Last Day in Paris

Last night as we left the restaurant the rain was softly falling, think of Midnight in Paris! This morning however broke bright and sunny, in the high 60's.  Our plan of the day was to take advantage of the Jour de la Patremonie- a day thoughout Europe when all public buildings are open to the public.  It is the day when the people can visit anywhere that is usually closed to them.  We decided to visit the Senat since it was close by and might be interesting.  We got there early before the lines get really long which is good because these places are often jammed, with a wait of several hours.  The first thing that impressed me was the friendlness of the police and guards and the guides.  Everything was well organized, great information in visual and printed form as well as guides happy to explain things. I had expected to find it like a tour of the capitol but it was different:  much more relaxed, pictures allowed, and the Palais de Luxembourg a real palace as you can see from the photo.   We followed a marked path which flowed nicely and in many places opened up so you could wander around.   It took a couple of hours and was really impressive. It was a wonderful way to educate people about the institutions of their country as well as a treat for us foreigners.

After that we walked to a cafe for lunch and spent a couple of hours dining and fantasizing about renting an apartment and living here for a year! We walked to the Seine and it started to shower a bit so we ducked into confectionairie to buy chocolates to take this evening when we dine with Francis and Ingrid and view the new baby in the family.  Fortunately I had bought a baby gift from the Gap before coming! 
It will be our first time dining with them without J & P which will be interesting.  I believe Ingrid and Francis both speak some English so it will be a Franglaise evening.

We are packed and ready to go to the airport at 7 tomorrow morning and I am not excited about the long flight home.  It is always longer mentally on the way home.  Au Revoir, Paris.

Sunny Cannes to Gray Paris

Our last morning in Cannes starts with our usual coissants and coffee on the terrace overlooking the sea.  A bit hurried today since we have a 10 am train to catch for Paris.  Dennis and I are alone since J &  P are staying to winterize the boat and close up the apartment.   We head for the station with one last look at La Coisette ( road along the beach front of Cannes).  We go through the usual mess of not having the ticket machine accept our MasterCard for some reason and have to stand in line to get out tickets.  Fortunately the train in 20 mins late ..... amazing... late. a TGV! Philippe tells us that if a train is an hour late, you can get a coupon for a free ticket.  Ours however, is only half and hour late so no freebee.  

We settle into our seats and the quiet and smooth as well as fast ride begins.   It is a beautiful trip and the changes in scenery are dramatic and typical of the variety of the land in France.  We begin by being just on the edge of the sea.  On one side the train, tracks press against steeply rising mountains which drop right down to the sea.  We are just on the edge and can see the sea churning against the rock outcroppings.  It is like this between Nice and St. Raphael where the land flattens out ever so slightly.  We pass through scrubby pine forests and port towns until we reach Marsailles where the train turns inland into Provence.  First we encounter the dry rugged hills with small isolated houses, small gardens and olive or wine groves.  There are fields of tall brown sunflowers, waiting to be harvested for seeds.Soon the terrain becomes hillier and greener.  After Avignon, the greeness and lushness of the fields are in contrast to the earlier dry scrubby ones.  Finally the fields become larger and are wide expanses both of harvested corn and wheat.  The green fields are dotted with white cows, horses and sheep as well as more defined roads and communities along the way of the TVG.  After about 5 hours we enter Paris.  The contrast of the sunny skies of the South and the gray ones of Paris are notable.  Instead of "gai" Paris, its gray Paris!

Feeling like old pros in getting around Paris we head for the #63 bus out of Gare de Lyon.  After waiting a bit we think we may be at the stop where the line ends, not where it begins so we start walking to check it out only to find the bus is cancelled until 10pm tonight because of a Techno Parade!   So, back to the station, find a metro map and find the way to get home underground.  That takes a while but works well although its a long walk from the RER station to the apartment.  However, we arrive safe and sound, and prepare for one last day in Paris tomorrow.

Trip to Biot

Since we didn't get to Biot yesterday, J & P decided to take us to Biot... a small old village famous for its glasswear.  Again the roads continued to be a challenge, even with GPS.  We felt better about having had had the same trouble when we were here before.  We had thought it was just us but we guess that the French have the same problem figuring out the signs.   A t last we got to the village, squeezed into another microscopic parking garage and found a restaurant under the trees in the town square.  Lunch was pleasant, the day warm and lazy.  We walked around the town (we had been there before but late in a brisk November afternoon when much was closed).

 Biot is a perched village, medieval in history and design.  The old town is high on a hill with steep drops on all sides.  One can understand how these towns resisted invaders.  We wandered around the narrow steep streets and thought how it must have been to live here in earlier times.

 We went to the glass factory and watched the glassblowing and then looked around the museum and store.

Returning to Cannes, we again took many wrong turns but at last arrived.  Before going to the apartment, we stopped for a last late afternoon swim in the warm waters of the Mediterrean.  What a lovely way to end a visit to Cannes.

day in Monte Carlo

Palace of Monaco

Today we are talking about going to the distant town of Menton and possibly the closer town of Biot. After alot of back and forth we started our trip by going to the A8 toward Nice and further east, still not knowing where we were going. The A8 in this area is an engineering feat, with long bridges spanning steep and deep ravines with long uphill and downhill grades punctuated with over some 20 long curving tunnels. Just after Nice P & J decided to drop into Monaco. Drop in is the operative word as we decended some 3000 feet on steep narrow curvy roads until we reached the Principality. Rising steeply from the sea there is one high rise next to another. As you might expect there is little room in this worldly rich enclave for parks, roads, sidewalks or more importantly parking. We finally found a parking garage and had to decend to the fourth level below ground in what turned out to be a maze, nothing like you are used to in the US. In addition the parking spaces were about half the size.

Upon entering the street we climbed something like 600 feet up to the Palace Square where we had lunch. The views looking out over the Mediterrian are spectaclar. The Palace is the home of the Gremaldi family as well as in use for official functions and is a real jem, just a little bigger than some or our Greenwich "grand MacMansions". With over 800 years of history the occupants of the Palace have played their part in the rich history of France.



casino

 Finally we got smart and took the bus to the Casino. It looks just like you remember from the James Bond films. The Rolles and Ferraris are parked in front. We walked around the interior but were not able to get into the gaming area because we did not have our passports or for the French their "identity cards", needed to screen out those addicted to gambling. The area around the Casino housed all the places to buy expensive jewelry, watches and clothes.... just the thing after winning or trying to impress someone.

Upon leaving Monte Carlo we missed the turn to return to the A8 and so took the road East to Menton. Remember all roads are narrow and very curvy in this part of the world. But, finally we reach a straight stretch along the beach in Menton. Cindy and I had  drink while P & J went for a swim. After we had an enjoyable dinner looking out over the Mediterrian before returing home exhausted.

Another Beautiful Day in Cannes

I certainly hope you are not having horrible weather when you read this because you will be so jealous!  This morning started slightly misty which seems to be the start of most days but by 10 it is bright, sunny and warm.  We start our day with a swim on a sandy beach, the water is about 80- refreshing and not cold.  After that we meander over to lunch at the club after which we go out for a ride in the boat.  We go to a small island just outside of Cannes, on which there is a small monestery, Abbey de Lerins.  The monks are in silence and have a small but excellent vineyard where they produce some very good wines.  We walk all over the island where there is a fortified fort tower (ruin) as well as a beautiful small church.  After our visit, we boat to another secluded spot where we swim off the boat.  Then it home for dinner and early to bed. 

I find it interesting to find this island of meditation and simplicity just outside the harbor filled with luxurious yachts, one bigger than another.  Cannes and the other towns along the Cote d'Azur are temples to wealth and power; everywhere one looks one sees those who have bigger toys!  I can see that it is easy to fall into the trap of feeling you always have to have more..... even more so than in Greenwich, if that is possible!



monestary ile  de Lerins



Cannes harbor

Tues the 13 September

Today is our first full day in Cannes.....  our morning was spent organizing, then we went to the beach for a swim.  The water was cristal clear and not cold, and the beach was sandy and hot.  We stayed until noon when we went to the yacht club for lunch.   It is a small waterside restaurant where we have often eaten while in Cannes.  Reasonable food, not too pricy and convenient to the apartment.  Lunch lasted the usual 2  to 3 hours after which we came home, showered and rested and read.  About 5, Dennis, J & P went to put the boat in the water at the club.

Naturally this operation was a bit complicated. First we had to take the boat out of the garage, hook the trailor to the car, launch the boat, return the trailor to the garage and then finally go for a boat ride to the shore of the nearby island where the man in the iron masque was in prison. The temperature had cooled and we watched the sunset in the distant hills as we returned. About 3 hours later they returned after successful launching and shopping for dinner. 

Camargue Monday the 12th

　
Yesterday we started our day riding in the Camargue. Dennis and I went on a 2 hour ride through the marshes and along the beaches.

 J & P went to the bird sanctuary. It was a beautiful sunny day, temperature in the high 80’s so it would have been a bit too warm for a ride except we had shore breezes.
After our ride we headed for Cannes- a three hour trip. Arriving in the early evening, we opened up the apartment, ordered in pizza and went to bed early.
Some feelings and impressions: coming to Cannes and to our usual bedroom was both comforting and annoying. I must preface this with the fact that my hip was hurting after the ride so I have not been feeling at my best. The long car ride added to my discomfort so the little things were getting to me more than usual. First, we couldn’t find the linen for the beds and then turning on the lights, I remembered how inadequate the lighting is. Of course I couldn’t find by little book light so I had to settle for the dim lighting in the room. Then I wanted to take a hot bath to ease the hip pain and found that the water was stone cold! It seems that the apartment house water heater is heated during the night (cheaper electricity) so by the next evening all the hot water is used up!  Going to bed was my best solution....

The Camargue

Instead of going directly to Cannes, we have driven to the Camargue where we are spending the night and tomorrow.  Hopefully we will have WiFi in Cannes, otherwise this may be our last post until we are back in Paris.  Today was a day in the car: left Paris at 10 after many delays, drove all day with a long lunch stop in Lyon and arrived here about 7.  Not much to tell: lots of conversation in english/french, some naps for Josette and me, otherwise  little of interest.  As always the scenery of the rural areas is wonderful:  even the dead fields of sunflowers were interesting in that they were withered and blackened- a strange sight for a sunflower field.  We are spending the night at an equestrian center hotel.  Very rustic but interesting and nice:  modern western decor- quite upscale for a horsey place. Fabulous dinner too.

 Tomorrow we will go to a bird sanctuary and they Dennis and I will ride for a couple of hours- then we drive on to Cannes.  I think we will be there until the end of the week.

Family day in Paris

This is a beautiful morning in Paris:  the sky is bright blue for the first time, it is warm like a late summer's day( in the low 80's) and there is a breeze.  The leaves on the trees are beginning to drop- not a pretty color as at home.  After breakfast, we go out to explore the local "vide granier", french equivalent to a local tag sale.  This is the first one in this quartier and we are curious to see what the locals had in their attics!   After exploring a bit, we find an interesting old book that I will use for one of my altered book projects but little else of interest. Philippe may pick up an antique movie camera we spotted.

Last night Yann arrived from Metz where he has started his first year in a Grand Ecole.  In France after passing the Bac, there are 2 choices the academically inclined: the university or a grand ecole. For 2 years after passing the Bac, Yann went to a "prep school" to prepare for entrance in a grand ecole.  Being a brillant student he was accepted and had a choice of locations.  He chose to go to the Arts et Metier (arts and sciences)in Metz and will specialize in engeneering- or so he thinks at this point.  J& P had provided him with a wonderful little apartment on the top floor of this apartment while he was in Paris and so he was returning for a weekend visit to family and friends.  Last night we conversed in English, testing his skills!  He has improved even more since his stay with us in Greenwich.  They we switched back to french and had a long chatty dinner.  This morning Sylie, his mother, arrived from Normandy.  We had spent time in Normandy with her and her family on our last trip. Returning from our morning walk, we met her in the lobby, chatting with the "guardianne/ super". It is so interesting to be how personal life in a french city seems.  The guardianne knows the whole family and everyone chats whenever they meet. The same is true with others who live in the building.  Its all very neighborly but also somewhat formal.  We checked out the small hotel around the corner which we have been recommending to some of you and found it to be as good as we had hoped.  Only problem now is that because it is cheap and so well located, it is full much of the time!

About 2 pm we have our mid day meal, lasting about 2 hours, topped  off with wine and 2 beautiful cakes. Topics of conversations rang from Josette's argument with one of her sons, Sylvie's buying of a small truck, our activities in Paris since we arrived and how cars no longer come with spare tires- only an inflating canister! Dennis suggested she put an extra tire atop her truck, take it on and off for low bridges etc. Philippe et Yann liked this idea- she wasn't so keen!  It was a typical meal, lots of talking all at the same time ( hard for us to follow sometimes) much laughter, many changes of subject matter.  I believe it will be much of the same this evening when we go for dinner at Christian's ( not the son in bad favor at the moment).

The rest of this afternoon is spent quietly- Yann and Sylvie are off somewhere, together or separate, we don't know; Dennis is napping, Josette napping or puttering about for tomorrow's trip to Cannes, and Philippe- well, I have no idea where he is.

  Outside Parisian life is going on: a typical Saturday.  From our windows I can observe the activities in front of St. Sulpice:   The local tag sale (which goes all day), a baptism  and later a marriage-  these are marked with the peeling of the church bellos.  It is nice to have the bell tower back in action..... it has been years in reconstruction, which was great fun to watch on our previous visits but the new tower is ever so pretty and the sound of the bells wonderful to hear as they mark the hours and special occasions of the church. I can see the shopper lined up at the patisserie (best in Paris), people sitting in the cafe across the square, joggers and bikers returning from Luxembourg Garden.  Very much a residential quartier.  Feels more like a village than a large city!

The flow of the day is so different as a non tourist.  The hour of breakfast is late, the big meal in the middle of the day taking several hours, the late evening meal, the lengthly conversations for both social and comercial activities- all these little things make it somewhat difficult to keep up the tourist pace!  One doesn't cover the same about of ground per day!  We "pop out" to do errands, see an exhabit or museum, but most of the time is spent chez nous or at least going somewhere with family.  For us, this is an interesting experience and as our language skills are increasing, it is less frustrating. Tomorrow we won't write our blog because we will be in the car all day traveling to Cannes.

Quai Branly Museum Paris

Today is Friday the 9th- yesterday was our anniversary and we went to the Chateau and an evening concert of orchestra and piano.  Our posts are always the day after what we write about!

So,  today (Friday) after breakfast (croissants, ham & cheese, fruit and tea/hot chocolate) we took bus #63 from Place St. Supice to the Alexander Bridge (the most ornate of the Parisian bridges) then walk for about 10 minutes along the Seine to one of the newest museums in Paris- Quai Branly- a museum of African, South American, Pacific Island  and Asian cultures.  A facinating museum both inside and out.  To enter the museum, one walks along pathways leading through a sea of grasses and wild plants.  You would never know you were in the middle of Paris, more like being in the grasslands of the pampas.  To see the exhibits which were beautifully presented and well marked in both ENGLISH and French, one walks up a long curving ramp on which the names of all the cultures  are flowing like a winding river.... white words moving like water on a black ramp.  It was a very effective presentation of the movement, multiplicity and diversity of the cultures represented in the museum.

We first visited the special exhibit- the Mayan Culture, which was full of information and artifacts.  The exhibit was on loan from the National Museum of Guadamala on loan for several months.  After that we made a general tour of the other exhibits which was so extensive and facinating that we said we would have to return and do it in short visits.  It was visually overwhelming and after a couple of hours we were saturated.  Beautiful objects from places that we know so  little about ( their native cultures).  I especially enjoyed seeing the native art of Australia and New Zealand as well as the Pacific Islands. 

Home for a 2:00 mid day dinner, then a bit of time writing.  We are finding this visit quite a relaxed one with J & P.  We have now spent enough time together that everyone is pretty relaxed.  The language is flowing better: both in french and english- we use french most of the time but lapse into english from time to time.  Its good for all of us to have a chance to practice!

Chateau de Rambouillet

Our day started out with the normal discussion of plans for the day. First up we talked about visiting a chateau outside Paris. Josette produced a list of the various possibilities. We discussed the many possibilites with seemingly no decision made. Last up was the possibility of going to a concert. After much discussion Philippe called Payel hall but got a busy signal for over half an hour. Buying the tickets over the internet did not work either. Once in the car our first stop was Payel hall to pick up tickets. Naturally the ticket line was long so the process took nearly an hour. So, now, we were off to .... Rambouillet.

About 50 km from Paris is a small chateau with hunting forests and lands larger than that of Versailles.  A favorite of the kings, it was enjoyed by the son of Louis 14th, Louis 16th and Marie Antoinette, and Napoleon I.  We toured the house which was interesting but not spectatular than walked to the "Dairy", a small ornate building where milk and cheese tastings took place in the days of Louis 16th.  Like at Versailles, the ladies liked to play at the rustic life so they had their little "follies" built in the park of the chateau.  The dairy industry was of interest to the kings, as well as the sheep industry (also there at Rambouillet) for money for France. We walked with a guide in the English Garden ( the landscaped area meant to look natural in contrast to the manicured floral French Garden) and came to a rustic folly, a thatched roofed rustic cottage.  It consisted of two rooms, one a dressing room and the other, a round salon totally walled in shells of all kinds in beautiful patterns.  It was absolutely magnificent.  Designed just befor the Revolution, it has remained untouched and in perfect condition since the late 1700's.  (sorry about the tipped photos).

Walking Around Paris day 2

We awake at 8 after a restless night.  We went to bed last night at 9 and our timing is still off.  This morning after a breakfast  "austrian style" we say goodbye to Krista and Lilee and start our day figuring out how to download photos, how to get into our blog and how to work the front door key!  J & P have driven the girls to the station so we have a couple of hours to organize ourselves.

After lunch yesterday, we sat around the apartment discussing possible places to visit in the afternoon. Discussing possibilities is very French, for there are many possibilities offered with all their pros and cons together with time of opening and time to leave. In the middle of this discussion Philippe Cindy and Dennis left to visit a watchmaker around the corner. Upon returning a little more discussion and then we left to visit the Jardin des Plantes (Plant Garden), a relatively short bus ride on Boulevard St. Germain. The garden is a gem worth visiting. Upon entering, you look straight ahead to long alley ways leading to a beautiful huge building about a half mile ahead. Along the alleys are planted flowers, bushes and trees or all varities, some even grouped by type such as those used for medicines, soap, etc. Further in the garden are green houses for tropical plantes, and even a separate green house for plants from New Calidonia.

Instead of taking the bus back, we dicided to walk alone the Seine. This is a wonderful walk among beautiful plantings, sculpture beautiful buildings,  and, of course, all the boat traffic on the river. It is like enterening another world, as street noise just dissapears. As we came nearer to Notre Dame, the full size and the majesty of the church was impressive especially this unique vantage point. We sad on a bench and just look and talked.   Once we walked up to street level, the mood changed entirely. The streets were noisy and crammed with people.

We end the day with a quick dinner of pizza and beer at my favorite pub, O'Neal's- then to bed at 8:30.  More tomorrow.

Learning From A Chance Meeting

Learning in odds ways:
On the plane our seatmate turns out to be a professor of robotics teaching students with a masters degree. He is returning to France after having spent 2 months attending a robotics course at Northwestern. He lived with five other students studying different concentrations and they were able to bond like in the movie Auberge Espanole. Very interestingly, he says the experience changed his thinking. Before he was a typical Frenchman who after completing his studies settled into a career and expected to continue in it until retirement.  Now, he is exploring the possibility of creating his own startup because he has changed his expectations from "career to consider other alternatives"after being with others who thought more entrepreneually. He felt that this exposure to another culture changed his view of himself and what he could do with his life. Wehope to keep in touch and see where he goes from here.

We arrive in Paris with too few hours of sleep but have managed to stay up all day.  Krista (granddaughter from Austria who competes in voltige) is here with a collegue before leaving for Germany tomorrow to buy a new horse for the club's training program.  She is in her early 20's and is so impressive in her ability to switch instantly from French to German and back again in a conversation.  (Her friend speaks on German). After we settle in, we  take a walk in Luxembourg Gardens hoping to stay awake a little longer.  It is a windy but warm day, the park is beautiful and we feel at home.  I think the theme of the blogs will be how much we feel at home here but how we still feel like strangers.  The contradiction of being in two homes. Early to bed (they bought a new mattress which is sooooo much better) after  dinner at a pizzaria nearby.