the cathedral while I went off to get the boat tickets (which was just a couple bridges over).
Once upon Point Neuf, I walk down to the river bank and tried to decipher which ride we wanted. Thankfully, a Californian couple (Jessica and Chris) walked up at the same time and we helped each other out. I had my little travel book showed them which one in particular I wanted, so we worked together to find the right station. We had to cross the bridge half-way & then walk down a hidden flight of stairs. Jessica had lived in Thailand for a while, so she had some good info about the country. Well, I finally got the tickets and walked back to Rach. She was so cute - sitting at the base of the Charlemagne statue, flower-patterned dress & lucky hat, surrounded by pigeons, journaling. Modern-day Mary Poppins scene or something :)
Rach went back to the hotel and I found my way to Montmartre. Well, I really don't want to go in to the details of getting there, but let's just say I was really grateful to finally be sitting in the gorgeous Sacre Coeur!! The hill it sits on has been a center of religious activity for centuries, and this church was built just after the loss of the Franco-Prussian War. Prayers for humanity have been going up from this church 24/7 ever since then. I wrote a prayer in the guest book for France before I walked out. The church is also extremely pristine; it's made from some kind of chalky substance that washed itself when it rains.
On the long, steep walk up to the top, I was cornered by someone making bracelets...so I now have a "Hakuna Matata" bracelet as an unexpected momentum. lol. Since I was under a time crunch to get back for the boat tour, I pretty much ran down the hill and frantically looked for the right metro line. I would NOT have made it back in time if it weren't for the kindness of Xavier and Cammie - two Parisians who were kind enough to strategize my metro route and take me to the right station. Once back in sight of Point Neuf, I literally ran in my little pink flats down the long road, dashing in and out of the other pedestrians. Rach was there, getting worried and trying to lose a guy who seemed interested in her, so she was extremely happy to see me running towards her, just 5 mins before the boat was to leave! LOL. So funny.
We were so glad to have made the boat - completely worth the ticket stress and running!!!
Well, I'm off to make broccoli braid for Sandy and Roger (hopefully they like it!) on our last night here, so I'll have to write about the rest of our evening later!
First of all, the station was HUGE! Multi-leveled and no telling which way is up or down. In order to get the pass, you need a wallet-sized photo. So, we hopped in one of the photo booths that served this purpose & spent forever trying to figure out the process. Our first booth appeared to be broken, so we hopped to another one. Rach finally got it to work, but when her picture popped out we realized it was WAY too big - - more like a portrait for the grandparents or something. lol. So she lost about 5€ on that one and had to do it over again. It was a good laugh, though, and will make a nice souvenir :)
So then it was my turn...should be easy, right? Well only if your coin slot doesn't suddenly get stuck, so I lost about 2.50€ on that. On to the third photo booth. Success!
Laughing, we went found our way upstairs to the ticket line...which we stood in for about 30 mins or so. With just a couple people left in front of us, I suddenly froze internally and then turned to Rach and asked, "Do you think we need our passports??!" Big eyes. Oh wow...we really hoped not! We had left them in a safe place back at the hotel when we first arrived & didn't even think about it that morning. Well, thankfully, 30 minutes later we were walking away with our 12-25s and tickets to Angouleme. Hurray! We felt accomplished. Beatrice, our attendant, was very helpful and spoke fairly good English, so we were grateful.
Thankful to leave the station, we made our way to the Arc de Triomphe via the metro to Victor Hugo Ave. The neighborhood we found ourselves in was extremely well-to-do, lined with gorgeous shops and gated homes. At one point we concluded that people living in this area probably spend more in a day than we would the whole month! It was a fun place for window shopping though.
Once we made it down the lane, we came upon the busiest traffic circle in all of France... sporting 12 boulevards shooting out from the round-about. The Arc seems to stand with great power and confidence, as it's grounded in the center of this star-shaped traffic route. Before we could take it all in, though, we stopped at a cafe for a light lunch. While sitting there, a group of what we presumed to be veterans entered the restaurant in their military uniforms, medals and all. It was actually quite touching.
As walking across the street would be suicide, we went through the underground tunnel to reach the Arc. This icon of the French Republic was really amazing with the intricate carvings and gigantic statues on the pillars. It's possible to go to the top and see what I'm sure is a fantastic view down Champs Elysees to the Louvre, but the line was too long; we walked around for photos and just sat for a while to take it all in. The Arc itself is honors those who lost their lives in the French Revolution and Napoleanic Wars; there is also the tomb of the unknown soldier for WWI, which was quite moving with the flame burning and the bouquet of flowers.
Our next item on the agenda was going to be Mont Martre, where we thought we could spend the rest of the day and evening. Sadly, Rach's back was really hurting and we decided to split ways for the first time. OH, first, though, we took a metro back to the Notre Dame area to get tickets for the night-time boat tour. We tried to find the parking garage that BikeAbout calls home (they were offereing cheaper tickets for the boat ride) ...but after wandering and wandering, we stopped and just stared at the river. HAHA. I'm sure this is a more common sight among tourists than we think, but we were just so tired and didn't even know what we wanted. Eventually, we decided that Rach would sit by the cathedral while I went off to get the boat tickets (which was just a couple bridges over).
Once upon Point Neuf, I walk down to the river bank and tried to decipher which ride we wanted. Thankfully, a Californian couple (Jessica and Chris) walked up at the same time and we helped each other out. I had my little travel book showed them which one in particular I wanted, so we worked together to find the right station. We had to cross the bridge half-way & then walk down a hidden flight of stairs. Jessica had lived in Thailand for a while, so she had some good info about the country. Well, I finally got the tickets and walked back to Rach. She was so cute - sitting at the base of the Charlemagne statue, flower-patterned dress & lucky hat, surrounded by pigeons, journaling. Modern-day Mary Poppins scene or something :)
Rach went back to the hotel and I found my way to Montmartre. Well, I really don't want to go in to the details of getting there, but let's just say I was really grateful to finally be sitting in the gorgeous Sacre Coeur!! The hill it sits on has been a center of religious activity for centuries, and this church was built just after the loss of the Franco-Prussian War. Prayers for humanity have been going up from this church 24/7 ever since then. I wrote a prayer in the guest book for France before I walked out. The church is also extremely pristine; it's made from some kind of chalky substance that washed itself when it rains.
On the long, steep walk up to the top, I was cornered by someone making bracelets...so I now have a "Hakuna Matata" bracelet as an unexpected momentum. lol. Since I was under a time crunch to get back for the boat tour, I pretty much ran down the hill and frantically looked for the right metro line. I would NOT have made it back in time if it weren't for the kindness of Xavier and Cammie - two Parisians who were kind enough to strategize my metro route and take me to the right station. Once back in sight of Point Neuf, I literally ran in my little pink flats down the long road, dashing in and out of the other pedestrians. Rach was there, getting worried and trying to lose a guy who seemed interested in her, so she was extremely happy to see me running towards her, just 5 mins before the boat was to leave! LOL. So funny.
We were so glad to have made the boat - completely worth the ticket stress and running!!!
Well, I'm off to make broccoli braid for Sandy and Roger (hopefully they like it!) on our last night here, so I'll have to write about the rest of our evening later!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Bastille Day celebrations....eating, laughing, eating, playing, eating
July 14th - Bastille Day! A celebration of French culture and independence. Just a bit more info for those interested:
"The Bastille is a medieval fortress and prison in Paris. Many people in France associated it with the harsh rule of the Bourbon monarchy in the late 1700s. On July 14, 1789, troops stormed the Bastille. This was a pivotal event at the beginning of the French Revolution. Fête de la Fédération was held on July 14, 1790. This was a way to celebrate the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in France.
"The Bastille is a medieval fortress and prison in Paris. Many people in France associated it with the harsh rule of the Bourbon monarchy in the late 1700s. On July 14, 1789, troops stormed the Bastille. This was a pivotal event at the beginning of the French Revolution. Fête de la Fédération was held on July 14, 1790. This was a way to celebrate the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in France.
Official celebrations were held in Paris on June 30, 1878, to honor the Republic of France. On July 14, 1879, more official celebrations were held. These included a military review in Longchamp near Paris and celebrations all over the country. A politician named Benjamin Raspail proposed that July 14 should become a holiday in France in 1880. The law was enacted on July 6, 1880. Bastille Day was a public holiday for the first time on July 14, 1880." (timeanddate.com)
So this is how we spent our day: This morning was very chill...Rach and I had some catching up to do with our work, so we did some cleaning, sweeping, and watering. Side note: my absolute favorite job is taking care of the chickens!! I don't know what it is, but I just LOVE tossing the feed around, watching them peck away at it, and collecting the eggs (which we then get to make omelettes from for breakfast!).
Sandy took Rach and I up to the attic this morning, where we expected to find Miss Havisham; alas, all we found was an adorable picnic basket to use for our afternoon fun :)
The real exciting part was joining a neighboring town for their community meal/celebration. We were lucky enough to get some extra tickets for the event, and it turned out to be the most French experience we've had to date! British friends of Roger and Sandy's, Liz and Patrick, are a wonderful couple that live in this village. (We had dinner at their lovely home the other night, so we were excited to go back.)
The setting for the meal, or "repas," was absolutely breathtaking. There was a tent set up in the most peaceful green pasture, lined by a quite, calm river and perfect rows of poplar trees. We sat down under the tent, each seat having a tacked paper that included some history (which someone thankfully translated for us...something about a hat...and Rome....and Marianne) and the menu for the afternoon. We had heard of these loooong meal times, but we were still shocked to sit down at 1 and not be done with the meal until 5. The food was incredible, though:
Course1: nuts/crackers, bread, wine
Course 2: tuna salad with tomatoes and eggs, bread, wine
Course 3: juicy, tender ham, bread, wine
Course 4: brie cheese, bread, wine
Course 5: ice cream and coffee (bread and wine still available)
We ate so much, but it didn't set as heavy as, say a Thanksgiving meal, because we ate it over such a long period of time. It was interesting to be served our meal, too...there was a chalkboard by the food tables that listed who was in charge of serving which part of the meal.
Towards the beginning of the meal, I turned to the lady next to me (another British lady we had just met), and commented on her pretty earrings. She got them in Bangkok! That led in to an ongoing conversation about cultures, traveling, racism, etc. I enjoyed that. I think most of the English-speaking people were sitting at the same table, so it was nice to be able to communicate with people during the meal! We were surrounded by 4 couples who have moved to France from England, and they all had a lot of insights and stories to tell. We've been very lucky to meet such wonderful friends of Roger and Sandy's who have been so welcoming and interested in our lives. We may have convinced a few to come to CO! :)
An interesting part about the meal was that, during the 4 hour period, almost nobody got up to mingle. We've discovered that the French are generally a very private people, so even though a good percentage of the village was gathered together, they tended to stay in their smaller groups of friends or family.
Rach and I ventured up the the WC a couple times during the meal. One time I decided to use a bike rack as a ballet bar, so I was doing plie when Rach came out...and embarrassingly realized there was someone behind me who saw the whole thing. Sweet. Another trip to the WC ended up with us popping in to the humble village chapel...we enjoyed the acoustics and sang some hymns as we admired the stained-glass windows. We also took a moment to dip our feet in the cooling water of the river. Just ideal.
Getting tired from the long meal, we thought we were about ready to head home when we discovered we'd been signed up for a game of petanque! Now I'm even more glad that we played a game at Diane's bday, because not knowing how to play would really have made things frustrating. There was a big confusion over who we were supposed to be playing against and where we were supposed to get our game balls. I now have so much more sympathy for and understanding of ESL students and anyone immersed in an unknown language. I felt so ridiculous just standing there staring at the person trying to communicate with me. All I could do was look pathetic and shake my head. UGH. So frustrating.
Anyways, once things were figured out, we got started on a great game of petanque. Rach and I were annihilated by a French brother/sister team, but we had a blast. I'm pretty sure we American girls will be the brunt of a few of their jokes in the future :) It was really quite the sight to see about 6 games of petanque going on at once, filling up the long dirt lane. The game is actually taken quite seriously, and it was funny to watch the balls' position on the lane take precedent over any car or person that might want to get through. At one point I realized, "I'm in France...in a quaint countryside village...playing petanque...next to a stream and field of corn...WOW." Incredible. We then thought that would be it, but it turns out the losers play other losers.
But now worries, cuz we ended up being matched with Roger and Sandy! We were all getting a bit tired around 7, though, so we cheated and ended the game early...making up a story of how they came back to beat us:)
Back home, I gathered the chickens in the coup with some food....I wasn't quite fast enough, though, cuz two of them escaped. I had to admit my failure and get some more feed; this time, I lured them way far back in the corner and raced out as soon as the feed hit the ground.
We've since been sharing photos and laughing at all our great memories. It's getting harder and harder to think of leaving on Sunday. Rach and I were talking about how crazy it is that you can get so close to people in such a short amount of time. We really clicked with them from the beginning - we'd be so content staying here until the end of the month! But alas, we must move on...and it's nice to know that they're seriously considering visiting us in CO next May!!!!! :)
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Children are the same everywhere - they capture and melt your heart
We've just had the most wonderful evening our village near Angouleme. My mouth hurts from smiling and my stomach hurts from laughing.
Tonight our village had a celebration that brought together people from our town and a few surrounding areas. This was a big event for the village, seeing that gatherings like this only happen once a year. We had driven by the tent in the parking lot where this celebration was to take place & wondered what exactly a French celebration of this sort looked like.
After celebrating with Sue and Keving (some of Roger and Sandy's hilarious friends), we stopped at home for a while to get liven ourselves up to going. I was actually feeling really sluggish before going, and my attitude was juxtaposed by Rach's absolute hyper-activity and giddiness. But Roger, Sandy, Stephan (their adopted son) and his girlfriend Anna, Rach and I walked up the hill to the party. Upon arrival, we felt like everyone was looking at us. The mayor of the village had gotten wind that two Americans were here, so we received an informal yet personal invitation from him...so it seemed that everyone else knew we were out-of-towners.
We met a few people, were offered some rum punch (which I had never had before, and after two sips decided to never have again), and sat down at a table. Rach and I got to talk with Anna and get to know her a bit; she was so kind in teaching us whatever phrase or word we wanted to know in French. [side note, kids here start learning another language at 8, and yet another at 10...I think we should follow that! But it needs to be so much more real that paper and pencil and pseudo conversations in the classroom...this could turn in to a bunny trail, so I'll stop here.]
As we began to people watch, one of my first thoughts was "There's actuallly children here!" It sounds silly, but we've really only seen like 2 or 3 school-aged kids since being here in the country. I've asked several people where they're all hiding, and the answer has been that they're either on vacation or their playing inside the houses...hardly ever outside. This made me so sad! It didn't feel complete without kids. But tonight, I got a glimpse of a child's life here.
Guess what they were playing? Hide-and-go-seek, or cache-cache. The little boys and girls were smiling, laughing, running, and playing just like anywhere else. I loved the normalcy of it. I guess when you're in a situation that's somewhat uncomfortable as you can hardly speak with anyone, it just brought a sense of normalcy to the event for me.
So after our first course - "munchies" and punch - we had our second course - baguette with chicken pate (there may have been rabbit meat in there!) - and then the dancing began. As obvious Americans, we didn't want to embarrass ourselves or Sandy and Roger, so we hesitated going on the dance floor. Then Sandy took the courageous leap and dragged us up there; so glad that she did! We enjoyed dancing to the polka and 80s music. (hahah...at one point, there were like 3 ladies fighting over who got to dance with Roger)
We sat down again for a while, trying to decide how to politely get rid of all the extra bread we had accumulated (by the end of it, there were 3 baguette sandwiches for everyone and we couldn't possibly eat all that bread). I marched out in to the street to get a picture of the moon, and when I returned, Rachel had bravely joined the little girls on the dance floor. Apparently she thought this was be something she'd regret not doing in 60 years:) Then Sandy pointed out there were two other little girls (maybe 4 yrs old, holding their dollies) that were just standing up there. So I walked up and did the best I could to look friendly and ask them to dance. One girl ran away, but the other grabbed my hand...instantly, the other girl returned, held out her doll for me to hold, and then grabbed her friends hand. We joined Rach's circle and danced to a square dance song!!
At first, they didn't really understand the concept of moving inwards and joining hands in the center, or kicking the feet out. So we stepped them through these parts and they caught on really quickly! One girl in particular couldn't stop smiling every time we'd join hands in the middle. They were so. darn. cute! I can't even express how it filled me soul.
I guess I remember one time when we were dancing at an Oktoberfest (in Vail, maybe?) when I was really young, and an older man picked me up and started dancing with me...it made my day! What a great memory for me, and I hope it was for these girls as well.
It was SO sad when we couldn't really talk with them, though...one girl said something that we didn't understand when she came on the dance floor, so all we could say was "Désolé. Je suis l'américain. Je ne parle pas français."
After the dance finished, we sat back down. But that was just the beginning of it! Two girls started peeking around corners and running away as we looked their way or waved. It was so cute. After getting the right wording on how to ask their name, we caught up with them and found out one was Cassandra; the other one was harder to understand, but it was something like Marchite. We walked away again, but they caught our eye and wanted to dance so more. So we did!
With the help of a translator, we were able to get some pictures with them, too. Then a little brother came over and hopped on my lap to partake in the happenings, too. It was so precious. They made us feel like a part of the community, and for that I was grateful:)
Sigh, wonderful night. France is stealing pieces of our hearts. I can't believe we have to leave Sandy and Roger on Sunday :(
Tonight our village had a celebration that brought together people from our town and a few surrounding areas. This was a big event for the village, seeing that gatherings like this only happen once a year. We had driven by the tent in the parking lot where this celebration was to take place & wondered what exactly a French celebration of this sort looked like.
After celebrating with Sue and Keving (some of Roger and Sandy's hilarious friends), we stopped at home for a while to get liven ourselves up to going. I was actually feeling really sluggish before going, and my attitude was juxtaposed by Rach's absolute hyper-activity and giddiness. But Roger, Sandy, Stephan (their adopted son) and his girlfriend Anna, Rach and I walked up the hill to the party. Upon arrival, we felt like everyone was looking at us. The mayor of the village had gotten wind that two Americans were here, so we received an informal yet personal invitation from him...so it seemed that everyone else knew we were out-of-towners.
We met a few people, were offered some rum punch (which I had never had before, and after two sips decided to never have again), and sat down at a table. Rach and I got to talk with Anna and get to know her a bit; she was so kind in teaching us whatever phrase or word we wanted to know in French. [side note, kids here start learning another language at 8, and yet another at 10...I think we should follow that! But it needs to be so much more real that paper and pencil and pseudo conversations in the classroom...this could turn in to a bunny trail, so I'll stop here.]
As we began to people watch, one of my first thoughts was "There's actuallly children here!" It sounds silly, but we've really only seen like 2 or 3 school-aged kids since being here in the country. I've asked several people where they're all hiding, and the answer has been that they're either on vacation or their playing inside the houses...hardly ever outside. This made me so sad! It didn't feel complete without kids. But tonight, I got a glimpse of a child's life here.
Guess what they were playing? Hide-and-go-seek, or cache-cache. The little boys and girls were smiling, laughing, running, and playing just like anywhere else. I loved the normalcy of it. I guess when you're in a situation that's somewhat uncomfortable as you can hardly speak with anyone, it just brought a sense of normalcy to the event for me.
So after our first course - "munchies" and punch - we had our second course - baguette with chicken pate (there may have been rabbit meat in there!) - and then the dancing began. As obvious Americans, we didn't want to embarrass ourselves or Sandy and Roger, so we hesitated going on the dance floor. Then Sandy took the courageous leap and dragged us up there; so glad that she did! We enjoyed dancing to the polka and 80s music. (hahah...at one point, there were like 3 ladies fighting over who got to dance with Roger)
We sat down again for a while, trying to decide how to politely get rid of all the extra bread we had accumulated (by the end of it, there were 3 baguette sandwiches for everyone and we couldn't possibly eat all that bread). I marched out in to the street to get a picture of the moon, and when I returned, Rachel had bravely joined the little girls on the dance floor. Apparently she thought this was be something she'd regret not doing in 60 years:) Then Sandy pointed out there were two other little girls (maybe 4 yrs old, holding their dollies) that were just standing up there. So I walked up and did the best I could to look friendly and ask them to dance. One girl ran away, but the other grabbed my hand...instantly, the other girl returned, held out her doll for me to hold, and then grabbed her friends hand. We joined Rach's circle and danced to a square dance song!!
At first, they didn't really understand the concept of moving inwards and joining hands in the center, or kicking the feet out. So we stepped them through these parts and they caught on really quickly! One girl in particular couldn't stop smiling every time we'd join hands in the middle. They were so. darn. cute! I can't even express how it filled me soul.
I guess I remember one time when we were dancing at an Oktoberfest (in Vail, maybe?) when I was really young, and an older man picked me up and started dancing with me...it made my day! What a great memory for me, and I hope it was for these girls as well.
It was SO sad when we couldn't really talk with them, though...one girl said something that we didn't understand when she came on the dance floor, so all we could say was "Désolé. Je suis l'américain. Je ne parle pas français."
After the dance finished, we sat back down. But that was just the beginning of it! Two girls started peeking around corners and running away as we looked their way or waved. It was so cute. After getting the right wording on how to ask their name, we caught up with them and found out one was Cassandra; the other one was harder to understand, but it was something like Marchite. We walked away again, but they caught our eye and wanted to dance so more. So we did!
With the help of a translator, we were able to get some pictures with them, too. Then a little brother came over and hopped on my lap to partake in the happenings, too. It was so precious. They made us feel like a part of the community, and for that I was grateful:)
Sigh, wonderful night. France is stealing pieces of our hearts. I can't believe we have to leave Sandy and Roger on Sunday :(
A few of our favorite things...in Paris
After the Louvre, we attempted to hit the Musee d'Orsay. No good. We walked across the street and found another gigantic line, but this time we were not aware of any secret entrance!
[OH, before we left the Louvre, we thought we'd do a few people some good and help them skip the line. We walked all the way to the end and found a few people who looked like they wouldn't last for long in the warm sun. It was kinda funny cuz they seemed somewhat suspicious of us at first, as if we would steal their spots in line or lead them to a pack of robbers or something. We don't know if they actually took our advice, but we did what we could. lol ]
SO, the next stop turned out to be the park near Victor Hugo's home. We had seen this park the day before on the bike ride and really wanted to return. There were lots of locals out, just enjoying the sunshine and each other (some a bit too much, if you know what I mean). But we found a spot on the grass near a fountain and a couple of guitarists. It was SO SO refreshing to just sit, and be, and have a normal conversation without being distracted by all the sights we were passing. We both discovered we had put pressure on ourselves to know and do everything - we knew in our heads that wasn't possible, but we still felt like we should understand every bit about the culture and history around us. Welp, not gonna happen! haha. Back home we are so driven to be productive and successful at what we do, but that's not the point of a vacation! Yes, we came to see some sights in Paris and want to KNOW so we can APPRECIATE, but sometimes that means just taking a nap in a Parisian park. Ok, so we did :)
After a while, we then headed off to find the Jewish museum. We walked in to what we thought was the correct one and greatly enjoyed ourselves. The rooms were ornately decorated, appropriate to maybe the 18th century or so. We almost had the place to ourselves, so Rach did some singing and I enjoyed the photo opps. Plus, they had CHAIRS, which we discovered were greatly sought after every 1.5 hours. lol. We were about to dance when someone came in and gestured that it was closing. Bummer. And we were just getting started. It was by then obvious this was not the Jewish museum, but we were glad to see it anyways.
At some point along the way, we also stopped to enjoy an accordion player on one of the bridges. These were moments we cherished.
Then, onward-ho to Ile de St.Louis for Berthillon ice cream!! Thanks, Grandpapa!!!
We got there just about 10 minutes before they closed, so we felt very lucky. We had an awkward time getting the ice cream, as a cashier got Rach's order and then went about her clean-up duties, neglecting me and making me wait in another line for like 5 mins. haha. But we got our ice cream (I had peach and cafe) and enjoyed every single bite as we sat on the bridge, overlooking the Seine with the Notre Dame in the distance.
Feeling a bit weary, we went back to the hotel and freshened up. We decided the restaurant around the corner was dependable, so we went back there for another dinner. About 11:05 pm, we decided we needed to experience the Parisian nightlife. (You can calm down, Mom, nothing bad happened). So we headed toward Montparnasse, which is a huge skyscraper that boasts a great view of the Eiffle Tower at night. Well, we got about 5 blocks south of our hotel and started feeling weird. There weren't as many people out as we thought, and we weren't familiar with this part of town at all. It might have been different if we could have gotten the bikes to work, but we felt vulnerable just walking. At the same time, we both turned toward each other and asked if the other wanted to go...the answer was no! So we turned on our heels and headed toward the Seine.
SO glad we did!! We had a fabulous time just walking around the Notre Dame, staring at the gargoyles and laughing our way down the river. Again, Rach was wearing her lucky hat and some men approached her from behind...I was taking a picture and didn't notice until he was upon us, but he grabbed Rach's hat and put it on his head. She was just shocked and could only think to say, "Um, please don't do that". hahahahah. He eventually gave it back, but he kept saying "I love you, I love you" and followed us for a bit. But we completely ignored him and quickly lost him.
As we looped back around the Notre Dame, we heard some singing below. We looked over the ledge to see a string band playing with some American singers (you really can pick us out from a mile away). We were content to just sit and listen for a while, but we decided it'd be one of those things we'd regret not doing if didn't hop down there and join them. We ended up talking with a real a guy who grew up in Paris and had moved to the States as a teenager. He's now going to school for piano performance in Miami, but he returns to Paris for the summers. We had an interesting talk with him about music, accents, education, the language differences, etc.
We attempted to make our way back to the hotel after a while, but the music in the Notre Dame square was like a magnet...to strong to ignore. We enjoyed some break dancing with techno music and another accordion player.
Although blissfully happy to discover some of our favorite things about Paris, we couldn't ignore our soar feet anymore...so we returned 1:30.
Paris does sleep, but only for a little while :)
[OH, before we left the Louvre, we thought we'd do a few people some good and help them skip the line. We walked all the way to the end and found a few people who looked like they wouldn't last for long in the warm sun. It was kinda funny cuz they seemed somewhat suspicious of us at first, as if we would steal their spots in line or lead them to a pack of robbers or something. We don't know if they actually took our advice, but we did what we could. lol ]
SO, the next stop turned out to be the park near Victor Hugo's home. We had seen this park the day before on the bike ride and really wanted to return. There were lots of locals out, just enjoying the sunshine and each other (some a bit too much, if you know what I mean). But we found a spot on the grass near a fountain and a couple of guitarists. It was SO SO refreshing to just sit, and be, and have a normal conversation without being distracted by all the sights we were passing. We both discovered we had put pressure on ourselves to know and do everything - we knew in our heads that wasn't possible, but we still felt like we should understand every bit about the culture and history around us. Welp, not gonna happen! haha. Back home we are so driven to be productive and successful at what we do, but that's not the point of a vacation! Yes, we came to see some sights in Paris and want to KNOW so we can APPRECIATE, but sometimes that means just taking a nap in a Parisian park. Ok, so we did :)
After a while, we then headed off to find the Jewish museum. We walked in to what we thought was the correct one and greatly enjoyed ourselves. The rooms were ornately decorated, appropriate to maybe the 18th century or so. We almost had the place to ourselves, so Rach did some singing and I enjoyed the photo opps. Plus, they had CHAIRS, which we discovered were greatly sought after every 1.5 hours. lol. We were about to dance when someone came in and gestured that it was closing. Bummer. And we were just getting started. It was by then obvious this was not the Jewish museum, but we were glad to see it anyways.
At some point along the way, we also stopped to enjoy an accordion player on one of the bridges. These were moments we cherished.
Then, onward-ho to Ile de St.Louis for Berthillon ice cream!! Thanks, Grandpapa!!!
"Berthillon is a French manufacturer and retailer of luxury ice cream and sorbet, with its primary store on the Île Saint-Louis in Paris, France. The company is owned and operated by the Chauvin family, descendants of the eponymous Monsieur Berthillon, who opened the first store in 1954.
Berthillon sells its ice cream in bulk and by the scoop from its shop on the island, but many other retailers in Paris sell its ice cream in cones and cups, and some grocers sell larger amounts. Berthillon's fame derives in part from its use of natural ingredients, with no chemical preservatives,artificial sweeteners or stabilizers. Its ice creams are made from only milk, sugar, cream and eggs. Flavourings derive from natural sources (cocoa, vanilla, fruit, etc.)." As a teacher, I'd be ashamed not to cite this - it's from Wikipedia. Ohp, I guess I'm shamed anyways. We got there just about 10 minutes before they closed, so we felt very lucky. We had an awkward time getting the ice cream, as a cashier got Rach's order and then went about her clean-up duties, neglecting me and making me wait in another line for like 5 mins. haha. But we got our ice cream (I had peach and cafe) and enjoyed every single bite as we sat on the bridge, overlooking the Seine with the Notre Dame in the distance.
Feeling a bit weary, we went back to the hotel and freshened up. We decided the restaurant around the corner was dependable, so we went back there for another dinner. About 11:05 pm, we decided we needed to experience the Parisian nightlife. (You can calm down, Mom, nothing bad happened). So we headed toward Montparnasse, which is a huge skyscraper that boasts a great view of the Eiffle Tower at night. Well, we got about 5 blocks south of our hotel and started feeling weird. There weren't as many people out as we thought, and we weren't familiar with this part of town at all. It might have been different if we could have gotten the bikes to work, but we felt vulnerable just walking. At the same time, we both turned toward each other and asked if the other wanted to go...the answer was no! So we turned on our heels and headed toward the Seine.
SO glad we did!! We had a fabulous time just walking around the Notre Dame, staring at the gargoyles and laughing our way down the river. Again, Rach was wearing her lucky hat and some men approached her from behind...I was taking a picture and didn't notice until he was upon us, but he grabbed Rach's hat and put it on his head. She was just shocked and could only think to say, "Um, please don't do that". hahahahah. He eventually gave it back, but he kept saying "I love you, I love you" and followed us for a bit. But we completely ignored him and quickly lost him.
As we looped back around the Notre Dame, we heard some singing below. We looked over the ledge to see a string band playing with some American singers (you really can pick us out from a mile away). We were content to just sit and listen for a while, but we decided it'd be one of those things we'd regret not doing if didn't hop down there and join them. We ended up talking with a real a guy who grew up in Paris and had moved to the States as a teenager. He's now going to school for piano performance in Miami, but he returns to Paris for the summers. We had an interesting talk with him about music, accents, education, the language differences, etc.
We attempted to make our way back to the hotel after a while, but the music in the Notre Dame square was like a magnet...to strong to ignore. We enjoyed some break dancing with techno music and another accordion player.
Although blissfully happy to discover some of our favorite things about Paris, we couldn't ignore our soar feet anymore...so we returned 1:30.
Paris does sleep, but only for a little while :)
The Louvre: a visual walk through history, from pyramids to modern art
Our third day in Paris was full of artists - both visual and musical. (Although, I've learned that any day with Rach is a musical day!! love it!)
We started the morning late, but as Sandy always says, "You're in France - don't worry about the time!" Our breakfast included fruit and yogurt from the outdoor market again. (I just love picking out my food fresh from the market...it's one of my favorite parts of Europe!)
Being the first Sunday of the month, it was free museum day! Our first stop was the Louvre. Thanks to our bike tour guide, we knew about a special entrance that enabled us to bypass the 2-hr line (if you ever go, it's the entrance along the Seine with two large, green lions). Woohoo. Score one for us.
Inside the Louvre are seemingly endless hallways which are decorated in awe-inspiring ways. There is gold everywhere, and each corner is carefully crafted to the last detail; the ceilings are covered in gorgeous paintings, so you could really just lie on the floor and admire from that viewpoint for a while (if only that were appropriate). Actually, Rach's back was hurting pretty bad that day, so she did lie down on something for a while & spotted a Hello Kitty balloon floating on the ceiling. Ha.
We saw so many paintings and artifacts, but in about 2.5 hours we only saw a fraction. We were told that if you spent just one minute on each item in the museum 24/7, you'd be there for roughly 9 months! Geepers.
Our excursion began with the Egyptians. We really enjoyed the mummies, clothing, jewelry, and sphinx displays. "Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego" anyone? :)
**One thing we've discovered on this trip is that bathroom lines are a great place to meet people. lol. We met an American couple that was touring their grandson around Europe, so we had a nice chat with them. It was little meetings like this, with people who spoke English, that proved to be a real blessing! It gets really frustrating when you're incapable of even small talk with the people around you!
One main reason we went to the Louvre was to see the Mona Lisa. Umm....Bummer!!! The first thing we said when we walked in the room was "It's so small!!" There was a horde of people around the painting, and I think they were all thinking the same thing. lol. Plus, the wall-sized painting just opposite made her look even smaller! Still, it was worth seeing.
We also spent some time walking through the long wing of Italian paintings, from 13th-18th century (we walked backwards, though. haha). It was really interesting to see the changes in dimensions, colors, and subjects as we drifted through time. I only wish Dr.Walford were there to say, "I like it, I don't like it" in his British accent:)
One of the most fascinating wings was of the Greek ceramics and statues. We saw the Venus de Milo statue as well. I've googled her for you :)
"In the early 19th Century the statue was discovered in an underground cavern on the Aegean island of Melos by a farmer digging in his field. It was missing its arms but it is believed that one held a shield while the other held a mirror so that she could admire her own beauty. After a unique series of events, the French acquired the statue and renamed it the Venus de Milo."
Rach was wearing her lucky hat that day, so we were asked by two attendants if we would join them for an afternoon "walk"...then we could go home and tell our American friends how crazy the Parisians were. Obviously, we promptly said no and walked away. Silly boys. I wonder if they ever actually pick up girls like that....
One awful thing was the modern art...I just don't get it. If the artist were there to explain the motivations, emotions, and themes, I would have such a different attitude. But they weren't there. So I just ignored the art. Is that OK?
So, Louvre: "brilliant!" (as Roger and Sandy would say...)
We started the morning late, but as Sandy always says, "You're in France - don't worry about the time!" Our breakfast included fruit and yogurt from the outdoor market again. (I just love picking out my food fresh from the market...it's one of my favorite parts of Europe!)
Being the first Sunday of the month, it was free museum day! Our first stop was the Louvre. Thanks to our bike tour guide, we knew about a special entrance that enabled us to bypass the 2-hr line (if you ever go, it's the entrance along the Seine with two large, green lions). Woohoo. Score one for us.
Inside the Louvre are seemingly endless hallways which are decorated in awe-inspiring ways. There is gold everywhere, and each corner is carefully crafted to the last detail; the ceilings are covered in gorgeous paintings, so you could really just lie on the floor and admire from that viewpoint for a while (if only that were appropriate). Actually, Rach's back was hurting pretty bad that day, so she did lie down on something for a while & spotted a Hello Kitty balloon floating on the ceiling. Ha.
We saw so many paintings and artifacts, but in about 2.5 hours we only saw a fraction. We were told that if you spent just one minute on each item in the museum 24/7, you'd be there for roughly 9 months! Geepers.
Our excursion began with the Egyptians. We really enjoyed the mummies, clothing, jewelry, and sphinx displays. "Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego" anyone? :)
**One thing we've discovered on this trip is that bathroom lines are a great place to meet people. lol. We met an American couple that was touring their grandson around Europe, so we had a nice chat with them. It was little meetings like this, with people who spoke English, that proved to be a real blessing! It gets really frustrating when you're incapable of even small talk with the people around you!
One main reason we went to the Louvre was to see the Mona Lisa. Umm....Bummer!!! The first thing we said when we walked in the room was "It's so small!!" There was a horde of people around the painting, and I think they were all thinking the same thing. lol. Plus, the wall-sized painting just opposite made her look even smaller! Still, it was worth seeing.
We also spent some time walking through the long wing of Italian paintings, from 13th-18th century (we walked backwards, though. haha). It was really interesting to see the changes in dimensions, colors, and subjects as we drifted through time. I only wish Dr.Walford were there to say, "I like it, I don't like it" in his British accent:)
One of the most fascinating wings was of the Greek ceramics and statues. We saw the Venus de Milo statue as well. I've googled her for you :)
"In the early 19th Century the statue was discovered in an underground cavern on the Aegean island of Melos by a farmer digging in his field. It was missing its arms but it is believed that one held a shield while the other held a mirror so that she could admire her own beauty. After a unique series of events, the French acquired the statue and renamed it the Venus de Milo."
Rach was wearing her lucky hat that day, so we were asked by two attendants if we would join them for an afternoon "walk"...then we could go home and tell our American friends how crazy the Parisians were. Obviously, we promptly said no and walked away. Silly boys. I wonder if they ever actually pick up girls like that....
One awful thing was the modern art...I just don't get it. If the artist were there to explain the motivations, emotions, and themes, I would have such a different attitude. But they weren't there. So I just ignored the art. Is that OK?
So, Louvre: "brilliant!" (as Roger and Sandy would say...)
Friday, July 8, 2011
First "real" day in Paris (cont..)
At the stroke of 3, we met with a group under the Charlemagne statue by Notre Dame. According to BikeAbout's website, the tour was already full, but we thought we'd give it a shot. Rach had a connection to Christian, the fellow who started this tour group, so we thought that gave us an extra good chance. Thankfully, we met Christian and he was able to squeeze us in the tour.
Kat was our lovely tour guide; she came to Paris from England after graduating "just for six months"...but it's been three years now :) So she has an office job during the week & gives bike tours on the weeked! Pretty sweet, huh?
The whole point of BikeAbout is to give tourists a look at the "real" Paris, not just the ordinary sights and info that most others get. Honestly, the trip was just exhilarating...there's not much that can beat riding a bike through the streets of Paris! The trip lasted about 4 hours, so here's what my little brain remembers seeing/learning from the tour:
In the 3rd and 4th arrondissements (zones), or the Marais, north of Seine
-Jewish history museum: after WWII, the Parisians became very sympathetic to the plight of the Jews and dedicated this museum to those who had suffered; it is still very much respected today, and the wall outside is covered with plaques of people who have financially supported it; once the museum was built, they renamed the street to something like "the road of justice".
Beautiful Rach by the wall w/ names of museum supporters.
- We passed by the most adorable allleyway with flowers and shops; this little spot is the hub of activity on Sundays since the Jewish quarter is one of the only places open on Sundays
-Charlemagne School: looks nothing like the strip mall that HOPE was in! haha. A fantastically ancient building to attend school at; a lot of schools are named after Charlemagne b/c he was the first to implement an education system for all peoples, not just the wealthy or those from the church.
-famous cannon ball: lodged in the side of a building, about 2 stories high and left as a memorial of WWII
-"Paris brûle-t-il?": Hitler wanted Paris burned to the ground, so he would constantly call his general in the area and forcefully ask "Is Paris burning?" However, to his great credit, the general acknowledged the great history and beauty of Paris and refused to give the commands! How sad it would be to have this city in ruins.
-Victor Hugo's home: the famous author of Les Mis and The Hunchback of Notre Dame; he was paid by the word for his stories, so no wonder they were so long!! :) Absolutely ginormous home, a part of the connected houses that went on for a whole block...3 stories high...one was sold a couple years ago for 25 million £!
5th arrondissement (Latin Quarter, south of Seine, where our hotel was located)
-oldest street in Paris: one incredible shop really caught my eye - stationary, notebooks, canvas bags, archaic pens, etc. I could just imagine the characters from Les Mis, Scarlett Pimpernel, or even Belle walking in to one of these shops :)
-1st coffe shop in Paris: a bit different than the Starbucks that was now down the street!
-outdoor market area- lots of fresh produce and breads; a creperie, patisserie, restaurants, etc. Our group stopped for a bite to eat at this point; I had a deliciously fresh veggie salad and Rach got a chocolate croissant.
1st arrondissement (west of Notre Dame, north side of Seine)
-Louvre: absolutely gorgeous! It has quite the history, dating back to the 12th century. It was first used as a fortress, then centuries later turned in to the royal home...but it wasn't big enough for King Loius XIV, so he built Versailles instead.
-Bastille: we stopped along the Seine and looked beyond to the view the area; I think she said somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000 people were killed here at the guillotie, including Marie Antoinette
Other fun sightings:
-Love: Several weddings and photo shoots along the Seine! Ideal location for sure.
-A huge wedding party had rented two of the double-decker tour buses...they blared music and danced as they rode around and around the square
-WWII bullet holes: purposefully not repaired on many of the walls, as a reminder of the sacrifices and hardships
-Modern art museum: made "inside out" - all the bathrooms, ticket booths, and walkways are outside the building, covered by plastic tubes. Very strange. Apparently very well received, though, and has brought in a lot of revenue for the city. A lot of funky artists hang around here, too:)
- "Silliest Orchestra": best thing ever!! A one-man orchestra...it's indescribable. I wonder what his life has been like....
-Space Invadors: these little blue figures made out of tiles; the artist is still anonymous, so it's this hugely mysterious phenomenon. He has pasted these on walls all around the city and has now extended to some other parts of Europe; if you trace the space invaders from a satellite image, the pattern even makes out a space invader!! Obviously well thought out and strategically planned! There are pictures of him while he works, but his face is pixellated out of them.
notice the little blue guy above the signs...
-the hub of Paris: the most popular metro station, where 1.5 million people come through every day!
-Sales: France's government regulates shops to just 4 weeks of sales a year - 2 wks in winter and 2 wks in summer. We just happened to be here during the first weekend of the summer sale, so the streets were absolutely crazy!!! We got over the timidity of ringing our bike bells by the end of it....basically, just get out the way whenever you hear a little bell tingle-ling!
WHEW!! After this ride, we were ready for some dinner. We hopped around the corner from our hotel and found a great little restaurant for dinner...and then proceeded to bed...exhausted but so happy :)
Kat was our lovely tour guide; she came to Paris from England after graduating "just for six months"...but it's been three years now :) So she has an office job during the week & gives bike tours on the weeked! Pretty sweet, huh?
The whole point of BikeAbout is to give tourists a look at the "real" Paris, not just the ordinary sights and info that most others get. Honestly, the trip was just exhilarating...there's not much that can beat riding a bike through the streets of Paris! The trip lasted about 4 hours, so here's what my little brain remembers seeing/learning from the tour:
In the 3rd and 4th arrondissements (zones), or the Marais, north of Seine
-Jewish history museum: after WWII, the Parisians became very sympathetic to the plight of the Jews and dedicated this museum to those who had suffered; it is still very much respected today, and the wall outside is covered with plaques of people who have financially supported it; once the museum was built, they renamed the street to something like "the road of justice".
Beautiful Rach by the wall w/ names of museum supporters.- We passed by the most adorable allleyway with flowers and shops; this little spot is the hub of activity on Sundays since the Jewish quarter is one of the only places open on Sundays
-Charlemagne School: looks nothing like the strip mall that HOPE was in! haha. A fantastically ancient building to attend school at; a lot of schools are named after Charlemagne b/c he was the first to implement an education system for all peoples, not just the wealthy or those from the church.
-famous cannon ball: lodged in the side of a building, about 2 stories high and left as a memorial of WWII
-"Paris brûle-t-il?": Hitler wanted Paris burned to the ground, so he would constantly call his general in the area and forcefully ask "Is Paris burning?" However, to his great credit, the general acknowledged the great history and beauty of Paris and refused to give the commands! How sad it would be to have this city in ruins.
-Victor Hugo's home: the famous author of Les Mis and The Hunchback of Notre Dame; he was paid by the word for his stories, so no wonder they were so long!! :) Absolutely ginormous home, a part of the connected houses that went on for a whole block...3 stories high...one was sold a couple years ago for 25 million £!
5th arrondissement (Latin Quarter, south of Seine, where our hotel was located)
-oldest street in Paris: one incredible shop really caught my eye - stationary, notebooks, canvas bags, archaic pens, etc. I could just imagine the characters from Les Mis, Scarlett Pimpernel, or even Belle walking in to one of these shops :)
-1st coffe shop in Paris: a bit different than the Starbucks that was now down the street!
-outdoor market area- lots of fresh produce and breads; a creperie, patisserie, restaurants, etc. Our group stopped for a bite to eat at this point; I had a deliciously fresh veggie salad and Rach got a chocolate croissant.
1st arrondissement (west of Notre Dame, north side of Seine)
-Louvre: absolutely gorgeous! It has quite the history, dating back to the 12th century. It was first used as a fortress, then centuries later turned in to the royal home...but it wasn't big enough for King Loius XIV, so he built Versailles instead.
-Bastille: we stopped along the Seine and looked beyond to the view the area; I think she said somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000 people were killed here at the guillotie, including Marie Antoinette
Other fun sightings:
-Love: Several weddings and photo shoots along the Seine! Ideal location for sure.
-A huge wedding party had rented two of the double-decker tour buses...they blared music and danced as they rode around and around the square
-WWII bullet holes: purposefully not repaired on many of the walls, as a reminder of the sacrifices and hardships
-Modern art museum: made "inside out" - all the bathrooms, ticket booths, and walkways are outside the building, covered by plastic tubes. Very strange. Apparently very well received, though, and has brought in a lot of revenue for the city. A lot of funky artists hang around here, too:)
- "Silliest Orchestra": best thing ever!! A one-man orchestra...it's indescribable. I wonder what his life has been like....
-Space Invadors: these little blue figures made out of tiles; the artist is still anonymous, so it's this hugely mysterious phenomenon. He has pasted these on walls all around the city and has now extended to some other parts of Europe; if you trace the space invaders from a satellite image, the pattern even makes out a space invader!! Obviously well thought out and strategically planned! There are pictures of him while he works, but his face is pixellated out of them.
notice the little blue guy above the signs...-the hub of Paris: the most popular metro station, where 1.5 million people come through every day!
-Sales: France's government regulates shops to just 4 weeks of sales a year - 2 wks in winter and 2 wks in summer. We just happened to be here during the first weekend of the summer sale, so the streets were absolutely crazy!!! We got over the timidity of ringing our bike bells by the end of it....basically, just get out the way whenever you hear a little bell tingle-ling!
WHEW!! After this ride, we were ready for some dinner. We hopped around the corner from our hotel and found a great little restaurant for dinner...and then proceeded to bed...exhausted but so happy :)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
First "real" day in Paris
After a good 11 hr sleep, Rach and I were ready to conquer another day in Paris. We got breakfast at the store around the corner - just fruit and yogurt, but somehow it tasted better than in America :) We didn't make it far down the street before we were stopped by a lovely little gated park, not knowing until later that it was famous; apparently the university across the street had started it for botanical studies over 100 yrs ago!
We then made our first venture on the RER trains...we tried to hide our confusion as we stared at the maps for too long. Fortunately, an English-speaking attendant came over and stepped us through the process of buying tickets and understanding the routes and zones. Still, we were unsettled after watching a man literally squeezed out of the train by the closing door, separated from his wife and kids! Good thing they had a cell phone. Rach and I decided right then to make own emergency plan (thankfully we never had to use it!).
Our first train took us to the Eiffel Tower...that icon of Paris, France, and forward-thinking architecture. One word: disappointing! It just wasn't as big or fascinating as we thought it would be! I suppose after seeing pictures in history and geography books your whole life, and seeing the image plastered on shirts and bags and what not, your expectations rise...and the tower just didn't rise high enough. No problem, though, we hadnother things to entertain us - like a woman in a guerilla costume who went around scaring people and hopped into random photos, a Native American music group (so, so unexpected and weird), and hundreds of tourists just lounging around the lawn areas. We did run in to a sweet family from the east coast who gave us some helpful tips and took a great jumping photo of us.
What finally seemed to complete our French experience was this adorable, authentic French accordion player! I could have sat there all day listening to him. I love how universal music is...no matter where you are, there are certain songs and genres that just speak to the soul and make you feel comfortable and safe :)
Our next big adventure - and possible the best one of our time in Paris - was the BikeAbout tour!! Absolutely loved it!! But I'll have to write about that tomorrow.
Quickly, today at the château, our "chores" consisted of watering the garden, making plum jelly (fruit from their own garden), sewing bed sheets, and steam ironing. We also went for a run this morning through the quaint village and alongside breathtaking vineyards and pastures of sunflowers - a bit rough on the body, but couldn't have been better for the soul :) Sandy and Roger have an "adopted son" from the village who visits frequently; he is so sweet and is patiently helping us with our French. The afternoon was spent watching a movie as it rained, writing, and then going for a swim. What a piece of paradise they have here!
Bon nuit!
We then made our first venture on the RER trains...we tried to hide our confusion as we stared at the maps for too long. Fortunately, an English-speaking attendant came over and stepped us through the process of buying tickets and understanding the routes and zones. Still, we were unsettled after watching a man literally squeezed out of the train by the closing door, separated from his wife and kids! Good thing they had a cell phone. Rach and I decided right then to make own emergency plan (thankfully we never had to use it!).
Our first train took us to the Eiffel Tower...that icon of Paris, France, and forward-thinking architecture. One word: disappointing! It just wasn't as big or fascinating as we thought it would be! I suppose after seeing pictures in history and geography books your whole life, and seeing the image plastered on shirts and bags and what not, your expectations rise...and the tower just didn't rise high enough. No problem, though, we hadnother things to entertain us - like a woman in a guerilla costume who went around scaring people and hopped into random photos, a Native American music group (so, so unexpected and weird), and hundreds of tourists just lounging around the lawn areas. We did run in to a sweet family from the east coast who gave us some helpful tips and took a great jumping photo of us.
What finally seemed to complete our French experience was this adorable, authentic French accordion player! I could have sat there all day listening to him. I love how universal music is...no matter where you are, there are certain songs and genres that just speak to the soul and make you feel comfortable and safe :)
Another blog-worthy event was our encounter with the Parisian public bathroom. It's fascinatingly ironic, actually. First of all, you wait in line forever b/c it's only one person at a time. As with other European toilettes, you have the choice of a big flush or small flush to conserve water...but this one cleans itself - from ceiling to floor - after each use!! So the person in front of you walks out, then the door closes, it does its whole cleaning thing, and then it's your turn to be shut in this contraption. Weird. We made some lovely British friends while waiting in line, though...we were able to help them out and give them an extra map of ours since they didn't have one. Funny - us helping others get oriented :)
Quickly, today at the château, our "chores" consisted of watering the garden, making plum jelly (fruit from their own garden), sewing bed sheets, and steam ironing. We also went for a run this morning through the quaint village and alongside breathtaking vineyards and pastures of sunflowers - a bit rough on the body, but couldn't have been better for the soul :) Sandy and Roger have an "adopted son" from the village who visits frequently; he is so sweet and is patiently helping us with our French. The afternoon was spent watching a movie as it rained, writing, and then going for a swim. What a piece of paradise they have here!
Bon nuit!
Paris...sights and sounds of the old and the new
"So Rach, when we get off the plane we will get our luggage, get some euros from the ATM, find the train, and settle in at that hotel. We can do whatever Charlene wants for the day...and then we can look over the list of to-do/see and figure out the rest tomorrow."
"So, basically we've made plans to not make plans."
"Yup.!"
Hahaha. If only the first part of getting the luggage and finding the train would have been easy! That was the hard part. The CDG airport in Paris was so different than DIA...the escalators were covered in rounded plastic structures, so we felt like little hamsters in outer space. lol. After getting our luggage, we paired up with an Australian couple for a few minutes and tried to find the train. Failing, we decided to search for a bathroom...and searched...and searched. FINALLY, but then not so much...it was blocked off for cleaning, but we didn't care and barged right inside. Too bad there was an angry Frenchman who popped out of a cell at that moment and turned us right back around. haha.
Well the next two hours were extremely stressful and full of mishaps (that we can now laugh at!). After finally figuring out where the train was, we bought the wrong kind of ticket and had to stand in line after line to get help; the ride from the airport to the city did not look promising as we passed one wall of grafitti after another (looked more like Chicago than anything!); we had to fumble around with our 50lb+ luggage during rush hour; etc. As Grandpapa had said, getting out of the train station was confusing! We walked out of random door that looked like a cleaning closet, took an elevator up, and then BAM...our first real view of Paris! We had existed to the street right in front of Notre Dame, so I was both floored by the beauty and overwhelmed at the same time.
We ended up dragging our luggage for quite a few blocks as we tried to find the hotel streets (I had great pity on people dragging their luggage around and looking confused the rest of the week). I'm currently reading a book called "Best foot forward" about a middle aged woman who decided to take a 6-week "walk" from one end of France to the other. As she's standing along the Bay of Biscay, staring at the vast expanse in front of her, she wishes she could just hop back in the car with her family and forget the whole idea. Sure, there's some disappointment with not following through with your plans, but wow, what a sense of relief....right?? Well, that's how I was feeling....why did we decide to do this???
I quickly remembered why when we sat down for our breakfast along the cobblestone streets, enjoying an omelette, Nutella crepes, and my espresso.
So the first day we hung out with Rach's college friend, Charlene. She had just arrived the day before, bhe was helpful in getting us oriented. Funny how you think you know a place by studying a map over and over again, but it's such a different thing to actually be there! I'm partially blaming my disorientation on the exhaustion :)
First stop, Notre Dame. How magnificent!! I couldn't get over the incredible architecture. It did take 200 years to build, so I guess it should have something to show for the time and money spent on it :) While outside, there was an old man who handed us a piece of bread...we held it up in the air and the birds swarmed around us!! Hand sanitizer, yes, but so cool. Our hotel was just southeast of the cathedral, too, so it was a main landmark all week long.
Already feeling tired again, we found a great sandwhich shop (meaning a loooong baguette with delicious meats, cheeses, and other fillings) and brought our food down to the Seine. What a lovely spot.
Refueled, we walked to the Louvre and walked around the awe-inspiring gardens. We were equally overcome by the size of the Louvre as we were surprised that they had this ugly carnival right next to it. Oh well. Moving on. I felt like I could have spent the rest of the day just lounging in the gardens like so many others were doing. While you couldn't step on the grassy areas, there were plenty of chairs and benches for friends, couples, and families to enjoy the afternoon sun. We slid into a few chairs by a fountain (Eiffel Tower in the background)...where I gave in and proceeded to take a short nap:)
The day wouldn't be complete without some gelato, so we headed to a stand in the gardens for a pick-me-up. YUM. Rach and I then said goodbye to Charlene and headed back to the hotel....aaaand crashed by 8pm :)
After 30 hours, we were definitely ready for it!!
"So, basically we've made plans to not make plans."
"Yup.!"
Hahaha. If only the first part of getting the luggage and finding the train would have been easy! That was the hard part. The CDG airport in Paris was so different than DIA...the escalators were covered in rounded plastic structures, so we felt like little hamsters in outer space. lol. After getting our luggage, we paired up with an Australian couple for a few minutes and tried to find the train. Failing, we decided to search for a bathroom...and searched...and searched. FINALLY, but then not so much...it was blocked off for cleaning, but we didn't care and barged right inside. Too bad there was an angry Frenchman who popped out of a cell at that moment and turned us right back around. haha.
Well the next two hours were extremely stressful and full of mishaps (that we can now laugh at!). After finally figuring out where the train was, we bought the wrong kind of ticket and had to stand in line after line to get help; the ride from the airport to the city did not look promising as we passed one wall of grafitti after another (looked more like Chicago than anything!); we had to fumble around with our 50lb+ luggage during rush hour; etc. As Grandpapa had said, getting out of the train station was confusing! We walked out of random door that looked like a cleaning closet, took an elevator up, and then BAM...our first real view of Paris! We had existed to the street right in front of Notre Dame, so I was both floored by the beauty and overwhelmed at the same time.
We ended up dragging our luggage for quite a few blocks as we tried to find the hotel streets (I had great pity on people dragging their luggage around and looking confused the rest of the week). I'm currently reading a book called "Best foot forward" about a middle aged woman who decided to take a 6-week "walk" from one end of France to the other. As she's standing along the Bay of Biscay, staring at the vast expanse in front of her, she wishes she could just hop back in the car with her family and forget the whole idea. Sure, there's some disappointment with not following through with your plans, but wow, what a sense of relief....right?? Well, that's how I was feeling....why did we decide to do this???
I quickly remembered why when we sat down for our breakfast along the cobblestone streets, enjoying an omelette, Nutella crepes, and my espresso.
So the first day we hung out with Rach's college friend, Charlene. She had just arrived the day before, bhe was helpful in getting us oriented. Funny how you think you know a place by studying a map over and over again, but it's such a different thing to actually be there! I'm partially blaming my disorientation on the exhaustion :)
First stop, Notre Dame. How magnificent!! I couldn't get over the incredible architecture. It did take 200 years to build, so I guess it should have something to show for the time and money spent on it :) While outside, there was an old man who handed us a piece of bread...we held it up in the air and the birds swarmed around us!! Hand sanitizer, yes, but so cool. Our hotel was just southeast of the cathedral, too, so it was a main landmark all week long.
Already feeling tired again, we found a great sandwhich shop (meaning a loooong baguette with delicious meats, cheeses, and other fillings) and brought our food down to the Seine. What a lovely spot.
Refueled, we walked to the Louvre and walked around the awe-inspiring gardens. We were equally overcome by the size of the Louvre as we were surprised that they had this ugly carnival right next to it. Oh well. Moving on. I felt like I could have spent the rest of the day just lounging in the gardens like so many others were doing. While you couldn't step on the grassy areas, there were plenty of chairs and benches for friends, couples, and families to enjoy the afternoon sun. We slid into a few chairs by a fountain (Eiffel Tower in the background)...where I gave in and proceeded to take a short nap:)
The day wouldn't be complete without some gelato, so we headed to a stand in the gardens for a pick-me-up. YUM. Rach and I then said goodbye to Charlene and headed back to the hotel....aaaand crashed by 8pm :)
After 30 hours, we were definitely ready for it!!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Villa photo opps....
The door leading to their backyard canal...where their pet duck and and ducklings can often be found:) The garden area that we trimmed and weeded this morning.
A view from the front. |
| Roger and Sandy with Rach and their lovely friend Jenny. |
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| Baby Dog took a ride in the wheel barrow today! |
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| Roger has some interesting theatrical displays ;) |
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| Beautiful flowers in the backyard by the apple trees... |
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