A big event for Gerhard today. All holiday long since we've been in Germany, he's been at me to get him to a place where he can buy himself a set of lederhosen or German Bavarian costume pants and the getup. I kept telling him to wait until we were in the right spot. Well three weeks before we are set to come home, I am finally able to present him with three stores from which to chose his special gift. One of the stores - and again I say that you have to be prepared for anything - changed the price from 120 euros for the knee trousers to 180 euros just by walking down the stairs from where we tried them on. Imagine! The other store was just too expensive and the last store - really, the second that we visited in Munich - was just perfect. There were two lovely young things to wait on Gerhard and he was in his glory as they ran to and fro getting him what he wanted, or rather needed with his long body. We had such a fun time with them. We walked out with our purchase and fond memories of the event. He's so proud of himself and, actually, he's quite cute in his costume.
Then, to top of the day, we walked around the old town of Munich until we found the HofBrauHaus, or the very excellent beer brewery where you can sway to the live German beer music and drink and eat to your hearts content. We walked into a huge area just a brimming to the top with people and jolly beer talk and found ourselves a spot at a long table. At one end of the table was an older German gentleman, beside me, who did snuff all night. That great aroma of menthol wafted up to my nose just as strongly, I'm sure, as it was going into his. I tried talking to him but his mind must have been all confused or something. Across from us was a couple, not actually a couple but, a young Torontonian man and his father's friend whom he was visiting. It turns out that this young man is on his first week of his three-month European tour. That's right - see, we aren't the only crazy people on this earth. He just up and quit his job because he felt that he needed to see the world.
I don't think that I need to tell you that when a young man challenges Gerhard to try and finish their 1 liter beers together, Gerhard is going to say no. So..... watching them was hilarious. Naturally, G lost but it was in good sport and G said that he was just trying to give the younger fellow some good stories to tell about how he beat another man in drinking. Yup, right!
Munich city old town is a great place. Many museums, shops, parlours and cafes. Tomorrow we think that we will take the 3-hour free walking tour and then the 1 hour bus tour around the entire city. More to learn.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Things We've Done Right
The biggest thing that we've hit 5 stars on is our decision to constantly take the train and to not bother with renting a car and trying to get from place to place paying for fuel and car rentals - not to mention the hassle of driving the autobahns and highways and trying to find our way around. Train travel is so comfortable and cheap. We get up and walk around, go to the washroom or the bar/restaurant car or talk to other people. It is a very civilized mode of transportation. We only need to find a hotel and then train it to that place and not worry about parking and the rest. For each city or town that we visit, the methods of transportation such as the trollies, busses , subways and trams far outperform the worry over a car. We have purchased separate 4-day monthly passes here in Europe rather than having purchased a Eurorail pass from Canada. It was cheaper here because we could get the specials and deals set aside only for those already in the country.
The second best thing is the money and speed that we've saved by booking our hotel rooms over the internet with, usually, otel.com. With them we usually prepay and save tons of dollars compared to the prices given to you over the counter or phone. We collect points too and then use them on other bookings. We've always chosen hotels close to the train stations so that we need not walk too far to find them with our backpacks.
The third best thing is that we tend to walk everywhere and stay in places that most tourists wouldn't dream of seeing. It has helped us to connect with the locals and to see and get to understand how they live and how the world around us is changing.
One of the biggest things that has made a huge difference in our trip is that we have taken bus tours to give us a break over having to set absolutely everything in motion for finding a place to stay and eat. It has been very nice to just let someone else take care of things. In this way too, we have been given a chance to see many more places that we would never have bothered to get to because they would have been to difficult - like the Alps, or too scary to go near - like Morocco. It has also given us a chance to meet some incredibly fine people on our tours with us.
We also put our "Europe on a shoestring" given to us by the kids to good use and followed quite a bit of suggestions. We always dropped into the tourist bureau every single time as we entered a new place and this helped us to get ourselves settled with knowledge.
Look for our list of things we've done wrong.
The second best thing is the money and speed that we've saved by booking our hotel rooms over the internet with, usually, otel.com. With them we usually prepay and save tons of dollars compared to the prices given to you over the counter or phone. We collect points too and then use them on other bookings. We've always chosen hotels close to the train stations so that we need not walk too far to find them with our backpacks.
The third best thing is that we tend to walk everywhere and stay in places that most tourists wouldn't dream of seeing. It has helped us to connect with the locals and to see and get to understand how they live and how the world around us is changing.
One of the biggest things that has made a huge difference in our trip is that we have taken bus tours to give us a break over having to set absolutely everything in motion for finding a place to stay and eat. It has been very nice to just let someone else take care of things. In this way too, we have been given a chance to see many more places that we would never have bothered to get to because they would have been to difficult - like the Alps, or too scary to go near - like Morocco. It has also given us a chance to meet some incredibly fine people on our tours with us.
We also put our "Europe on a shoestring" given to us by the kids to good use and followed quite a bit of suggestions. We always dropped into the tourist bureau every single time as we entered a new place and this helped us to get ourselves settled with knowledge.
Look for our list of things we've done wrong.
Munich or Munchen
Change of plans in Freiburg. We went to Basel on Sunday instead of to the pioneer village - shorter train ride. We enjoyed Basel but there's not much to it because it's a regular city with a smaller older part suitable for free walking. Besides, it was Sunday and things were mostly closed except cafes and things of that nature. The most striking thing that we forgot about was when we paid for something and got nothing back but Swiss Francs. Oh yeah - duhhh! We did walk the old town and saw an ABC - as we tourists here in Europe like to call it - another bloody cathedral, castle or church. All apply. It's true, this land is so old and there are so many of the three mentioned types of buildings that you can't walk 500 meters without running into one or the other. Anyway, the church was the most beautifully renovated one that we've ever seen.
Today we took the three-hour train ride to Munich and, for the whole way, we had a private booth closed in so that we didn't have to listen to the world around us. Gerhard gets sick on the trains if he is sitting backwards to the mode of travel and so we have to ask for and reserve two window seats so that we can change according to going forward. It was a lovely empty train - not going to happen too much often because tourist season is about to blow wide open. Yes, even with the so called "economic crisis" we are still seeing a huge amount of tourists streaming into Europe.
Our hotel is, again, in the middle of where the new cultures settle. Our hotel clerk tells us that it's gone from being an Italian, to Russian and now to a Turkish quarter. It's always around the train stations. It was too funny as we set out this evening to try and find some cereal and milk for supper. Again we were reminded that these cultures don't eat cereal or drink milk. However, their grocery stores, which are abundant in fresh produce, are some of the cheapest that we've ever found.
Heh, I finally have a bathtub and not a shower. It's like opening a present every time we get a new hotel room. Shower or tub. Now we both run to the bathroom to check.
Today we took the three-hour train ride to Munich and, for the whole way, we had a private booth closed in so that we didn't have to listen to the world around us. Gerhard gets sick on the trains if he is sitting backwards to the mode of travel and so we have to ask for and reserve two window seats so that we can change according to going forward. It was a lovely empty train - not going to happen too much often because tourist season is about to blow wide open. Yes, even with the so called "economic crisis" we are still seeing a huge amount of tourists streaming into Europe.
Our hotel is, again, in the middle of where the new cultures settle. Our hotel clerk tells us that it's gone from being an Italian, to Russian and now to a Turkish quarter. It's always around the train stations. It was too funny as we set out this evening to try and find some cereal and milk for supper. Again we were reminded that these cultures don't eat cereal or drink milk. However, their grocery stores, which are abundant in fresh produce, are some of the cheapest that we've ever found.
Heh, I finally have a bathtub and not a shower. It's like opening a present every time we get a new hotel room. Shower or tub. Now we both run to the bathroom to check.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Freiburg
We got here Fri. morning, ditched our luggage and then went downtown. We ended up finding a little bar and sitting for happy hour cocktails with two young female students from Med School here in the city. We had a blast and didn't leave until after 11:30. They are just 20 and seem like such babies to us but they spoke fine english and we switched between german and english all night.
It is such a young city here because of the universities and so is far more relaxed and safe for walking out and about in the night. Yesterday, we went shopping a bit for much needed things. I've seemed to have washed the crap out of most of our stuff so socks and things are needed. I`ve been suffering from allergies here in the southern parts of Germany and I knew it would happen but my face often has a rash and my hair was in bad need of a cut. So, yesterday was kind of a dolly-day.
Today we are heading out by regional train to an old fashioned village set up to show what life was like in the olden days of the Black Forest. Tomorrow, maybe Basel, SW.
J
It is such a young city here because of the universities and so is far more relaxed and safe for walking out and about in the night. Yesterday, we went shopping a bit for much needed things. I've seemed to have washed the crap out of most of our stuff so socks and things are needed. I`ve been suffering from allergies here in the southern parts of Germany and I knew it would happen but my face often has a rash and my hair was in bad need of a cut. So, yesterday was kind of a dolly-day.
Today we are heading out by regional train to an old fashioned village set up to show what life was like in the olden days of the Black Forest. Tomorrow, maybe Basel, SW.
J
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Special Day in Lahr
Today we drove to a mineral bath and spa in Baden Baden. I did promise G a very good time. We swam, lazed around, went into the aroma therapy steam room, and ate a very healthy lunch. This is not the very special time that I promised him however. At the end of our day, when he went for a shower, he was to find himself and 6 other men in the room all showering together - which is normal. However, when a cleaning lady mozied in to spray the floors and wash the drains out all around the men, this was not normal. So,,,,,, Gerhard decided that when in Germany - behave as the Germans do. AAAhhh, he decided it was a good time to wash his private parts. Well, enough of that. Poor G - Europe is having its way with him. Females, on the other hand, even got private shower stalls to choose from if they wanted.
We drove all over places in Lahr today just to do justice with our little car and to show Gerhard as much as possible. We even went to the old airfield to see how much it has changed. Lots of the buildings have been taken down and the land is now in the process of being marked for fire hydrants and streets. There were still many of the airfield buildings left - my old office building was even renovated and is a beautiful thing in the midst of a bunch of ugly green old military buildings left to be dealt with. We drove around as much as we could and took pictures of many of them because they will soon disappear from the face of the earth. The entire area has been filled with companies that deal with shipping or trucking or big business.
All of our little trips only used 1/4 of a tank of fuel, but that's not saying much because the tank only holds 1 cup of fuel anyway. Just kidding - 30 litres. We return the poor little bugger tomorrow just before we take the train outta here. We leave with very fond memories of this place - still knowing that we Canadians left a wonderful impression on these people and knowing that the city is starting to fare better in the last 10 years.
Onward we go - due South.
j
We drove all over places in Lahr today just to do justice with our little car and to show Gerhard as much as possible. We even went to the old airfield to see how much it has changed. Lots of the buildings have been taken down and the land is now in the process of being marked for fire hydrants and streets. There were still many of the airfield buildings left - my old office building was even renovated and is a beautiful thing in the midst of a bunch of ugly green old military buildings left to be dealt with. We drove around as much as we could and took pictures of many of them because they will soon disappear from the face of the earth. The entire area has been filled with companies that deal with shipping or trucking or big business.
All of our little trips only used 1/4 of a tank of fuel, but that's not saying much because the tank only holds 1 cup of fuel anyway. Just kidding - 30 litres. We return the poor little bugger tomorrow just before we take the train outta here. We leave with very fond memories of this place - still knowing that we Canadians left a wonderful impression on these people and knowing that the city is starting to fare better in the last 10 years.
Onward we go - due South.
j
In Lahr
Well, to say the least, G fits into a Smart Car. Knees just barely clear the wheel. Do you people know how tiny it is? Do you know how long it takes for him to unfold to get out? The wheel is like holding onto a kiddy car.
We drove all over the countryside yesterday to find my old house that we moved into when we first arrived. It is about 30 minutes outside of Lahr and we didn't stay there too long because the kids ended up taking a 1 1/2 hour school bus ride twice a day to school. But, the house looks just the same and the old town too. I felt like Alice in Wonderland - slipping into a world not mine but still mine.
We then headed out to the largest amusement park in Germany. EuropaPark. We had a wonderful day. The weather was great and the beer was too. We saw many shows - ice shows, dancing, time travel, medieval josting, and many people just being themselves putting on a show they didn't know about. It was the best time of the year to go. Most kids were in school but it seems kids from France never go to school. They were there in droves. This just after they have had two weeks off. The park is much bigger than when we were here. It now boasts two huge roller coasters that you can see from miles away. The whole park is now put into countries of the European Union.
We drove back to the park after 8 hours of walking and playing and then drank some wine and went to bed. Great day - Great wine is so cheap - rose for 2 euros. Right from France - the same stuff that we had at the winery. Gotta come home soon or we'll be pickled.
Heading out to Baden Baden today with the little four-wheeled motorcycle. I did promise G a turn in the mineral baths. It's about a 1 hour tuna can ride on the little side highway number 3. We would never take the little car on the autobahn because it can't keep up - the engine is so small. The engine is smaller than James' motorcycle. Just picture a pregnant roller skater with two people on top - says G.
We will do a little more sightseeing in Lahr later today and then head out for Freiburg tomorrow for 4 days. Talk to you later.
j
We drove all over the countryside yesterday to find my old house that we moved into when we first arrived. It is about 30 minutes outside of Lahr and we didn't stay there too long because the kids ended up taking a 1 1/2 hour school bus ride twice a day to school. But, the house looks just the same and the old town too. I felt like Alice in Wonderland - slipping into a world not mine but still mine.
We then headed out to the largest amusement park in Germany. EuropaPark. We had a wonderful day. The weather was great and the beer was too. We saw many shows - ice shows, dancing, time travel, medieval josting, and many people just being themselves putting on a show they didn't know about. It was the best time of the year to go. Most kids were in school but it seems kids from France never go to school. They were there in droves. This just after they have had two weeks off. The park is much bigger than when we were here. It now boasts two huge roller coasters that you can see from miles away. The whole park is now put into countries of the European Union.
We drove back to the park after 8 hours of walking and playing and then drank some wine and went to bed. Great day - Great wine is so cheap - rose for 2 euros. Right from France - the same stuff that we had at the winery. Gotta come home soon or we'll be pickled.
Heading out to Baden Baden today with the little four-wheeled motorcycle. I did promise G a turn in the mineral baths. It's about a 1 hour tuna can ride on the little side highway number 3. We would never take the little car on the autobahn because it can't keep up - the engine is so small. The engine is smaller than James' motorcycle. Just picture a pregnant roller skater with two people on top - says G.
We will do a little more sightseeing in Lahr later today and then head out for Freiburg tomorrow for 4 days. Talk to you later.
j
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Left Paris , In Lahr
Our last exciting thing to do in Paris was to go to the Cabaret. You all know what a Cabaret is, don't you. Well, don't take your kids is all I have to say. We went to a grand ole' place built by the man himself, the creator of the Eiffel tower - Mr. Eiffel. It's the only other thing that he built. It was all metal and lights - just like the tower. We were pretty crammed in but that didn't stop anybody from seeing anything - or rather, everything. Okay, you're wondering about Gerhard aren't you all. As a matter of fact he was caught several times just studying how the stage and the building were put together until he had to be reminded that there were naked women up on stage with no clothes on. The sets, lights, costumes and dancing were just great and that's also true for the women. They were beautiful AND they all had great voices. Ha ha! among oher things...
We subwayed ourselves out of the city to the train station and then took the four hour train ride to Lahr. You'll never guess who we had been surrounded by at our end of the train car - middle school KIDS. AAAAHHHHH!
We are here in Lahr and are quite happy to be on our own again after spending time with so many people on the bus. Walking around Lahr, one of my old home towns, is like walking into the past and getting a second chance to see things all over again. When the Canadians left, Lahr was left in quite a quandry in that there were all these housing units with no renters and there were 10 000 less people in the town who were not putting their money into the economy. As I had mentioned earlier, at that time, the European nations were starting to allow many others countries to move in. The people of Lahr are not happy with the change of the Russians, Turkish and Africans immigrants. They have been putting a drain onto the system because they do not want to work or contribute. So many people have said to us just today that they wish the Canadians were back. We answered by saying that we did too.
Lahr has changed so much but it is still so beautiful. It smells of fresh lawn and flowers and has the beautiful sound of birds constantly in the air. The traffic is quite slow and minimal - even though the city boasts a whole new network of new highways and roundabouts. The core downtown area has been changed totally over into a no-driving zone and has been enlarged to include many more streets which are now permitted to have lane-cafes and restaurants. It knows what it has to do to bring in the tourists and it's on the right track.
We arrived yesterday and after stowing our luggage into our house-size room, we walked the 2.4 kms to the inner city and G had french fries with Lahr special Pommes Frites Powder all over them. We were so tired that we took the bus back - a newly created bus system and a new set of city buses.
Today we got up and walked to the next town, 20 min, and rented two bikes. We spent the day riding around Lahr and adjoining towns. We toured quite carefully the old Kaserne, or shopping and gathering compound for us Canadians when we lived here. It was then walled-in and topped with barbed wire. The buildings looked like old barracks and it was were the kids had school, where we shopped and lunched and where we met for public gatherings. It was our second home away from home and had become very important to the many Cdn families to gather and meet each other and to seem normal in a land that didn't speak English or have the same cultures.
When we left 17 years ago, the base and the airfield had fallen into ruin and had laid vacant for so long that the city kids had turned the compound into a grafitti place and dangerous playground. Finally, today we saw the bulldozers in there taking down the barracks readying the land for new growth. Just two of the old buildings were renovated and are quite beautiful. All the rest were too old to bother with. The kids gathering place which was their drop in, has been totally renovated and is very beautiful.
I took Gerhard around the entire city and he is quite impressed with the place. He now knows why the kids and I talk about it with such love and longing. The people who talked to us today, did so with tears in their eyes about how wonderful their time with the Canadians had been.
Tomorrow, we pick up our rental car - a smart car. Don't laugh - it's all that was left and yes, G does fit into it. We will take it to Germany's largest amusement park - EuropaPark. It's very close to here and the kids and I used to go quite often. I only hope that the school kids are too busy with their work to go too.
We are back to sunny and hot weather.
G is so impressed with being back in Germany again because here in this part of the world, he says, at least they cook their meat. How quickly he forgets that in Dusseldorf they tried to feed him raw pork burgers. I must remind him at his age about everything - at least he hasn't forgotten who I am yet.
Love to all, J and G
We subwayed ourselves out of the city to the train station and then took the four hour train ride to Lahr. You'll never guess who we had been surrounded by at our end of the train car - middle school KIDS. AAAAHHHHH!
We are here in Lahr and are quite happy to be on our own again after spending time with so many people on the bus. Walking around Lahr, one of my old home towns, is like walking into the past and getting a second chance to see things all over again. When the Canadians left, Lahr was left in quite a quandry in that there were all these housing units with no renters and there were 10 000 less people in the town who were not putting their money into the economy. As I had mentioned earlier, at that time, the European nations were starting to allow many others countries to move in. The people of Lahr are not happy with the change of the Russians, Turkish and Africans immigrants. They have been putting a drain onto the system because they do not want to work or contribute. So many people have said to us just today that they wish the Canadians were back. We answered by saying that we did too.
Lahr has changed so much but it is still so beautiful. It smells of fresh lawn and flowers and has the beautiful sound of birds constantly in the air. The traffic is quite slow and minimal - even though the city boasts a whole new network of new highways and roundabouts. The core downtown area has been changed totally over into a no-driving zone and has been enlarged to include many more streets which are now permitted to have lane-cafes and restaurants. It knows what it has to do to bring in the tourists and it's on the right track.
We arrived yesterday and after stowing our luggage into our house-size room, we walked the 2.4 kms to the inner city and G had french fries with Lahr special Pommes Frites Powder all over them. We were so tired that we took the bus back - a newly created bus system and a new set of city buses.
Today we got up and walked to the next town, 20 min, and rented two bikes. We spent the day riding around Lahr and adjoining towns. We toured quite carefully the old Kaserne, or shopping and gathering compound for us Canadians when we lived here. It was then walled-in and topped with barbed wire. The buildings looked like old barracks and it was were the kids had school, where we shopped and lunched and where we met for public gatherings. It was our second home away from home and had become very important to the many Cdn families to gather and meet each other and to seem normal in a land that didn't speak English or have the same cultures.
When we left 17 years ago, the base and the airfield had fallen into ruin and had laid vacant for so long that the city kids had turned the compound into a grafitti place and dangerous playground. Finally, today we saw the bulldozers in there taking down the barracks readying the land for new growth. Just two of the old buildings were renovated and are quite beautiful. All the rest were too old to bother with. The kids gathering place which was their drop in, has been totally renovated and is very beautiful.
I took Gerhard around the entire city and he is quite impressed with the place. He now knows why the kids and I talk about it with such love and longing. The people who talked to us today, did so with tears in their eyes about how wonderful their time with the Canadians had been.
Tomorrow, we pick up our rental car - a smart car. Don't laugh - it's all that was left and yes, G does fit into it. We will take it to Germany's largest amusement park - EuropaPark. It's very close to here and the kids and I used to go quite often. I only hope that the school kids are too busy with their work to go too.
We are back to sunny and hot weather.
G is so impressed with being back in Germany again because here in this part of the world, he says, at least they cook their meat. How quickly he forgets that in Dusseldorf they tried to feed him raw pork burgers. I must remind him at his age about everything - at least he hasn't forgotten who I am yet.
Love to all, J and G
Friday, April 17, 2009
Southern France
Wed. night after arriving in Cannes, we took the bus to Nice for the evening to walk on the beach and to head to a local inner city restaurant for a 4-course meal. We put our hands into the Mediterranean Sea and then walked along the streets of Nice. It's a very posh place but very much smaller than we had imagined. Thursday - Who told it to rain? Rain? That wasn't rain, that was the heavens opening up and giving us a bath. G and I went for a walk down the main street of Cannes - you know, the big one where all the stars going walking up the red carpet during the Cannes Film Festival. Well, don't get all excited before you know that it's a really small town, the beach area is quite small with mostly only hotel ownership and the hotels and shops along the beach could never deal with the likes of us "NORMAL" folk. As if telling us to get the heck off their rich property, it poured so hard that we both had soaked boots. We made if back to our hotel room, finally, and slept for 2 hours just to make up for the weather. Then, I held the room's hairdryer to the inside of our boots, especially mine, as that is the only footwear that I have with me. G wore his sandals today. The rest of the day we played cards, watched tv, wrote postcards, and just hung out with the rain puddling in around our wet clothes that were hanging out of our hotel room window. The rest of those who chose it, had gone on an extra excursion to a mountain town and then to Monaco. We didn't want to spend the money because we don't feel the pressure to see as much as the others cause we are here for so much longer.
Friday morning we took off for Lyon - aaahhh, but here's the clincher - who put the French Alps right in my way from Cannes to Lyon. Who said it was important to go the exact route that Napoleon took on his way to Paris. Was he nuts? Just cause he was afraid to run into any big places with a lot of people. Well, let me tell you that there wasn't a lot of people, there wasn't a lot of anything in the French Alps. Just mountains - oh yeah, and CLIFFS. Okay, first before we headed up, we visited a unique perfume factory and learned how things are made in the smelly part of France. We visited the town of Grasse which has one of only three perfume schools in France.
Then,,,,,,then.... we headed up - straight up. So up, as a matter of fact, that we ran right into a pile of snow and a left over glacier. We had wet roads for only a small portion of our drive and I kept wishing that loads of traffic would help slow our bus down but the driver, who was very good, seemed to think that he needed to drive beyond my limits. Let me tell you that I wasn't the only one who had had enough.
Tomorrow we head for Paris again. In the evening G and I are going to the Cabaret show and then will spend all day Sunday taking it easy walking around the city. We head for Lahr on the Monday train.
Toodles to all,
Aurevoir J and G
Friday morning we took off for Lyon - aaahhh, but here's the clincher - who put the French Alps right in my way from Cannes to Lyon. Who said it was important to go the exact route that Napoleon took on his way to Paris. Was he nuts? Just cause he was afraid to run into any big places with a lot of people. Well, let me tell you that there wasn't a lot of people, there wasn't a lot of anything in the French Alps. Just mountains - oh yeah, and CLIFFS. Okay, first before we headed up, we visited a unique perfume factory and learned how things are made in the smelly part of France. We visited the town of Grasse which has one of only three perfume schools in France.
Then,,,,,,then.... we headed up - straight up. So up, as a matter of fact, that we ran right into a pile of snow and a left over glacier. We had wet roads for only a small portion of our drive and I kept wishing that loads of traffic would help slow our bus down but the driver, who was very good, seemed to think that he needed to drive beyond my limits. Let me tell you that I wasn't the only one who had had enough.
Tomorrow we head for Paris again. In the evening G and I are going to the Cabaret show and then will spend all day Sunday taking it easy walking around the city. We head for Lahr on the Monday train.
Toodles to all,
Aurevoir J and G
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
On our way to the French Riviera
But first we have to stop at a few new places. First we stopped at a medieval walled-in town with little streets and shops to walk through. G went to the washroom outside of the town while we were waiting to go in and he walked right passed me, assuming that I was looking at him, and then we were separated. How? Don't ask me but I stood outside of the men's washroom waiting for him until I thought he had a problem and walked right into the men's room to find it empty. I found him about 35 minutes later.
We next went to Nimes which is a city with buildings dating back 2000 years. An old bull fighting arena still stands. This is now pretty close to Spain and only in this area is there allowed to be bull fighting in France. By the way, blue jeans originated from Nimes. It is because originally, a french man used to use blue denim to create sails for the ships, you know - denim "de nimes" "from Nimes" Very clever. The blue colour comes from the blue die which is the colour of Genoa which also means jeans. Such a story. G and I lunched on a step in the shade next to a 2000 year-old Roman temple.
Next we stopped for the night in Avignon. You know, Sur la pont, d'Avignon, on l'y danse, on l'y danse, sur la pont, d'Avignon, on l'y danse da da da. We walked around inside that walled city as well. We are heading out for supper in 10 minutes but not before we have a little aperitif of tonic water and cognac.
Tomorrow we head for the French Riviera and the beach. We have supper somewhere on the beach tomorrow and the next day G and I have the whole day to ourselves near the resort. Toodles, and we'll be sure to have some rose, an area speciality, for you all.
J and G
We next went to Nimes which is a city with buildings dating back 2000 years. An old bull fighting arena still stands. This is now pretty close to Spain and only in this area is there allowed to be bull fighting in France. By the way, blue jeans originated from Nimes. It is because originally, a french man used to use blue denim to create sails for the ships, you know - denim "de nimes" "from Nimes" Very clever. The blue colour comes from the blue die which is the colour of Genoa which also means jeans. Such a story. G and I lunched on a step in the shade next to a 2000 year-old Roman temple.
Next we stopped for the night in Avignon. You know, Sur la pont, d'Avignon, on l'y danse, on l'y danse, sur la pont, d'Avignon, on l'y danse da da da. We walked around inside that walled city as well. We are heading out for supper in 10 minutes but not before we have a little aperitif of tonic water and cognac.
Tomorrow we head for the French Riviera and the beach. We have supper somewhere on the beach tomorrow and the next day G and I have the whole day to ourselves near the resort. Toodles, and we'll be sure to have some rose, an area speciality, for you all.
J and G
Monday, April 13, 2009
Easter Sunday and Monday in France
Quite a calm place, this France, on these two holidays. Literally, no one was out and around so that we had nearly every city that we ventured into quite to ourselves. Our tour director said that not very many people in France go to church any longer. Strange when there are so many huge cathedrals.
We visited a city called La Rochelle which is a port city noted for its involvement in the movie "U Boat." We walked the beach and along a special artist's display for Easter. It was the very first harbour where Germany would bring their submarines into the harbour for safety. The big tour for Sunday was our 2-hour visit to the Cognac region and town and the visit to the Hennessey refinery. We learned so much here and we got to view over 150 year-old stored barrels of their finest. We were lucky enough to have a huge taste testing session - all of which G and I enjoyed, however, we now know that cognac is, for us, to be taken with ginger ale. The country of France has been developing techniques to improve the sales of cognac because as the older population fades out, the newer people haven't been stepping up to fill in the gap of sales. People just don't like it. So, they've decided to create cocktails.
Easter Monday, after our tour around Bordeaux, we headed towards Sarlat, a medieval town - oldest buildings in France, and stopped for lunch. G and I walked the tiny streets and found a small restaurant because this area is known for its cuisine. So..... we tested ourselves on true Fois Gras. Shall I tell you how these French people create this delicacy? Well, it comes from ducks and their livers. But, and this is a big but, in order for their livers to get huge and full of fat enough to create a good fois gras, the ducks must be force fed continually to force their livers to grow. In order to force feed them, they shove a tube down their throats by jamming their heads into kind of cow bars, only for ducks, and then pour down the tube lots of things like corn and seeds. Terrible isn't it - let's boycott. Okay, okay, it was delicious but never again. We could just be duck killers.
On to Rocomadour, a town in the middle of nowhere and at the top of the world where it is said the servant man to the Virgin Mary is buried. They say that many miracles have befallen this place and iall of its houses are built into the side of the cliffs.
We are working our way around France and still have 7 days left. Off to drink some cognac. Kind of like force feeding our livers isn't it?
We visited a city called La Rochelle which is a port city noted for its involvement in the movie "U Boat." We walked the beach and along a special artist's display for Easter. It was the very first harbour where Germany would bring their submarines into the harbour for safety. The big tour for Sunday was our 2-hour visit to the Cognac region and town and the visit to the Hennessey refinery. We learned so much here and we got to view over 150 year-old stored barrels of their finest. We were lucky enough to have a huge taste testing session - all of which G and I enjoyed, however, we now know that cognac is, for us, to be taken with ginger ale. The country of France has been developing techniques to improve the sales of cognac because as the older population fades out, the newer people haven't been stepping up to fill in the gap of sales. People just don't like it. So, they've decided to create cocktails.
Easter Monday, after our tour around Bordeaux, we headed towards Sarlat, a medieval town - oldest buildings in France, and stopped for lunch. G and I walked the tiny streets and found a small restaurant because this area is known for its cuisine. So..... we tested ourselves on true Fois Gras. Shall I tell you how these French people create this delicacy? Well, it comes from ducks and their livers. But, and this is a big but, in order for their livers to get huge and full of fat enough to create a good fois gras, the ducks must be force fed continually to force their livers to grow. In order to force feed them, they shove a tube down their throats by jamming their heads into kind of cow bars, only for ducks, and then pour down the tube lots of things like corn and seeds. Terrible isn't it - let's boycott. Okay, okay, it was delicious but never again. We could just be duck killers.
On to Rocomadour, a town in the middle of nowhere and at the top of the world where it is said the servant man to the Virgin Mary is buried. They say that many miracles have befallen this place and iall of its houses are built into the side of the cliffs.
We are working our way around France and still have 7 days left. Off to drink some cognac. Kind of like force feeding our livers isn't it?
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Joan of Arc, William the Conquerer
Normandy is an amazing place. In a very quaint city we stopped to see the burn site of Joan of Arc. In it's place is just a plaque with flowers all around and beside it is an amazing church built in the shape of her helmet.
In Bayeux we stopped to visit the incredible 70 meter long tapestry created by Bishop Odo who was William's brother. It is a wonder how it makes one want to learn about history, which I have an unbelievably hard time with. So, after walking the 70 meters and listening to the tapes, AND, having Gerhard create a story for me and all the other people on the bus, I have a good grasp of the story line.
All along the Loire valley live people whose houses are entrenched into the mountain sides and have little holes in the sandstone for windows. The area is known for its wine and IT'S VERY GOOD. Tomorrow we will be tasting cognac. Then on to the Bordeaux for more wine - aawwhh darn!!
We were given these new listening devices to use while with our tour director and it is so funny to watch Gerhard try to put one of these things into his ear. The entire bus now knows about it because I couldn't stop laughing at how the listening pod of the ear piece only reaches the cartlidge piece of his ear. Poor fella, it's so hard being huge. People on the bus are now aware of how large he is and are watching him for the next thing as we've already gone through his having his big feet protruding down the aisle as his knees don't quite fit into our seats.
We are managing quite fine. Not to worry - we still believe we are Canadians, and, we are very proud of it.
Will continue when next we meet up with a computer.
j and g
In Bayeux we stopped to visit the incredible 70 meter long tapestry created by Bishop Odo who was William's brother. It is a wonder how it makes one want to learn about history, which I have an unbelievably hard time with. So, after walking the 70 meters and listening to the tapes, AND, having Gerhard create a story for me and all the other people on the bus, I have a good grasp of the story line.
All along the Loire valley live people whose houses are entrenched into the mountain sides and have little holes in the sandstone for windows. The area is known for its wine and IT'S VERY GOOD. Tomorrow we will be tasting cognac. Then on to the Bordeaux for more wine - aawwhh darn!!
We were given these new listening devices to use while with our tour director and it is so funny to watch Gerhard try to put one of these things into his ear. The entire bus now knows about it because I couldn't stop laughing at how the listening pod of the ear piece only reaches the cartlidge piece of his ear. Poor fella, it's so hard being huge. People on the bus are now aware of how large he is and are watching him for the next thing as we've already gone through his having his big feet protruding down the aisle as his knees don't quite fit into our seats.
We are managing quite fine. Not to worry - we still believe we are Canadians, and, we are very proud of it.
Will continue when next we meet up with a computer.
j and g
Some Corrections
Okay, I've read some of the blog that I did in a hurry and I found a couple of errors that I need to fix. Remember, don't repeat anything that I write because one doesn't know how much of my brain in working at any moment.
The Strasbourg story when there were riots. It wasn't because the mobs wanted to join the NATO, it was because they were pacifists and didn't want to belong to anything. They wanted France to remain isolated from the rest of the world and not take part in the wars of Afghanistan etc. Imagine, pacifists causing trouble. The mobs in Strasbourg caused an enormous amount of destruction including burning down an Ibis Accor huge hotel and several homes right in the middle of town. They wanted to get over the bridge into Germany to meet with Obama to tell him just what they thought about his wanting to take part in the world's business. There was so much hatred among the people; all of them wore face covers to not be seen and around 10 000 police tried to keep the town safe from their stupidity. Sound like someplace in our country?
The Strasbourg story when there were riots. It wasn't because the mobs wanted to join the NATO, it was because they were pacifists and didn't want to belong to anything. They wanted France to remain isolated from the rest of the world and not take part in the wars of Afghanistan etc. Imagine, pacifists causing trouble. The mobs in Strasbourg caused an enormous amount of destruction including burning down an Ibis Accor huge hotel and several homes right in the middle of town. They wanted to get over the bridge into Germany to meet with Obama to tell him just what they thought about his wanting to take part in the world's business. There was so much hatred among the people; all of them wore face covers to not be seen and around 10 000 police tried to keep the town safe from their stupidity. Sound like someplace in our country?
In Tours, France
Welcome to France - the rest of it I mean.
Okay, we've done Paris and have yet another day to do a couple of things which include a Cabaret Show. But now we have spent two wonder-filled days in Normandy. We visited such lovely towns as Rouen, Ammeranches, the beaches of D-Day - Gold and Omaha - not Juno sadly as this was the Canadian beach but there are only 4 of us of the tour and finally yesterday, we stopped for an overnight on the island of Mont St. Michel where a huge abbey stands reaching to the sky and only 49 people live there in a little village that lies at the bottom of the abbey.
We have had rainy weather for these past few days but on the day when we went to the American grave site at Omaha Beach, it was pure sunshine - it just sort of poked itself through for that time. The Americans have done a wonderful job preserving and presenting the space dedicated to the fallen soldiers during D-Day missions. Even the Jewish soldiers have a Star of David instead of a cross. It was very sobbering and totally moving. We walked and walked among their graves and did the respectful thing of at least reading their names. I picked some wild daisies and put them up against one soldiers star. The entire piece of land was given to the states by the French government. It stands to give all of its visitors a reminder of that time. It is, thankfully, a very popular stopping point for the world.
G and I stood on the British landing beach and looked out at the ocean of deep gray and couldn't even imagine how hard it would have been to struggle over the landing gear and then run the sand to land, only to be torn down by bullets.
A chance in a lifetime.
Yesterday, we stopped in several small towns, having a look at northern french lifestyles. We stopped in one city and went into the cathedral only to end up in the middle of Good Friday's service which was totally sung during the 14 stations of the cross. Beautiful again.
We are now in Tours for two nights. G and I will shortly take the train- a 5 minute trip - into the city center to walk for a bit. Some of the others have taken a bus trip to two castles which we didn't want to do. So the day is ours.
We are feeling somewhat mellow after all this stuff. Who would have known that our trip would have done this to us.
Love to all, J and G
Okay, we've done Paris and have yet another day to do a couple of things which include a Cabaret Show. But now we have spent two wonder-filled days in Normandy. We visited such lovely towns as Rouen, Ammeranches, the beaches of D-Day - Gold and Omaha - not Juno sadly as this was the Canadian beach but there are only 4 of us of the tour and finally yesterday, we stopped for an overnight on the island of Mont St. Michel where a huge abbey stands reaching to the sky and only 49 people live there in a little village that lies at the bottom of the abbey.
We have had rainy weather for these past few days but on the day when we went to the American grave site at Omaha Beach, it was pure sunshine - it just sort of poked itself through for that time. The Americans have done a wonderful job preserving and presenting the space dedicated to the fallen soldiers during D-Day missions. Even the Jewish soldiers have a Star of David instead of a cross. It was very sobbering and totally moving. We walked and walked among their graves and did the respectful thing of at least reading their names. I picked some wild daisies and put them up against one soldiers star. The entire piece of land was given to the states by the French government. It stands to give all of its visitors a reminder of that time. It is, thankfully, a very popular stopping point for the world.
G and I stood on the British landing beach and looked out at the ocean of deep gray and couldn't even imagine how hard it would have been to struggle over the landing gear and then run the sand to land, only to be torn down by bullets.
A chance in a lifetime.
Yesterday, we stopped in several small towns, having a look at northern french lifestyles. We stopped in one city and went into the cathedral only to end up in the middle of Good Friday's service which was totally sung during the 14 stations of the cross. Beautiful again.
We are now in Tours for two nights. G and I will shortly take the train- a 5 minute trip - into the city center to walk for a bit. Some of the others have taken a bus trip to two castles which we didn't want to do. So the day is ours.
We are feeling somewhat mellow after all this stuff. Who would have known that our trip would have done this to us.
Love to all, J and G
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
LAST Day in Paris
Guess what? You will never believe how cheap it is to eat at McD's for breakfast. Egg macmuffin, yogurt and berries, real espresso or cap, three, count 'em 3, special croissants and even freshly squeezed orange juice - all for only 4 euros. We ate there twice. Need to, eating out is outrageous here. All other times we groceried it and bought cereal, milk, fruit etc to stay healthy. Twice we ate at French restaurants and I had to save G from eating steak tartar. He sees the word steak and he goes nuts. Of course, we have been to quite a lot street-side cafes to sip wine and beer. It's the thing to do and somebody has to help the French economy.
We've been here for 6 days and have nearly covered the entire city center core area and three of the four compass points on the outside of the city as well. We've left off three city neighbourhoods to do on our two day return in two weeks. Some of the things we've done are: the chateau Versailles, the Louvre, Picasso's museum, both the Notre Dame and the Sacre Coeur, the huge shopping centre called La Fayette, the Opera House, the Vosges, the Bastille, the Arc de Triomphe, the Grand Arch, the Centre Pompanou, the Hotel De Ville, oh jeez, I can't keep going.
We actually ended up visiting the two churches at a time when a service was going on so we went to church - even communion, we listened to the sisters of Sacre Coeur carry the service through singing. What an awesome feeling to be in that church when a time-honoured tradition was being carried out. Our favourite areas are the Montmartre and Pigalle - a bit off the wall, I will agree - and our own area of Poissoniere was also very interesting.
We subbed in the metro throughout our whole stay. We did pay 28 euros each for a 5-day pass but we ended up using it way more than that after all was done. We walked approx 8 to 10 kms a day. I mean, we really did walk our butts all over Paris. We have seen riots, rights for health care gatherings, people being sniffed for drugs by huge shephard dogs, teenagers hauled over by the cops for bag checks and, yes, a multitude of vagrants and panhandlers. So sadly, we were watchers of one old man as he got himself up off the hot vent area from the exhaust of the subway, where he had spent the night. He toddled over to the puddle in the curb to take his shoes off and wash his feet. Later that day, we saw him drinking from a bottle of wine and eating garbage.
There are so many people in this city and still not enough housing to deal with them. The immigrant problem is more apparent now than 20 years ago but Europe knew back then that it was going to happen. They just haven't bothered to deal with it. Our hotel room was cleaned by a lady from Africa and she was so delighted when we would leave her french notes with money every day. It is such a statement when one can say that it is cheaper to live in a one-room dirty hotel than to live in an apartment.
We have been going straight out for so long that it was just today that we decided that we couldn't take any more waiting in lines to see something else. It happened after we had just left our pretend good hotel to move to our hotel that is chosen by our bus tour beginning point. This hotel is a 3 star but after the one we just left, which takes top marks for the dirtiest and sleeziest place that we've ever stayed in, this one feels like a 10 star. We even have a tub - not to mention a toilet. And, after you take a bath or shower, you ARE clean. Again, I did say it was cheap didn't I.
Well, we head out tomorrow for Caen and Normandy and to the beaches of Normandy. It's going to be cold - do you guys in Winnipeg hear me - cold, at least, oh I don't know, maybe 12. We really have had beautiful weather this past week - about 23 each day. I am feeling sorry for you guys though with the horrible winter that you have experienced. Hope it's over soon. We see that you are expecting 9 this coming week. See, we do try to keep abreast of all of your lives.
We've been told that we may not have good email connections in the next week, so if you don't hear from me, you must remember that I'll be in the wine Bordeaux region and sipping probably a bit too much.
Cheers,
Love J and G
XO
We've been here for 6 days and have nearly covered the entire city center core area and three of the four compass points on the outside of the city as well. We've left off three city neighbourhoods to do on our two day return in two weeks. Some of the things we've done are: the chateau Versailles, the Louvre, Picasso's museum, both the Notre Dame and the Sacre Coeur, the huge shopping centre called La Fayette, the Opera House, the Vosges, the Bastille, the Arc de Triomphe, the Grand Arch, the Centre Pompanou, the Hotel De Ville, oh jeez, I can't keep going.
We actually ended up visiting the two churches at a time when a service was going on so we went to church - even communion, we listened to the sisters of Sacre Coeur carry the service through singing. What an awesome feeling to be in that church when a time-honoured tradition was being carried out. Our favourite areas are the Montmartre and Pigalle - a bit off the wall, I will agree - and our own area of Poissoniere was also very interesting.
We subbed in the metro throughout our whole stay. We did pay 28 euros each for a 5-day pass but we ended up using it way more than that after all was done. We walked approx 8 to 10 kms a day. I mean, we really did walk our butts all over Paris. We have seen riots, rights for health care gatherings, people being sniffed for drugs by huge shephard dogs, teenagers hauled over by the cops for bag checks and, yes, a multitude of vagrants and panhandlers. So sadly, we were watchers of one old man as he got himself up off the hot vent area from the exhaust of the subway, where he had spent the night. He toddled over to the puddle in the curb to take his shoes off and wash his feet. Later that day, we saw him drinking from a bottle of wine and eating garbage.
There are so many people in this city and still not enough housing to deal with them. The immigrant problem is more apparent now than 20 years ago but Europe knew back then that it was going to happen. They just haven't bothered to deal with it. Our hotel room was cleaned by a lady from Africa and she was so delighted when we would leave her french notes with money every day. It is such a statement when one can say that it is cheaper to live in a one-room dirty hotel than to live in an apartment.
We have been going straight out for so long that it was just today that we decided that we couldn't take any more waiting in lines to see something else. It happened after we had just left our pretend good hotel to move to our hotel that is chosen by our bus tour beginning point. This hotel is a 3 star but after the one we just left, which takes top marks for the dirtiest and sleeziest place that we've ever stayed in, this one feels like a 10 star. We even have a tub - not to mention a toilet. And, after you take a bath or shower, you ARE clean. Again, I did say it was cheap didn't I.
Well, we head out tomorrow for Caen and Normandy and to the beaches of Normandy. It's going to be cold - do you guys in Winnipeg hear me - cold, at least, oh I don't know, maybe 12. We really have had beautiful weather this past week - about 23 each day. I am feeling sorry for you guys though with the horrible winter that you have experienced. Hope it's over soon. We see that you are expecting 9 this coming week. See, we do try to keep abreast of all of your lives.
We've been told that we may not have good email connections in the next week, so if you don't hear from me, you must remember that I'll be in the wine Bordeaux region and sipping probably a bit too much.
Cheers,
Love J and G
XO
Friday, April 3, 2009
Paris
We are now working from a french keyboard so it is finger watching and slow.
We took our TGV from Stuttgart to Paris. At 320 km per hour, Gerhard successfully went to the washroom, pissed into a hole 5cm big. Unfortunately, the speed sucked him out through the hole, onto the track and now I am on my own. Nothing but drama here in France. As we passed Strasbourg, a small city near the German border where we used to live in Lahr, 10 000 police were gathered to control the mobs trying to get into Germany for the NATO gathering in Baden. It is there where they want to confront Obama to help settle many issues. France is not part of the NATO group and the people want to be. We were acompanied by three police officers and one undercover cop on our entire 4 hour trip to Paris. Our train got slowed down but not stopped. Many people have been hurt as we watch it every day on TV. Also, as we get off the train in the east train stn, we are surrounded by policemen carrying submachine guns.
Our walk to our hotel was fine, close enough to be just a little exercise. Our hotel is another story altogether. We are again in the, what should we call it, the seedy area which we don,t mind but trying to sleep is, again, another story.
Our life continues to be interesting. Here in Paris, it is crazier than Gerhard with speed. Yesterday we sauntered along the Champs Elysees, the Concorde ring area and up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. You must be totally on your toes here. We were approached by a man who was picking up a gold wedding band from the ground and then asked us if it was ours. He tried to give it to us telling us that he was from Yugoslavia and that he had no use for it. He said that he was giving it to us in friendship and that it didn,t fit him anyway. We refused of course, after all, what would two millionnaire travellers from Canada need gold for? We told him to take it and sell it. He then pushed it into our hands and asked for 5 euros to help him buy his papers for the country. We pushed it back and turned away from him. What a scam.
We slept on the grounds near the Eiffel Tower and ate ice cream as we watched the 5 000 or so people line up to climb the stairs up to the top. I,ve done it once, in the winter when no one was there, but Ill be jiggered if I would do it again especially with a two hour wait for a ticket and 2 000 people on my tail. Later in the day we took a bus back to our hotel from the Eiffel Tower and nearly had an accident. We came so quickly to a stop that an older lady was thrown to the floor across my lap and then hit her knees onto the stairs as she went down. The bus was stopped, cleared out, and again we were on the street waiting for another bus. We did meet some nice people as we waited though. G again met another lady who spoke German. So he stood and spoke to her as I stood and spoke to an older French man.
When we returned to our hotel, we changed rooms because our heat wouldn,t shut off and the man couldn,t understand why we Canadians would want to sleep in a cool room. It was so hot that the edges of our paper was curling. I did say that it was a cheaper hotel didn,t I? It gave us memories of years ago when we stayed in London and our room had the hotel¨'s heating system in our closet. We called that room the B52 room. We call this room the sauna box. Ahhhh, life in Paris.
What to say about Paris === amazing, wonderful, living a dream==hope we survive it.
We took our TGV from Stuttgart to Paris. At 320 km per hour, Gerhard successfully went to the washroom, pissed into a hole 5cm big. Unfortunately, the speed sucked him out through the hole, onto the track and now I am on my own. Nothing but drama here in France. As we passed Strasbourg, a small city near the German border where we used to live in Lahr, 10 000 police were gathered to control the mobs trying to get into Germany for the NATO gathering in Baden. It is there where they want to confront Obama to help settle many issues. France is not part of the NATO group and the people want to be. We were acompanied by three police officers and one undercover cop on our entire 4 hour trip to Paris. Our train got slowed down but not stopped. Many people have been hurt as we watch it every day on TV. Also, as we get off the train in the east train stn, we are surrounded by policemen carrying submachine guns.
Our walk to our hotel was fine, close enough to be just a little exercise. Our hotel is another story altogether. We are again in the, what should we call it, the seedy area which we don,t mind but trying to sleep is, again, another story.
Our life continues to be interesting. Here in Paris, it is crazier than Gerhard with speed. Yesterday we sauntered along the Champs Elysees, the Concorde ring area and up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. You must be totally on your toes here. We were approached by a man who was picking up a gold wedding band from the ground and then asked us if it was ours. He tried to give it to us telling us that he was from Yugoslavia and that he had no use for it. He said that he was giving it to us in friendship and that it didn,t fit him anyway. We refused of course, after all, what would two millionnaire travellers from Canada need gold for? We told him to take it and sell it. He then pushed it into our hands and asked for 5 euros to help him buy his papers for the country. We pushed it back and turned away from him. What a scam.
We slept on the grounds near the Eiffel Tower and ate ice cream as we watched the 5 000 or so people line up to climb the stairs up to the top. I,ve done it once, in the winter when no one was there, but Ill be jiggered if I would do it again especially with a two hour wait for a ticket and 2 000 people on my tail. Later in the day we took a bus back to our hotel from the Eiffel Tower and nearly had an accident. We came so quickly to a stop that an older lady was thrown to the floor across my lap and then hit her knees onto the stairs as she went down. The bus was stopped, cleared out, and again we were on the street waiting for another bus. We did meet some nice people as we waited though. G again met another lady who spoke German. So he stood and spoke to her as I stood and spoke to an older French man.
When we returned to our hotel, we changed rooms because our heat wouldn,t shut off and the man couldn,t understand why we Canadians would want to sleep in a cool room. It was so hot that the edges of our paper was curling. I did say that it was a cheaper hotel didn,t I? It gave us memories of years ago when we stayed in London and our room had the hotel¨'s heating system in our closet. We called that room the B52 room. We call this room the sauna box. Ahhhh, life in Paris.
What to say about Paris === amazing, wonderful, living a dream==hope we survive it.
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