We can’t do something crazy exciting everyday, just a fact of life. This is something we have been saying to ourselves but every once and while we are really reminded that we are in Paris and Paris can’t help but be exciting.
Today our big adventure was going for lunch, an event that is so un-exciting that we didn’t even bring the camera. It only took us about five minutes to wish we had it. We walked toward Boulevard Beaumarchais, the road that leads to where the Bastille once stood. As soon as we got close we heard lots of noise and then we saw lots of people walking in the street. Nicholas got excited because he thought there was a parade. It was actually a protest. We watched in amazement for a while, the amount of people in the street was unreal. We could tell there was different unions all protesting together but we weren’t really sure what for. We had to look it up when we got home. You are read all about it here:
http://www.france24.com/en/20111011-anti-austerity-strikes-hit-paris-public-transport
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Our Travels: October 10th, 2011
For our first day out after the sick days we did something I’ve wanted to do since we got here, we went to Montmartre. Montmartre is a very cool part of Paris, it not only houses the Sacré Cœur Church but also it is also known as the art district. There was a time when seeing Monet, Picasso or van Gogh was the norm.
The Sacré Cœur sits at the top of the “mountain” and when you arrive it is the first thing you see. Well that is not entirely true, most people see the church first but Nicholas saw the carousal at the base of the steps first. I think all the rides are why Nicholas keeps saying he loves Paris! He got to ride the carousal while Brendan was busy taking pictures. Today was the first day Brendan brought our big new camera out; he is taking his self-appointed job as official photographer very seriously. Because taking pictures took a while Nicholas got to ride the carousal again. For the second ride he choose a horse that moved up and down to ride, turns out he didn’t really like that; Brendan had to save him while he was attempting to get off.
Walking up the stairs worked better for Nicholas although by the time we were almost at the top he was tired so we had to sit down and take a rest (his favorite thing to do when we are walking but he is getting better and taking longer to request a break). As soon as we made our way to the top Nicholas wanted to go inside the Church and right away promised to be very quiet, I guess our talk at the Norte Dame really worked. The inside of the Sacré Cœur is really beautiful, I think every church in Paris is beautiful but the Sacré Cœur is unique because it is so bright inside. I wish we were able to take pictures so we could show everyone but they are not allowed so you’ll just have to take our word on how beautiful it is.
By the time our mini-tour of the church was done we were all ready for lunch. Nicholas requested a hot dog, really a simple request but not at all simple in Paris. Every hot dog here is covered in cheese in a baguette, not really what Nicholas considers a perfect hot dog. We were able to appease him with pizza while we had our second restaurant experience. We had lunch in an outdoor restaurant in what would be considered the courtyard of Montmartre. We ate pizza, crepes and French onion soup and had a wonderful but expensive lunch.
Brendan spoke French with our waiter, he had a real conversation and I was insanely jealous. I have been practicing French, not as much as I should but still practicing but I act like a huge freak when I need to speak to people. I can do basics like ask for things but overall I’m not fantastic at it. Hopefully I’ll only get better!
After our lunch we walked around and looked at all the art artists were selling. We thought we might like to buy a piece of art as a keepsake of our trip but we couldn’t find anything. We spent a little more time walking around while Brendan took more pictures until the little one was too tired to go on.
The Sacré Cœur sits at the top of the “mountain” and when you arrive it is the first thing you see. Well that is not entirely true, most people see the church first but Nicholas saw the carousal at the base of the steps first. I think all the rides are why Nicholas keeps saying he loves Paris! He got to ride the carousal while Brendan was busy taking pictures. Today was the first day Brendan brought our big new camera out; he is taking his self-appointed job as official photographer very seriously. Because taking pictures took a while Nicholas got to ride the carousal again. For the second ride he choose a horse that moved up and down to ride, turns out he didn’t really like that; Brendan had to save him while he was attempting to get off.
Walking up the stairs worked better for Nicholas although by the time we were almost at the top he was tired so we had to sit down and take a rest (his favorite thing to do when we are walking but he is getting better and taking longer to request a break). As soon as we made our way to the top Nicholas wanted to go inside the Church and right away promised to be very quiet, I guess our talk at the Norte Dame really worked. The inside of the Sacré Cœur is really beautiful, I think every church in Paris is beautiful but the Sacré Cœur is unique because it is so bright inside. I wish we were able to take pictures so we could show everyone but they are not allowed so you’ll just have to take our word on how beautiful it is.
By the time our mini-tour of the church was done we were all ready for lunch. Nicholas requested a hot dog, really a simple request but not at all simple in Paris. Every hot dog here is covered in cheese in a baguette, not really what Nicholas considers a perfect hot dog. We were able to appease him with pizza while we had our second restaurant experience. We had lunch in an outdoor restaurant in what would be considered the courtyard of Montmartre. We ate pizza, crepes and French onion soup and had a wonderful but expensive lunch.
Brendan spoke French with our waiter, he had a real conversation and I was insanely jealous. I have been practicing French, not as much as I should but still practicing but I act like a huge freak when I need to speak to people. I can do basics like ask for things but overall I’m not fantastic at it. Hopefully I’ll only get better!
After our lunch we walked around and looked at all the art artists were selling. We thought we might like to buy a piece of art as a keepsake of our trip but we couldn’t find anything. We spent a little more time walking around while Brendan took more pictures until the little one was too tired to go on.
Sunday, 16 October 2011
Our Travels: Oct 4th to 9th: The Sick Days
After a few very full days we decided to have a laid-back day on Tuesday. Nicholas and I hung out at the park and went for a walk while Brendan caught up on work. Turns out our timing wasn’t very good because the next day Brendan got sick. Having the flu and traveling around the city just don’t work well together so we settled in at home for a few days. Nicholas and I went out a little bit, mostly to the park but we really didn’t go very far.
By Friday I was getting restless, I had made some plans for us during the week that we couldn’t do so Brendan suggested I go out on my own for the afternoon. I decided my destination would be the Musee d'Orsay.
I was sixteen years old the first time I was in Paris; I had traveled with school trip that brought us to London, Paris and Nice during Spring Break. I loved the seeing the sights and experiencing something new but I quickly found traveling with such a large group was frustrating (there was over 30 in our group). The day I remember most of the trip was the day almost everyone went to the Louve, everyone except Miss Young, a guy named Mike and me. Instead, the three of us went to the Musee d'Orsay. I can’t remember the specifics of how the three of us went off on our own but I think Miss Young wanted to go to the Musee d'Orsay and said she would take a few students with her and Mike and I were the ones who wanted to go.
I remember that day because I was able to walk around the museum by myself and really feel like I was in Paris, experiencing Paris, not just being led around. Miss Young was only twenty-two and gave us the freedom to explore on our own. I remember how beautiful the structure of the renovated train station that housed the museum was and what it was like to see a Monet painting for the first time. I decided to make the Musee d'Orsay my destination because of that day when I was sixteen.
The museum was amazing with beautiful sculptures and fantastic impressionist paintings (I especially liked Jean-Francois Millet’s Clair de Lune). Impressionist paintings are by far my favorite kind of art even though art is not really my thing, in fact I will go as far to say that most art leave me a bit confused. It was more than a few times while wandering the museum that I thought it might have been more useful for me to take art appreciation instead of the music appreciation class I did take for my degree. I have yet to find a reason to know that Bach was from the Baroque period or what functional tonality is. But maybe soon I’ll get to go to a symphony and I’ll be glad for it. On the way home I walked though the Tuileries Gardens and the grounds of the Louve, it was great way to end my wonderful afternoon.
We spent the weekend just relaxing around the apartment with a few visits to the park and walks to keep Nicholas from climbing the walls. Not the most exciting week but we were both thankful we have lots of time in Paris. Could you imagine being sick for a week when you only had a week to experience everything?
By Friday I was getting restless, I had made some plans for us during the week that we couldn’t do so Brendan suggested I go out on my own for the afternoon. I decided my destination would be the Musee d'Orsay.
I was sixteen years old the first time I was in Paris; I had traveled with school trip that brought us to London, Paris and Nice during Spring Break. I loved the seeing the sights and experiencing something new but I quickly found traveling with such a large group was frustrating (there was over 30 in our group). The day I remember most of the trip was the day almost everyone went to the Louve, everyone except Miss Young, a guy named Mike and me. Instead, the three of us went to the Musee d'Orsay. I can’t remember the specifics of how the three of us went off on our own but I think Miss Young wanted to go to the Musee d'Orsay and said she would take a few students with her and Mike and I were the ones who wanted to go.
I remember that day because I was able to walk around the museum by myself and really feel like I was in Paris, experiencing Paris, not just being led around. Miss Young was only twenty-two and gave us the freedom to explore on our own. I remember how beautiful the structure of the renovated train station that housed the museum was and what it was like to see a Monet painting for the first time. I decided to make the Musee d'Orsay my destination because of that day when I was sixteen.
The museum was amazing with beautiful sculptures and fantastic impressionist paintings (I especially liked Jean-Francois Millet’s Clair de Lune). Impressionist paintings are by far my favorite kind of art even though art is not really my thing, in fact I will go as far to say that most art leave me a bit confused. It was more than a few times while wandering the museum that I thought it might have been more useful for me to take art appreciation instead of the music appreciation class I did take for my degree. I have yet to find a reason to know that Bach was from the Baroque period or what functional tonality is. But maybe soon I’ll get to go to a symphony and I’ll be glad for it. On the way home I walked though the Tuileries Gardens and the grounds of the Louve, it was great way to end my wonderful afternoon.
We spent the weekend just relaxing around the apartment with a few visits to the park and walks to keep Nicholas from climbing the walls. Not the most exciting week but we were both thankful we have lots of time in Paris. Could you imagine being sick for a week when you only had a week to experience everything?
Our Travels: October 3rd, 2011
We ate in our first restaurant today, kinda big for us. At home we are all about eating out so the fact that it took two weeks in Paris is surprising. We’ve been holding off mostly because of Nicholas. We were worried that we would have a hard time finding something for him to eat as well as worrying about his behavior at the restaurant; he is three and they don’t have White Spot here. But today we had breakfast at a restaurant. Nicholas was very well behaved while he enjoyed his croissant and orange juice and we enjoyed our coffees.
After our breakfast we went down to the Seine to see about taking a boat ride. I had done some research before we went down but I must have missed the part when there were different schedules for different times of the years. The boat we wanted to take didn’t leave for a few hours. So we made a new plan to walk South of the Notre Dame and explore. We didn’t make it very far because there was a park across the street Nicholas wanted to go to. By this point it was getting really hot out and we were debating how far we really wanted to go. We thought it might be better we if went home so Brendan could work for a bit and then go out again after dinner.
On our way back we walked through the grounds of the Norte Dame. When we saw that we didn’t need to wait in line we quickly went in. So far we haven’t done a lot of traditional touristy stuff, it’s just not what this trip is about. We are trying to focus our activities that all of us will enjoy and three year olds aren’t really known for being super quiet and having a lot of patience, both a prerequisite for museums and churches. But because we didn’t have to wait in line we took our chance to go in. It is so beautiful inside even Nicholas was impressed and on his best behavior. He kept getting upset when people were whispering; I guess he took the whole be really quiet talk very seriously! We had a fantastic, very quiet time while looking around the church, it really is amazing.
After our breakfast we went down to the Seine to see about taking a boat ride. I had done some research before we went down but I must have missed the part when there were different schedules for different times of the years. The boat we wanted to take didn’t leave for a few hours. So we made a new plan to walk South of the Notre Dame and explore. We didn’t make it very far because there was a park across the street Nicholas wanted to go to. By this point it was getting really hot out and we were debating how far we really wanted to go. We thought it might be better we if went home so Brendan could work for a bit and then go out again after dinner.
On our way back we walked through the grounds of the Norte Dame. When we saw that we didn’t need to wait in line we quickly went in. So far we haven’t done a lot of traditional touristy stuff, it’s just not what this trip is about. We are trying to focus our activities that all of us will enjoy and three year olds aren’t really known for being super quiet and having a lot of patience, both a prerequisite for museums and churches. But because we didn’t have to wait in line we took our chance to go in. It is so beautiful inside even Nicholas was impressed and on his best behavior. He kept getting upset when people were whispering; I guess he took the whole be really quiet talk very seriously! We had a fantastic, very quiet time while looking around the church, it really is amazing.
Saturday, 8 October 2011
Our Travels: October 2nd, 2011
Sunday we decided to walk to Jardin des Plantes, despite the heat. However our walk to the park was nice with the shade that the Parisian buildings offered us.
Once we arrived in the park Nicholas wanted to play on the playground equipment. Soon he was too hot to play anymore and we began to explore the grounds. The park is very large and if we wanted to see it all we would have needed a whole day. We noted some activates that we would like to come back for, like the zoo and botanical gardens.
We spent some time walking in the outdoor gardens before we came to the main boulevard-type walkway. The view was amazing, just like you’d expect to see on a postcard. The leaves are starting to change here and the golden hue of the trees just added to the view. We found a bench to sit and relax on, and most importantly to enjoy the popsicles we bought to cool down. After our break we walked towards the North of the park and found Galerie de paléontologie et d'anatomie comparée, a museum filled with bones of all sorts of creatures. We thought Nicholas would love to see all the dinosaur bones but in reality he wasn’t that excited. We wandered around the museum until the heat (no air-conditioning and lots of windows made it really hot) drove us out and then we walked back to our apartment for the rest of the night.
Once we arrived in the park Nicholas wanted to play on the playground equipment. Soon he was too hot to play anymore and we began to explore the grounds. The park is very large and if we wanted to see it all we would have needed a whole day. We noted some activates that we would like to come back for, like the zoo and botanical gardens.
We spent some time walking in the outdoor gardens before we came to the main boulevard-type walkway. The view was amazing, just like you’d expect to see on a postcard. The leaves are starting to change here and the golden hue of the trees just added to the view. We found a bench to sit and relax on, and most importantly to enjoy the popsicles we bought to cool down. After our break we walked towards the North of the park and found Galerie de paléontologie et d'anatomie comparée, a museum filled with bones of all sorts of creatures. We thought Nicholas would love to see all the dinosaur bones but in reality he wasn’t that excited. We wandered around the museum until the heat (no air-conditioning and lots of windows made it really hot) drove us out and then we walked back to our apartment for the rest of the night.
Our Travels: October 1st, 2011
Saturdays tend to be very busy around here, a combination of all the locals out shopping for the day and the tourists who come in just for the weekend. With our windows open you can hear the bustle of the people walking and talking on street below, as well as the honks of cars because there are so many people the cars have a hard time getting through them all. Because of this we waited until later in the day to venture out.
Our original plans were just to head to the grocery store to grab supplies for dinner but Nicholas got distracted by the rocket ship. After a few rides I suggested we try and just grab something to eat. We walked to the West to find something quick that Nicholas would eat and our refined pallets chose to eat at Quick, the French version of McDonalds. It turns out we weren’t huge fans and we finally went to the grocery store on the way back so we wouldn’t have to go out again.
It was very busy on our way home, so busy that we had a hard time getting to our apartment through the crowd. It turns out that today is Nuit Blanch, a night where galleries, museums and restaurants are open all night long and everyone in Paris stays awake all night. Our street was crowded because one of the many art exhibits which are setup across the city for this event was right next to our apartment. We couldn't actually see what was happening because there were too many people in front of it, next to the very long line to get in, but it looked like purple lights with fake rain and a bunch of people with purple umbrellas.
With all of the noise from the nights festivities, it wasn't the best night of sleep ever for us but it looked like everyone who was out was having lots of fun.
Our original plans were just to head to the grocery store to grab supplies for dinner but Nicholas got distracted by the rocket ship. After a few rides I suggested we try and just grab something to eat. We walked to the West to find something quick that Nicholas would eat and our refined pallets chose to eat at Quick, the French version of McDonalds. It turns out we weren’t huge fans and we finally went to the grocery store on the way back so we wouldn’t have to go out again.
It was very busy on our way home, so busy that we had a hard time getting to our apartment through the crowd. It turns out that today is Nuit Blanch, a night where galleries, museums and restaurants are open all night long and everyone in Paris stays awake all night. Our street was crowded because one of the many art exhibits which are setup across the city for this event was right next to our apartment. We couldn't actually see what was happening because there were too many people in front of it, next to the very long line to get in, but it looked like purple lights with fake rain and a bunch of people with purple umbrellas.
With all of the noise from the nights festivities, it wasn't the best night of sleep ever for us but it looked like everyone who was out was having lots of fun.
Saturday, 1 October 2011
Our Travels: September 30th, 2011
This morning, I was up at 9:00 to phone the UK and speak with the property owner of the apartment we'll rent when visiting London in December. Good on the account that we got the details worked out and confirmed the apartment, and also avoided another late morning of sleeping in!
We now have apartments in both London and Munich confirmed, which will take us up to December 30th. After that, we're not sure where we're staying, and when we'll be staying there... very exciting!... and a little stressful. We're just about to purchase a Eurail pass to travel within Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France, so our future destinations will have to be somewhere within these countries. I'm pushing for Lucerne, Venice and Rome, but it will have to be a group decision once Mom joins us at the beginning of December.
I had a bunch of work to get finished this morning to get the software updated before the guys in Houston got into the office. We also had our Friday morning meeting scheduled for 3pm. I want to pause here and point out that I "love" the time difference here. In B.C., I would have to drag myself out of bed at 5:30am to get ready for these meetings. what a difference! However, Carlos was a no-show for the meeting, and after waiting for a few hours to discuss outstanding things with him, I decided to give up, and we went out for a walk instead.
Today we headed North, the only direction we haven't really traveled a great distance yet. (http://g.co/maps/9w39e) As we got closer to Place de la Republique we realized that the area was a bit more rundown. While we still felt safe, we were glad that we hadn't gotten an apartment in this area. There were a few interesting statues, and an interesting arc (similar to the Arc de Triomphe) but much smaller of course (http://tinyurl.com/3q9knk2).
At this point, we began our way back to the apartment, with another quick stop at the supermarche for dinner. We've now been here nearly two weeks, and have yet to eat at a restaurant. I've mentioned to Mom that it feels like we're eating on food stamps... we're always just buying staples from the grocery store for our meals. Breakfasts are mainly cereal, yogurt and fruit. Lunches are sandwiches (PB&J, sometimes meat), sometimes pasta, and dinner is generally pasta. While the apartment does have a kitchen unit, the cooking utensils are minimal, and our spice selection consists of salt and pepper. It doesn't make sense to stock up on the usual spices and utensils we are used to, so we'll just make do with what we have. I'm now very confident we'll both loose some weight while we're here, which is never a bad thing. Let's just hope we don't gain it all back in the 2 weeks we're in Germany with all the beer and bratwurst available there.
We headed back to the apartment and by this time it was after 9:00pm. Nicholas went to sleep and Laura uncorked her first bottle of wine. 2 glasses later, she had to admit she's a bit of a lush, but that's ok. We both relaxed and she watched a movie while I got some work done.
We now have apartments in both London and Munich confirmed, which will take us up to December 30th. After that, we're not sure where we're staying, and when we'll be staying there... very exciting!... and a little stressful. We're just about to purchase a Eurail pass to travel within Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France, so our future destinations will have to be somewhere within these countries. I'm pushing for Lucerne, Venice and Rome, but it will have to be a group decision once Mom joins us at the beginning of December.
I had a bunch of work to get finished this morning to get the software updated before the guys in Houston got into the office. We also had our Friday morning meeting scheduled for 3pm. I want to pause here and point out that I "love" the time difference here. In B.C., I would have to drag myself out of bed at 5:30am to get ready for these meetings. what a difference! However, Carlos was a no-show for the meeting, and after waiting for a few hours to discuss outstanding things with him, I decided to give up, and we went out for a walk instead.
Today we headed North, the only direction we haven't really traveled a great distance yet. (http://g.co/maps/9w39e) As we got closer to Place de la Republique we realized that the area was a bit more rundown. While we still felt safe, we were glad that we hadn't gotten an apartment in this area. There were a few interesting statues, and an interesting arc (similar to the Arc de Triomphe) but much smaller of course (http://tinyurl.com/3q9knk2).
At this point, we began our way back to the apartment, with another quick stop at the supermarche for dinner. We've now been here nearly two weeks, and have yet to eat at a restaurant. I've mentioned to Mom that it feels like we're eating on food stamps... we're always just buying staples from the grocery store for our meals. Breakfasts are mainly cereal, yogurt and fruit. Lunches are sandwiches (PB&J, sometimes meat), sometimes pasta, and dinner is generally pasta. While the apartment does have a kitchen unit, the cooking utensils are minimal, and our spice selection consists of salt and pepper. It doesn't make sense to stock up on the usual spices and utensils we are used to, so we'll just make do with what we have. I'm now very confident we'll both loose some weight while we're here, which is never a bad thing. Let's just hope we don't gain it all back in the 2 weeks we're in Germany with all the beer and bratwurst available there.
We headed back to the apartment and by this time it was after 9:00pm. Nicholas went to sleep and Laura uncorked her first bottle of wine. 2 glasses later, she had to admit she's a bit of a lush, but that's ok. We both relaxed and she watched a movie while I got some work done.
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