July 28th 2011 - Strasbourg France

July 28th 2011 - Strasbourg France

John back this evening……Aleur….we were up pretty early for European style breakfast at the Hilton – everything from bacon, sausage, eggs to pancakes, cereals, fruit to breads, cheese, and cold cuts and other assorted items. This is a Hilton, so we were missing the Café Au Lait and had to settle for Café Americano. Speaking of breakfast, we have found hotel stays here in France typically do not include breakfast as most in other countries we have traveled.We took the tram (electric train) to town – quick and quiet. Strasbourg is a large city so when I speak of town I’m referring to the old city center which is circled by the Ill River.


It is a beautiful old city with a maze of narrow streets and filled with shops and cafes. The walk always included a view of the central tower of the Notre Dame cathedral rising over 400 feet.

We did some shopping, actually Carol did some shopping, and then found a cute café where we shared a delicious Quiche Lorraine and Beer lunch. We read that the most ‘romantic’ way to see Strasbourg was to cruise the Ill River so following lunch we joined the crowds to purchase tickets. The boat was a large well kept flat-bottomed boat seating 144 and we opted for an open air version for which we were extremely grateful.

We were concerned that this might be just another tourist thing and not really worth it. Instead this 75 minute cruise was so very rewarding. We slowly cruised around the old central core of Strasbourg past grand old buildings, outdoor canal-side cafes, many historic bridges, two locks that raised us and lowered us by about 7 feet each time, and many green spaces with people enjoying the sunny day looking at us looking at them.

Our big surprise on the cruise was the dramatic views of the European Parliament Buildings and Grand Meeting hall. This region, including the city of Strasbourg, has been destroyed and rebuilt after both WW1 and WW2. At some points in history the area was German, then France, and finally following WWII, it was reclaimed by France as it remains today. Because of this history it seemed particularly fitting that Strasbourg is the site of the new European Union of peace and cooperation.

The rest of the boat story is best told in pictures except for Carol’s experience while queuing up to board the boat. We arrived 10 minutes early and the line was already in place. As we took our place in line a German couple got behind us and then a lot more people, some properly in line and some trying to cut in. That’s when this well-endowed German gal behind Carol, with no sense of personal space, began pushing forward against Carol. Let’s just say she was ‘generously endowed’ and her body parts were literally pressed against Carol’s back! Between ‘these’ and her large purse knocking Carol in the back of the legs, Carol was constantly being pushed off balance and nearly tipping over. In fact she may have but there was no room to tip. It’s the kind of thing that makes you think “huh?” and “back-off Fraulein!” I’m kind of surprised Carol didn’t say that. In the end, the boat ride was just grand and we would highly recommend to anyone.

Everywhere we turned in Strasbourg and every other Alsace town there are brilliant flowering gardens, pots, windows, lamp posts, roadway dividers, and even bicycles.

Our final stop in the old city was a tour of the beautiful medieval Cathedral Notre-Dame. The cathedral is built of rose colored stone and construction began in 1176. The huge and ornate pipe organ seemed suspended above the pews (chairs) and the stain glass was beautiful. We have seen many cathedrals in travels around Europe and find each to be interestingly unique. This was not as ornate and full of splendor as many in Italy but much more colorful compared to some we have seen in Germany.

Two friends about three years old sharing some time walking in Strasbourg.

The old town was full of activity today. A large bike race, titled ‘Alsace 2011’ came through and with it lots of support cars, and other activities. We heard a great group warming up on a newly set up stage and interpreted a sign announcing the cathedral would be illuminated each night during July. As we hopped the tram for the Hilton we talked about how great it would be to go back to see the cathedral lit and listen to the music, but we agreed we both wanted to rest and we would see the cathedral from the hotel window. Getting old? Maybe just more measured with our energy.

So for us a light dinner at the hotel – superb grilled shrimp appetizer with tomato and avocado relish and two interesting green salads followed by rhubarb sorbet (those of you from Minnesota can appreciate that). It was all very delicious.

Of course I always enjoy taking advantage of the free port at the executive lounge and then was ready for a good night’s rest.

July 27, 2011 – Strasbourg France – A chance encounter

Most of you know we love meeting people and treasure the conversations we have with strangers no matter where we travel. In this case we would likely not be Strasbourg had it not been for a chance conversation early this winter in a café in Idyllwild, California.

We were in Idyllwild for our annual weekend in the nearby mountains and were enjoying breakfast at Café Aroma. We came armed with books and it happened mine was ‘France 2011’. The folks at a nearby table noticed the book and started a conversation wanting to share their recent experience in France. It was this couple who told us we had to go to the Alsace Lorraine in the east of France. They could not recommend the area highly enough and after doing our own research we agreed it was something we would like to do.

Aleur….after having a good night’s rest and being packed in advance we had a very relaxed morning. Of course we had to walk down the street for a Café and finally broke down to order the 4 petit pastry assortment for the road. I had been eyeing these for ten days or more and finally gave myself permission to enjoy. These were Silver Dollar size Cream Puffs and tarts and looked so wonderful. I can report we nibbled these tiny treats on our drive and they were amazing.

Our drive today was 308 miles and took us about six hours on the motorway. Of course we were slowed by traffic out of Paris and into Strasbourg. A quick commentary about traveling on the French motorways. Noticeably they are very well maintained. They are well groomed with no weeds on the side of the road nor have we seen one bit of roadside liter. The motorways offer frequent roadside rests and they are not only well kept but large and inviting green spaces. The left lane is used for higher speeds or passing only, we have driven close to 1000 miles in France now and never had a ‘left lane camper’ experience. They use the left lane for the purpose it is intended. Drivers also use their signals nearly 100% of the time. With that said, we paid about 40E for the privilege of driving these 300 miles. We wonder if this may make sense in the USA, for those who use the roads most to pay the tariff based on volume of their use. It is an interesting question.

We decided to use our Hilton points for our visit to Strasbourg. Why not? Although it is a more ‘Americanized’ experience, it is very comfortable and the obvious is it is free and the reason we save our points like dollars. The hotel is very comfortable although of course it does not measure to the Hiltons we have enjoyed in Munich, Budapest, Vienna, Rome and some in the US. Nevertheless, it is very nice and John couldn’t wait to see what Brandy he could find offered gratis in the Executive Lounge!

Once settled in we booked reservations for a nice dinner in the old city. We chose a place based on a Frommer review which our hotel confirmed was a very good choice. Our hotel is not in the old city, rather it is on the campus of the University so we had not seen any of the city when we arrived. Our cab ride only wetted our appetite for seeing the city in more detail. The ride to dinner reminded me a little of Salzburg though not as busy. The city sits on the Ill River with beautiful and quaint bridges, small winding cobblestone streets and a beautiful Cathedral as the anchor. The streets were too narrow for our cab to deliver us directly to the restaurant we had chosen, Chez Yvonne. Oh my, let me just say there were no disappointments here. As I write I am as full as I have been in a long time!
When we left for France I was looking forward to Foie Gras from different areas and was also dedicated to tasting Escargot and Frog Legs. This areas claims to be the birth place of Foie Gras so we had to begin with that and Escargot. A one half order of Foie Gras and six Escargot was more than enough for us to share and amazing. Delicious! Our entrée was Coq au Vin, Hen cooked in wine sauce. For me this was a non-event and I thought rather tough but the sauce was superb one John hopes to replicate. Our side was one of my favorites from this area, Spaetzle. It seems no matter how many times John tries spaetzle it just isn’t his favorite but no worries I ate his share and there was lots left over.

Our drive home after dark seeing through the old city was magical. We ended the night excitedly anticipating and wondering if we will stay in the city tomorrow and dig into its history or take the 60 mile drive in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains on the La Route Du Vin, road of wine?

Our intent is to have both experiences during our time here so we can decide in the morning what we would prefer.

As we sign off this evening on the eastern most portion of France, within minutes of the border to Germany, we continue to be excited and absolutely filled by the experience of it all.

Au revoir

John & Carol

July 26 -2011 Paris

Hemmingway Bar

View of Eiffel Tower from front plaza of Invalides.

Best tomb in the site of Napolean's Tomb building - Marshall Foch.

Another view of Eiffel Tower from grounds of Invalides.

A very small part of Invalides

July 26, 2011 – Paris

One of the great things about having time and some level of focus on a journey like this is not feeling driven to rush to see everything thinking we may not return. Although it is very possible we won’t return to Paris we feel we have the luxury of time, and of course having this home exchange apartment adds to the feeling of relaxation along with the adventure of it all.
Aleur (and so)today we set aside the morning to work on some of our pictures and journals and for me the task was something that never goes away, even in Paris, ironing. I know some would say ‘why’, but for me it is necessary. I couldn’t ignore how bad some of our clothes looked and so while John worked on other projects, I ironed and packed for our journey to the east in the morning.

Of course we started our day with our walk to the bakery (Patisserie) for Cafes and Croissants. This morning because I slept so poorly I needed two Cafes, likely less than my normal Venti at Starbucks. I could only imagine the staff noticing the gluttony of the American! But as I said I had a bad night so I needed that second bit of caffeine and delicious it was.

It is so delightful to be able to walk a couple of blocks to start our morning and we were disappointed to see the sign on the door that we interpreted to say they will be closed beginning July 30-August 27th. We have heard of all closing down during this time in France and much of Europe so wonder what it will be like here the last week of our visit. At any rate tomorrow morning will be our last café at this little spot and we will surely enjoy it.

Our itinerary today was to go to the Museum of Invalids which was built by Napoleon to honor military members of the time. We understand it is the pre-cursor of our VA hospitals although very, very grand of course. There actually remains an area where veterans reside but most is a museum of France and wars across history. Napoleon Bonaparte is entombed here in the center of the Dome and is surrounded by other notables and war heros.

Although it houses items from as far back as the 13th century, of most interest to us was artifacts from WWI and WWII. We were once again reminded of the size and impact of the French Resistance in WWII and their impact on D-Day. These underground fighters from various countries were unsung heroes, not a piece of history most of us are familiar with. In the case of the French Resistance blind volunteers were used in many ways to further the cause. Two years ago we were able to visit the WWII museum in Norway and learned about the powerful Norwegian Resistance (underground) and now as we hear more about yet another Resistance we can’t help but wonder how history would be re-written if they had not existed.

As we stopped in the cafeteria for a soda we thought about these wars and all the countries and people that suffered and died. In the case of France we read that after WWI the majority of the population preferred to ‘move on with life’ and in many cases the Nazi machine that was building right next door was ignored. As a result when Hitler moved in they were ill prepared. Makes one take pause and wonder just how prepared should any country be and how much is too much? Rather chilling to ponder.

On a lighter note many of you know I have had a fear of birds since I was a child, much like others may have of a mouse or a snake I have been able to overcome the fear to a large degree, that is I don’t hit the dust if a seagull or pigeon is anywhere near me. I do have boundaries, however, and today one French Pigeon crossed those boundaries twice. We were in the above mentioned museum cafeteria which was not open air, literally speaking, but a door left open here and there allowed for one pigeon to stroll in. We were by the door that ‘Jonathan’ entered by and I watched him, not being overly alarmed. He strutted around looking for food for 10-15 minutes when at some point I noticed him coming our way under the tables. Fortunately I was watching him but lost sight of him for a moment and suddenly he appeared at my feet. Of course an involuntary scream erupted and when that moment passed I saw John and everyone else in the place both wide eyed and chuckling. Ok, so it was a bit embarrassing but I was happy security didn’t show up, because screaming in a public place in our world’s current status is not taken lightly!

I collected myself and we happily continued our conversation about heavy things like world wars when one of the staff members, who was cleaning up, noticed the pigeon again and right next to me decided to ‘shoo’ the pigeon. Jonathan (Mr Pigeon) flying low came right at my head. Well you know what came next. I lost it and was the entertainment of the cafeteria and the poor staff member could not decide what to do more…evaporate in the giggles or apologize.

Our agenda for today was to include a cruise on the Seine but time was getting away from us and as we have learned there really usually is another day and if not then life will go on. With that knowledge we finished our evening with the final thing in our plans for the day which was to visit the Ritz Hotel Paris and the Hemingway Bar. The place where Ernest himself, when he could afford it, frequented and personally marched in and ordered a cocktail declaring the war over while the Nazi’s were not quite out of Paris.

To say the hotel itself is a bit ostentatious would be a gross understatement, still it is beautiful and it was an adventure walking through and taking a look. From what we could gather, a room there would run at a minimum $1000 and we think that likely would only get a closet. The Hemingway Bar was beautiful and romantic and very Hemingway-ish filled with nostalgia. It was fun for us as we had just visited his home in Key West last fall. It is very small and you could say richly rustic with dark woods, framed fishing lures, antlers, and fishing and hunting pictures. A cocktail was grossly expensive but the experience for a onetime thing was worth it to us.

As we left this evening there was a slight sprinkle and we couldn’t help but notice once again how, although there has been bad weather in all the areas, the sun seems to have shined on us most of the time.

I’ll close tonight with a few observations I have forgotten to mention. We have found the French, although not out there saying ‘ya’all come back now’, friendly in a reserved sort of way and always polite. As far as the language, it is far more difficult to even try to pronounce than Italian but we have come to be able to understand signs and a little bit on menus. I guess, just enough to muddle through. No matter what anyone says everyone does not speak English but most of the time we can find someone that understands a little bit or we use hands, pictures and whatever is needed to communicate and get by.

I have continued to wonder why Europeans can look so fashionable no matter what they are wearing and we just don’t seem to carry that off, especially in Southern California.

We are reminded once again how much more ‘green’ the European citizens are. Most carry reusable bags, paper towels are not nearly as common and you often have to ask for a napkin.

And for the French we can’t help but notice how very important bread is in their culture. In the neighborhoods we constantly meet people with their fresh baguettes and more often than not there has been a piece broken off for a snack. And yet we very rarely notice anyone that is overweight.

Final observation for this evening is smoking. Wow, it seems the French have not gotten the memo on smoking and how it grossly impacts health. The law allows for smoking only in the home or on the street but the sidewalk cafes and streets allow for plenty of smoking, more than we have seen in other countries, and at least half of them are women.

Tomorrow we leave for Strasbourg on the border between Germany and France. It actually has been German several times over the course of history so we expect some interesting cultural differences. For now….good evening.

Paris July 24 & 25h 2011

John here writing the blog for Sunday and Monday July 24th & 25th:

Back in Paris after getting back from Brittany late last night, it was Sunday and we planned on resting, some housekeeping, and one museum.

After coffee and treat at our corner patisserie, we headed for the Musee d’Orsay. This museum contains hundreds of paintings from the Impressionist movement. Our favorite masters, Monet and Renoir, are there as well as Van Goghs, Manets, and even Whistler’s Mother. Our favorite has to be Renoir’s Le Moulin de la Galette, a large canvas showing a crowded dance floor (probably in Montmartre). The figures seem to move as light streams through trees with seemingly changing patterns of light and shadows.

I had one semester of art appreciation and Carol none, so we are not qualified in any way other than we know what we like and don’t like. You do not need a trained eye to appreciate and enjoy the work of the masters. For those who are counting, there is literally billions of dollars of rare art in this museum. Two other great Renoirs displayed are Lady in Violet and a landscape dominated by a swath of brilliant orange poppies.

The Monets include his well known lily pads and bridge at Giverny
Both Carol and I could appreciate Van Gogh’s genius, but I must say that his psychological condition is very apparent in his work and there is a disturbing element to it.

As we left the museum and grabbed a taxi, we saw the huge crowds of people crossing the bridge over the Seine heading our way into the Latin Quarter as the Tour de France had just finished on Champs-Elysees across the river from us.

We may not have mentioned in this journal, for those of you who have not been to Paris and may wonder are there really sidewalk cafes everywhere? Yes, there is in every shape and size. We love the colorful aspect and the history of the cafes, and although we may not often mention, we are taking advantage of these cafes daily to enjoy a quick rest with a café au lait or glass of wine. People watching while sipping is entertainment enough!

In keeping with taking it easy today, we returned to our flat, refresh and head the other direction from our address to another nearby neighborhood. Surprisingly, from one side of the round-about only two blocks away we could see the upper third of the Eiffel Tower. Dinner was excellent at Café Rotunde – Carol got her chicken and John his Crème Brule! After a great and relaxing day we returned for a quiet night of reading knowing tomorrow will bring more exciting new things.

Monday the 25th: Carol outside our flat is ready for a day of touring!
Our plan was to take the on-off double decker bus with earphone commentary. After some searching for the proper yellow-green bus stop where we can board in Trocero Square, we were on the bus to see what we can see. After transferring at rue Auberg from the green line to the yellow line, we eventually found our way to Montmartre and the church of Sacre Coeur. In this neighborhood, the likes of Renoir, Monet, and many other struggling artists lived, painted, and partied in the many cafes. The Moulin Rouge and other adult establishments flourish on the main street, while a hike up the hill takes you to the funicular for the ride up to the church and a view of all Paris from the top of Montmarte.

After a sidewalk café break we boarded the on-off bus and saw many landmarks of Paris – Opera houses, Theatres, neighborhoods, the huge square in front of the Louvre and a ride up the Champs-Elysees toward the Arc de Triomphe. It was now about 7 pm, so we decided to go back to our flat and perhaps grab a bite at the little Italian place around the corner. On a Monday evening it was closed so we walked a few blocks and picked up a few things at the neighborhood market for a light dinner. We do have a full and well equipped kitchen but to date have not turned on a burner. My dinner was a salad and Carol’s was canned vegetables heated in the microwave. Gourmet!

Jeff turned us onto Truphone which we subscribed to on my IPAD. It affords nearly free International calling (i.e. 30 minute call $1.60!). We took advantage of Truphone to call family members and that was the end of a very full day in Paris.

July 23 2011 France

July 23 – 2011

Today we are sadly checking out of the Grand Hotel in Dinard. We have such precious memories of this spectacular property and the wonderful staff of young men and women that took such good care of us. We are heading back to Paris. Instead of taking the freeway straight back to Paris we will drop south to the Loire Valley to see a little more of France. Our route takes us through Angers and then east toward Tours. Everywhere we go there are endless miles of farmland, mostly corn and hay, interspersed with large and dense forests. Along the rivers and tucked in everywhere are campsites with vacationers in tents and small RV’s. Passing through some small villages, we see many beautiful displays of flowering hydrangeas in long rows of reds and purples. In some towns the round-abouts have flowers and sculptures in the centers.

Our first stop is Chinon, a famous wine town. We visited the limestone cave, where the wines of the Chateau de la Bonneliere are stored and sold. The cave maintains a perfect temperature of 52 to 54 degrees. To picture this cave think of slight ramp heading into the cliff, about 150 yards long and wide and tall enough for two UPS vans side by side. There are barrels of wine and wire bins of bottled wine stacked everywhere. We bought 6 bottles thinking to bring some back, but almost two are gone already.

We are so dependent on our Tom-Tom GPS, so imagine the problem when we found our GPS taking us in a circle twice as we were attempting to leave town. To change things up, we headed out randomly on what soon became a paved cow path, very narrow, with cows and fields on all sides. It worked as the GPS knew this tiny road and after a bit, led us to a main road.

The Loire Valley is dotted with elegant chateaus, built for the French royalty and aristocrats. Our choice is Chenonceau (www.chenonceau.com). Considered a Renaissance masterpiece, this castle has been preserved over the years and is beautiful to behold. The gardens nearly steal the main attraction from the chateau itself not to mention the maze (everyone needs one), and the huge vegetable gardens needed to feed the royals while at the chateau. And of course the chateau is built on a beautiful river which helps provide the mote for its protection.

As we were coming into Paris, the sun was setting at nearly 10 pm. Just enough light to find a rare parking space near our flat. Our GPS worked flawlessly getting us to the right street in Paris.
Bonsoir,
John

Added by Carol: It was not quite that easy, however. Parking is not free on the street and we had explicit instructions from our hosts on how to use his ‘cards’ in the PARK machine and be sure to display in the window. After hauling all bags and luggage 1-1/2 blocks from our spot to the building, loading on lift and getting everything to our apartment John was going to head down but I wasn’t letting him go alone! So down we went together to tackle the parking situation. You can imagine being on a strange street at night in a strange city struggling with the language and the card will not work! After at least fifteen minutes I suggested how bad could it be, the next day was Sunday and we could go out in the morning. John agreed and the next morning as he once again struggled to work with the machine in the daylight he ran into a neighbor who spoke English and learned parking was free on Sunday and we had to go to the Tabac shop to get a card for it (something our host had forgotten to tell us). And so we could close that chapter of our first trip out of Paris into the countryside, safely parked without fear of our host’s car being towed away.

France - July 22, 2011

July 22, 2011 – Dinard France

Days have passed and wonderful experiences since I have updated our blog. Before I continue our journey from Normandy to Brittany there are a couple of important things to share. First, prior to leaving Bayeaux we took time to take advantage of the local artisan markets. The experience left us with goodies to bring home but more lasting was our conversation with the shop keepers we were pleased to acquaint.

I walked into a shop selling beautiful scarves not expecting to have more than a short shopping experience. John joined me and in the end we had a delightful conversation with a beautiful young shopkeeper. She spoke only a word or two of English and we no French. In the end she shared with us she was from Cancale which was near the area in Brittany we planned to visit. She spoke for some time, only in French, describing where we must go to eat seafood. We politely pretended to understand at some level and left totally clueless but were rewarded by the ‘conversation’. More to follow on Cancale later in this journal. As a postscript to this experience we want to say that we have found the French people to be very polite and kind, and not in the least living up to the idea we American’s often have to the contrary.

Aleur…..we have learned this is the French way of saying what the Italians would say alore’ or we may say ‘and so’.

And so……aleur, we continued on our journey through Normandy with our final highlight being Mont St Michel. Being one of Europe’s major attractions it is impossible to describe the sight of this mountain rising up from the sea. It appears, majestic like an island, suddenly as one travels through low and flat pasture land. We found it amazing and one of those things that is very difficult to describe or photograph. Suffice that we felt privileged to have seen this ancient and beautiful creation of God that ultimately was built into an abbey from the 8th-13th century.

One of the few reservations we had made for this trip included the chateau in Normandy and now we were arriving at the Grand Hotel Barriere Dinard where we held reservations for two nights. Of course following our past experience we arrived with some trepidation. I’m so pleased to say the opposite was true at this hotel, rather than being overstated this lovely hotel was understated.

The hotel is old world elegant with a beautiful view of a bay which is part of the English Channel. We were gracefully shown to our room with balconies overlooking the bay. We couldn’t have been happier! To give you an idea we found notes on our pillows, translated to English’ “wishing you a beautiful night with sweetest dreams.” And so it was! We simply spent our evening going for a walk enjoying the view along with nice red wine and a light dinner.

Our waiter this first evening, Patrice, is a Breton or a local. He is very polished and was kind enough to spend some time with us talking about the history of the area. As he described their heritage is Celtic and as he said “used to being persecuted”. Their Breton language is understood by the Welsh and Cornish but Patrice assured us the language is coming back. As we have traveled we have found it interesting and most charming to see young people from different regions and countries proudly describe the place of their birth and childhood. It seems the more questions we ask the more encouraged they are to share. Fortunately, Patrice’s pride of his homeland proved justified we have loved Brittany.

The first full day we had in Dinard we took the ferry to Saint Malo a peninsula we viewed from our balcony. Although it appears as an island, driving there is possible but not advisable because the real attraction is within the old and walled city. We learned Saint Malo was founded by Corsairs not to be confused, as Patrice would tell us, as Bretons. Corsairs by the definition we heard could be defined as Pirates. Our visit to Saint Malo was enjoyable highlighted by occasional street musicians and simply the chance to walk through such ancient streets. It was a relaxing day and upon our return to Dinard via ferry we spent the late afternoon walking through the streets of Dinard we had not yet experienced. The evening for us closed with a glass of wine and a room service dinner with a view.

Today, our last day in the area, we of course had to head to Cancale, the village our young friend in Bayeux described to us. The French told us this is the ultimate spot to eat Oysters, something that does not influence me, however for John it is a highlight. Aleur, following a beautiful European breakfast, we drove off to Cancale today. Of course it was beautiful and John says the Oysters were the best he had experienced. In Cancale, if one is so disposed, you can simply walk near the dock buy a plate of oysters fresh from the water and perch on the seawall and eat them. John felt more comfortable with a café which I understood!

This area has a very dramatic tide pattern, we continue to be amazed by watching boats from our balcony floating away in the bay only to be land locked at a later hour of the day. Makes for an interesting and beautiful view all times of the day and night.

Notably, during our time in Normandy and Brittany we have seen more camping areas than we have seen in other parts of Europe we have visited. Campgrounds are not what we would expect in the USA nor are the campers oversized homes away from home. The RVs we have seen are comparable to the size we may have expected to see 30-40 years ago. We love to observe other cultures and the sometimes subtle differences that make it more interesting to visit. On this trip we have noticed the French love their dogs and their dogs are pretty much accepted anywhere. They may be at your table in a restaurant and in fine hotels, no one blinks an eye. In this area we have noticed quite elderly people who seem to be traveling alone, one caring for the other. In most cases we can’t imagine they would have driven but that we cannot be sure of. We have found it touching and can only imagine these people perhaps 20-30 years ago right here in Dinard on holiday full of life and celebrating ....now life is much more difficult for them and yet they return. As we watched each couple we took pause and found it very heartwarming. Of course it did not escape us how fast the time flies and how soon we too, God willing, will be that old couple.

We loved this spot in Brittany so much that we decided to extend a day which afforded us the time to relax and to visit Cancale and this evening after watching the evening close in on this beautiful bay we will end our time in Dinard. We have spoken with the Concierge and gotten the best route to Paris without using the motorway. We will take our time traveling through more of Brittany and the Loire Valley. The area sounds beautiful and we are very much looking forward to the drive and the day.

Closing this portion of our journal with a snapshot we saw today as we drove to Cancale. Of course there are many people on bicycle but the one that seemed most indicative of France so far was a bicyclist with his pack on the back of his bike topped with a nice bottle of Champagne!

Au revoir for now…..

July 21 2011 France

July 21 – 2011 Dinard France

Bonjour! It has already been four days since we left Paris for our trip to Normandy and Brittany. We found, actually John found, that driving in Paris was quite simple. They don’t drive nearly as crazy here as in NYC or Rome. As luck would have it we were not far from the motorway so it was quick getting out of the city. It was a rainy day so a good time to be putting some miles behind us.

Our destination was outside of Caen in Normandy at the Chateau D’Andrieu. It happened we were late getting our reservations made and were unable to get a place right on the coast so this option, rated two star by Frommer, sounded quite plush and interesting. Folks, it was interesting for sure! We followed a little one lane road for several miles to our location and when it appeared around a corner my stomach dropped. It had obviously seen its glory days and they had passed some time ago. One expects gardens and plush flowers around a country chateau as the descriptions we had read indicated. Let me just say I think they laid off the gardener. And so, we found the little office and the sweet girl, who gratefully spoke English, proudly took us to our room. She carrying our one, but very heavy bag, up the stairs. I’m already alarmed by the rickety narrow dark hallways and the old musty smell but kept smiling. Bless her heart she opened that door and swept her arm through the room and proudly announced this was our deluxe accommodation. We both maintained our composure and pulled out every acting skill we could muster to show some level of excitement. Finally she went to one of the two windows and pulled back the curtains with a flourish and said “and here you have a spectacular view of the most lovely French garden!” Honestly, the view was a large courtyard which was gravel with a green space to one end which was bordered by a single row of Pansies. With that our host let us to our room.

Lesson learned on this is always think seriously when then describe the room as being filled with antiques. Made me feel like a kid for sure! The bed, although large, was soft and lumpy and the chairs may have been the ideal of comfort 100 years ago but not today. I will say, the bathroom was quite nice. So put this all together, being a good half hour from the sites we wanted to see, actually from anything including a restaurant, and we were paying much more than we would normally consider.

What could we do other than pull ourselves up by the boot straps and move on? We headed into the coast where we spent some time looking for something warm to wear the following day while touring the D Day memorials. It seems I had not down as much research as I might have when packing and we were not prepared for 50-60s degree and rainy weather on the coast. We found some things to make us more comfortable and then a small spot that specialized in Crepes and Fondues for an early dinner. When we arrived at the Chateau and tried once again to get our WiFi up it was totally unavailable. To this our sweet little girl explained that the chateau had old thick walls so sometimes it was a problem. Of course their ads did not mention the ‘thick walls’. I failed to mention that a group of 50 people from the USA arrived while we were in town. They had come across the channel from London and were headed to the beaches the following day. As luck would have it we had a couple of these folks in the room above us and we could practically hear them breath. It was well after midnight and they were marching up and down through their room. We could not imagine how anybody could walk that much while getting ready for bed. They did not settle down until after 12:30 and were back into their march by 6:00. John went to sleep and I thought I might lose my mind. While lying awake I began to consider how I would approach my sleeping husband about leaving the ‘chateau’ in the morning. We had reserved for two nights but there is no way this was going to work for me, but I know my husband well enough that a change in plans can mess with his head.

I’m happy to say that his only concern was that we could find another place for that evening. I quickly responded with the phone and the listing from Frommers for Bayeaux (another community very near the beaches). John made the call and got a room for so much less money it was ridiculous. He was convinced. I made the next call to the front desk to tell them we would be checking out and got no hassle so we were off as quickly as possible. Whew! But for these adventures our stories would be boring, right?

Tuesday, July 19th was our day to see as much as we could of the history and memorials of the Normandy invasion on June 6th 1944. It was an extremely poignant, emotional and inspiring day. We would recommend this trip to everyone if it is at all possible. We have all seen the movies, The Longest Day and Saving Private Ryan, to name a few. We have read the history, some of us more extensively than others. But to go through the tastefully done museum and see the gear, hear the personal stories, see the pictures of laughing young faces, is quite another thing. We were in tears before we headed to the beach and the cemetery.

The cemetery site is on land given to the United States by France as a thank you for our countries sacrifices. It is really quite beautiful. Tragically it is huge and only represents about one third of the service men who died there.

From the museum and cemetery we found our way to Omaha beach. Having just heard personal stories and gained a new understanding of the man power and years of preparation it took for this very important day, the beach had even more meaning to us. All I could think of was these strong young mean could have no idea what was in store for them nor could they imagine the impact their bravery would have on the free world. When we viewed the huge maps showing the entire world under Hitler’s control and saw how seemingly impossible this mission appeared to be it was frightening to ponder how easily he may have won.

We've seen the photos of the beaches and drawings or pictures of the men storming through the water but perhaps not as many have seen pictures of the cliffs at Point du Hoc where 225 Rangers stormed in under fire and with hooks thrown up to the tops of the cliffs, climbed up and pushed the Germans back. Because of mis-communication they were forced to hold the Germans back for 48 hours until help arrived. By the time the help arrived only 90 men were alive and able to fight. We walked through the battle site around the tops of the cliffs. Wound our way around huge craters where bombs had hit 67 years ago, and viewed the remains of German bunkers. As we stood on the edge of the cliffs it seemed to defy reason that anyone survived this climb much less succeeding to push back the enemy.

Of course as we all remember, this was the beginning of the end for the Germans but the battles certainly did not stop at the beach and cliffs. As we drove through the countryside we could only assume that most of the large farm houses and certainly chateaus were taken by the Germans during their occupation. We saw the hedgerows in a different light after we understood what an obstacle they were for our troops as they attempted to push the enemy back and liberate France. And of course we could only imagine the fear and finally exhilaration of the people that lived in this area. They too suffered many looses.

This was truly an amazing day for both of us and one we won’t soon forget. On this rainy and blustery day, we were blessed with beautiful sunshine just as we arrived at the cemetary and we were able to walk and contemplate all day without worry of wind and rain.

We closed our day back in Bayeaux where, after a walk to a nearby restaurant, we got a good night’s sleep in our humble and very comfortable room at the Best Western. No French garden but comfortable nevertheless.

Tomorrow, July 20th, we will leave Normandy to begin exploring Brittany. More later but for now Au Voir.....

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Hello Friends...It has been nearly 15-1/2 years since we first arrived in Paris. It was our first time in Europe and our honeymoon. We were so inexperienced and quite broke actually but we weren’t one bit concerned about how we would manage. We were far too excited to worry for a moment. In 1996 Paris was not our intended destination; we simply found a very good price for roundtrip airfare. The bonus was a quick 1-1/2 day overview of Paris. We thought we may return someday, God willing.

In October 2010 we received a request from a family in Paris through the Home Exchange service we use. They loved what they saw and read about our home and wanted to swap their flat in Paris for our home in Temecula. And so we returned on July 14th older, yes, but with a lot more experience under our belts, ready to see everything we could see.After a couple of days in New York we caught an evening flight and arrived at DeGaulle late morning the following day. All had been arranged with our host. We were greeted by Hector, the housekeeper, who graciously showed us around what would be our home, or at least headquarters in France, for the next three weeks.

We are pleased to report that we are enjoying a lovely 3 bedroom, 3-1/2 bath flat in a beautiful old neighborhood. For those of you familiar we are in the 16th Arrondissement (district). Our hostess is a designer and it is obvious from the time you enter their home. Bright and airy large floor to ceiling windows front a green area allowing lush views. We were pleased to discover all the shops we may need to set up housekeeping within two to three blocks.I paint a pretty picture, and for the most part it is, however when you are a Home Exchanger you must be prepared to cope with some things that you do not encounter when staying at a hotel. In a hotel if you have issues in your room or have questions about how to operate something, you can simply call the front desk. If you need something fixed, simply pick up that phone.

If you are a Home Exchanger the story may go something like this.Once we were unpacked and settled, had walked to a café around the corner for dinner we sat down to watch a bit of TV. Hector had turned on the TV for us, showed us the remote and when it didn’t come on, after some puzzling, he determined it would likely come on later and he left. I was worried about all the time we may have missed watching BBC or CNN looping over and over when found the TV had not ‘come on later’.We thought we would fire up the IPAD, Notebook or our guest’s computer and answer emails and maybe check Facebook. WiFI was down too. Hmmm WiFI and Television down sounds like some kind of local line problem.Well no worries we can just go down to speak with the “gardienne” who will surely help us. Nope, she didn’t answer her door but that is ok because we have her phone number. Hmm, where is that land line in this lovely apartment? Try as we might it just couldn’t be found. We did have a phone we used in Italy last year but knew it had to have a new Sim card for France so that would be of no use until we could get to a local phone store. Oh wait….we loaded time from TRUPHONE on our IPAD we can use that. Oops…..no WiFI. We were pretty much out of luck electronically this Bastille day our first evening in Paris.

Of course, ultimately whatever shut down area TV and WIFI was resolved and we were reveling in BBC/CNN once again. Of course we have other stories! The master bath has a lovely old claw foot tub, much like that in the home in Oslo, with two shower heads. At the end of John’s first shower the bathroom floor was somewhat flooded and by the end of mine we were gathering any towel we could find. This too was a repeat of our experience in Oslo. I began to dread shower time, but today we discovered two additional bathrooms we didn’t know existed. How could we miss that you ask? We thought they were closets in each child’s bedroom. Yes, I look forward to my shower tomorrow morning.

And then there is laundry, something we all have to deal with at some point in a three week vacation. Sometimes it is a laundry in a foreign country when you don’t speak the language making it difficult to set the machines or the alternative of washing clothes in the hotel bathtub hoping it would be dry by the next day. We had been gone for 5 days so we began the project, hoping it would not be a repeat of our sometimes hilarious and never totally resolved laundry issue in Norway. Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be. Once again, the machines seemed to run forever, literally for hours. Finally, John remembered that the dryer in Norway had a reservoir that had to be emptied. It was not vented like our US dryers. Yes, this dryer was the same and the reservoir was totally full meaning the dryer would never dry our clothes! Now if we can only find the iron, we should be set!So a word of advice for any would be Home Exchangers out there, this is not for the faint of heart! When you are preparing to leave and busy with packing you must be mindful that someone will literally be sleeping in your bed, eating at your table, cooking on your stove and hanging clothes in your closets. You have to ask yourself, is my home ready for that? And then when you land wherever you land and set up housekeeping in your host’s home, you will almost certainly face some of the issues that John and I can now relate to you with some level of humor. Yet in the end, it is an adventure adding depth to the travel experience and provides colorful memories.Now to those colorful memories, our first 48 hours has not simply been a struggle with electronics! As mentioned we did arrive on Bastille Day and learned while we had dinner that we could walk down our avenue about 25 minutes and we could experience the fireworks with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop. I will say on our first trip to Paris we likely would have been up for the adventure. This time around we decided that we just weren’t up for walking ‘about’ 25 minutes to an area we were totally unfamiliar with, at 10:00 at night on one of the country’s biggest holidays.

We made that walk the following day. The area is called Trocadero and offers a spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower. We continued walking along the River Seine and ended in the Latin Quarter where we had a rather unimpressive dinner while people watching and enjoying of course a nice red wine.This morning, Saturday, we took pause to explore our neighborhood in an effort to shop for food and supplies. What a treat for us and one of the reasons we love the Home Exchange concept. We started with a stop at a corner bakery for coffee and of course a croissant. Oh my goodness! Most of you know that we have been living very low carb for over three months and it has paid off in terms of significant weight loss. With that said we agreed we were not going to come to France and live totally deprived of its special treats. And so was the joy of sharing the most delicious croissant I have ever tasted with no feelings of guilt. What a delight to go to the butcher for our meat, next door for our cheese, another shop specializing in only fruits and vegetables and finally a wine shop of course. We felt like one of the locals picking up our fresh baguette, and just a little of this and that. We found it to be such a contrast to our big box stores.

We ended our day with a trip to Champs Elysees just to get our first look at the Arc de Triumphe and the Louvre. Although it was raining we had to return to a bistro that was ‘our place’ when we were on our honeymoon. Admittedly, it is quite touristy and may lack in charm but we enjoyed the return and the memories we were reminded of. And so we close our first two days here in Paris looking forward to a tour of the Louvre tomorrow and other excellent adventures contingent on Mother Nature and the weather.

Au Revoir
John & Carol

Jottings from our adventure in France 2011

Hello Everyone....

Most of you have followed our ramblings from time to time and have asked to be included in any future wandering we mahy undertake. And so here we are, on the cusp of an exciting adventure to France .

We have spent a couple of lovely evenings at our time share in New York. We choose this because not only do we love the city and grab every chance to be here, but we also have the chance to adjust to 3 hours time change helping us ward off jet lag. Throw in an opportunity to see a show it is perfect for us.

We arrived on Monday and the Hilton seems to always honor our request for a room with a view of Central Park. To help you understand how much I personally love this place...after we had arrived and John was freshening up I found myself sitting on the edge of the bed gazing out at the city while humming New York New York over and over. Some of you will think I am truely crazy.....others of you will understand.

And so we have enjoyed our two days and nights here....walking around the city.....going back to a great spot we discovered on our last trip for lunch and last evening we saw Sister Act and would recommend it to anyone. The joy, great music, great dance and the message of the show appeals to everyone.

I've always been excited by shows because I love live theatre so much. John has come to share my passion tenfold. Last night as I watched Sister Act I was moved to tears just thinking about when I was young and had so many dreams of seeing just one Broadway show. I have since been blessed by seeing many here,but never see one show without stopping for a moment and being grateful for each one!

And so, although this trip and blog are really about our trip to France....today I wanted to share our passion for this city.

We will be flying overnight this evening to Paris and begin our France adventure Thursday afternnon upon landing.

Our hosts, Thomas and Karine, have their flat prepared for us and their housekeeper, Hector, is waiting to greet us. Stay tuned to updates on this adventure.

John & Carol